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by Dr. Philip S. Chua.
May 16, 2011
Show me a man with an attitude and I will show you one abandoned by his friends and scorned by strangers he irritated and riled.
Here are some quotes of wisdom I have come across which are inspiring philosophical parachutes in life for those who, like many of us, sometimes find themselves falling towards the pit of discouragement and despair. With the proper attitude, these sage proverbs lift our spirit by allowing us to view and accept the trials and tribulations in this world in their most positive and best light. Indeed, all of us need a psychological boost, an inspiration, every now and then. Here are some:
Anthony J. D’Angelo, in The College Blue Book, said “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” To quote Oscar Wilde, “If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things you don’t get that you don’t want.”
Voltaire expressed it beautifully when he stated, “Life is like a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” An ancient Persian saying puts a great perspective on our daily aches and pains in life, “I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.”
And as some of us may curse some bad days we encounter and wish they never came. Cavett Robert offers these poignant words: “If you don’t think every day is a good day, just try missing one.”
Indeed, every day is a good day, although others are better, and others not as good. But each day is a gift. Not waking up to another day is a deadly waste, but not appreciating another day as we open our eyes each morning in our journey through life is a tragedy. How each of us greets the day depends greatly on our attitude. Indeed, attitude impacts our health, our life, and our everyday happiness and success. A person with a chip on his shoulder, with a negative attitude or pessimistic view of life, will obviously be miserable most of the time. And the opposite is true, as Annette Goodheart brilliantly points out: “Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life.”
Happiness is basically an attitude. Gaining inner peace is an attitude. We have that God-given power to feel what we want to feel. And we can even psyche ourselves. I do.
When I wake up each morning, I thank God for another wonderful day. And I tell my mind ahead of time that it will be another good day. It may not be a perfect day, but a good, pleasurable and productive one, a day I could enjoy being with my family, doing my computer works, writing my column to help inform, educate and entertain people, challenging our fellowmen to open their heart to Gawad Kalinga to help our poor fellowmen languishing in abject poverty in the Philippines and around the world, promoting the moral crusade of the Filipino United Network (USA) and other advocacy groups in our campaign for good governance in our home country, or to simply complement someone, inspire somebody, do open heart surgery, or just touch a heart, plant a tree, and enjoy the sunset and the beauty of the universe.
In a world where global peace is still a dream, a world beset with an economic crisis, with terrorism, with greed and corruption, with energy, food and water shortage, global warming and its devastating side-effects or typhoons, earthquakes and flooding, a good attitude, in the midst of all these disasters, is one of our best weapons against helplessness, despair and depression.
With all these complex problems confronting us, we often find ourselves in the gutter of hopelessness, wherefrom, Oscar Wilde suggests, we can look up at the heavens and “see the stars.” Indeed, a positive attitude, a happy outlook in life, especially these days, can help us tremendously in conquering our fears, insecurities, and dilemmas. Without total surrender, when we sometimes lose or fail, we should remind ourselves to get up and fight even harder. After all, “defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it,” as Joe Clark states. To this, I will add my own: “No one can succeed in life who does not have the courage to fail”; and, “The greatest risk in life is in not taking any risk at all.”
Someone said, “You cannot adjust the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sail.” Very true, indeed. Simple words of wisdom that could make our day, if not our life.
And all this leads me to quote a very popular soothing prayer that you may know, one that I say almost every day of my life, immediately following the expression of my thanks to the Almighty: “God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference.”
My faith in God, my acceptance and submission to His will, eliminates more than 75% of my worries day in and day out. I do not dwell on things I cannot change and allow fear and despair to paralyze my life. Worrying about things outside of my control is a waste of my time and expensive emotion that takes a toll on my mental and physical health. The things beyond my power I leave to God, and in doing so, I free my mind of a lot of unhealthy baggage.
But, of course, we should not simply leave everything to God. We must do our share. He promises to help those who help themselves. While we cannot cure the cancer of poverty in our country, we, as individuals, who are more blessed, can at least open our heart to help the homeless and the hungry, and gain that sense of satisfaction and inner peace. As I have stated a few times in the past, let us not wait for surgery to open our heart. Let our good attitude and compassion for our fellowmen reign.
As I live my life each day, I remind myself of an ancient proverb that says, “To everyone is given the key to heaven; the same key opens the gates to hell.” It’s indeed a matter of personal choice. And that choice inevitably depends on our attitude in life. Some people believe their fate is predestined, and that they can’t do anything about it. Others, inspired by good attitude and a positive frame of mind, design, create, and charter their own destiny.
Finally, I strongly believe that leaving this world after this life is not a tragedy. Dying without significance, without making a difference, without leaving behind a good legacy, is.
Let’s all develop a good attitude to help us enjoy life. It’s a potent prescription for health and happiness. #
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