The young, healthy greenery that carpeted these hills once, now at the end of its time, still vibrant, falling off its holds, gracefully weaving a colorful blanket covering the hills and mountains far and near before giving its last in nourishing the grounds. I’ve seen it from beginning to end, the cycle of life, how nature accepts it with pride, playing its part, and giving it all to the end!

Another life lesson realized: wisdom falls on me like I am at the end of time. My breath is shallow, and my eyes tear with a peaceful wave. My thoughts are questioning: can it be now, today, or years from now, but it doesn’t matter? I feel ready now to accept the unknown and embrace what’s beyond. No need for struggle, begging for more time, or fear to say goodbye to this borrowed life? Parents, children, life partners, and even the pets we loved dearly were borrowed to fulfill this life. Nothing belongs to us; everything we received in this lifetime we must return at the end.

Accepting this realization is not easy. We each face those moments differently, depending on how we have lived. Returning moments can come in many ways, like fear, troubles, struggles, regrets, and physical and emotional pain. When I think of my parents, I remember the tears and the happy smiles on their fallen faces; I did not see hope there, but love, only love. In their lifetime, they suffered and struggled, but they faced all those life sorrows with a smile on their face and strength in their heart. I have never heard them complain about anything or anyone, never showed disappointment, or blamed anyone but lived their life to the fullest. In the end, did they realize that their lives were borrowed, the time was borrowed, that we, the children, were borrowed and had to let go? Is that why the last hugs from my mother felt a bit longer than usual? Is that why they didn’t struggle, scream, or cry at their last breath? They just went to bed and peacefully, gracefully said goodbye to this borrowed life as they left their bodies. I see that as a blessing! How can we all breathe our last that peacefully, to let go of our time, life, family, friends, connections we made, and lastly, our body to go beyond to the unknown?
With this realization, my soul is awakened, and I find peace. I feel ready to give back all that I have borrowed without regrets. I feel no need to struggle or beg for more time; I will have no last words or requests to fulfill. When that time finds me, just like my parents, hopefully, I can leave in peace!

It’s been a while since I wrote anything. I hope you find a lesson here. Please leave a comment!

Bea

A butterfly, just out of a cocoon
flutter its wings Soar high without terminus
Dash of rainbow colors sprinkle its wings,
Snowy clouds erase its path
As it grasps new heights
A murmuring breeze spins around it
Smothering in infinite bliss,
As it glides up and above
Bounded in beauty, harmony, and serenity
It perceives no confines as it reaches for the stars
No agony, grief, or qualms on site
Nothing to gain; dreams realized
Cause up there beyond the horizon
The time stood; still; life fulfilled
Ecstatically it rises against the sunset
Time is up; the rule of nature calls in
Nothing last forever!
Losing its grasp, it falls, shedding its wings,
Lands on a shrub branch, a caterpillar.
It moves slowly, and reality hits.
Hunger, ache, and misery return in a flash
Destiny calls as it curls into a cocoon
hangs in a thread waiting, life cycle in reverse
Life was, life is, and life will be
As it should be, to the rule of nature!!

I haven’t written for a while, and hope you see what I saw in these words. Please leave a comment.

Thanks for reading, Bea

Picture credits: Quang Nguyen Vinh

Living convert to nuisance
Bruised and wounded, buried in a stinky hole
Ambiguous life continues without remorse
And you lay waiting

Reasons unheard and crumbled.
Gained experience win no point to the outcome
Ugly truth darkens your credence
Words lose their grip at the tip of your tongue

Dried tears will not leave a trace.
Just as the scars in your heart are not visible to any
Like a falling leaf, you float high and low
No one hears its mourn or the shudder when it hits the ground.

When you hit a low point in life and have a hard time dealing with it, write down what comes to your heart to find solace in your own words!

Bea

This holiday season, New Year approaching, we miss our normalcy to celebrate and enjoy family visits and gatherings. For two years, we’ve been patient, waiting, holding back our urges to travel, take down our masks, and breathe freely.

Covid has taken over the world, and uncertainty is more prominent, not knowing when or if we will ever be free from this pandemic. It seems like covid will touch every one of us before it leaves us be. In the meantime, life goes on as we get disconnected, distanced from our loved ones. In this holiday season, we need to find joy, peace, and tranquility to accept life as it is.   

