Saturday 11 February 2012

Hometown

I feel I've been back to my life again after some time visiting my friends and family in my hometown. It was good and refreshing. As always, I've learned so much there...I'm not the same person who I used to be when I lived there...it might make my visits a bit intriguing to some, I think! And it makes me see things in a different light too...so I prefer who I am now, although not everybody can understand who I chose to be...well, I guess we don't need to be apart from people for some years to get to the point where they don't understand us, it can happen even with the ones who are beside us everyday...and some people who are apart from us still can get who we are even when we're not somehow who they've met before...

I had a great time back there and I can only thank God, my parents and my husband for it...and hope I can have the same opportunities here where I chose to live and where I feel is also my home. This post is to thank all the great opportunities God has given me and pray that I can make myself deserving of them all, here or anywhere of the world I might be... 

Adele's song Hometown Glory expresses part of it: "- Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I could call?
-No, and thank you, please madam, I ain't lost, just wandering"

Peace!
Mrs. P 


I've been walking in the same way as I did
And missing out the cracks in the pavement
And tutting my heel and strutting my feet
"Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I could call?
No, and thank you, please madam, I ain't lost, just wandering"

Round my hometown, memories are fresh
Round my hometown, ooh, the people I've met
Are the wonders of my world, are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of this world, are the wonders and now

I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque
I love it to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades
I like it in the city when two worlds collide
You get the people and the government
Everybody taking different sides

Shows that we ain't gonna stand
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain't gonna take it
Shows that we ain't gonna stand
Shows that we are united

Round my hometown, memories are fresh
Round my hometown, ooh, the people I've met

Are the wonders of my world, are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of this world, are the wonders of my world
Of my world, yeah, of my world, of my world, yeah



Monday 12 December 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year


Dear ones, 

One more year is about to end. I decided to write a very special Christmas poem for you all. Please be aware that, if you translate it to another language, the poem will lose all its charm and you might not get my rhymes right. I think my talent for rhyming is very unique and undeniable (hahahaha) Let's see if you agree! :D
Let's not forget the real reason why we celebrate Christmas (If you can, try to avoid being cynical enough to say that's because of presents!). Although I feel that a bit of humour will be beneficial (or not, hence my poem!) to us all. 
So, I will leave you with my special poem (remember how much love I put into that!!!) and one of my favorite Christmas songs. I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas this year, but I'm looking forward to seeing fake snow on artificial trees in my hometown! ;)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you with loads of love! 

Peace! 

Mrs. P 





Christmas 

Christmas is my favorite time

That no words can rhyme

But there is always a will 

To say how I feel



My husband says my poem sucks

I might not wash his Christmas socks

Santa doesn’t like naughty people

And that’s why he will get a pickle  



My doggie will get his Christmas treat

Although he always has dirty feet

So I’m not sure if he will get any meat

But he will be told to sit



This poem might not make any sense

But who wants to be tense?

The important thing is to have fun

So laugh loud and run  



Next year better be good

Cause I don’t want to touch wood

Lets hope we will all be happy

And leave behind what is crappy



So if I don’t see ya, feel my hug

And put your cocoa in a mug

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

And clink your glasses when you cheer 



 


Sunday 20 November 2011

With love

This is my favorite Psalm from the Bible. It's beautiful and it touches my heart. It definitely says more than I possibly can. 
For Mike, with love. 

Peace! 

Mrs. P 


Psalm 23 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.   






Tuesday 11 October 2011

People of faith



Sometimes I feel that silence can be good too. When we feel the need to say something that might not be useful or right, it's better to be silent instead. When we are about to disrespect someone for any reasons, silence is our best friend. When we want to make an observation or judge someone and that could hurt this someone unnecessarily, silence becomes a necessity. When you're about to retaliate something that hurt you with hurtful words, nothing is better than silence.


In our silence, we can also help. In our silence, we can give others the opportunity to express themselves and be understood. We can listen more to people and, maybe, learn more than we would have, if we were the ones talking. In our silence, we can ponder about the world properly. In our silence, we can avoid misjudging and condemning what, sometimes, we don't know enough about. We must learn to be comfortable with silences because they can be helpful.
I have the impression that we might talk too much about many subjects and sometimes we don't even think carefully about them, but we are very quick to point fingers out and judge everything and everyone that does not share our way of seeing the world.

