I Take Off the Mask

Where the Sidewalk Ends ( by Shel Silverstein) There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind. Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends.

Imagine a world where you can’t bring anything you ever owned not one valued possession not a single penny you can toss Imagine a world where titles and status mean nothing where authority belongs not to you Imagine a world where no man stands taller than another and where beauty comes not only from you Imagine a world where you can’t hide anything nor busy yourself with things that make you forget just how empty you are within how angry how insecure or how afraid Imagine such a world And then try to  imagine once more Imagine a world where no one starves nor longs for shelter where no one gets sick and no one ever grows old Imagine no pain and no death ever that would make you weep a world where you need not depart from home from the people you love the most imagine never having to be alone Imagine a world where you are accepted and understood for who you really are Imagine you are loved like you have never been loved before Imagine such a world and then open up your eyes W...

What is the meaning of our life if we are but a mist that quickly goes away? Like a rose that blooms but for a day? What does it matter then that we have ever passed this way? Whatever happens to the smiles we have smiled? to the tears we have cried? Whatever happens to dreams we dreamt and reached? to failures that turned out bitter-sweet? Whatever happens to raindrops that fell if they shall not rise again towards heaven and be made purer than they have ever been? Whatever happens? O whatever happens if your fallen soul shall not be redeemed? By now, I can only pray… I can only believe that everything is not meaningless, that there is reserved a destiny, even for a withered flower, even for mist that quickly goes away…

Pride, even if it be of righteousness, takes us away from love. It blinds us with a false strength and erodes our heart with a fear of losing the things which we attach our self-worth unto, things which can easily be lost. Love, on the other hand, can never be truly lost, but needs only to be found again and again and again…

If we spend the time we waste in sighing for the perfect golden fruit in fulfilling the conditions of its growth, happiness will come, must come. It is guaranteed in the very laws of the universe. If it involves some chastening and renunciation, well, the fruit will be all the sweeter for this touch of holiness. -Helen Keller

I recently read about the high crime rate in South Africa, something about 50 murders a day and 1 rape every minute!  There were many theories for the reason behind such a condition, as the world seems to be perplexed in explaining to its own mind why this could be happening, what with the peace many experience in their own suburbs, away from those crimes, away from such dreaded darkness of the soul. Yet can we really separate ourselves from everything that’s been happening?  Can we always put the blame somewhere else saying unto ourselves we have nothing to do with it all? There is a message our deafened ears need to be hearing, a message saying that when something as dark as this is happening, we should take a look and consider if we might be missing out on something.  Is there something we should have been doing that we have failed to do? 

How can the very rich co-exist with the poorest of the poor and still deem himself holy while doing nothing for the sake of his brother? Seems a bit shocking, but in my country this seems to be the case.  For while beggars roam the streets for food or for whatever garbage to scavenge, the rich proudly and comfortably ride their luxurious cars, making their way every Sunday to Church to attend a mass where they proclaim their holiness as though they and they alone are God’s children, seeing not what suffering his brother is going through. Each of us must illuminate and warm our surroundings. In this cold world we cannot suffice with warming ourselves by donning a fur coat. We must light a fire warming everyone around us.- Rabbi Simon Jacobson

I may not leave lasting footprints when I pass by, but may I pass on a flame that will keep on burning until it reaches another torch that will carry on the radiance of its warmth.

True humility is never seen as clearly as when one is starting out yet another path in one’s life.  In that part of the journey, the soul is as meek as a child, as though learning to walk all over again, yet it is confident enough, knowing that it can certainly do it as he has done so, so many times before.

Life is not at all a game of accumulating everything you need and maintaining a certain level of happiness, for happiness after all cannot be maintained.  Life is a constant flow, of touching and growing and moving on.  Life is either experienced or not, in joy and in sadness, in anger and in despair.  Those who choose not its sorrows choose not its happiness as well; and those who choose not to live fully choose only to crumble and to die.  – www.itakeoffthemask.com

When I was younger, I never thought there would come a time when this bible verse would come true – that there would come a time when no one would be waiting for God anymore.  Yet as I observe our times, I realized that the time may soon come to pass when God would be seeking out his people and no one would be looking back.  Why so? 1. THE RICH Because the rich will have bought the idea of positivism to the extreme to the extent that they have learned to focus only on themselves and their needs, excluding everyone else that may get in the way of their perfectly established lives. The rich would have become indifferent, already possessing everything they thought they needed to live their lives to the full. 2. THE POOR Because the poor would have thought of himself as being unloved, comparing himself to the rich one whom heaven has blessed far beyond the necessities he prayed for.  He would have lost his hope or grudgingly accepted his lot.  The poor would have grown a rage that con...

What keeps a person from receiving a gift, a very precious and significant gift? Given the chance to accept such a gift, a brand new car perhaps a beautiful house and lot a precious jewel, how many among us would refuse something totally for free? Following are some of the things I thought would prevent us from receiving the blessings/ gifts the good Lord has meant us all to receive: 1. Hostility/ doubt towards the giver It doesn’t matter sometimes how beautiful or precious a gift is as long as we do not approve of the giver.  Who would ever receiver a gift from someone she doesn’t trust?  From someone with a vested interest perhaps?  From someone scary?  From a monster?  We are unable to receive many gifts because we do not approve of the giver. 2. Feeling of unworthiness Even if we believe in the giver, we oftentimes refuse our gifts because we do not believer ourselves worthy of them.  We think we do not deserve a new car because we have not studied well, we do not deserv...