Life is a rhythm; it writes your song of life. Every action, every thought, and all emotions contribute to that rhythm. When we take, walk, sing or sit quietly, our thoughts play a rhythm it creates a guiding force to better our life. Sorrow, joy, rage, and all these emotions write a different rhythm in our path. Think about a few moments, how your heart beats when you hear a song that touches your heart, what makes your eyes tear, how your heart warms to a hug, why you inhale the scent of blooming followers, and how thoughts turn into a song. Our life is a song that we write even after passing on. You can live this moment with such excitement if you can find those notes to our life song. Tears of sorrow write the best stories, beautiful memories bring good laughs, and moments of joy create the saddest songs that fill your heart with warm feelings. Life has to find balance, and there is nothing wrong, painful, or worse in what we go through in life. But if we can find our rhythm, it keeps us afloat.  

Find your rhythm to write your life song!  

Happy New Year!!

Bea

These were his thoughts he put down in writing during the few months when he was mourning for his son. I would like to share them with you.

THE MEANING OF DEATH: by Neville Fernando
“I believe that life and death coexist. If there is life, death certainly follows it. Life appears to have originated armed with death. Thus, death has a vital role in the process and purpose of the journey of life. Let us try to understand what death is. Death appears to free life from the body, which was designed according to the instructions given by the DNA. The DNA provides specific instructions to use the natural resources available on earth to construct the body in its unique way. This body made up of natural elements forms a temporary vehicle for life. Life animates the body to carry on its daily activities until the body becomes unfit or incapable of continuing those activities. Then, death occurs, and the body crumbles to return all the elements it borrowed back to earth. On the other hand, life is not made up of borrowed elements and does not appear to crumble. Life seems to be liberated or freed and does not end. When we consider these ideas, we cannot understand what happens to life after the body’s death. The body cannot house life for an indefinite length of time. The length of time a body can host life varies from one to another. Why? What happens to life when its host body dies is mainly speculation. Different religions offer varying answers. Rationalists and Scientists provide other solutions. All their answers fail to convince me but only create new questions. Therefore, I continue to seek satisfying or convincing answers to these questions of life and death. According to Buddhist philosophy, let me briefly explain the relationship between life and death, which originated from Hindu philosophy.
Karma is one word used to explain every event in the life of a human being. Karma is the sum total of every action and reaction experienced in the life of an individual. These actions and reactions are responsible for the successes and failures, pains and pleasures, and all the experiences of a person’s life. It is written, “As you sow, so shall you reap. “According to the Eastern philosophies I mentioned, Karma accompanies every birth and death. Birth and death are continuous cycles, and what a person enjoys or suffers in life is related to the Karma that accompanies him from his previous state of existence. Buddhists believe that life is a cycle of suffering as long as you carry the karmic baggage of debts. Once you pay off the karmic debts fully, you are liberated from the cycle of birth and death to attain Eternal Bliss or Nirvana. Once birth stops, there is no death. Life cannot die.
Another theory that originated in Hindu philosophy is the theory of reincarnation. Reincarnation means that the nonphysical essence of a living being after biological death and transformation begins a new life in a different physical form or body. This is also called rebirth. During the fifth – fourth century, Plato believed in the reincarnation of the immortal soul and argued about it, making logical conclusions. Socrates used the logic of opposites to debate the possibility of reincarnation. Pythagoras believed in reincarnation and claimed to remember previous reincarnations. In the Jewish world, the idea of reincarnation is accepted teaching of the Hasidic community and in Kabbalah teachings of Jewish mysticism. Both Judaism and Christianity believe in a doctrine more challenging compared to reincarnation. That belief is the resurrection of the dead. This is the belief that our dead bodies will someday be revived and brought back to life. Look at John: 11,25-26. Jesus told Martha, sister of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? “A little later, Jesus resurrects Lazarus from the grave. In the light of the records shown above, it is clear that death cannot end life. Death appears to reinvigorate life to spring forwards in its journey. What really is the Truth? Suppose reincarnation supported by the laws of Karma is true. Then, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Gautama Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, and other great personalities that appeared from time to time to teach the importance of love, compassion, humility, justice, and forgiveness to mankind may have been the same reincarnated person returning to complete the work that was predetermined at a certain point of time. Therefore, another coming of that being in the future in a different body or form is possible to complete the work.
On the other hand, if the resurrection is true, the resurrected person will have the same body with all the memories but with the gift of immortality to reach the desired destination uninterrupted by death. This thought appears to be more challenging and desirable. If none of these lines of thought are correct, what other possibilities are there?”

If you read this blog, please leave a comment, I like to know your thoughts on this subjects. Thank you.

