Carmen Monica Oprea

Hi Everyone,

I love finding quotes that inspire me. I thought maybe these would inspire you too.

– “Wake up every morning as if something wonderful is about to happen.”

– “Be strong when everything seems to be going wrong. Believe that tomorrow is another day. Believe in miracles.”

– “Do more of what makes you happy.”

A good motto in life is if you can’t say something good, say nothing at all.
We are not created in the same way. We have a different design, although our conception follows the same principles. Some of us are genetically more sensitive than others, and the outside factors don’t act upon us in the same ways. Whatever some might view as normal, others might view as unusual. We might do the same things during the day, but our unique design allows the external factors to influence us in ways that make us unique. It is the reason we react differently to the forces pressing upon us. Whatever some view as weakness, in fact, it is a response, a chosen method to answer to the environmental factors.
A noble rule is not to judge what you can’t understand, or it doesn’t fall into the category of things you consider normal. Don’t be in a hurry to express your opinions. Stop, think, analyze the circumstances, put yourself in the other person’s place, and practice kindness. By being ourselves, we put something beautiful into the world, something it wasn’t there before. If we build a wall of positivity around us, the negativity that comes our way it won’t get through; it will bounce off and no longer affect us. Everyone deserves a time when worries will not get in the way of anything, a time when the insensitivity of the others will not influence the positive attitude about life.

Many times I’ve wondered what a woman wants in her life to make her feel loved, desired, respected, needed, and every time I had reached the same conclusion. A woman needs romance, not riches, power, money or grandeur. She wants love, and when she got it, everything becomes a child’s play. She gets wings to fly; she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to do, and she gives her all to the ones surrounding her. A woman needs to know she is more than an object subdued to someone’s wishes. A song, a love letter, a walk in the moonlight, a romantic dinner, an aromatic bath, these are the little things that could heat up a woman’s heart. How difficult is to make time to listen to a woman’s heart? Women give up their dreams to fulfill the wants of the others, to keep them saturated, happy until she forgets what she has desired. Her wishes minimize, and they get lost among memories. A woman wears many hats. It is the silent pact she had made without knowing what it implies.

A child expects his mother to be there and take away his/her fears. A husband expects his wife to stay by his side unconditionally and give him her full. A parent expects his daughter to understand the things he/she is doing without questioning. And the list can go on and on. And one day, the powerful woman crumbles to the ground, and all she wants is a good word, an embrace, a sweet touch. Those become the very moments when she takes the time to think if her life had turned out to be as she had envisioned once. For some, life had been kind and treated them right, for others, life had been a continuing struggle. One thing is for sure: every woman ought to have romance in her life. Her face will brighten up when she’s in love, her feet won’t touch the ground, and her heart’s filled with joy. Her world becomes beautiful because of it. A woman can break down temporarily, but a real woman will always pick up the pieces, rebuild herself and come back stronger than ever.

I love finding quotes that inspire me and sharing them with my friends. Maybe they will inspire you too.

– “Wake up every morning as if something wonderful is about to happen.”

– “Be strong when everything seems to be going wrong. Believe that tomorrow is another day. Believe in miracles.”

– “Do more of what makes YOU happy.”

– ” Success is not accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing.”

– ” The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

I’ve been talking to my neighbor about life in general…
My neighbor is a retired woman who had lost her son last summer, and she takes care of her handicapped daughter. I wonder how her world might look. Is it gray, blue or pink? She doesn’t seem to have the same questions as I have. She just lives the same day over and over with unchanged exuberance. So, her mother told me about how she went shopping at Wall-Mart in the morning, paid for her groceries and left the card in front of the store to go and bring her car. She didn’t take it with her because it was raining and, by the time she returned, someone had stolen the cart. She looked at peace when she said that maybe the person who took it needed more than her.
The episode made me wonder how many people have to steal because they are hungry, or the little money they have doesn’t permit them to buy everything they want. Probably in that cart it was something they desired so badly that they didn’t even care they’ve used someone’s life savings. Not too long ago I’ve come across someone who lives in a country where they are asked to lie, cheat or steal to meet the ends, where the light is cut off every other day. The lack of opportunities transformed them into professional liars. Not a very honorable profession, but for them it is work.
Today, I look at everything I have, and I’m grateful for my health, for my job, for the people who are part of my life. Everything is precious, but we don’t realize it until we meet someone less fortunate than us, someone who knows tomorrow it’ll be just another dark day when they’ll have to survive with the same bowl of rice as the day before, when they‘ll have to perform the same job, the less honorable work.
Let’s be grateful for everything we have. Let’s practice kindness, share the surplus because we never know when we will become angels in someone’s life.