It's a hard job for me to not talk or write about my points of view, but I realise that silence can say more than words, sometimes, when these words might not be said for the right reasons. Silence can be more powerful too. It can definitely be better to be silent than to express negative or judgemental points of view and that's something I need to learn to do. I'm not talking about silences that come from indifference, coldness of the heart or pride. The type of silence that doesn't help anyone, on the contrary, that can provoke doubts, insecurities, make our souls feel cold and is purposely there to hurt us... nor the type of silence that comes from contempt, envy or scorn...no, these are not the types of silence I'm referring to. I'm talking about the good silence, which means maturity of our soul, through the control over our actions, instead of having reactions only, to whatever was said or done to us which might have been taken badly. 
Sometimes I have the impression that people in general expect too much from people of faith, but they forget that no one is perfect just for believing in God, but they are truly people of faith when they make the effort to change themselves for the better every day. 

I read this message from the book "Our daily bread" and its title is People of Faith. It says that, more than words, we need to act accordingly to our beliefs, and that is the challenging part. It's challenging because everybody has flaws to correct and, it's not because someone believes in God or knows all about the Bible or any other kind of sacred religious book, that they will be better than anyone. The effort people in general make to change themselves for the better and to put this effort into practice is what makes them better morally each day. We truly need to be the change we expect to see in the world and it's probably our biggest challenge to have to combat ourselves and fight against our own flaws. This is what this message below is about.

Peace!

Mrs. P


PEOPLE OF FAITH

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Jesus, Matthew, 7:24)


The great preachers of the Gospel were always seen as the greatest interpreters of Christianity in the gallery of venerable persons of faith. But this, however, only occurred when the workers of the truth, in fact, did not forget the need for vigilance, which is indispensable at the times of testimony.
It is interesting to note that, among all of His disciples, Jesus regards more highly the ones who not only listen to His teachings, but also puts them into practice. From this, it can be concluded that individuals of faith are not necessarily those who are prodigious in words and enthusiasm, but rather also show and project attentiveness and good will towards the teachings of Jesus, by examining their spiritual context in order to apply them in their daily tasks.
We are comforted to note that, all those involved in evangelical work, will be guided towards the interior marvels of the faith. However, we must always point out the elevated wisdom of those of moderation, who upon registering the teachings and advice of the Glad Tiding, carefully seek solutions for the problems of that day or that occasion, without ever permitting their achievements to take place outside of an indispensable Christian foundation.
In all tasks, the use of the spoken word is sacred and essential. However, no student must ever forget the sublime value of silence, at the propitious moments, in the superior work of perfecting his inner self, so that reflections may be heard within his soul, thus guiding his destiny.

Message from the book Our daily bread by the spirit Emmanuel written by automatic writing by Chico Xavier

Monday 26 September 2011

Happiness

Everybody is looking for something. Sometimes it's fortune, sometimes recognition. Sometimes we are looking for professional achievements, sometimes we are looking for personal achievements. But everybody is looking for happiness at the end. 
I have noticed that we look desperately for happiness, every time, by looking around and outside us, but rarely looking for it inside us. We want to have money to have power in order to be envied or admired by people. We want to receive recognition to everything we do to have our ego fed and feel better about ourselves compared to other people. We want to achieve things professionally, to be seen by other people as a successful person, even when we are doing something we hate. Many dream to get married and have a family to be seen also as successful in their personal lives, even when they are not prepared for the commitment that this implies. In the middle of all of this, I wonder where we will find happiness when everything we do is based on the way other people see us. How about how you see yourself? 

We will probably not be able to find happiness in it's totality, because no one on Earth is 100% happy, although many people try to sell this image. There is always a big difference between to SEEM happy and to BE happy, and the more I look around, the more I realise how much effort people make to seem something they are really not. To seem happier than they are or to seem better than they are. I always wondered the reason why human beings tend to think this is necessary...it intrigues me! People sometimes get to the extreme of not being able to give a compliment or to admit that someone is better at something, because they don't want to feel less than those people. But the only one who says they are less than those people are them to themselves. In my point of view, we will never be less than someone by giving a compliment or by admiring that person for the right reasons. It only shows that this person is secure with themselves and mature to be able to give a sincere compliment to someone who deserves it and to admit they are better at something than he or she is, without making them doubt themselves or envy the other person. 
Sometimes people can pretend to not know or to not have seen someone's success or someone's talents just to not have to admit to the world that it's there and they have seen it! Why do people feel the need to act in this prideful way? Do you feel this need yourself?

