Queen Of The North

The title, sounds nice right? (or does it sound too ‘Game-of-thrones-y’?)

There I was, daydreaming, imagining what it’s like to live in the Victorian Era or the time of the Vikings, to rule in a time when a leader ACTUALLY leads by example; at the frontline of a battle surrounded by loyal friends and kinsmen, everyone gunning for something, everyone with a goal and would fight to the last to achieve it. Imagine that kind of world? BEAUTIFUL; the horse riding, gigantic castles with actual moats,

 and since I’m a fan of fantasy, mystical powers too (for good, of course)

 (by the way, watch out for Dr. Strange, coming soon)

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking right now “she’s living in a dream world”. You’re right, I am. Why? Because I dare to dream.

The fun part of my life? I never give up on dreaming;

• ·         I dream about who I’ll be some day.
• ·         I dream about how I’ll affect my world positively.
• ·         I dream about becoming someone important, a legend, even while I’m alive.
• ·         I dream about fulfilling destiny.
• ·         I dream about continuously impacting generations and generations to come, even when I’m no longer on this earth.
• ·         I dream about enjoying my life, travelling, eating all kinds of dishes around the world, bungee jumping someday, laughing, having fun with friends and loved ones and so many other things (too personal to share, sorry)

I don’t let my present situation dictate what I know my life would be like very soon. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t live in a bubble (okay, maybe I do a little, bite me!), all I’m saying is I don’t want to ever get to that stage in life where I become too cynical to notice the beautiful things around me (even if it’s just one thing) or the beautiful future ahead of me always.

It’s all about perspective My Dears, it’s about what you choose to dwell on. My advise (if you choose to take it) Put a picture in your head about the future you see, let it reside there permanently from now on and one day, you won’t have that picture in your head anymore, why? Because it would be the reality you’re living in.

Cheerie ho Friends!

But seriously, what do you think?

I See...Greeeeeennn! (in Dracula voice)

We’ve all seen it one time or the other (or it’s blinding us presently). Have you heard the phrase ‘He/she is green with envy’?

Yep, don’t pretend, you’ve been crazy envious about something or someone before. Thoughts like these:

1.  “I wonder what he/she is feeling like? Is it only him/her?”
2.     “Lord why can’t You bless me like Mr/Ms H?...and I’m a better behaved person that him/her”                Or in extreme cases;
3.   “I wish him/her will just die and clear road”

Nasty to see the thoughts written right? If feels icky on the page, but not when it’s running through our heads.

At some point, we’ve dabbled with that thought-consuming, joy-stealing emotion where we hate our lives and wished we had ‘the other person’s’ life.  It’s a BIG waste of time. Waste of useful energy, waste of head-space, waste of constructive-thinking time.

If only you could be a fly on the wall of people’s lives, you’d see that everything isn’t always as perfect as it looks on the outside. I hear someone say “Yeah, but when you have so much money like Bill Gates, all is well” I feel you friend, one question though; you think Bill Gates doesn’t have his own problems? Pshaw if you could exchange your life with his for a week, trust me the euphoria of being the richest person on earth will eventually wear off when you have to deal with REAL LIFE issues which includes; Family drama, Business decisions, Career path plans, Emotional well-being, Struggling to stay ahead of the game, Health issues etc.

There are things in life you can’t just throw money at and chill. Contrary to popular belief, money doesn’t solve all problems. If it did, we won’t need Therapists or Rehabs. We won’t even need Places of Worship.

•  Stop wanting/wishing for someone else’s life, start appreciating yours (or appreciating it more)
• Stop imagining you’re someone else. It’s a waste of time, you can’t (and will never) be that person. You can only be you, so go be the best you there is.
• You have only this life to live. Imagine you’ve wasted MANY years envying your Co-worker, Ex-best friend, Current Pal, The Youth Leader at your place of worship, Your Boss, That Suave Neighbour (who has it all together), Your Sibling(s), Tuface, Beyonce, MI, Papa Ajasco, A Passerby…the list goes on.

Imagine using up all that beautiful energy,  doing something pointless like wishing you were living someone else’s life?!  Phew!