Moving On Quotes “I am tired of all the regrets, the shame and the self-pity. I will begin a new phase of forgiveness, of change and of moving on.” “Moving on now, I see how much life has changed, how much I have changed. I am no longer the silly girl I used to be. I am much wiser now, much stronger, and much capable of loving again.” “We can never move on for as long as we keep looking back at the past. Let the past take care of itself. Today is a new beginning for all of those who want to find their joy!” “Dare to live, dare to move on, dare to start again!” “It breaks my heart to move on without you, but I must pick myself up again and start over alone with the dreams we used to believe we could reach.” “Our heavy burdens of guilt and anger keep us from moving on and finding our peace. Let go, let God and let true love and courage show you the way.” It is only by being confident enough to face the present that yo...

I would like to share a beautiful story I read this morning from the works of T.S. Arthur about some of the small things we neglect without full awareness of its effect upon our neighbors: MY WASHERWOMAN. SOME people have a singular reluctance to part with money. If waited on for a bill, they say, almost involuntarily, “Call to-morrow,” even though their pockets are far from being empty. I once fell into this bad habit myself; but a little incident, which I will relate, cured me. Not many years after I had attained my majority, a poor widow, named Blake, did my washing and ironing. She was the mother of two or three little children, whose sole dependence for food and raiment was on the labour of her hands. Punctually, every Thursday morning, Mrs. Blake appeared with my clothes, “white as the driven snow;” but not always, as punctually, did I pay the pittance she had earned by hard labour. “Mrs. Blake is down stairs,” said a servant, tapping at my room...

It used to be so easy to rest, back in those days when “recess” was our favorite subject in school, or when Friday was our favorite day of the week because we’d finally have a hard-earned weekend to indulge in a lazy Saturday afternoon. Yet have you noticed how many people today find no more satisfaction in the simplest activity of all?  We get anxious with our vacant hours and we try to fill our days with as much activity as we can just so we can avoid that time when we have nothing to do but be with ourselves. I recently had colds and it necessitated a leave from work as well as a leave from the many activities I enjoy, including writing.  How I prayed that it be over, how I desired to get back to my normal routine.  But the body it seems, knows when to go on and when to take a pause, when to wake up, and when to get some time to sleep.  It’s the rhythm of life, the ebb and flow, the natural course of nature that keeps everything in balance, and that makes ever...

I would like to share with you the most touching poem I have ever received.   No, it did not come from my boyfriend.  And No, it was not even an original composition.  Yet the way it was able to come to me was no ordinary thing in my life, certainly nothing I’ve ever expected to give me such a joy. I got in touch with Vicky in the internet, she became one of my on-line friends though she is only able to send me the same old phrases each time she wants to write me a letter.  She says:   Dear Joyce How are you doing? I am fine Vicky Your friend If you are wondering why, it is because my friend has some physical limitations that limits her ability to express herself the way we do.  As you might have noted, she cannot write.  She is only able to write the above phrases from memory.  Obviously, she can’t read either.  But she enjoys it everytime somebody sends her mail.  She has friends that read to her the messages she receives. One day I sent her a forwarded message, somet...

  I saw that boy yet again sitting by the stairs near the street his little hand raised infront of me his clothes tattered his feet with no slippers his future bleak and beyond my reach   What can I do for you dear boy? I cannot give you work with which to eat Neither can I send you to school for my pay is just enough to meet my needs   What can I do for you dear boy? Can I give you a kiss and a hug Can I make you feel someone noticed you and that someone prays you find your way?   What would you rather that I do? What would I prefer I do for you?   No, today I have no bread No, today I care for you more to give you a few coins of mine I am so sorry little boy for today I plan to give you dignity and things like that can’t even buy you a single piece of bread    

We learn to love each other when we begin to realize how truly unique and wonderful each one of us is. Like seashells along the shore, no one is entirely alike, each is crafted with an imprint of God’s hand, each has something to share, and each has something to admire and long for in another. People often see me as I quiet person, one who rarely cracks a joke, one that can comfortably sit in a corner and have a good time reading a book or listening to good music. But that doesnt mean I couldn’t engage in good conversation. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t comfort a grieving soul. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t share the kind of happiness that comes from things the world hardly notices in its race towards unreachable dreams. I am the kind of person God has masterfully and lovingly made me to be. I am happy. I am beautiful. I am unique!

You hear her cries, you see her tears, and you wonder how on earth you’re going to wipe them all away.  You try to wipe them with your handkerchief, but then she cries again, and tears continue falling. Your heart breaks, and deep in your soul you don’t want to see her that way.  You get furious at those people who’ve hurt her like this, surely they have no right to do this to her.  But what could you do? You can’t turn back time, you can’t pull it back to that moment when she’s happy and her eyes filled with laughter.  No matter how much you wish, you can’t undo the evil that has been done. But you can stay beside her, and you can hold her hand.  And if you can’t pull her out of the darkness she’s in, you can join her where she is and let her know she is never  alone. You can wait with her until the storm passes.  You can remind her how beautiful she is and how you believe deep down in your heart she’s going to rise above it a...

Most people do not accomplish everything they are capable of doing because they have not come to the end of themselves and the beginning of their God-ordained destiny.