I am copying two messages from chapter 5 of the book Gospel according to Spiritism here, because I think they are very important and powerful messages to make us think about happiness and other issues we have as human beings. You can read this book for free here Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter 5

Peace! 

Mrs. P


VOLUNTARY TORMENTS
 
Man is incessantly searching for happiness which always escapes him, because pure happiness does not exist here on Earth. However, despite the vicissitudes which form an inevitable procession throughout earthly life, he may at least enjoy relative happiness, if he does not search for it within perishable things subject to the same vicissitudes, that is to say within material enjoyments, instead of seeking it within the delights of the soul. The only real happiness of this world is to be found in heartfelt peace. But Man shows himself avid for all things which agitate and perturb. It is really quite strange! It seems that, while it is possible to avoid problems, Man purposely creates torments for himself.
Are there any worse torments than those created by envy and jealousy? For those who are envious or jealous there is no rest; they suffer a state of perpetual fever. The possessions of others cause sleepless nights; the success of rivals provoke giddiness; emulation, in their eyes, is epitomized in eclipsing those around them; all their happiness consists in provoking a rage of jealousy in those as imprudent as themselves. Poor foolish beings they are indeed! Never imagining that tomorrow they will perhaps have to leave behind all these trifles, the covetousness of which has poisoned their lives. The words: 'Blessed are the afflicted for they shall be consoled' certainly do not apply to these, seeing that their preoccupations are not those which receive deserving recompense in Heaven.
On the other hand, many torments will be avoided by those who are content with what they have, who can see things they do not possess without envy, and who do not try to appear better than they are. These will be constantly rich since, by looking below oneself, it is always possible to see others with less than ourselves. These kind of people are calm because they do not create imaginary necessities for themselves. Is calmness then not a happiness in the midst of the turmoil of life? - FÉNELON (Leon, 1860).
(Message from the book Gospel according to Spiritism, chapter 5 "Blessed are the afflicted", item 23)

HAPPINESS IS NOT OF THIS WORLD 

Mankind in general, from all walks of society, is constantly complaining either that he is not happy, or that happiness was not made for him. This, dear brothers and sisters, proves better than any possible form of reasoning the truth of the maxim from the book of Ecclesiastics: 'Happiness is not of this world.' Indeed, not riches, power or even the blossom of youth are essential conditions for happiness. Furthermore, not even by uniting these three elements, so desired by many, can happiness be assured because we are constantly hearing of people of all ages, even those from the most privileged classes, bitterly complaining of the situation in which they find themselves.
Before this fact it is inconceivable that the militant and working classes envy, with great anxiety, the positions of those who are apparently favoured by fortune. In this world, despite what anyone can do, each must face his own part of work and misery, his quota of suffering and deceptions, from which it is easy to reach the conclusion that the Earth is a planet of trials and atonement.
So then, those who preach that the Earth is Man's only home, and that it is here during only one existence he must reach the highest level of happiness possible to his nature, are merely deluding themselves and those who listen to them, seeing that it has been demonstrated through multi-secular experiences that only in exceptional cases can this globe offer the necessary conditions for complete happiness for any one individual. In general terms, it is possible to affirm that happiness is a Utopia, whose conquest has been striven after by successive generations without them ever having been able to reach their objective. If the sensible man or woman is a rarity in the world, then the absolutely happy person has never been found.
Happiness on Earth consists of something so fleeting for those who are not guided by wisdom, that but for a year, a month or a week of complete satisfaction the rest of their existence is a series of bitter deceptions. And note, dear children, that I refer to those who are considered the lucky ones of the Earth, those who are the envy of the masses.
Consequently, if the earthly dwelling-place is specifically for trials and atonement, then we are forced to admit that somewhere there are more favourable dwelling places where the Spirit, although still a prisoner in a material body, may possess the delights of human life in all its fullness. This is the reason why God has planted those beautiful superior planets in your vortex, towards which your efforts and tendencies will one day cause you to gravitate, when you have become sufficiently purified and perfected.
However, do not deduce from my words that the Earth is perpetually destined to remain a penitentiary. No, certainly not! From the progress that has already been achieved we may readily infer further progression, and from the various social betterments obtained, new and more fertile improvements. This is the immense task allotted to this new doctrine which the Spirits have revealed.
So then, dear children, may you be animated by a saintly emulation so that you may energetically change your ways. Everyone should dedicate themselves to the propagation of Spiritism, which has already begun your own regeneration. It is your duty to help your brothers and sisters to participate in the rays of this sacred light. Accordingly set to work, dear children! Let us hope that within this solemn reunion all hearts may aspire to this great objective, which is to prepare a world for future generations where the word happiness is no longer meaningless. - FRANÇOIS-NICOLAS-MADELEINE, Cardinal MORLOT (Paris, 1863). 
(Message from the book Gospel according to Spiritism, chapter 5 "Blessed are the afflicted", item 20)