Come on, it’s reality check time; Get rid of envy, spend the remaining years of your life having fun being you. Reinvent yourself if you will, step up your game, lose weight if that’s what it takes to feel better about yourself, start eating nicer meals if that’s your thing, go to the beach, read a book, watch more cartoons (I love it!!), watch comedies, smile more, hang out with friends (if the present ones are haters, then make new ones), sing out loud (even if you have a bad voice. Singing does magic), cut out pictures of the cars, houses and clothes you’ll want to own and wear some day, and keep them in a folder (or just download them on your pc and save in a folder). Take practical steps to improve your emotional well-being.

Please stop complaining about you, God loves you the way you are, I love you the way you are. Whatever your present situation is, don’t worry, God’s got you covered. Everything will soon make perfect sense, just hold on and let go…LET GO OF ENVY. Love your life!

Here's a genuine/certified picture of the green-eyed monster:

 Stop associating with it!!!

And on this note, I leave you with this wonderful quote, it sums it all up.  

    

“If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher.” 
― Debbie Macomber

I wish you a beautiful weekend darlings.

Ciao!

Pause To Enjoy

Hi Dears!!

Happy Monday!! (You can tell I'm excited by the number of exclamation marks I'm using, Yup I had an awesome weekend!!...hope you did too)

Today (and for the first time on the blog) I'm hosting a guest: Kanayo Aniegboka, he's blessed with an interesting sense of humour, a unique view of life and a deep thinker too. Just read his article below and get gung-ho for the week!

Here it is:

 “It is always wise to stop wishing for things long enough to enjoy the fragrance of those now flowering”    -Patrice Gifford

‘Hunger for more’ is a natural human instinct. It’s a necessary faculty you must further develop in order to go far in life.  

 When I talk of 'hunger for more', I mean the desire to add to the things you have already achieved in life, not the craving for extra chicken and fries.

Every great success was driven by the desire to grow, to accomplish greater things, and to exceed all you have ever done. Truth is that anyone without the hunger for more might not only die unfulfilled but will most likely achieve very little with their lives.

 For you to truly succeed, you must hunger for it like King Ragnar (in the mega-fantastic series ‘Vikings’) desired to go West.

Nevertheless, the insatiable desire to achieve more and furthermore, the success wisdom of ‘delayed gratification’,makes us postpone every manner of pleasure till sometime in the future--to a time when we have either qualified to enjoy it or amassed all the wealth we can. Unfortunately, this is almost as wrong as having no desire at all. 

Success is not a destination, it’s a journey and for you to truly be successful, you must learn to find the balance that allows you enjoy the result of your effort at every level.

·         Your days are numbered: you really don’t know when your visa on earth will expire. You may not have legal status to be here until you can retire to enjoy all your wealth. Word of advice, go have some fun while you can.

·         Your tastes change: there are some things you love now and would want to enjoy; like riding a bike, wearing tight jeans, going mountain climbing,

some of which might not be interesting to you when you are older. Why not do them now.

·         You may not always be able to afford it: so you finally got the private pool that you always wanted,

       But you are so old your hip has given up on you and you can no longer swim. You can now afford to buy a pound of cream cake for lunch, but you can’t because you were diagnosed with diabetes a month ago. What you can afford to do now and what you can afford to do later may differ, so enjoy what you can now.

·         Every success needs to be celebrated: we are all creatures of conditioning.  The same way a dog perpetuates good behaviour when you give them tidbits, we tend to want to repeat whatever we do that makes us happy. When we celebrate after every little achievement we attain, we automatically condition our minds to repeat success. If you give a wonderful presentation at the board meeting, eat some ice cream, you deserve it.

·         Your life is not in the future, it’s NOW: you know how everyone prepares for the future? Come closer let me tell you a secret, there’s nowhere called ‘the future’. The day the so called ‘future’ comes, it will still be called ‘today’ and it will feel like today. Plan to enjoy every day of your life. Don’t live in abject poverty now in order to splurge at 70. Your knees and pacemaker aint gonna let you.

Life is best when it is balanced, not when it tips at one end. Make plans for tomorrow, but don’t forget today as you do.

