Journey man

Dance Like No One's Watching

2008-12-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.
The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. There will always be some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. These obstacles ARE your life.
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, reassure every moment that you have. Treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time...and remember that time waits for no one.
So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Thought for the day:
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching

Did god created evil?

2008-12-10T20:00:00.001-08:00

It is probably another urban legend, but I liked it and thought I would pass it on…The university professor challenged his students with this question.“Did God create everything that exists?”A student bravely replied, “Yes, he did!”“God created everything?” The professor asked.“Yes sir”, the student replied.The professor answered, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil”.The student became quiet after this answer. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.Another student raised his hand and said, “Can I ask you a question professor?”“Of course”, replied the professor.The student stood up and asked, “Professor, does cold exist?”“What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?”The students snickered at the young man’s question. The young man replied, “In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe feel if we have no heat.”The student continued, “Professor, does darkness exist?”The professor responded, “Of course it does.”The student replied, “Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton’s prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn’t this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present.”Finally the young man asked the professor, “Sir, does evil exist?”Now uncertain , the professor responded, “Of course, as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”The professor sat down.The young man’s name — Albert Einstein

how to dance in the rain.’

2008-12-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

I hate FWD emails. I received this one from a long lost friend and enjoed it and decided to pass it on.
Old, but a good reminder.
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.
I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ’She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’ True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought could share with you.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. I hope you share this with someone you care about - I just did.
‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’

Fwd: Its when things seem worst that you must not quit!

2008-12-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go,
> you might not get them back. Sometimes we get so
> busy with our own lives and problems that we may
> not even notice that we've let them fly away.
> Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and
> who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
> Sometimes we just don't realize what real
> friendship means until it is too late.

My precious daughter (Abigail)

2008-09-27T01:23:00.001-07:00

Game of Life!

2008-09-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Take a look at a basketball game, people can be in two places, on the court or in the stance. Difference being, the people on the court play the game and their actions impact the results of the game, the people in the stance can only watch or talk about the game, their actions has no impact on the results. Being in the game there are risks involved, there’s always a chance of losing or fail, but you can also win. In the stance, there are no risks and you will never fail, but there are no possibilities of winning. Life can be viewed the same way, are you playing the game called your life or are you just watching it? My favorite commercial of all time is a Nike commercial that went like this “I missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed, my name is Michael Jordan.” You have to fail in order to succeed, if you put yourself in a position where you can not fail, you will never succeed.

These Things I Know …

2007-07-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking about this recently, a kind of catalog of sorts. I did not originate any of these pithy thoughts, but I have been thinking about what I would try and teach my child.

1) Telling the truth and living the truth are not the same;
2) Life is not fair;
3) We must do our best nonetheless.
4) The hardest thing to do is often the right thing to do;
5) All of the best things that ever happened to me came after saying yes rather no;
6) You can’t make anyone love you;
7) You are responsible for everything you do;
8) You can’t really control the world around you;
9) The past is dead; the future may never come; all that matters is now;
10) Being free means accepting responsibility for your actions and acknowledging that the only thing you can ever really own are your thoughts and feelings;
11) Saying hello is much easier than saying goodbye;
12) Helping others is a duty. Many people helped you in the past to get to where you are. Now it is your turn to do the same;
13) Inside, where it really matters, we are all the same;
14) You will make mistakes, this is the foundation of all growth;
15) When you face the things you fear they will lose their power over you;
16) If you have no regrets, you had no life;
17) Do the right thing, even when no one is watching;
18) When you are wrong; apologize and make amends;
19) When you are right, do not apologize;
20) Your life will be short no matter what you do, so you might as well do the things that please you;

There are a couple of other things that I found especially resonant in thinking about this.

We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge;

All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data;
Yet we are responsible for every thing we do;
No excuses will be accepted.

Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again …”

If anyone has any life wisdom that they would like to share I certainly would like to hear it.

In loving memory

2006-09-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

It’s been more than 6 years since my sister passed away and there hasn’t been a day I didn’t think about her. I miss her so much. I miss her grace, her smile and her gentle way of letting me know that everything will be ok.

I have tried to pretend that life would be normal without her but it has been nothing but normal. She was a wonderful person and a great mentor for me and for everyone who knew her. She was the source of my strength and my guiding light and with out her my life has been a solo journey in the dark.

She was my sister, my friend and my life who always tried to guide me in the right path of my life and I owe it to her everything that I am and everything that I will be.

She was a kind, generous, sweet and gentle Person who would have moved the world for me if I’d asked.

It is days like this that I can only hope that there is an afterlife because she deserves something special that is for sure.

In Loving memory.