Thursday 15 September 2011

Love

 "In the light of this theory, one understands that instinct is always a sure guide; the maternal instinct, the noblest of all, that which materialism lowers to the level of attractive forces of matter, finds itself re-enthroned and ennobled. Because of it's consequences, the maternal instinct shouldn't be delivered over to the capricious action of intelligence and free will. Through the mothers, God himself watches over his newly born creatures. " (From the book The Genesis according to Spiritism by Allan Kardec, chapter 3, Good and Evil)

Genesis can be a little bit of an overwhelming book, but there are great information there, some scientific information were already overcome though, considering it was published in 1868, but it's still a book worth reading. There are many other very contemporary things in these book that we can still learn from. You can read this book for free here Genesis according to Spiritism

Today I was thinking about love. About love in general and how important it is. Friends love, husband and wife's love, parents and children's love, family's love, God's love, love for animals.... 
I have a couple of friends that are pregnant, just had babies and/ or have been mothers for a long time, and they seem to talk a lot about this mother's love, which I don't know anything about and cannot understand at the moment, because I am not a mum. But it makes me happy to see them happy for feeling this love and it makes me question what makes a mother's love be so different from any other. I guess I will only know if it really is a different kind of love, if I become a mum one day, but I read a story today that made me think about mother-child love. 

I read a book where a lady was telling a tale to another lady, who was recovering herself in a hospital in the spiritual world, about a mother and her child who were passing by a cavern. This mother was carrying her child in her arms, when a voice came from the inside of this cavern and told the mother that she should enter the cavern, which was full of gold and jewellery, and she could get whatever she wanted and everything she gets will be hers. But once she left the cavern, a door would come down and she would never be able to enter the cavern again. She should take everything that was most precious with her, because that would be her only chance. The mother entered the cavern with her child in her arms, and after seeing all those valuable jewellery, diamonds and gold, she started putting everything she could in her pockets. For one moment, she put her child down, on the top of some jewellery quickly, so she could put some gold on her skirt and carry them out. The voice said that the woman should leave now and she would be able to keep everything she was able to carry. The woman left the cavern, and she was extremely happy with everything she got, because everything was extremely valuable, when she realised that she left her child inside the cavern. She was in despair, and nothing else mattered to her, but she couldn't get into the cavern to get what was the most precious thing to her... It made me think about this love between mother and child.

Will I be able to feel this love? Do I want to feel this love one day? Sometimes I even ask myself why people feel the need to feel this type of love. Perhaps I've not been using enough of my instinct...

This post is for you, mothers, who have the courage and the will to love so much another human being, without, many times, thinking about yourselves first. For my dear friends, who are so happy for being mothers, and for the mothers who lost their children. To those mothers, I send my special love. For the mothers who suffer because their children are ill or because they are morally lost and chose to follow the wrong path, I send you my special love too. To the mothers that had the chance to know about this type of love, but chose not to, to the mothers who had to or chose to give their children away, to single mothers...I also send you my fraternal love. And my daughter's love to my mother... 

This song can fit almost all types of love, I think. It's beautifully sang by Adele. What wouldn't you do for the ones you love? We even change ourselves for them...

Peace! 