Bea

Saggy skin barely holding the bones.
Hollow eyes hiding the life it lived
Silver hair curling up in neckline.
Stay still if you hear the music.

Thoughts and dreams diverse in a blend
Truth and reality are lost in a sinking memory.
Trials of recognition fading in destiny
Trembling hands reaching for the unknown

Fragile body frame struggling for balance
Wobbling steps doesn’t see the distance.
Shaky hands reaching out in dismay.
To embrace an image surfing in the shadow.

Still young at heart and mind is vital.
Thoughts are fresh and feelings intact.
The skeletal figure shows no comparison.
She smiles back at the reflection in the mirror.

Bea

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Distresses come from expectations. Our expectations of ourselves and others are a set of rules we have created in our hearts about how others should treat us. We dream of acceptance, recognition, and unique treatments from everyone. We also expect others to act according to our beliefs. “Things didn’t go the way you expected, the speech was not to your satisfaction, the food didn’t taste good on your tongue,” and such unnecessary things disappoint us. We build ourselves for high expectations and train our thoughts and minds to always accept only success. When something doesn’t turnout per our expectations, we are sour, sad, unhappy, and even react violently. These feelings can lead to trauma, self-harm and addictions, and even death. It is our own way of thinking that makes us vulnerable to disappointment. How can we undo our programming and retrain our minds to act neutrally with any outcome? Can you try to be neutral when you are waiting for something?

We hope and dream for our children to reach for the stars, believe in our spouses to treat us right, trust our friends to be there for us, but we cannot expect everything to be right as we wished. So, why not accept our children for who they are, and encourage their success and failures without disappointment. Encourage them to do their best and if they didn’t achieve their goals, take it for what it is, without falling apart. If you know the answer to a question you will get, why bother asking it? Instead, accept it without being asked. You expected a promotion or a raise at work, and when you didn’t get it, don’t let that cloud your mind. If you have done your job to the best of your ability, you are honest to yourself, and it doesn’t matter if your boss did not recognize your talent and work ethics, as long as you value yourself and be proud of who you are. When your child gets in trouble for something you didn’t expect him to do, what’s the point of being disappointed? Instead, figure out what went wrong and take actions to prevent that from happening again. If a child did not reach his/her potential according to your expectation, don’t beat yourself about it. Be the parent and show love and understanding the child needs. Encourage him and find support for where the help is needed. When someone is keeping secrets from you, why waste your time and energy worrying about it. Don’t work your mind to figure out the unknown; let it go. You are better off not knowing whatever they are hiding.

Don’t go looking for ways to get hurt. Try and avoid it so you won’t be disappointed. Suppose we can take away our own desires and needs from any situation and be selfless? Stay positive. Give the other party to do things per their willingness, and accept the outcome without any reservation. Be happy for what is and not what it should or could be. We do our best and obtain the result, both positive and negative. Everyone has to pass or fail, win or lose and make mistakes. Accept that middle ground where you have zero expectations and only acceptance. The bottom line is, look deep within yourself, be true to yourself, be honest to others, be trustworthy. If you can believe in yourself, nothing others do or don’t do should affect you. Stay neutral always about anything and everything, without expectation and willingness to accept any outcome. Look at everything positively.

I know we are human, and it is hard to shut down our feelings of need for love and satisfaction, but we certainly can try to minimize the pain we bring to ourselves by taking steps to avoid them. It will take some practice to master your courage, but once you get the hang of it, you will feel happy and peaceful all the time. Nothing can touch you, and you will be free from disappointments!

These are my own experience and opinions that have helped me shaped my life journey. My wish is to share the lessons I’ve learned with my readers.

Bea

Veracity tastes bitter with discerning notions.
Blind with fury storming the streets
Energizing the base with vulgar speech
They move forward with a raging force.

Guns aimed at innocent persons.
Shots blasting and fume rising.
Windows shattering wounded falling
What they accomplish is confinement.

Stand firm in the face of insurrection.
Bound through grievance rising above ashes
Show our strength and unity against violence.
Believe in democracy as the path of victory.

Survival through hate, greed, and selfishness is short-lived. Morality, decency needs to be the value of humankind. With the veil removed, the undeniable truth of our divided nation has come to life. We need to come together and stand against ferocity at this junction, so we may rise above this, restore power, respect, and decency to this great nation. As Americans, we can demonstrate the value of democracy and withhold the US Image on the world stage.

Bea

Leave comments for this post here, for personal contact go here