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We left the holidays behind, although they will be memories to cherish in the future months. A new year is ahead, a year with new goals to accomplish, errands to run, bills to pay, vacations to plan and birthday parties to put together. How enchanting! Nothing beats the time when friends and families gather to celebrate whatever the occasion for celebration may be.

This month it is my son’s sixteenth birthday. When did the time fly? Who is the handsome, tall man who replaced the baby I held in my arms sixteen years ago? But it is not the height that scares me. No! It is that time when he holds his driver license in his hands and gets all excited about driving his own car, and I get anxious about letting him do it. Not that he is not a responsible driver! Oh, he is! I am the overprotective mom who’s not prepared to accept that her baby is about to detach, gradually, until one day, he will have a life of his own, and I will be the one left behind to watch and help.

I think that for us, parents, our children will always remain our babies regardless of their age. We don’t cease to worry about them just because their physiognomy changes. Parents should give their kids’ confidence, must be their best friends, guardian angels, always watching, helping, providing support, loving, admonishing and forgiving. Parents are the first role models for their children—it is mandatory to be the good one. Parents are ever so special, just because they grow old while their children mature. We don’t even realize when silver touched our temples, when a few wrinkles appeared in the corner of our eyes, when terrifying pain formed in the lower back, when we grow weak day after day after day. The signs are all there—I call them signs of becoming wise.

And one day, a young man or woman opens the door, just as my son is doing at the moment, and we wonder where the time flew? It is crucial to mark each new birthday with something special—cake, candles, balloons, a big party, a new piece of electronics—so that, when we look back at those pictures touched by time, we smile recalling the instant when the child celebrated a special moment because these precious moments make life worth living to the last beat.

Love,

Carmen Monica

The birth of Jesus is the birth of hope. We shouldn’t let the wonder of hope disappear with the decorations at the end of the holiday season this year. We should follow hope right out of the manger and into the rest of our lives. We have been given a gift, the special kind of gift that is not wrapped in tissue paper or tied with a beautiful bow. This gift is priceless in nature, no gift in all the world is more sought after than this one—the gift of life.

During the holiday season, we should add extra expressions of courtesy and kindness for everyone. If we look carefully, we can see Him on the road as the one asking for a few quarters to buy milk and bread for the children. We’ll recognize Him in all the volunteers handing out gifts to the poor or to the ill from which some will go to be with Him before His birthday arrives.

I wonder if there is ever a finer gift purchased then that of forgiveness or if there ever was a present more treasured by those who received it. Once forgiveness is granted or received, we’ll know that it is one of the most beautiful gifts of all.

What we should learn this holiday season is to embrace and celebrate our differences, learn to appreciate each other and walk the path of understanding because life is about laughing and loving each other.

Love,

Carmen Monica

Luck doesn’t make a good life. Luck doesn’t give you a second chance. It is courage and faith, effort and skill. Each of us has a moment when we want to improve our lives but don’t know where to turn. We may feel stuck and tired, but we are not alone. As long as we are willing to try, learn, think and act differently, as long as we are ready to develop new skills and habits, we can change our lives. Every moment is a new opportunity to change. If your true self answers passionately to the things and the people you love in your life, then you must be the passionate person you are and don’t change because you don’t mesh with someone else’s vision. Even if the majority of people are telling you that your reactions are wrong, they are your reactions. You have a right to live your life on your own terms, and the right to refuse to accept less than you deserve.      Love,                                                                       Carmen Monica

I don’t have a sister. I wish I have one to share the joys and the sorrows of life. But what is a sister? A sister is an extension of you. She has extrasensory perception because when you are hurt, she feels your pain. When you are happy, she shares your joy. When you are frightened, she understands. When a dark day comes, a sister is not afraid to enter into the darkness with you. She walks in even if she is invited or not, it doesn’t matter to her, and she brings with her comfort.

A sister has the gift of love. She inspires and encourages and lifts you, whether you feel it or not. She finds ways to see the good and bring out the best in spite of the circumstances. She knows what you are going through because she is intimately familiar with pain. She suffered loss, rejection, and failed relationships just as you do.

A sister is the hope of the heart. Call your sister today, give her a hug, talk to her today. You never know that she may need you just as much as you need her.