Mrs. P


When the rain
Is blowing in your face
And the whole world
Is on your case
I could offer you
A warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows

And the stars appear
And there is no - one there
To dry your tears
I could hold you
For a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you

Haven't made
Your mind up yet
But I would never
Do you wrong
I've known it
From the moment
That we met
No doubt in my mind
Where you belong

I'd go hungry
I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling
Down the avenue
No, there's nothing
That I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging

On the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
Though winds of change
Are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing
Like me yet

I could make you happy

Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love, To make you feel my love 




Thursday 25 August 2011

Who do you want to be?

Today is not a good day for me to write here, because I feel I don't have anything good to add. But I have still many questions to ask...

Have you ever thought that what makes you happy might not make others happy? But also, have you noticed that the same things that you think make you happy, might be the same things that make others cry?
When you drink until you pass out, you might think that this night out was great with your friends, but you might not realise that, every time you drink too much, you're just a pain for everybody else at the end of the night. Do you care about others or only your personal delight is important?
When you do that thing you shouldn't because everybody else does, knowing it's wrong, you might not realise that the same attitude might affect you negatively one day back, because this was the example you gave in the first place.Will you have the right to complain, knowing that you did the exact same thing before you were the one negatively affected by that attitude?
When you put your ego before anything and everybody else, what do you gain? 
When you start thinking that it's extremely difficult for you to stop doing what is wrong, because of what other people might think or because of social pressure, what does that make you? 
When you always put yourself as the victim in all circumstances, without ever taking responsibility for your own mistakes, always trying to find someone else to blame, who do you benefit?
When you do everything you possibly can to be liked at any price, because you're a needy person, what do you expect from people in general? 
When you would like people to act in a certain way towards you, but you don't act in this way you like towards people, why would you think that the problem is with them? 
When you don't put yourself in other people's shoes, why do you expect them to do that for you? 
When you want to change things in other people, why don't you ever consider changing things in yourself first? 
When you feel that you want to be like everybody else or to do exactly what everybody else does with their lives, why do you assume that others probably feel or should feel the same way you do?
Have you ever thought about these questions before in your life? 


The French writer Antoine Saint-Exupery told us in The Little Prince book: "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed". That's just the truth!

Who do you want to be? Maybe this question is not as difficult to answer as the why you want to...

Peace! 

Mrs. P


I don't need to be anything other than a prison guard's son,
I don't need to be anything other than a specialist's son,
I don't have to be anyone other than the birth of two souls in one,
Part of where I'm going is knowing where I'm coming from,

I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been tryin' to be lately,

All I have to do is think of me and have peace of mind,
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wonder what I gotta do,
Or who I'm supposed to be,
I don't wanna be anything other than me,

I'm surrounded by liars everywhere I turn,

I'm surrounded by impostors everywhere I turn,
I'm surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn,
Am I the only one to notice?
I can't be the only one who's learned,

I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been tryin' to be lately,

All I have to do is think of me and have peace of mind,
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wonder what I gotta do,
Or who I'm supposed to be,
I don't wanna be anything other than me,

Can I have everyone's attention please?

If you're not like this and that, you're gonna have to leave,
I came from the mountains,
The crust of creation,
My whole situation made from clay to stone,
And now I'm telling everybody,

I don't wanna be anything other than what I've been tryin' to be lately,

All I have to do is think of me and have peace of mind,
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wonder what I gotta do,
Or who I'm supposed to be.


Wednesday 27 July 2011

Paul of Tarsus


My favorite apostle is Paul. I think he is the supreme example of someone who had the courage and strong will to change himself. To me, he's someone I can relate to, because he used to be Saul, the proud Doctor of the Law who used to seek and kill Christians because they believed in a leader who he could not understand at the time. But, after becoming Paul, he was the apostle of gentility who changed lives and lived his own life by giving the example first, before telling others how to be or what to do. He was despised by people he loved once and was loved by those who shared his new beliefs and new behaviour, but Paul was always sincere and brave in pursuing what he felt was right.

