Max

One of my first friends when I got to Italy, is Max. He is a dog.  According to my host, Max is not theirs. It's their neighbor’s dog. He frequented there because his owner’s granny did not like him. But anyway, he would still go back there in spite of the abuses and sleep outside their house.

Dogs are like that. Once you tamed them, they're forever grateful. You kick them, they get hurt, but later on when you caress them, they come to you with its tail wagging in excitement.  Some of us are like Max, sad to say.

For 5 years, I acted like Max. My professor who happened to be a priest, humiliated me in public.  He would burst out anytime and said he needed to release his anger.  I never said a word against him, and would bow my head when he passed by. I was always grateful for his blessings. I was like a dog for all those years.

As Paulo Cuelho says, "Sacrifice is not a virtue, and joy is not a sin."  To let others hurt you is not a virtue. In fact it is a sin. God gave you self-respect and wants you to preserve that. God wants us to be happy; and to enjoy being treated fairly is not a sin, in fact it is what God wants… to be happy. - Assert your happiness...

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photo: watermarked | posted by john b. bejo

The Social Generation

The generation today is so lucky.  They are so blessed with precious information, quotes and stories on how to handle life and relationships. And what's more fun is that they can think aloud in their posts. 

On the other hand, I met businessmen and old school parents who have no time to get re-educated anymore. They are stubborn and think they know everything that needs to be known. Their surroundings are as fortified as the great wall of china. They can't listen, and have no time to understand the other person.

But they are sad and alone too. They are fixed to themselves. They can't give, and therefore there's no source of genuine joy. They're always in constant fear of having nothing, for the world will laugh at them.

On the contrary, I say this generation is not bound in age, but in an era. This generation is composed of people as young as 7 years old and as old as 80.  Now, through the net, they speak, they  get company, they belong, they get accepted. This is the social generation, a generation that is not afraid to share, involve, learn and evolve… 

If you’re reading this, you’re in this generation  
Happy New Year!

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photo: freelancefolder.com | posted by john b. bejo

Hold It Tight

One of the most wonderful experiences when I was a kid was kite flying. My first time was the most unforgettable too.

I was about 5 years when a friend of my brother let me hold the string.  Above was the 1 and 1/2 meter wide kite. It was so strong and beautiful. I was holding it with tiny hands when suddenly the wind blew stronger and I almost let it go. 

A moment later, I was silently crying. When my brother's friend noticed me, he asked, "Why are you crying? We have the kite!" And then I showed him my hands, there were long blister-like wounds on both. It felt like I held a smoldering iron. It happened that I loosely held the string, and when it pulled, the friction burnt my hands.

From then on, I learned an essential lesson in life, If you have a dream, hold it tight, or else it will burn you. The same is true with relationship, you need to believe in it and hold it tight or else it will burn you and lose it…

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photo: amazepicsvids.blogspot | posted by john b. bejo

A Marvelous Gift

A friend once hesitated to share with me her burden. When I asked why, she said she was afraid she's dumping her garbage on me... I told her that maybe there were some garbage there, but that's exactly one purpose of a friend.

A friend is a person who is willing to help carry the burden of another friend, willing to get soiled, willing to waste time, willing to listen to the most silly things we complain about life. When one unloads some emotional garbage, a friend helps the other to carry and sort them out.

A friend once told me, "If you have something that's hurting you inside but don't want to share it with me, I feel like a total stranger left in the cold winter outside the gate."

Sharing is a marvelous process. It makes one part of the other. Some call it being “soul mates”.  It's also called empathy. As Aristotle once said, “ Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.”   And having a real friend is a marvelous gift…

Auguri!

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photo: Google image | posted by john b. bejo