IT IS EASIER TO REACT THAN TO ACT

2005-07-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how we, the children of Ethiopia in Diaspora, rally behind our people when it is of political cause. After witnessing the reaction of Ethiopian across the world in the aftermath of the may 15, 2005, national election one can not help but wonder why this energy was not directed to address our socio-economic problems that have been hindering our development as a nation.

It is understandable to react the way we did when we believe injustice is being done in our society. It is; nonetheless, better to think about the consequences of our actions. We should all concentrate on what Ethiopia has accomplished rather than spend all our energy on a small wrinkle that for sure could be ironed out with time and patience.

The recent elections were far from perfect, if there is such a thing at all. Yet, we need to appreciate the amount of progress we have made and that we are going in the right direction. Among other things, these elections had a lot of good things about them.

This was our first ever national election where true and legitimate opposition parties participated. For the first time, they were given ample opportunity to put their messages across to the public, including the use of fair amount of air time on the state media.

This was an election where Ethiopians showed their true colors, participating in a democratic election in a civilized manner with an unprecedented number going to the polls. It was the first election for an incumbent to acknowledge having lost seats in parliament. This was also the first time the opposition parties gained a great number of seats. These events have been unheard of in our country before.

These changes represent a great progress by any standards, without even recognizing that this was only the third actual, and the first true, national election. It is in the best interest of Ethiopia and Ethiopians to accept the results to be announced by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) and move on to improve the system.

That should also apply to those of us who live in Diaspora. It is commendable that we care and follow the situation back home as closely as we can. However, we should be very careful how we express both our dismay and support. I am afraid that what we say from afar carries a lot of weight and consequences for Ethiopians living in the country.

I would rather see all this energy used to organize and participate in rallies and writing opinion directed towards to bring attention to the most pressing Ethiopia has to deal with today. Issues such as education, poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS and other socio-economic problems should get most of our attention.

Let us be frank and ask ourselves, who amongst us does anything to improve the life and living conditions of Ethiopians?

How many of us, for instance, organize rallies or a drive to solicit funds in order to rehabilitate our elementary schools and improve the education system? How many of us tried to teach our farmers how best to use their plots to attain self-independence? Have we ever educated our families and friends to learn the truth about the transmission and prevalence of the AIDS pandemic?

I wonder if we have ever asked the government of our host countries to forgive Ethiopia’s debts and extend their helping hand. I doubt if there are that many of us who have tried to approach many of those issues.

The truth is, it is easier to react than to act.

I believe politics should be left to those who live in Ethiopia and experience both the grief and the benefit of the system. If we, in Diaspora, decided to voice our opinion, then we should tell the truth about a number of things.

Violence and people dying on the streets is not the way to get things done. Yet, we have come along way and real change does not happen over one election. Having said that, it is better to accept the small progress we have made and work within the system to get to the next step.

If anyone in the Diaspora has the passion for politics and their country, I believe he, or she, should go back to participate and face the consequences with the people. Standing on the other side of the ocean - hiding behind a foreign passport- and inciting people inside the country does more harm than good.

Since the election, I have had the opportunity to meet many people and the first thing they ask me is always the same, as if our rallies are going to bring them an immediate solution: “what is your (adopted) government going to do? What is your government saying?”

My answer, sadly, is always the same. I tell them, “We are looking the situation in Ethiopia very closely”.

I challenge all of us (in Diaspora) to call our families, friends, and neighbors and tell them that violence is not the way and sustainable solution can only be attained through dialogue. Let us tell them that a change born of violence will not last long.

We could hold rallies in our adapted cities, and Ethiopians might do the same at meskel square. The results, however, of those two actions are as different as black and white in their respective locations. Shame on us if we let another Ethiopian die on the streets because of our irresponsible remarks and useless rallies.

The flip side of the coin is, we should demand as much from prime minister Melese Zenawi. We should thank him for allowing us to see these changes in our lifetime- hardly anyone of us can honestly say that we expected to witness democracy being debated in Ethiopia- and we should urge him to see it through, not only by educating the public, but also by walking the talk.

The first step would be for him to take full responsibility for the deaths of 36 people under his watch. Since he told us and the world that the low enforcement agencies were under his direct command, we should assume the actions of those police officers falls directly on his shoulders. He should take full responsibility, apologize and try to compensate the families whose loved ones were killed.

Should he claim that those officers disobeyed his orders, then the list he can do is t have those officers stand public trial under the due process of the law. The prime Minster should also continue the path of democracy by allowing greater spaces for the press to flourish. It would help bridge the ethnic division and promote diversity. It is time to emphasize ETHIOPIAWINET again.

It is also the time to create and sustain equal opportunities for all people under one Ethiopia. This, I believe, will give our children a decent start to life by providing them with free and quality elementary education. If we give them a good foundation, they will build a beautiful country on that.

