Prayers are always answered

Taken from the reflections for February 21, 2013 in the Bible diary 2013 by Fr. Paulson V. Veliyannoor,CMF, PhD

No parents would give their child a stone when she asks for bread or a snake when she asks for fish. But what if the child asks for a stone or a snake? Quite possibly, they would hand her a bread or fish and hope that once her anger and disappointment die down, she would understand.
Sometimes we adults are no better when it comes to discerning what is truly good for us. Blinded by our desires, we ask God for many things, some of which could be as harmful as stones or snakes. Thankfully, God our devoted parent, knows what is truly best for us and may choose to give us something far nobler and healthier than what we had initially asked for.
If we feel disappointed at such moments, it is good to remind ourselves that God does answer our prayers, but not always in the manner we want Him to answer but always in the manner that is most beneficial to us.
Let us trust his discernment and rest easy.

Monarchs and Viceroys

In an episode of “Lie to Me,” Dr. Lightman compares people to the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. The Monarch butterfly and the Viceroy butterfly are nearly identical and often mistaken for each other. However, the Monarch is toxic, due to its diet of milkweed, while the Viceroy is non-toxic. Because they are so similar, a predator often mistakes one for the other and avoids both since it assumes they are poisonous.

Like butterflies, some people are Monarchs while others are Viceroy. Lessons we can take from it:

1. From a prey’s point of view, it is strategic to mimic yourself after someone more capable than yourself rather than than to dwell in self-pity and suffer in your own circumstances. Kids who are bullied need to step up and at least look tough in order to hold their own ground; the evil feeds off the weak so it is better to seem strong than not seem strong at all.  If the Viceroy just allowed itself to be a victim, then it would not have survived.

2. From a predator’s point of view, getting to know people is not black and white. Though you may infer that someone is a ‘bad person,’ there may be more than what meets the eye. Like Viceroys, people put up walls in order to defend themselves; they often lack the confidence to step out from behind their mask. When meeting people, it is important to dig deep and see someone for who they really are rather than profiling them into a stereotype.
Source: http://networkofideas.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/the-monarch-butterfly-vs-the-viceroy/

Spiritual road

"You have passed through the two hardest tests on the spiritual road: the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what you encounter"- from Veronika decides to die by Paulo Coelho

Add to your bucket list

I am not actually sure which came first, the movie or the phrase itself, but I am guessing it’s the phrase. Lol.
Also I have not actually watched the film and due to the mainstream use of the phrase I am guessing it means a list of things you want to do before you die.
If you are one of those travel enthusiasts but would like to try to go to countries where you are not drowned by the throngs of tourists and/or commercial gimmicks you might want to check these 25 countries.
 
According to http://www.garfors.com/2013/01/the-25-least-visited-countries-in-world.html, these are the 25 least visited countries in the world. Since the author was able to personally to go to these countries, if you have the bank account ( or very generous sponsor) to sustain your travels then you should probably add as an item or items  visit to at least one of these countries in your bucket list.
 
25. Dominica, no, not the Dominican Republic
24. Chad
23. Central African Republic
22. Liechtenstein
21. Djibouti
20. Sierra Leone
19. Tonga
18. East Timor
17. Bhutan
16. North Korea and you thought its at number 1
15. Libya
14. Guinea-bissau
13. Mauritania
12. Federated States of Micronesia
11. Solomon Islands
10. Afghanistan, yep not in number 1 either.
9. Comoros
8. Sao Tome & Principe
7. Turkmenistan
6. Equatorial Guinea
5. Marshall Islands
4. Kiribati
3. Tuvalu
2. Somalia
1. Nauru
 
 

 

What you don’t know won’t hurt you

I used to think that this statement doesn’t apply to me as I keep telling myself that I would rather know the truth than be lied to.
But what happens when you know “everything”?
 
I watch the American tv series “Lie to Me” it is about a group of scientists who can tell if you are lying by observing your micro-expressions and non-verbal behavior. There was one episode when it was revealed why the main character, Cal Lightman got divorced. As her ex-wife said, because he tends to read too much on my expressions always trying to determine if I am telling the truth and that means he doesn’t trust me.
 
Makes you think… if you also have that ability to “read” lies, can you resist the urge to trust no one but yourself?
 
I also happen to hear the statement “if I could only read a person’s mind”. Do you think that “power” would give you comfort? Yes in some ways probably, you would know why your baby is crying for hours, or if you’re working for the CIA , know what are the terrorists next move. But it will also have its consequences, because like Cal Lightman it can make you paranoid actually more paranoid than him, since you know exactly what someone is thinking, more stressed as you would tend to read their minds while they are talking to you.
 
Someone told me, that I should learn Thai so that you know what your officemates are talking about. At first it appeals to me but as time goes by, I find comfort not knowing if somebody dislikes me or is making fun of me.
 
I don’t know why, maybe because I am beginning to not give a care in the world what other people think or maybe because I am trying to make an effort to be happier.
 
 

Earn money by just sharing

http://hotstuffcdn.com/share/ph/194/107980

And I'm counting again

How many follow-ups will I have to do for Globe Telecom customer service representative to give me an update?