Love,

Carmen Monica

Traducere in romaneste

Imbratisari pentru surori

Nu am o sora. Im doresc sa am one ca sa impart cu ea bucuriile si durerile vietii. Dar ce este o sora? O sora este o extensie a ta. Ea are o extrasensoriala perceptie deoarece atunci cand esti ranit, iti simte durerea. Cand esti bucuros, iti impartaseste bucuria. Cand esti speriat, intelege. Cand vine o zi intunecata, unei sore nu ii este frica sa intre cu tine in intuneric. Ea te urmeaza chiar daca este invitata sau nu, nu conteaza pentru ea, si iti aduce comfort.

O sora are darul iubirii. Te inspira, te incurajeaza, si iti ridica moralul, chiar daca tu nu simti asta. Ea gaseste metode sa vada ceea ce este bun in tot si puncteaza numai ceea ce este pozitiv in ciuda tuturor circumstantelor. Stie prin ce treci pentru ca si ea a cunoscut durerea. A suferit pierderi, respingeri, si relatii care au esuat, la fel ca si tine.

O sora este speranta inimii. Suna-ti sora astazi, imbratiseaz-o, vorbeste cu ea. N-ai de unde sa stii daca si ea, la fel ca si tine, nu are nevoie de cineva.

Not too long ago, I had to renew my driver’s license, and when the new one came, I was pleasantly surprised. Compared with the picture from years ago, I had improved. The explanation wasn’t complicated. Years ago I was so far in what my friends called “the twilight zone,” that any picture of me reflected the shock I was in from coping with my family’s problems.

I had known the embarrassment of pulling out my driver license for credentials and watching the person stare at the picture, and then at me. This individual was probably wondering if it was really me. Of course, I mumbled an explanation why my driver’s license picture failed to show my real beauty. I had looked so bad in the prior license that the new one was in fact flattering.

When I applied for that new driver’s license, I remembered the changes the years could bring. A typical driver license application has spaces where I fill in my eye color, hair color, weight, etc. I found it strange that women left their weight the same as it was when they originally got their driver’s license at the age of sixteen. I also wondered why some men have a license they got years ago that said their hair was black when their hair had long since disappeared and they’re totally bald.

Have you ever seen a driver’s license with truthful information? What about the people who have one blue eye and one green? There is no space for that on a driver’s license. Or how about the women who changed their hair color so often that only their hairstylist knows for sure their exact color and some weeks she’s wondering.

Years can bring many changes, and it’s often said that, as we grow older, we develop a hardening of the attitudes. All you have to do is drive on the freeways, and you will learn that a lot of people have become hardened.

Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty because they moved it from their faces into their hearts.

Love,

Carmen Monica

In many aspects of our lives, our opinions are neither sought nor required. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and positive thinking, health, wealth, and peace avoid us. The only thing we have absolute control over is the quality of our days. How we welcome and complete each day is our choosing. When we’re sick, worried, grieving, or depressed, we’re not interested in the day’s quality, but we only want the misery to end. If you use whatever you have on hand—a meal, a conversation, humor, and affection—you can create comfort and contentment.

Every day can be wonderful in direct proportion to the creative energy invested in them. All it is necessary is a moment of attitude adjustment to shift your perception toward a pleasant atmosphere. Days that are expected to be wonderful before they begin, they turn out to be much more than days greeted with grumbling. It doesn’t matter if a day is good or bad. What matters is what we do with it.

Love,

Carmen Monica

One day you will think of all the things you never did and realize your life slipped away because you concentrated on fulfilling expectations that society put on your shoulders.

What would your main regret be?

Some would say they had never visited that amazing city where people offered to paint your portrait as a way of making a leaving. Others would say they didn’t have time to read those classic books because they had to work two jobs to provide for their families. A few would indicate they never fell in love because they were too busy to trust and devote their time to anyone.

The truth is that no one can do any of these things for you. You are the only one responsible for your happiness or for your sadness. Remember that happiness won’t come and knock on your door to ask permission to enter your house. Happiness is a crack in the fabric of time. The lucky ones will bask in its scent, the others will only chase chimeras. Only after you have set your priorities right and cleaned up the mess in your mind, you are ready to embrace the real value of kinship. It is then when the happiness of your loved ones will come forth, and their well-being will become the sole purpose of your life.

