Happiness is at hand !

I am convinced that half of our problems would go away if only we were able to surrender to the beauty of being alive and being loved by God. Yes, let’s pause for breath and think about all the reasons why we can be happy, instead of all the reasons why we think we are unhappy.  If we just took the time to smile and delight in a simple moment of joy, then we would be able to see that it is in the little things that happiness is hiding. It is in the ability to appreciate the everyday things that we start feeling tranquility and joy. 

• Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we, could find happiness in the simple, sweet moments of our lives? 

• Wouldn’t it be great if, like “little ones,” we were able to seek the sweet juice of life without allowing trivial things to get in the way?

• Wouldn’t it be just perfect if we could stop and make an effort, even if for a minute, to detach ourselves from problems and from the monotony of the everyday and aim for the extraordinary? 

Some of us are just never satisfied, always desiring what we do not have, and this is truly sad. If we only could find happiness in the small things that make our lives unique, then happiness would be in our hearts most of the time. We must stop ourselves if we find ourselves complaining about our circumstances. We must try to wake up asking ourselves:

•            Why is it that we are never satisfied with our situation?

• Why is it that once we achieve one of our goals, we immediately ignore what has been achieved and set our eyes on the next thing? 

• What am I grateful for?  

If we are willing to be like “little ones,” then, like them, we will find a million reasons to be happy and a million things worth enjoying. Big moments in our lives fly by, leaving us only memories. But simple, small reasons to be happy are waiting for us every day! If we can learn to find joy in these little things, and use our memories to boost our morale when we need it, to bring a smile to our lips when we feel we just can’t go on, then it will be possible to find ourselves happy most of the time. And isn’t that what everybody wants?

 To be happy is a choice. It is our choice. Nobody can make us happy but ourselves. Nobody can come and inject happiness into us. Happiness is found inside ourselves. It doesn’t matter where you are the type of house you own, the country you live in, the vehicle you drive, the job you have. It doesn’t matter what you have lots of jewelry, a good-looking spouse, great clothes, a pet or any other thing. You will always find yourself with you guessed it yourself![2] What does this mean? It means that unless you learn to find happiness inside yourself, happiness will always be a myth, a desire, but not your reality.

Wisdom to contemplate:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”

(Philippians 4:4)

“Happy the people so blessed; happy the people whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 144:15)

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[1] For this thought, I am indebted to Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992).

[2] Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within.

Cruel Kids - Have you been bullied?

Cruel Kids?

Have you been bullied?  Many kids have.  Kids can be cruel sometimes, bruising their peers in the most profound way, shattering their self-confidence, making them feel miserable, utterly disappointed and troubled. Isn’t it ironic, that it is only after growing up a bit that we start becoming aware of our looks? I don’t think many parents realize the importance of teaching their children to be kind. And I don’t think many parents realize how much a child can suffer in school. In some people’s opinion, children don’t have problems, only adults. But this is not true. Everything is proportional to the person experiencing it. For little children, a problem that can seem trivial to an adult can deeply hurt their feelings and leave them heartbroken.  

Not everybody is nice in the world, but that that does not mean everybody is mean. Not everybody is nice in the world, but that is no reason to join them. There will always be mean people, jealous people, angry people, bitter people and envious people in our lives. But there will always be good, kind, friendly, compassionate, caring people, too. So, we must open our eyes and search for the people who are worth our while, instead of getting disappointed thinking that people are all bad. By giving a chance to others, we are really giving a chance to ourselves.

It is important to make sure we do not become infected by bitterness or become mean ourselves. We must make an effort to always be excellent, no matter how hard things get. When someone says something to us, we have to know it is not a fact, but just a disputable opinion that person has about us. We should not let it bother us. An opinion is just a guess, a supposition, a generalization somebody makes about us. It is harmless unless we allow it to become important, since it will not be true unless we make it true.

• Why give people or words an importance that they do not deserve?
• Why do we insist on being offended by what other people say?
• Who cares what someone else calls me if I know who I am for real? 
• Why should it be such a tragedy to be called a name? Who cares? 
• Why do we insist on giving so much importance to other people’s opinions of us? 

  

We cannot change certain people, but we can ignore them. We cannot change certain people, but we can always change ourselves. Let’s therefore focus on ourselves that we may be stronger and turn into better people, so that we can keep a good equilibrium in this world bringing to it goodness and love. Let’s make a point out of becoming more confident. To be sure of ourselves is one of the most valuable lessons we will ever learn, and it is never too late. Let’s make it our goal to find reasons to be happy instead of reasons to be offended. Let’s make it our life’s task to learn to be less mean. After all, after a while the mean people may get tired of being mean, and after a while being nice and kind becomes contagious.

We all have encountered at some point in time someone trying to hurt us. Let’s be more confident inside from now on, remembering that anything anybody says about us is just their opinion. 

Wisdom to contemplate:

“Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

Continue your kindness toward your friends, your just defense of the honest heart. Do not let the foot of the proud overtake me, nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.” (Psalm 36:11-12)

Time to say goodbye - Isn't it Time to Say Goodbye to Jealousy?

 Isn't it Time to Say Goodbye to Jealousy?

Mother Teresa used to say that to be kind means giving much more than material things.   Do you agree?  I do.  For example, it can mean giving a smile, offering an encouraging word and sharing someone else’s joy. But don't you think that in order to share in someone else’s happiness first  we need to get rid of the jealousy that sometimes arises in our hearts?

            When we are jealous, we are unable to feel happy for others, and many times, instead of giving a compliment or praise, we sometimes end up spoiling another person’s happy moment by doing or saying something mean. Jealousy is like a disease that sometimes creeps inside us without us realizing it. 

