Mind Platter Part 7

Human Me

When I claim to be perfect, you can claim that I'm a hypocrite. When I claim to make no mistakes, you can claim that I'm egocentric. When I claim that I'm always good at what I do, you can claim that I'm arrogant. I am not perfect. I am not flawless. I am not the best at everything I do. I have imperfections. I have flaws. I make mistakes. But I'll tell you one thing that I am. I am respectful. I listen to you when you speak. I help you whenever I can. I appreciate you, and I see the best in you. I see the good in you before I see the bad. I always have a chance to give you. I respect you as a human and hope that you will do the same for your own sake.

Read My Silence

If you think my silence has no meaning, think twice. Think, and you will realize the strength I hold back my words with. The most universal language is that of silence. We all use it, but it is the most misunderstood. It is the most powerful. It is the only language that we all express yet each have our own unique way of expressing. Go for those who understand your own silence no matter what you coat it with. Go for those who are aware of the existence of a meaning behind your silence, one that is deeper than what any words can rightfully express. After all, if they don't understand your silence, they will never understand your words.

I Deserve It

I'd rather be disappointed by the truth than satisfied with a lie. Respect me, not because I respect you, but because I deserve your respect. How pleased would you be if you found out I respected you only because I wanted you to respect me back or because I wanted something in return? I respect you because you deserve it. Don't listen to me just because I listen to you. I listen to you because you deserve to be heard. Don't be nice to me just because I'm nice to you. I'm nice to you because you deserve to be treated right. Don't show me that you care just because you know I care. I care for you because your heart needs care. If your thoughts and feelings are not genuine, point them in a direction other than mine. If I only give you what you deserve, at least keep me away from what I don't deserve.

Never Doubt

You may doubt that the moonlight will always enlighten your way in the darkest of nights. You may doubt that the sun will always strike its rays through the gloomiest of clouds to brighten your days. You may doubt that a rainbow will come after every storm, or that a s.h.i.+ning star of hope will always be there for you to wish upon. But never doubt that there are people out there who will be your light in the darkest of nights, who will brighten your every day, and who will open your eyes to the bright side of every situation. Never doubt that there are people out there whose wishes are not for things of their own, but whose wishes are to make your wishes come true. Give your soul a chance at being happy by truly believing that those people exist. If you exist, then they do.

Perspective

The direction that you're looking in may be great, not because of itself, but because of what it's making you look away from.

Time and You

Don't worry about what people think of you or about the way they try to make you feel. If people want to see you as a good person, they will. If they want to see you as a bad person, absolutely nothing you do will stop them. Ironically, the more you try to show them your good intentions, the more reason you give them to knock you down, because they know they've got a part of you that will care about what they do. Keep your head up high and be confident in what you do. Be confident in your intentions and keep your eyes ahead instead of wasting your time on those who want to drag you back by not caring or by caring the wrong way. Because you can't change people's views, you have to believe that true change for yourself comes from within you, not from anyone else. You must believe, and you must have faith that time itself is much more able to prove your point than you are.

Open Your Eyes

If they don't care when you care, they won't care when you don't. So stop trying to show that you care or that you don't. Either way, you're at a loss because the efforts you're putting into showing that you care are going towards the wrong people. Direct them towards those who care when you care and care when you don't care. While you're trying to prove a point, you may be blind to those who care for you. Not every person who has eyes can see everything. We do select what we want to see and make ourselves blind to what we don't. Ask yourself if what you're looking at is worth it. Open your eyes to new things that may have been there for a while, waiting for you to look back.

I Wonder

Before you wonder why, ask yourself how you got to that question. Ask yourself about what you did to reach that why. Often, the answer to it lies in what you did to get to it. Don't open a door and wonder why it opened. Don't open a door unless you are able to close it. Don't walk down a path and wonder why you got to a certain destination. Don't walk down a path without knowing your way back. That doesn't mean you can't take risks. That doesn't mean you shouldn't reflect. But don't take a risk and wonder why you failed, separating what you did from the outcome. You have to take responsibility for the decisions you make, for the things you do, and for the words you say. Then you will realize the presence of the answer to your why within the question itself. My destination was a product of the decisions I took to get to it, from the times I said no when I should have said yes and from the times I said yes when I should have said no.