Happiness doesn’t wait around the corner for second chances. That’s why you must tell the person you care about how much you love her or him. Just do it today! You must call that old friend you hadn’t spoke in a while and chat about everything and anything important at all. You must spend time with your parents, if you still have them, and mostly feed your soul with the beauty of life.

Love,

Carmen Monica

I certainly am one. More of us are more pessimistic than others, and when we worry, it is always the worst possible thing that comes to mind first. Worrying is a great thief of time. I am someone w…

Source: Are you a worrier?

I certainly am one. More of us are more pessimistic than others, and when we worry, it is always the worst possible thing that comes to mind first. Worrying is a great thief of time. I am someone who can soar from distress to disaster in five seconds, and it causes me no end of sorrows. When I recognize the pattern, I stop myself with a gentle reminder that tomorrow is another day. Many times when I stew, I think that I’m doing something positive about my problem—at least I am thinking about it. But what I am doing instead is setting off an escalating spiral that can ruin an entire day, for me and for the ones in my vicinity.

When you find yourself fretting over an issue, you must stop instead of worrying yourself to death. You can talk with a friend about your problem, and if you don’t have someone you trust, sit down quietly and write out what’s troubling you. You can write down the worst case scenario, your greatest fears, what you would do and how you would cope with the effects. One of the reasons I worry is because I feel powerless to control my future. When I figured out what I would do if the worst did happen, the sense of hopelessness diminished.

Mark Twain said that he spent most of his life worrying about things that never happened. We all do the same. I had decided that worrying about the future robs me of the present moment. If the nagging “worry” follows you relentlessly through the day, then follow Scarlett O’Hara’s example and tell yourself,

“I’m not going to think about this right now, I’ll think about this tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Love,

Carmen Monica

Henry Miller said:

“Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music—the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself.”

Nothing dies harder than a bad habit. We are aware that we do something that is not good for us because of the small voice in our heads that nags us. It whispers when we lit a cigarette, pour an extra glass of wine, or stand in front of the fridge eating ice cream directly from the container because we are nervous.

To change any behavior, it is helpful to know why you must get rid of the old habits. A positive payback comes in the form of a healthier lifestyle, more energy, joy, and tranquility of emotional soberness, a slimmer body. You begin to treat yourself more kindly as you become intimate with your authentic self and see a gleam of the person you are inside. When you renounce of the bad habits, you will feel comfort and hear the encouragement coming from the ones around you. This way, instead of reaching for an extra glass of wine you will enjoy a refreshing glass of water and lemon. Instead of snacking each time you enter the kitchen, you will only eat what you have on your plate.

We spent too much time robbing ourselves of precious moments when we can nurture our creativity. As long as we will cling to bad habits, we will steal from our potential to improve the world around us.

Love,

Carmen Monica

Traducere in romaneste

Henry Miller a spus:

“Dezvolta un interes in viata asa cum o vezi; in oameni, lucruri, muzica—lumea este atat de bogata, pulsand cu bogatii, suflete minunate, si oameni interesanti. Uita de tine.”

Nimic nu moare mai greu decat o obisnuinta rea. Suntem constienti ca facem ceva care nu este bun pentru noi deoarece vocea aceea mica din capul nostru ne necajeste. Ne sopteste atunci cand aprindem o tigara, cand turnam inca un pahar de vin, sau cand stam in fata frigiderului mancand inghetata direct din cutie pentru ca suntem nervosi.

Este bine sa stii de ce trebuie sa scapi de vechile obiceiuri ca sa poti schimba un comportament. Un rezultat pozitiv iti adduce un mod de viata mai sanatos, mai multa energie, bucurie, sobrietate emotionala, un corp mai subtire. Incepi sa te tratezi cu mai multa blandete cand te descoperi pe tine insuti si vezi o licarire a persoanei care esti. Cand renunti la obiceiurile rele, te simti mult mai comfortabil si auzi incurajarile celor din jur. Astfel, in loc sa apuci inca un pahar de vin, te bucuri de un pahar cu apa si lamaie. In loc sa mananci de fiecare data cand intri in bucatarie, mananci numai ce ai pe farfurie.

Petrecem prea mult timp privandu-ne de momente pretioase cand putem sa ne cultivam creativitatea. Atata timp cat depindem the obiceiuri rele, rapim din potentialul nostru de a imbunatati lumea din jurul nostru.