How many times we haven’t been tempted to give up! I know I had. Then, I remembered life wasn’t meant to be only butterflies. It supposed to give us difficulties so that we can find solutions. Every day we face challenges, we comb through the knots of our tangled lives, and we discover that the biggest thing happening to us becomes insignificant for the others. Each day gives us the opportunity to wear different hats, as parents, employees or employers, friends or children. We manage to create a schedule that works for us, to intertwine other people’s plans hoping to make everyone happy. Well, we will never reach the perfect state where everyone will be happy with our decisions. But the important thing is that we’ve tried. We gave the others the chance to be heard.
Sometimes we need to consider the things that bring us happiness. They might hurt the others because they don’t see the world through our eyes. God created us unique, so the people around us, family, friends or colleagues would have a hard time understanding that everyone has the right to pursue own dreams. You don’t mean to offend your friends by refusing an invitation because you had that important thing to finish. You set a deadline, and you just can’t stop. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them, or you don’t want to spend your time with them. But a day has not enough hours. So, they stop answering your phone calls or your messages because they are upset by your selection. It hurts when they do that. But you have a big dream, and you can’t let it slip through your fingers. So, you forgive them because you love your friends. One day they will understand.
Then, it is your family. Children want to go places, play with you, and watch movies. And you have to stop what you’re doing because they are precious, and because time flies. Your babies become teenagers, teenagers become adults, and, before you know it, they have their families, and you wonder when it all happened. Absorbed by your dreams you neglected the dreams of the loved ones. Next, your parents miss you, and they want to spend time with you. And knowing everything is temporary, you would do your best to accommodate their wishes because you love them. They don’t understand that even if you didn’t call every day, you’ve never ceased loving them or thinking about them. They gave you life and guided you the best way they could, so you owe it to your parents to hit the break on your busy schedule and visit them. They would be happy you’ve done it.
These stops are the small clouds we encounter every day. Not all of them are gray; some are blue, and some are white. All you have to do is to think back at the times you had been in an airplane. Didn’t it rise above the clouds? Maybe it was a dangerous storm when you’ve left, and you’ve traveled through a thunderous weather for a while. It seemed as if you would have a bumpy ride throughout the trip. But something had happened. The plane rose above the skies, and all you could see it was the bluest expanse ever. The clouds were way beneath you, and you were riding with the sun.
This is how life works. There are clouds, and rain and thunders for a while, and when you discover the power to leave everything behind you would travel in the sun and with the sun for a good part of the trip. Then, another storm will come, and you’ll have to find the strength to make it through because you know there is good weather on the other side.
All you have to do is to rise above the clouds.

Not too long ago someone had asked me if I ever had my heart broken. Of course, I had. Who didn’t? My heart had been broken for different reasons, some were under my control and I could have stopped them, others weren’t. And those who weren’t had been the hardest to deal with.
I am going to explore just a few broken heart situations and how I had coped with them. I’m not giving advice; I am merely sharing my experience. There is no science behind it, just goodwill to come victorious at the end of the road.
A long time ago, back in high school, I discovered I was in love with a boy. Deeply, madly, crazily in love with his eyes: they were hazel, and his hair was brown. We were in different classes, weeks before our summer break. We walked together, danced together, did our chores around the school and we shared our first kiss. I am trying to recall his name, and to my shame, I can’t. It slipped among other names and faces somewhere in my memory. And he had been the first one to break my heart. We decided to go to a friend’s birthday party. He had to travel by train to my town, a short trip, about two hours at the most. By the time he had reached the railway station, he felt in love with one of my colleagues. All I got from him was an awful “I’m sorry” before he grabbed her hand and left me. Tears were running down my face, but I did my best to wipe them off.
My heart was broken since he had been my first love, but I sucked it up, dressed up and went to the party alone. Amazingly, I had a good time but every time I looked at him I saw betrayal. That’s it: I associated his name with betrayal and pushed it in the back of my mind. It wasn’t meant to be, I told myself, and I was right because days later I met my life partner, my best friend and my husband.
This was an example of a broken heart when the reason wasn’t under my control. It just happened to be me the one left behind. When it happens to you, the easiest thing to do is to shake your feathers, breathe in and let everything go out. You never know when the next best thing will walk into your life. It is not the end of the road, but the beginning of another stage in your growth.
A second time when my heart had been broken it happened when I applied for the Law School. I joined a study group, and we hired a tutor. I should have studied harder, but history wasn’t my strong point. So many dates, and wars, and kings. I couldn’t pass the history exam. But did I give up? No, I didn’t. I shuffled my feathers and enrolled in a private college studying law. It wasn’t where I wanted to go, but the material was the same and even some of the instructors.Here, the reason was under my control. Don’t give up just because you got a rejection from someone or someplace! We will get hundreds of rejections that will affect our entire being. What should you do if it happens to you? Simple: look for something else and make the best out of it! Give it all you have and the results will be surprising. Those rejections would become a step toward your next best thing, an experience making you stronger.
A last example when I had to cope with a broken heart relates to the loss of my mother. It had been a terrifying experience. I always thought she would live to be a very old lady with a cane and her teeth in a case chasing her grandchildren around the backyard. I guess someone had other plans. She said that in time I would forget. Well, I didn’t, and I am still recovering from a broken heart. It got a little easier with the passage of time; the ache didn’t sting as much, but it is always there, deep in my soul. Sometimes it surfaces and sometimes it sleeps.
A broken heart experience marks a person forever. You don’t recover; you just move on to the next task and refuse to think of your loss. You remember the good moments you’ve shared and the beauty in them. It’s that simple!
A broken heart gives you strength, makes you the person you are meant to be: gracious and kind, understanding and patient, ready to wipe a tear from someone’s eyes, or to put a smile on someone’s face. If you can do that, then you’re better than the majority. You gained wisdom from your experiences; you didn’t let your downfalls transform you into a bitter person. You had become someone others look toward for an encouraging word, a small token of affection, or just a simple pat on the shoulder. You choose who and how you want to be, nobody can do it for you. The choice belongs to you!

