STRATEGY: START WITH LOVE

"Do what you love. Love what you do. Do it for love. Do it with Love. Whatever you do, always start with Love."
-Anonymous-

Here, in five sentences is a profound psalm of life; the blue print to finding your purpose in life. Written more than a hundred years ago(I suppose), this wisdom is as relevant today as when it was penned. This is one of the  mantras that I live by. After pondering over the above lines one Sunday afternoon, I began to realize how important it is to be always guided by love. I came to understand and appreciate the fact that, our words and deeds are of no purpose unless they're out of love. The love we have towards our work, passions, talents and gifts not only illumines our life, but the lives of others around us, whether directly or indirectly.

That said, it's important to reflect upon those particular things we love doing because there in, lies our passion, which ultimately leads us right to our purpose. Finding your passion is about finding your authentic self; those things that light you up from the inside, those things that are closest to your heart, those things that bring out the best in you. In finding them, be what no one else can be. Go big! Go hard! Go all the way in! Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all, be passionate about it.

I believe there's nothing as fulfilling, purposeful and liberating as doing those things that we are passionate about.

A huge part of loving your passion is by giving it the respect it deserves. By respect, I mean giving it the required time and effort.We must  endeavor to carve  time out of our busy schedules to ignite our passions. It could be a routine you can practice, a chapter you can read, an article you can write, a recipe you can try, a kilometer you can run. You name it! Consistency is key!

Once you start pouring your energy into your passion, you'll most definitely be on your way to living your purpose.

 A story is told by the Chinese sage Chuang-Tzu of a man who forged swords for a maharaja. Despite his old age, his work was always carried out with exceptional precision and skill. One day, the maharaja asked the old man, "Is this your natural talent or is there a special technique that you use to create your remarkable results?" "It is concentration on the essentials." replied the sword- crafter. "I took to forging swords when I was twenty one years old, I did not care about anything else. If it was not a sword, I did not look at it or pay attention to it. Forging swords became my passion and my purpose. I took all the energy that I did not give in other directions and put it in the direction of my art. This is the secret to my mastery"

This story is so simple yet profound. May we always remember that talent and hard work are not synonymous but are conjoined.  May we always remember to put in the hours to ignite our passions and to spread love through out the world with our God-given gifts and talents.

Stay passionate. Won't you?

Sincerely Beccah.

MEDITATION FOR READERS, NON-READERS AND WOULD-BE READERS.

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read
Mark Twain

There are three kinds of people; those who read, those who don't read and those who read too little. We don't have people who read too much because this is an impossible feat. How can you read too much when you only have twenty four hours a day that are barely enough?

Let's get this straight; when I talk about reading, I'm not talking about tweets, facebook updates and instagram memes. I'm basically talking about substantial reading for enrichment and nourishment.

When was the last time you read a book, or a substantial article? Does your reading habit center around tweets, facebook updates, instagram memes or instruction procedures on your new facial scrub package? If you are one of the countless people who don't have a habit of reading, you might be missing out:studies show that reading has numerous positive effects on your emotional, intellectual and psychological state of mind.

That said, we don't have any excuses whatsoever. Any time of the day is perfect for reading. Any place (Yes, any place, at least for me). Any excuse (It can be a daily mantra as simple as, learning something new everyday). There are no side effects for reading; nothing to lose but boredom and nothing to fear but papercuts.

It fills me with great joy to see someone sitted in a restaurant, a park or in transit, intrigued and fully occupied in a thrilling read. It tells you alot about that person. It says that this person loves to feed  their mind - with every page they turn, it turns them. Books turn us on to our passions and into pursuing our passions. Books turn us into intelligent beings; erudite, enlightened and knowledgeable people.

Anytime you read a book. you open up your thoughts to a different world. A world we are not accustomed to. Readers get an opportunity to sit on round tables with great minds, go on adventures, travel across continents and boundaries, meet interesting characters; learn their culture and fall in love with them. To a great degree, books give us the rare chance of learning from other people's experiences, failures and successes and how they surmounted their obstacles.

This is what I think;We should raise a generation that's dying of starvation, hungry for ideas which lay beneath these closed books. A generation that's desperate for information, thirsty for knowldege and hungry for wisdom. We are duty bound to influence our next generation and turn them on to the reading frequency.We are duty bound to invest in books, not only for ourselves but for our children as well.

It's motivating to know that everything we've ever read, loved, cherished and remembered is now part of our consciousness- forever engraved in our mind and soul.

Once you cultivate the habit of reading, you'll feel the way a warrior must feel after years of training; he might not remember the details of everything he learnt, but he knows how to strike when the time is right.

Keep reading or better still, start reading!

Sincerely Beccah.

I BELIEVE

This is my truth. Tell me yours
-Aneurin Bevan-

I believe

A daughter hearing the sad news of her dad's demise in a fatal car accident is tragedy, cracking your iPhone screen is not. Children not having the priviledge to have one meal in a day is an issue, going a day without lunch is not. Being born without limbs is a setback, suffering from a mild malaria flu is not. A family living everyday oblivous of what tomorrow might hold is doom, failure to seal that business deal is not.

I believe

The most beautiful woman in the room is the one full of God, life and character, not the one with a beautiful appearance and physique. 1 Peter 2:3-4 echoes the same and I quote; " 3.Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as elaborate hairstyles or the wearing of gold, jewellery and fine clothes 4. Rather it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight". This verse is so simple, yet it convicted me deeply. Proverbs 31:30 echoes the same. What really stood out for me is the fact that inner beauty is unfading. Why then do we get caught up with our appearance? Most often than not, people value their looks alot, definetely more than their personality.

We often check in the mirror for stray hairs but don't look within for messy hearts and wasted potential.

I believe

Our prayers are heard even the ones that are composed of only tears. I've seen too many answered prayers to believe it is all coincidence. I've seen so many sunsets and sunrises, so many miracles to believe that there's a higher being. I believe in God. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and me. There's no formular for understanding, we were not called to understand but believe! We are called to trust.

I believe

That success is just not about achieving your dream title and status but it's about living a well balanced life; emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally and financially. Success is in finding the right balance. We should not loose ourselves, our family, friends and close acquintances in the quest of that status . 

I believe

There is always something to be thankful for. Amidst our ups and downs, our setbacks and comebacks, we can still choose to be thankful. We can still choose to see things from a different perspective. We can still choose to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. May we always be thankful for the nights that turned to day. For the friends who turned to family. For the dreams that turned to reality. For the battles we won on our knees. For the tests that turned to testimonies. For the mess that turned into a message, and for the trials that turned to triumphs. May we always stop and count our blessings.

I believe

The virtue of modesty isn't something that guides your dressing. It's more than what you wear. It's a lifestyle that permeates your conversations, your text messages, your posture and your mannerisms. It's not enough to be polite to your spouse and rude to the waiter. It's not enough to be helpful to your brother and mistreat your house help. It's not enough to be polite in the company of our church peers and to curse/swear in the company of our friends. Modesty is being empathetic of other people's feeling. Modesty is being caring rather than carefree. Modesty is in forgiving other than criticizing. Modesty is in loving other than fighting. Modesty is in building up other than breaking down. Modesty is in helping other than critcizing.

I believe

That our words and actions are of no substance unless they are out of love. My belief is that our purpose is to love one another and lead each other back to the cross. This is why we love, love; because it's what we were meant for. 1 Corinthians 14:13 states it clearly: "And now, these three things remain; Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love". God compells us to love one another because He is love.

I believe in dreams. Keep dreaming. Keep believing. Dreams come true.

Ps; Stay tuned for I BELIEVE part 2 coming up.

Sincerely Beccah.