Once he saw Jesus on the way to Damascus, Saul felt Jesus moral superiority and heard Jesus asking: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" This was enough to make Saul decide to change. This passage of the Bible has a great significance to me, because it makes me think how one experience, one moment of enlightenment can change the course of our entire life for the better, when we decide that is what we want and show courage and strong will to change it. Saul used to be a good man, but intolerant and very proud of being who he was. He decided to use the law of that time, to his favour, to persecute, humiliate and kill Christians, because he could not understand or respect their beliefs. And I think to myself how many "Sauls" still exist nowadays...Aren't we like Saul when we are sarcastic towards people's beliefs? Aren't we like Saul when we try to humiliate and make fun of people for their belief or faith? Aren't we like Saul when we are so proud to be who we are that we think nothing and no one can be better than us and our intelligence? History changes with time, and we might not kill and persecute people for their beliefs as we used to, a long time ago, but we developed other ways to persecute and humiliate people in this respect. Making prejudist jokes and being sarcastic towards people's beliefs (any belief!) is accepted by society. It is also allowed by society that you hide cowardly behind these jokes what you really feel, but you are not allowed, by this same society, to show it openly in other ways of expression (it would be then considered politically incorrect!). Isn't it a bit hypocritical to accept prejudice in the form of comedy as an excuse to vent out your feelings?

The other day, I went to a comedy gig in St Albans where a comedian said: "I love the women who wear Burka because I find them sexy." And the majority of people in the place laughed at his joke. Then, I ask myself if this isn't a typical example of someone hiding cowardly their prejudice behind their jokes. Also, I wonder if people who were laughing at it were not enjoying the fact that someone was being sarcastic towards something they might not agree with or like it... in this case, it would be women wearing Burka. Independently of agreeing or not with the fact that some women wear Burka, what makes us think that it's okay to laugh at a joke like that? 
I am a Christian, but I took offense from this joke and personally didn't think it was funny at all! It is disrespectful and unnecessary... Everybody deserves respect! I have noticed that it is a pattern to see comedians making fun of all religions here. How much more disrespectful and sarcastic will people allow themselves to be in the name of comedy?

When Saul saw Jesus, he asked: "Who are you, Lord?" And Jesus answered: "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting." And Saul asked: "What shall I do, Lord?" This is an extremely important question. Saul didn't ask why, how, when, where...he simply asked what he should do from that moment on. He felt, in that moment, that Jesus was someone superior to him somehow, even if he couldn't understand completely why, at that moment. He didn't argue or showed stubbornness and pride, because that episode was enough to make that good, but proud man, feel he was following the wrong path. When we feel inside us that we are wrong, I would think that we generally are, even though we don't like admitting it to ourselves and prefer to ignore this feeling inside. Jesus answered Saul saying: "Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do." Why can't we get up and decide to do what we are supposed to?

Some people (it includes me) might be asking: but what are we supposed to do? This is one of my favorite passages of the Bible and it was written by Paul, already a Christian and great Apostle by then, and I think it gives us the base to understand what we need to do.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profit me nothing. Charity suffer long and is kind, charity vaunt not itself, is not puffed up, dot not behave itself unseemly, skeet not her own, is not easily provoked, think no evil, rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth; bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. And now abide faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (Paul, I Corinthians, 13:1-7 & 13).

We shall do charity. This is our answer. Not only the type that raises money to help the ones who need it (although this is very noble). We can also practice charity in the kind way that we treat others. This kind way includes, not only politeness, but the type of kindness that is meaningful and sincere. The kindness that makes others feel warm inside. The kindness that is tolerant, not because of social standards or appearances, but because of a good and sincere heart. The type of kindness that thinks: "Would I like it if I was in this person's shoes and this person did to me what I just did to them?" The type of charity that always thinks that we should do to others only what we would like others to do to us and the ones we love. Charity can be expressed in many ways and it's the greatest of all things. Let's pay close attention to the part which says: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." Let's leave our childish ways behind and become grown ups spiritually wise. Let's stop thinking morally like children, and seek to know more about things which really matter and are good, instead of seeking things which are only temporary.

In the Gospel according to Spiritism book, in the chapter 15 called "Without charity, there is no salvation", Allan Kardec comments on this part of the Bible above from the apostle Paul, writing: 

"This is the way in which Saint Paul understood this great truth, which said: 'When I have learned the language of the Angels, when I have the gift of prophecy, which I can penetrate all the mysteries; When I have all the faith that is possible, even to the point of transporting mountains, if l do not have charity, then I am nothing. Within the three virtues: faith, hope and charity, the most superior of these is charity." In this manner and without any possible doubt, Paul places charity above even faith. This is because charity is within the reach of everybody, from the ignorant to the wise person, from rich to poor people; it is also quite independent of any particular beliefs.
He does even more: he defines true charity by showing it as being not only beneficence, but also a collective of all the qualities of the heart, in terms of goodness and benevolence towards all of our fellow beings." 

