Lonely people

Let’s face it. There are a whole lot of lonely people out there. They live life wondering if anybody cares. Sure they know in their minds that there are people who love and care for them, but they get carried away by negative feelings that drag them down and threaten their happiness.

Everything you need to make you happy is in your head. So is everything that can make you sad. All that is honorable will emanate from your mind and all that is evil will come from there too.

In short, the seeds of happiness and despair come from within us. To be sure, external factors will play a significant part in how we use our minds to navigate through the waters on our journey through life. Still, how we fare will always depend on what we are made of, how we were raised by our parents, teachers and significant others who had an impact on us for better or for worse.   

There are those who insist that life is unfair and that they have been dealt a terrible hand of cards. They may be right, but only up to a point. Poverty, a dysfunctional family, abuse and neglect among other things gave them a late start and hampered their movement forward. Still, there is something in each one of us, something God-given that allows us to work our way up and out of the pit that misfortune might have thrust upon us. Perhaps it is only a spark or a feeble point of light in the distance, but it is a way out for the taking.   

And many have been able to rise above the most incredible odds and win in a spectacular fashion. Stories abound of men and women, the famous and the unknown, who have overcome what was thought impossible.

My wife, Emmy, comes to mind. Born into abject poverty, orphaned at age 10, sent off to work as a maid, in a bakery and a carinderia she managed to go to school and become a scholar and a working student. She had an iron will and a determination to succeed come what may. And she did just that. She has held many positions of trust, serves as a Unesco commissioner, is an educator and a competent addiction therapist and is an accomplished businesswoman and a caring and devoted mother.  

But she is just one among many who have beaten the odds by sheer determination and by making full use of their God given skills.

If you have problems about drugs, alcohol and behavior/attitude call my office at 820-6107 or 825-1771 or e-mail me at goldenvalues_school@yahoo.com.ph or write me at P.O. Box 2099 MCPO, Makati City.