International Friendship Day

August 2 is International Friendship Day for 2009, time to recognise your friends and their contribution to your life. Friendship helps to bring peace and positivity to the globe - a great reason to celebrate! Friendship Day occours on the first Sunday of August - only once a year - so make the most of it! :) Friends come in many shapes, sizes and guises: school friends, work colleagues, siblings, partners, parents, pets and neighbours. Pull out all the stops and let your friends know they are truly appreciated!

"My Friend" - extract from The Madman by Kahlil Gibran

My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear--a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence.

The "I" in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silince, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable. I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I do--for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my deeds they own hopes in action.
When thou sayest, "The wind bloweth eastward," I say, "Aye, it doth blow eastward"; for I would not have thee know that my mind doth not dwell upon the wind but upon the sea.
Thou canst not understand my seafaring thoughts, nor would I have thee understand. I would be at sea alone.
When it is day with thee, my friend, it is night with me; yet even then I speak of the noontide that dances upon the hills and of the purple shadow that steals its way across the valley; for thou canst not hear the songs of my darkness nor see my wings beating against the stars--and I fain would not have thee hear or see. I would be with night alone.
When thou ascendest to thy Heaven I descend to my Hell--even then thou callest to me across the unbridgeable gulf, "My companion, my comrade," and I call back to thee, "My comrade, my companion"--for I would not have thee see my Hell. The flame would burn thy eyesight and the smoke would crowd thy nostrils. And I love my Hell too well to have thee visit it. I would be in Hell alone.
Thou lovest Truth and Beauty and Righteousness; and I for thy sake say it is well and seemingly to love these things. But in my heart i laugh at thy love. Yet I would not have thee see my laughter. I would laugh alone.
My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise; nay, thou art perfect--and I, too, speak with thee wisely and cautiously. And yet I am mad. But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone.
My friend, thou art not my friend, but how shall I make thee understand? My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand in hand.

Shame On Jealous People... Stay Away From Them

"Jealousy is a symptom of a severe case of low self-esteem,

and it’s a disease that can eat us alive." -- Rene Godefroy

Mitshuca is a dazzling teenager with a sparkling smile that any toothpaste company would envy. She has an earthy and effervescent personality. She is the essence of femininity. Simply put, she is a masterpiece! But there is one problem. Many of her schoolmates are jealous of her beauty. How sad! Is Mitshuca better than they are? No!!!!

History is replete with people who were short, tall, ugly, and even disabled, who shattered the ceiling of doubts and limitations to change the world for the better. You see, it’s not what’s on you that is important, it’s what’s in you! Being attractive is not a rite of passage.

It doesn't guarantee us anything in life. Jealousy is a symptom of a severe case of low self-esteem, and it’s a disease that can eat us alive. That's why jealous people are often angry.

We all, at some point, suffer from low self-esteem. However, disliking another because of what he or she has is almost like living life at the level of the beast.

Perhaps you wonder why I feel so strongly about this issue. I promise you, I am not a victim. I just feel sorry for those who are dealing with jealous people such as friends or family members. Mitshuca can’t change a thing about her beauty.

She can only keep in mind that her good looks don’t mean that she is better than anybody else and strive to be humble instead of pompous or arrogant. That’s all she can do. Besides, the real beauty is that which is inside.

There are unattractive people who radiate and glow in the presence of others because of their positive and upbeat attitude. On the other hand, there are some very attractive people whom we can't stand being around because of their attitude.

My friend, jealous people are distractive by nature. You can't let them distract you. No person can take away what God has in store for you. Keep knocking on doors in spite of what others may say about you.

As you strive to reach your maximum potential, you are bound to meet many jealous people. Please be compassionate to them. They are sick and they need help. Try instead to boost their self-esteem by stroking their egos.

I wish you incredible success!

How To Stay Motivated

Do you remember a time when you had a big and lofty dream? Maybe you wanted to be a movie star in art house films, an organ transplant doctor, or a world-class triathlete. Perhaps you dreamed of crossing the ocean in a sailboat or chiseling sculpture out of mountain rock. As a youngster, you may have worked hard toward achieving that dream. You talked about it with your every acquaintance and most distant relation whenever you had the opportunity. But slowly you drifted away from your heart's desire. What happened?

The answer is easy: You got distracted! You got confused. Your friends enticed you into joining their parade. You were no longer in rhythm with who you are.

The law of momentum in physics says that a body in motion tends to remain in motion until an outside force acts upon it. Distractions. Your friends or family members acted upon you by overtly discouraging you, or by encouraging you to follow a more "sensible" path. So you stopped practicing, stopped studying, stopped working toward your highest ambition. All those distractions and "sensible" decisions competed for your attention. Your grand dream gradually became just a footnote in the history of your life.

Have you ever heard the truism that says "used to bees make no honey"? Do you know people who are always talking about what they used to do? They usually say, “Someday I will pick it up again.” But that's a weak excuse for avoiding the risk of living your dream. The time is now! When you have a worthy goal—something that is worth going after, you have to apply the law of critical success to your life. This law says that you should always be doing something that moves you closer to your goal. Question: What are you doing today that is drawing you a little bit nearer to accomplishing your dream?

Shakespeare wrote, “This above all, to thine own self be true.” Bravo, Mr. Shakespeare! Being true to yourself means that you do what matters most to you, regardless of what else is competing for your time. Our deeds and achievements are the only yardsticks we can use to measure our integrity, and the only evidence we can use to judge whether we have been true to our selves.

From now on, why not put the law of momentum into action? It is said that motion creates emotion. When you take action toward that which you most desire, your self-confidence will soar. Distractions shift you off-course or slow you down; actions accelerate you forward along your chosen course. Every action strengthens you to take another. You will become unstoppable! You will liberate yourself from guilt and self-pity. You will become the envy of the world. Many people never commit to anything. They have interests and hobbies, but no passion or driving ambition. I believe that you are one of those people who can commit; otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article.

Life is like a bicycle. The moment we stop pedaling, we start losing momentum. If we coast for too long, we fall. Resolve to press on in spite of all your distractions.

Here is what you can do to get whatever you want in life: First, identify your distractions and move away from them. By doing so, you will become effective rather than merely efficient. Being effective means doing the right things, while being efficient means doing things right. It's nice to be efficient, but it doesn't do you any good if you're not doing the things that will move you toward your dream. Focus first on being effective; let efficiency come as it may.

Second, write the word MOMENTUM in big letters and hang it somewhere that you will see it often. Do something daily that will bring you closer to your goal.

Third, make a public commitment by asking your friends—those who are positive and encouraging—to hold you accountable. Talk about your dream with them to begin edging it into the world. Speak of it as something that you are doing, not something that you think about doing.

Finally, learn all you can about the lore of your passion. If you are not, at the least, more knowledgeable than the average person about the subject of your dream, you are fooling somebody—yourself.

So, my friend, live your finest ambition. Do it because you must. You probably won’t find any help when you begin. You will, however, get all the help you want when you are already there. So be true to thine own self. Honesty is the iron string that vibrates within every heart. Let results be the measure of your integrity. Work hard at it. Do more than is expected, more than is common. Keep the momentum going!

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