This is what we need in the world, isn't it? Charity! Let's have it started with us first rather than to wait for others to start practicing charity in every action of everyday... 

There is a book called Paul and Stephen which is my favorite book of all and it talks about the life of Saul while non Christian, and Paul, the apostle. It is a beautiful book and I might talk about it here one day... 
Peace! 

Mrs. P


"Ainda que eu falasse todas as línguas dos homens e a língua dos próprios anjos, se eu não tiver caridade, serei como o bronze que soa e um címbalo que retine; - ainda quando tivesse o dom de profecia, que penetrasse todos os mistérios, e tivesse perfeita ciência de todas as coisas; ainda quando tivesse a fé possível, até o ponto de transportar montanhas, se não tiver caridade, nada sou. - E, quando houver distribuído os meus bens para alimentar os pobres e houvesse entregado meu corpo para ser queimado, se não tivesse caridade, tudo isso de nada me serviria.
A caridade é paciente; é branda e benfazeja; a caridade não é invejosa; não é temerária, nem precipitada; não se enche de orgulho; - não é desdenhosa; não cuida de seus interesses; não se agasta, nem se azeda com coisa alguma; não suspeita mal; não se rejubila com a injustiça, mas se rejubila com a verdade; tudo suporta, tudo crê, tudo espera, tudo sofre. Agora, estas três virtudes: a fé, a esperança e a caridade permanecem; mas, dentre elas, a mais excelente é a caridade (S. PAULO, 1a Epístola aos Coríntios, cap. XIII, vv. 1 a 7 e 13.)





Friday 15 July 2011

Your book

I was talking about a bucket list with a friend some weeks ago. I noticed that people have some items in common in their lists such as to plant a tree or to write a book...have you noticed that? I often ask myself what I would write in my bucket list nowadays.
I found a list some months ago that I wrote while in my "youth days" ;) It was inside my Gospel according to Spiritism book that used to belong to my mum. It was bought in 1983 and it's extremely old, but I don't want a new one...I love this old book as it is! It reminds me of many prayers I was part of, with my mum, (even though I was made to participate at the time! hahaha) and it's a reminder to me of what is important in my life. This list had things that I already achieved (although they were minority) and things that I haven't achieved yet, but I am still willing to. Unfortunately, I threw that list away...should have kept it. 
When we are younger, we have so much more hope that we will achieve everything we want, compared to the hope left when we are older, and we haven't achieved those things. We truly believe that we are able to conquer the world and nothing else matters when we are young. This is not a negative thing, in my point of view, and I don't think that this way of seeing the world should be crushed...Experience sometimes give us wisdom (if you grow up as a person), but it often comes with lack of hope... I think that my new bucket list would include something along these lines: "to always keep hope that every dream, every wish and every effort I make will not be in vain and that my hope never dies inside me".
I am still not sure of what I would include in my bucket list nowadays, as my perceptions of things changed drastically since, but I think one item would still remain from the old list to my new list: I want to make people around me happy! I would also probably write in it that I really want to change myself for the better before I die... Another item on my list would be to stick to what Erastus said: "It's better to reject ten truths than accept one lie". (A. Kardec, Revista Espírita 8, p. 257, (1861))


I read this message below and thought that, even though some people have "to write a book" as an item in their bucket list, we all write our book everyday, and this message open our eyes to that. So, for those who want to write a book, you can cross that item from your bucket list because you are already writing it... 
I will probably add new items to my bucket list with time and share them with you here...
I dedicate this post to the ones I love and also to the ones I still haven't learned how to love...I want to learn how to love everybody for whom they are someday... And I want to say that, even if I don't say it much and even if I don't show it enough, my love is here with me... to my friends and my family in special...

Peace!