How do we know for sure if what we feel is jealousy? Do a self-check! If we have a feeling of sadness, even if it is slight or deep inside, at the sight of another person’s material or personal achievement, then we have been bitten by the jealousy bug!

1. Am I bitter about someone else’s good fortune or success?
2. Do I always try to keep up with my neighbour? 
3. Do I criticize others so that they will lose confidence in themselves and so that I will look better? 
4. Do I keep comparing myself to others? 
5. Am I always looking for praise from others, and if someone else receives praise, does it bother me? Am I slow to thank, to encourage or to praise? 
6. Am I able to feel genuine happiness when someone else gets something I wanted?

Where does jealousy come from? It often comes from pride we think we are better than others and that we deserve more than they do. Other times, it is the result of our insecurity we desire to have what is not ours, and we unjustly want what rightly belongs to another.

How do we stay away from this dangerous virus? For starters, we must be honest with ourselves. We need to be constantly checking if there is even the slightest trace of jealousy inside our hearts when others are: more fortunate, richer, thinner, more successful, more beautiful, more loved, more popular, healthier or happier than we are. 

• For us to be happy about our own lives, we do not need to prove that other people’s lives are miserable. 
• For us to have faith in our own path, we do not need to prove someone else’s path is wrong. 
• For us to be secure, we do not need to make someone else insecure. 

           An old proverb says that happiness shared doubles.  Let’s seek to always share one another’s joy, because this will make us better people. It will strengthen and encourage us. And it will help us feel happy no matter what. If we rejoice in other people’s progress, we will immediately feel uplifted ourselves. If we let other people’s successes be our successes, others’ blessings will be our blessings, others’ joy our joy. So, be happy for your coworker’s promotion, your colleague’s new car, your old school friend’s good-looking spouse, your friend’s growing business, your cousin’s scholarship! A person who is able to feel happy for others is able to be happy most of the time.

Wisdom to contemplate:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.” (Romans 12:15-16)



Is the feeling of being "alone" or "sad" hunting you? Hold on...

There is something to look forward to, encouragement right around the corner.  Maybe all you need is a little hope found in the form of inspiration. 

Read this Foreword for the book Princess in Overalls! 

Help is on the way.

"It is rare to find a book that combines the refreshing vision of children and the rich wisdom that comes from experience with life. Princess in Overalls  combines both.  On the one hand, we meet Elllie, the “princess” as she grows from child to mature adult.  On the other hand, we meet Carolina Prada, the author, who captures profound lessons from the events in Ellie’s life.  We also meet important figures in Ellie’s life, her parents Reuben and Anna, and those who entered her life as the years went by.  

Ellie receives many lessons from her parents, lessons structured to her age and experience.  These lessons form, as it were, the basic truths about life that a child and adolescent need to learn.  Carolina then uses these lessons to examine issues importantfor everyone of whatever age.  Most importantly, she presents these lessons from a Christian point of view.  Then, in each case, she quotes passages from Scripture to support and to enrich what she has to say.

What does Ellie need to learn as she grows up?  So many things!  What is fear and how should we conquer it?  How do we relate to others our own age?  How do we relate to those older than we?  How do we react when we encounter people who are unkind and mean?  What dreams shall we form for our future?  How do we know what our role in life is going to be?  What do we do in the face of disappointment?  How do we foster relationships?  How do we face the end of relationships?  How can we recognize that someone is the person we would like to marry?  How do we forgive injuries done to us?

Ellie receives answers to these questions and more.  Carolina moves us beyond a child’s perspective for these questions.  She takes us to a deep level and helps us to see what path will bring us the peace and joy that God wishes us to experience during our lives.  She shows us how close God is to us at each moment and how God loves us.  She also shows how he longs to help us and how he guides us along our way.  We human beings live in a divine milieu:  God is with us.

This book might be called one of “self-help.”  But a much better description would be:  one of divine help.  Carolina shows us that it is by the free gift of grace given to us in Jesus Christ that we can move beyond the self and act in a truly Christian way.  She guides us to see that Christian courage requires us to be kind, gentle, tenderhearted, and compassionate.  She shows that the highest of the Christian values, love, is something far greater and far more challenging than any feeling.  Love is a choice made again and again, both when it is easy to love and when it is hard to love.  Love constantly offers a challenge to rise above the purely natural, to rise above our instinctive reactions, and to make our response one of kindness and mercy.  Carolina shows that to be a Christian is to be someone of courage and valor, someone who insists on the highest level of human behavior, and someone who can envision dreams that become a reality.

This book is a treasure of wisdom for both young and old.  In it readers will find many echoes of events in their own lives.  They will receive guidance on how to prove worthy of the name of Christian.  And they will learn, in their treatment of others, to show the compassionate and loving 
face of Jesus Christ."​

​​​​​​​Dr. Shirley Sullivan, FRSC

​​​​​​​Professor Emeritus of Classics

​​​​​​​University of British Columbia


You can buy the book "Princess in Overalls"  by going to Amazon  and typing the name of the book plus the name of the author : Carolina Prada

If you need an inspiring companion to encourage you along the way...this blog is the place for you

Have you been frustrated and ready to give up?  Do you feel lonely, hopeless and tired?  Read on, you need this!  In this blog you will find the encouragement you have been looking for.  How?  Well by following this blog you will get free summaries from the book  "Princess in Overalls".  This is a Christian inspirational book on littleness, miracles and the power of prayer. It is the story of a little girl called Ellie from her childhood to her adulthood. Warm and refreshing, this book will feel like you are holding Ellie's hand as she journeys through life.   An uplifting and inspiring companion to encourage you along your journey of life, especially in those moments you need it the most.