Some lessons 2009 taught me

The year that’s about to end carries with it bits of wisdom. Here’s a summary of what I have learned in 2009:

1. Kindness begets kindness. Many times, however, that ideal is not put to use. Even if others are unkind, be kind still. Do good even if others don’t.

2. Fear diminishes our will to survive. Life is too short for us to be afraid; we should maximize its essence.

3. Every single day — and everybody should know about this — big and small miracles happen.

4. Feel free to be free. This feeling is the best drug, better than Dormicum, to lull oneself to sleep. Before falling asleep each night, wouldn’t it be an amazing feeling to be able to say, after saying a prayer, “I am freer today than yesterday!” Free from fears, free to be uniquely ourselves, free to say what we mean and mean what we say, free to genuinely enjoy and celebrate life.

5. What food is to body, prayer is to soul. In fact, a prayer, because it is encompassing, is the nourishment that keeps the mind and the spirit going. The importance of praying for each other, even for someone you do not know, is the essence of humanity.

6. Rewire your thinking pattern and your life will follow. Adopting the right mindset can make all of the difference in the world.

7. Everything that happens to your life is up to Him and up to you.

8. Learn the importance of saying “No” when you don’t feel like doing something. It will make you more free from anxiety and more honest to yourself and others.

9. People are not only creatures of logic, they, too, are creatures of emotion — these are the things I remember when I deal with people to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.

10. Time is important — to save a relationship, to make a fruitful meeting, to seal a deal, to propose to a loved one, to meet a friend. Time is too precious a commodity to waste.

11. This world is not all about us — our needs, our faults, our victories, our lonesomeness, our cravings, our ambitions. This world is also about others — their needs, their faults, their victories, their lonesomeness, their cravings, their ambitions. Those who still believe that the world is theirs to keep have not yet experienced what true love is. No man is an island and attending to others is the most potent kind of love of all.

12. Some relationships end. That fact, however, should not cow the human spirit to grow. The art of letting go is mathematically proportional to the art of self preservation. Prolonged agony is detrimental to one’s health, therefore it is unnecessary. Those who, from time to time, feel cheated and abused are not the easiest people to love either by others or by themselves. What ends blossoms again when we move on and move up.

13. It is important to care for Mother Nature. After all, “she” is the only one we have. 

14. Be an active blessing hunter. Find blessings in your experiences — good and bad. Seek them out in people you meet.

15. Laughter is as important as breathing. You forget about it and you perish. Laughter is the quickest break one mortal can take to momentary immortality.

16. Whiners are not gainers.

17. Some things can be done with the snap of a finger. Other beautiful things happen when we wait.

18. Spend time alone once in a while to be more attuned to yourself. Be silent and still. When was the last time you heard your own heartbeat? Sometimes, spending time alone always takes you to an inspiring, insightful journey.

19. Let’s forgive. American film and stage actor Tyler Perry once said: “When you haven’t forgiven those who’ve hurt you, you turn back against your future. When you do forgive, you start walking forward.”

20. Live and love. Dare and dream.

21. The most elegant thing is done in simplicity.

22. Celebrate the family — while the moment still matters, while the time still counts.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com. Happy New Year!)