Mrs. P

 

Your Book


Your life on Earth is the book you are writing...
Each day is a page...
Each hour is a statement of your personality in 
the form of people and situations that reach you.
Do not lose the opportunity to compose an 
odyssey of love around your name.
Good works are phrases of light you address 
to humankind.
In each reply to others, in each gesture towards 
your neighbours, in each manifestation of 
your opinion, you write the history of your 
passage with eternal ink.
In every impression you make on others, the 
book of your treasures stands up.
Death is the great collector of the sparse 
pages of a biography written by yourself 
about the lives surrounding you.
Do not despise the presence of indulgence 
on the way the Lord gave you to cross.
Build up an area of love around your 
own heart, because only love is sufficiently 
wise and strong to teach you how to 
write your individual story as a helpful 
textbook of hope to those following you.
And the book of your life will turn into 
a poem of happiness and a treasure of 
blessings.
By the spirit EMMANUEL 
 

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Social Sciences


The definition of Social Sciences is the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society. It's food for thought, but it's very hard to take. Sometimes I ask myself if I'm the only one who is affected by certain behaviour in society to the point that I cannot even read about them without getting angry, sad or frustrated! I gather that we don't have a solution for everything in society, but we fail to put into practice even the things that we have a solution for, if it will not benefit the most powerful (it doesn't matter which kind of power it is, because power is not always linked to money! Think about that!). I am not too keen on studying that, I have to say... 

Power itself is not a problem, but the way it's used by people becomes a problem! We can see that in many different little things almost everyday. How long will it take for human race to realise that having power doesn't make you better than anyone, but it means that you have big moral responsibilities over your shoulders? People who have any kind of power, which can make a difference to some one's life, should use it to help everyone they possibly can. We should not take advantage of it and use it to have personal advantages over others...at the end of the day, we are all made of the same flesh and blood than everyone else, we will die like every mortal and the only thing left that we will have in the Eternal Life is who we are...  

These academic studies of mine about Social Sciences remind me of the third chapter of the Spirits Book, called RETURN FROM THE CORPOREAL TO THE SPIRIT LIFE, pages 112 to 116. There are some questions answered in this book that have everything to do with what will happen to us as individuals after the death of our body and what we will take with us. I think it's very interesting and that is why I am copying these questions here for you, but you can read them for free here The Spirits's Book, chapter III 

The Soul After Death
 
149. What becomes of the soul at the moment of death?'
"It becomes again a spirit; that is to say, it returns into the world of spirits, which it had quit for a short time."
 
150. Does the soul, after death, preserve its individuality?'
"Yes, it never loses its individuality. What would the soul be if it did not preserve it?"

-Does the soul take nothing of this life away with it?
"Nothing but the remembrance of that life and the desire to go to a better world. This remembrance is full of sweetness or of bitterness according to the use it has made of the earthly life it has quit. The more advanced is the degree of the spirits purification, the more clearly does it perceive the futility of all that it has left behind it upon the Earth." 

151. What is to be thought of the opinion that the soul after death returns to the universal whole?
"Does not the mass of spirits, considered in its totality, constitute a whole? Does it not constitute a world? When you are in an assembly you form an integral part of that assembly, and yet you still retain your individuality." 

153. In what sense should we understand Eternal Life?
"It is the life of the spirit that is eternal; that of the body is transitory and fleeting. When the body dies, the soul re-enters the Eternal Life." 

159. What sensation is experienced by the soul at the moment when it recovers its' consciousness in the world of spirits?
"That depends on circumstances. He who has done evil from the love of evil is overwhelmed with shame for his wrong-doing. With the righteous it is very different. His soul seems to be eased of a heavy load, for it does not dread the most searching glance."

Aren't these questions and answers interesting to ponder about?
I personally think that, in life, everything depends on your intentions, because it's clear that everybody makes mistakes. You are not to be responsible for certain things, if you had the best of intentions, but you couldn't do better because of factors that scape your control (unless your intention wasn't to do the best you could in the first place!). But you will be responsible for the things you had control over and didn't want to do better; you were indifferent to them (doing nothing sometimes means doing bad!) or chose to do them knowing that they were not right. Maybe that's why Social Sciences is affecting me so much...to me, it seems that we, as societies around the world, often choose to keep doing what is unreasonable and wrong intentionally and knowingly...
I chose to share this video below with you, not only because I love this song, but also because of it's lyrics...
Peace! 
Mrs. P  
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere

Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me, what's my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles its a very, very
Mad world, mad world, enlarging your world
Mad world