‘We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.’ –Neil A. Maxwell.

Written by, 

Kanayo Aniegboka. (www.reallifewithkani.com )

And there you have it friends, a good dose for the week, don’t you think? Pause to enjoy life, be spontaneous sometimes! Stop postponing that thing you've been wanting to do. DO IT NOW (Today if possible or before this week ends).  I encourage you to visit Kani’s blog www.reallifewithkani.com, you’ll be glad you did.

Take care Dears!                                                                 

PS: Please share this with someone else, you never know, you might be saving the person’s life.

Twenty Dollar bill

Hello Dears!

The weekend is upon us already. Hope you’ve been having a great week? Do you smile more these days? Learn to chill, okay? Since the time of old, worry has never solved anything, it only consumes.

I’m so excited to share this with you. I was doing some research online this week when I came across this story. It opened my eyes A LOT.  

Here it is:

COUNT YOUR BLESSING, NOT YOUR PROBLEMS

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.  In the room of 200, he asked, “who would like this $20 bill?”

Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this”. He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air.

“Well”, he replied, “What if I do this”. And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled, and dirty. “Now who still wants it?”

Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20”.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.  The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special, Yes,  you!  Don't EVER forget it.

Count your blessings, not your problems and never be afraid to try something new.

The most destructive habit.........……….................Worry
The greatest Joy...................................………......Giving
The greatest loss................……….....Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work.............……......Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.................……….Selfishness
The most endangered species.………....Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource.............………....Our youth
The greatest "shot in the arm"....………...Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome........……….........Fear
The most effective sleeping pill.....……....Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease.....……..........Excuses
The most powerful force in life.................….….......Love
The most dangerous pariah.........…..…….........A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer. ………....The brain
The worst thing to be without......…….......…........... Hope
The deadliest weapon.........................………...The tongue
The two most power-filled words.............………... “I Can”
The greatest asset....................................…………...Faith
The most worthless emotion................………......Self-pity
The most beautiful attire.............................……...SMILE!
The most prized possession....................……….. Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication.…....Prayer
The most contagious spirit............………........Enthusiasm

Hope this made your day? Please share it with someone else who needs it.

I wish you all a MOST BEAUTIFUL weekend!

*many hugs and kisses*

MOMENTS

Hi Dears!

                     I want to talk about Moments, but I’ll let the quotes and pictures first do the talking. Read carefully, digest the words, enjoy.

                                  

                                                                                         

                    

                     In conclusion My Dears, there’s no perfect recipe for happiness, if there was, no one in this world will ever be sad. Still, one thing stands true, if you make an absolute choice to be happy, no matter what you’re going through, YOU WILL.  I can hear someone say “Yeah right, it depends on what you’re going through”. Don’t sneer, I know challenges and situations vary for different people, but I can tell you for a fact that this technique works, it takes conscious effort but it works. If it hasn’t worked for me, I won’t be sharing it with you. DECIDE TO BE HAPPY, live in the moment. Hey, we’re only allowed one life on this earth, why not live it to the fullest? (I’ll add that we should live it positively too).

                    Starting today, pick your moments, embrace them, enjoy them and you’ll notice the difference. The emotional benefits are amazing! And when your mind is right, then your outlook on life will definitely adjust. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a magical solution to the challenge, it just changes how you choose to deal with that challenge, in better spirits with a clearer mindset and in a surprisingly good mood! Or simply, it just teaches you how to smile more and live in the moment.

I leave you with these cute happy children. May they put smiles on your faces.

Note:  You should add this song to your music playlist; “You Gotta Be” By Des’ree.  It’s an old song, one of my favourites, powerful, beautiful lyrics and great beats. Download it, then send me a ‘Thank  you’ card.

Happy New Week!          

That's his Reality.

Look at them. I mean, REALLY LOOK. 

He’s going to wake up in a few minutes and start shining shoes (maybe with help from his father or guardian). He (or they) will do that all day, find something to eat, go to sleep and start all over tomorrow. That’s his reality.

He’s happy to have gotten ‘food’, it’s his only focus at the moment. That’s his reality.

