BE CREATIVE!

A friend of mine would always tell me to “create today.” Honestly I never could understand her. In the past, I see life as always posing some tests and situations that I need to confront and hurdle and at the end of each phase is an evaluation of whether I passed or failed. I was never the active actor, the implementor, the creator. I was more of a receiver and a reactor to what the day has to offer. But just recently (as part of my spiritual journey) God through my good friend revealed to me that as God is within me and has created me in His likeness and image, I can also be a creator.

Let me share to you one very simple day in the life of Cel:

I woke up and because yesterday was not a very good day. I promised to make it different today. Today need not be the same as yesterday. I can choose to forget the pains of yesterday and adopt a different mind-set. No, it was not repressing whatever I feel. It was not a defense mechanism. I simply said to myself, that since God told me that every little pain we feel is just but temporary, it will go away, so why prolong it. I already cried yesterday, I already died yesterday. I then can choose to be different today.

So I dressed for the day, went to the Fatima church as usual, prayed that no matter what, I will choose to feel loved, to feel happy today, to embrace joy today, to LAUGH today. I offered to God, the previous day, and told Him that I never want today to be like my yesterday. I will (no matter what) choose not to cry today.

So I moved on. I moved on through the day focusing on that single goal.

My job is becoming less and less exciting and sometimes it causes also my pain. I prayed for everything and everyone that has a connection with my job. In my mind I told them, back off for there is nothing you can do today that will every hurt me!

It happened, my day at the bank went smoothly. My officemates are born-comedians and that day we have a non-stop laugh. I don’t know why but in the morning, we have a very old American client who graced us with his usual funny ways. He was 97 and he came to the office wearing his seaman or sea Captain outfit. We call him Jack. The one from Titanic. And During lunchtime also, a walk-in client came and my officemate suddenly told me “I thought this scientist is dead!” When we looked at him, he looks like Albert Einstein. The hair, the nose, the mustache, the eyeglasses, everything about him is Einstein! Then a little later also a client came who’s withdrawing dollar money form a very old and mutilated peso passbook. She was wearing a bloody red long-sleeves blouse, a bloody red pants and a cowboy hat. She announced to us that she just came from Texas.

That day we have a non-stop laugh. Well you might think that we are making fun at the expense of other people. No, it is not that way. They are several stimuli who came for what they are, and who introduced themselves in such a funny way, that made us laugh. Of course we pity the Texan girl. I learned later that she’s been doing that for several times in a week because after so many years she was still expecting for a remittance from a husband who left her for another woman. God knows in my heart, I would want to help her and tell her straight in her face, hey lady! Get a hold of your life, your good for nothing husband left you long time ago and you just don’t have much choice but to accept that! But I cannot do that. I am no expert.

So that day we have several reasons to laugh. Still later that day, I went straight to Tentyard to play badminton and just spending time with my friends is a sure way to laugh. I don’t know why but whenever we are together, we just could not stop laughing. There is never a dull moment with them. You will feel ashamed if you will join them when you are in a sullen mood. You will feel intimidated if you will not contribute or at least be influenced by the laughs we give out everytime we missed a service, everytime it gets windy, everytime we sent the shuttlecock straight to our partner’s face or straight to the ceiling, everytime Taferds would shout in his very gay voice and yet hit the ball like a real man, or everytime Jay would shout “I am good!” while Ojee would counter that with “I am better!” or everytime Cha’s face would hit the net, or everytime Minette would talk in her Visayan accent or everytime Elvie would shout “baon!” and everytime Ging would miss to hit the ball because she just ate a complete meal before the game.

That day was fun day. And I made it a point now that everyday of my life, I will have a laugh, I will have a reason to smile, I will feel joy! Other thing that I do is, to send several messages at random to some friends in my phonebook whom I have not contacted for months. Surely there would be one or two who will reply back and just exchanging text messages with them will make your day. I also have several collection of books, and when life gets so dry, I read and read and read. I am right now reading the Harry Potter Book 6 and funny I have been reading it for weeks already since it was released three weeks ago! The first five books, I usually finished in 2 to 3 days. I remember when I was reading the Book 4, the thickest book, I didn’t sleep for one night. Well I am slower now because I am just busy laughing! I also have with me a collection of Asterix comics, it’s a political satire, which focuses on the craziness of the Romans during Julius Caesar’s reign.

I have within me several reasons to laugh. I have before me a day which is neutral. A day which is synonymous to a white canvass and in my hand is a paintbrush and a variety of colors. I can always choose to make the painting gloomy or loud or simple or funny or anything at all that I want it to be! I am free! I create my life’s circumstances. I am as God told me, free to be the best that I can be TODAY! ©

A DOSE OF VITAMINS FOR THE SOUL

“GODISNOWHERE!” Do you read it as God is nowhere? Or God is now here? Like everything in life, the way you see things always depend on how you look at them.