I would also like prime Minster Melese to ask himself, and the people, why so many voted against his party and why he has lost almost all his seats from the major cities. Once he gets the answer to those questions, then working with the people to establish a socially responsible government will not be as difficult.

Amending the constitution, so that no one person can be a prime Minster for more than two terms is paramount to the process of building confidence. However democratic a society can be, staying in power for tow long always borders pure dictatorship. If he is elected, he needs to use the next term to finish what he has already started, which is create a truly democratic society. When the next election comes, though, we would not expect him to run again but to handover the country to whoever will be elected in a better situation than the one he took over.

Such forward-looking view is expected as much from the oppositions, whose leaders are really our heroes for showing us that Ethiopians can look beyond ethnic lines and establish a political party that is inclusive and Ethiopians. They have made history by being the first true opposition political party.

However, whatever they might have accomplished so far is only the beginning. We expect much more from them, and particularly that they will not initiate, in anyway, or direct their supporters to go to the streets. We expect them to tell their supporters that hey will lead them into becoming a truly democratic society by working within the system not against it.

We expect, on July 8, 2005, when the results are announced by NEBE, that opposition leaders will tell their supporters and the world that they have accepted the results and that they will be working in parliament on behalf of the people who voted for them.

Once in parliament, they should use all the peaceful and legal means available to keep the government in power in check so that nothing out of ordinary or unfair will ever be done. We expect them to keep their promise and improve the lives of our people.

They could start working with the ruling party to amend the constitution so that no one individual in the future can stay in power for more than two terms.

Finally, all opposition parties should put their differences aside and work towards creating one or two stronger ones that are based on ideology rather than ethnicity or anything else. They ought to get the mindset of having power now and forever. Instead, they need to think about the future, to establish a system within which our children can participate in a truly democratic society and that their votes will count.

I urge them to lead us in the future so that our grandchildren will become a truly elected prime Minster of their country. I plead with them not to try dispose of all the good that has been achieved so that they can keep all the power they have now.

History will judge them by what they will do on July 8, 2005. If they accept the results of NEBE, they will declare to the world that they are not there to grab power but to help build a democratic society. If they act to the contrary, they will have accomplished nothing except that more people will be killed, and it will send us back some 20 years. I am afraid they will them erase what little progress we have made towards building democracy.

It may be worth recalling what one of the greatest men of our time, Nelson Mandela, once said: “IT IS WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE, NOT WHAT WE ARE GIVEN THAT SEPARATES ONE PERSON FROM ANOTHER”

OUR MOST EDUCATED PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM TO FAIL US

2005-05-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

You know what sadness me the most is that our most educated people always seem to fail us. My opinion is that whether the result was fair or not is not that important when you look at the big pictures. The ruling party might not have won the election fairly per say, but it had given us our first election ever and we had witnessed a real change. As you might know in the previous election the opposition had a total of some 12 seats out of 547 but in this election the opposition had nearly 200 seats which is a huge change by any standard. All the opposition had to do is accept defeat with grace and prove themselves in parliament and wait for their next chance while working hard for the people who elected them. If the opposition is not so consumed with obtaining power immediately we could have been all winners.
Let me be clear here, it is hard for the opposition or for the Ethiopian people to accept that the ruling party had actually won; especially after witnessing the opposition had won almost all the major cities. But real democracy can not be expected over one election, it is a sum of all incremental changes made at every election (even those who claimed to be the father of democracy straggle with their electoral process). To begin with I don’t really know how many of us truly understand either the concept or the process of democracy and those of us who have some idea are so consumed with power we abandon what we know is right.
It is one thing to know democracy it is totally different to practice it. What should have been an opportunity to show the world that an African country can practice democracy without any violence or blood shed (which is sad to say the trade mark for our continent) turned in to another example for the west to point finger at. It is just mind boggling why a group of people who are highly educated and who have lived and participated in a democratic process could not see the opportunity they were presented with and let the poor people of Ethiopia die in vain. I say in vain because no real change can be born out of violence and it is just a temporary solution for a complex problem.
A change might come out of all this mess, but it is just a change of government and not a permanent solution that will benefit the next generation. Assuming this struggle continues and yields a new government all it means is we will have a one party government that used violence to get to power. Since that government would have come to power by violence means it will require violence to get it out office and this cycle repeats itself until we are ready to accept that real democratic change is a long process and it comes in a very small incremental changes.
BY resorting to violence all we did was turn the clock back some twenty years and erase all the progress we have made since then. It is a shame we lost all the great opportunities this election presented us with because a few power hungry people could not wait for the system to develop. If they were really there to change our country's system and not after a position of government they would have accepted the 200 seats they won and give us a chance to get to know them and work on our behalf to bring about a true change in the next election.
Since now it will be hard to change things around, all we could do is pray that our mighty God will watch over our country and its people as he always have.