Your Life and Theirs

When you're going through a rough time, keep this in mind. Every single person on earth has problems of his own, young or old, wealthy or poor, healthy or sick. You may look around and see happy faces. You may look around and see that everyone else's life is perfect because they have what you wish you had or what they want to have. Do you realize that that's how people look at you too? Do you realize that, to some people, you may seem like the happiest person on earth with the most perfect life? You may be feeling like you're living in a blur. You may not care about how you interact with those around you because you're so engulfed in your own troubles. You may think they don't even care about how you treat them because they're already happy. What difference is your smile or nice gesture going to make, right? Wrong. You may not be strong enough to draw a smile on your face when you're troubled, but others are. Their troubles may be bigger than yours, worse than yours, and more hurtful than yours. Just because they don't talk about their troubles doesn't mean they don't exist. So, before you look at others and a.s.sume things about their lives or judge them for doing the things that they do, think of how they could be looking at your life and thinking the same. Once you accept this fact, life becomes on your side. Happiness will seep through the broken pieces of your soul, and contentment will sew them back together.

The Power of Words

Your words can be more healing than any kind of medicine. They can be more toxic than any kind of poison. They can ease a mind of its nagging questions. They can relieve a heart from its doubts. They can free a heart from the chains that keep it holding on and that make it fear letting go. They can spring hope into a deserted heart. They can shatter a soul barely holding on to the pieces that make it strong. They can be a shelter for the broken and a canon of motivation for those who need confidence. They can build mountains of confidence and build stairs to those dreams that hide above the clouds. They can dig holes into the darkest and deepest of scars. They can strike happiness into the souls in most need of it, and they can strike sadness into the souls of those most far away from it. So, before you speak, ask yourself if your words are true. If they are not, then you are fooling the hopeless into hope that won't last. You are breaking down walls temporarily that will be built even higher afterwards. Say what the truth and genuineness in your heart need to say. Say no more.

Never Settle

If you choose an option because it's the only one, then you haven't chosen. You've settled.

Seal My Lips

If you understand me, then you've enslaved part of me. So, if you don't take care of my words, I will protect the pieces of my soul through the silence of my lips.

Negative Intentions

If my strength intimidates you, I hope you realize that's a weakness of yours. If my strength doesn't impress you, I hope you never see my weaknesses because, if you can't be happy to see me at my best, you most likely will be happy to see me at my worst.

Together

Lucky you. I don't build walls. I build strong values that take me up higher. I work on my strength, my confidence, and my independence. So, do you need to work hard to get to me? Yes. Must you take the right steps to get up there? Definitely. You see, I don't want you to break down a wall I've built only to realize that I'm at the same level as everyone else you know. I also don't want you to climb a wall only to come down it on the other side. I want you to actually come up higher for yourself and for me so that we can both say that we've worked hard to build what we have, not worked hard to get to each other, because, once we do, what's next?

Wake Up to the Darkness

As long as I breathe, I learn. As long as I have a purpose, I live. As long as I have a goal, I progress. As long as I have something to live for, I fight. As long as I struggle, I hope. I am what I do, and who I am is not who you see. I am who you understand. Do you know why? Who I think you are is not who you really are either. Unless I try to understand you, I may never really know who you are. I may never see your inner beauty. We all wear the masks that we think make us more beautiful. We claim to love what deserves our love, but we end up loving what we can't have because it adds purpose and meaning to our lives. It gives us challenges that we need to work for and overcome. Even if what we deserve comes easily, we let it go. Sometimes we don't even notice it because sometimes, no matter how bright the light may be, we don't notice its existence until the darkness comes.

Sometimes

Sometimes you choose not to walk through an open door, not because it's not inviting, but because a closed door makes you wonder, makes you antic.i.p.ate, and makes you crave the challenge of opening it. A closed door makes you want to work hard. It makes you want to take the risk of knocking. This is when you realize the irony of your will to accept waiting in front of a closed door over having the guarantee of being able to walk through an open door. This is when you realize that sometimes, just sometimes, you need to close your door so others can knock on it. Sometimes you need to stop s.h.i.+ning so others can notice your existence. Sometimes you need to stop answering unasked questions so others can start wondering.

Know Yourself