Yes, you got it all right. You can have imperfections and be perfectly lovable. It sounds like a paradox. You may wonder how my imperfections can make me lovely. I’m not as beautiful, or I didn’t travel the lengths of the world as he or she did. I barely have enough to meet the ends. I don’t own a house. My car is old. I didn’t have straight A’s in school. But the good news is that you are lovable because you have your curiosity, and this keeps your mind open to prospects. Just because you haven’t traveled often enough or far enough it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t do it in the future. Don’t lose faith!
We are born different, unique; our talents are special, and they make us exceptional. Lovable has powerful meaning. We have to love ourselves, cherish, ourselves, believe in our powers before we expect the others to see what sets us apart in a crowd. You may want perfection, but that doesn’t mean the others seek the same attribute out of life. There is always something that will give you power over the others. It can be your words, your smile, or your touch that will make you lovable.
Have you looked at the people around you? Have you noticed their smile? Have they smiled, from the bottom of their hearts, or they displayed the shade of a smile when their thoughts had traveled far away? You will discover people who make time to touch a soul through their healing words, time to acknowledge your existence and your place in the universe. And this happens because those people consider you are captivating, delightful, entrancing, enthralling, fascinating, lovable, and sweet.

It just happened that today I missed you more than yesterday. Maybe because your day is coming and you’re not here to celebrate it. I know that, in fact, you’ve never left, but only hid between the billions of other stars. I see a star burning brightly in the night and I know it is you sending me a sign.

You knew me well because you gave me life and helped me every step of the way. You used to say that all you can do in life is put one step ahead of the other and keep on going. Don’t look back! It’s not much there but loads of memories. You life is ahead of you waiting to be discovered.

I look to Heavens and I find you there. You are the brightest star in the sky. I’m humbled by your presence and I feel at peace. So, thank you for all the nights you’ve spent caring for me, for all the advice you’ve given me, for teaching me to comb through the knots, or telling me that the sky is the only limit. You’ve been the first person to believe in me and my dreams. Your touch had magic and every difficult situation faded in your presence.

If I’d be born a thousand times I wish you’d be my mother in each and every one of them.

In life, many things don’t go according to the plan. If you fall, get up. If you stumble, regain your balance. Never give up. Stay strong because when life looks like it’s falling apart, it might be that it’s falling into place just the way it has been intended. Many times you can feel when someone really loves you even without words. Every day, every moment you have is precious, and when it’s gone, you can never get it back. Don’t live in constant fear of what is happening, what might come to be, and what might have been. Death may come tomorrow because you never know what could happen, so take a chance and try. Every second spent being angry or sad is another second you could never get back. Be fearless. Be strong. Be yourself and live for today.

People make mistakes in life, but that doesn’t mean they have to pay for them the rest of their lives. Sometimes good people make bad choices, but it doesn’t mean they are bad. It means they are human. People make mistakes, gain experience, and learn from them, and it all counts as part of life’s lessons.Nobody gets through life without losing someone they love, someone they need, or something they thought was meant to be. People don’t live forever, but their memory is. So appreciate today what you have, who loves you and who cares about you. You’ll never know how much they meant to you until the day they are no longer beside you.

Spread love, and smiles, and happiness because a person who truly loves you will never let you go no matter how bad the situation is.