 Say what? …the colour?  All he sees is ‘water’ to drink. Now,  he can quench his thirst. That’s his reality.

                     Surfing through Facebook recently, I came across these pictures. They touched the deepest part of my soul. There I am complaining while this is the present reality for these boys. It was enough to make me pause and think.

I need to learn to be grateful, to thank God more each day. We all do. For the gift of life, even if for nothing else. The popular statement goes “I might not be where I want to be but I thank God I’m not where I used to be” We can all attest to that. Compared to these children, what are we complaining about?

As we go about our day today, let’s count our blessings. And while counting those blessings, let’s try to be a blessing to others. Many of us pray to be rich, but apart from acquiring all the material things we’ve been dreaming about (and I certainly dream about many, trust me), I believe God blesses us not just for ourselves, but to bless others too (all done with common sense, of course!)

Make someone smile today, a simple compliment will do. You never know what that person is going through and that act of kindness might go a long way in the person’s life. What goes around, comes around.

I pray for better lives for these boys (and many others like them). May they grow healthy, strong and become great leaders. 

                   Finally My Dears, the next time we feel the pull to sink into that zone of “Why always me?”, remember there’s someone (in fact, people) out there who wish they had even a fraction of what we have.

Give thanks Friends! Have a blessed day.

We’ll gist again soon!

PS: Was this useful to you in any way?….please remember to pass it on to someone else you feel it will bless.

Let Me Outta Here!!!

That’s the way I feel sometimes. Do you ever get that feeling of being choked? Like life gathered its brothers and sisters and they all descended on your mind? The feeling of confinement even though you’re physically standing on a large field?

Can I get a witness or is it just me?  Okay, even if just one other person knows what I’m talking about, then I’m justified.  Life can be like that and it mostly happens when you begin to take tally:

1.        What have I achieved in my life so far?
2.       Am I living my dream or just living for someone else, getting paid when?
3.       Who am I really?
4.       How old am I now? What did I say I’d have done with my life before getting to this age?
5.       The year is coming to an end and I’m still like this?! (Shey na like dis I go dey dey?)

The list of questions never ends.

Truth is, I don’t have a remedy or solution for those thoughts. I wish I did. At times like this, it helps to know you’re not the only one who feels like this. It also helps to remember that God doesn’t sleep and you weren’t created to just roam around until your time on earth is done. YOU WILL GET THERE.

God doesn’t work with human logic and time. When He says it’s time, it’s time. You better believe that. No matter what it might look like or how many disadvantages you count around you now, God will do what He promised to do. You will remember these words when everything finally makes sense and you just can’t stop laughing for joy.

Now, put a big smile on your face (or in your heart, if you don’t feel like moving your lips) and have a swell day!

PS: I really hope this has blessed you or put some light in your day at least. If it has, yowza!!...you can also send this link to someone you feel it might bless. Let’s spread the joy.

Talk to you soon.

HERE NOW, FINALLY HERE!

Good Evening My Dears!

Yes! Finally, I have a blog!

But this blog isn't about me. No, it's not. It's about you and I, how we try to overcome living in this 21st century reality. It's about each one reach one, it's about give and take, it's about living and not just surviving, it's about enjoying the world we live in today (even with all the clearly-evident craziness).

One Less Sad Person (1LSP) is about making one more person in the world, less sad. Step by step, by God's grace, we will spread the love round the world.

This is OUR blog, it's where we (the 'imperfect' ones) come to gist. It's where we come to ask and answer questions (or try to make sense of it as much as we can).

I'm happy I finally did this. Why? Because now I get to chat with ALL OF YOU out there. And yeah! I do love making friends!

I'll try to update as often as possible. I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can. I'll participate in the conversation to the best of my knowledge. I trust that we'll always have a swell time.

The Culture at 1LSP:
1. God is King here. Yep, I'm crazy about my Heavenly Father.
2. Respect is reciprocal. Give and you will receive respect.
3. NO swear words, not even if you're joking.
4. Tell us how you feel. For real, we want to know what's going on with you. Someone might just have the solution to that challenge.
5. Have fun please! (but not at someone else's expense).