Ask and you shall receive

When situations happen in your life, ask for what you really want, set the intention to receive it and let it go. I just did it and you guess it, I got what I wanted! There is no need to focus my energy in what I cannot control, that is wondering why things are happening to me or why people are this way or that, what do they think about me or worse what’s going to happen now?, etc. I have no control over what is already done nor do I have control over the circumstances that are happening right now in my life. I do however have control choosing what to do to whatever happens in my life forward, what I think and how I think and what I can do right now to make things happen. What I cannot do, I leave it to God, my higher power. I like to think of it this way “do what is possible and leave God with the impossible”. Once I do that, I let it go and trust that it will be done. From now on try asking yourself the basic question, “What do I want and how can I get it?” and listen to your inner wisdom for guidance.  Then ask for help or guidance from people dear to you, people you respect and value their opinion and get to work in doing what you can. If you think you don’t have anyone to turn to (hard to believe), then turn into your inner guidance and trust that an answer will come. It may not be the right answer logically or what you expect to hear but trust that it will be done. It is a process that requires practice but it gets easier if you just turn inwards and listen. Have faith, believe it will be done and forget about it knowing that God and the universe will make sure that whatever you want becomes your reality. That doesn’t mean you sit idle wishing for things to happen no, you already have done anything in your power to bring your dreams and goals closer, you have done your part and now just have to set the intention out to the universe and let it go so then you can receive what is yours.

Years of change, growing up

5 years ago I left my full time, corporate secured job to go on my own. It was a turning point in my life. I was at the point of hitting the glass ceiling where I was and any career advancement at the super company I was working for was at that point slim to none. To move up the ladder I needed more studies, more experience and so on. I was tired of looking outside and wishing for something better, I was tired of working a 9 to 5 job that was leading me to nowhere. The company I worked for was not just any company; a major defense contractor, my old job had all the ratings of a reputable, stable company with all the perks that go along with it. Just mentioning the name of the company brings a meaning of pride and honor to their employees and those who wish they work there. I couldn’t compliant of the employee benefits, excellent health plan and even the flexible working schedule. It was nice to have those perks and that job security feeling but I wanted something else. My internal gyroscope was gravitating towards change, something better, freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want and at my own terms. That felt right within me and after some organization and planning, I said goodbye to Corporate America and went to start a business on my own. It was a turning point in my life indeed.

At that same defining moment in my life there was another even more significant event that transformed my life forever. During the time I quit my job was the same time that my wife and I were welcoming our first born baby girl. When I held my baby and saw the treasure God has given to us to love and care, it was the push that I needed to make my decision and quit my job for good. Most people would say that I was crazy to quit a stable, secure job when good jobs are hard to find and keep for that matter but they would gasp in horror when they learned I quit my job when we just had a baby, another mouth to feed. I was bombarded with questions from the entire family and friends sector, asking me why I’ve done such a regrettable mistake and reciting all the bad things waiting for me in the self employment aisle. But I never hesitated; I had my fears but I was determined to succeed and I had all the motivation I needed  every time I looked at my daughter. It was a leap to the unknown considering the circumstances at that time, but now looking back 5 years later, it was the best decision I ever made. Thanks to that decision, I grew, I improved, and I evolved in the person I am today.  I look at my daughter now 5 years old and she is such a big girl, so excited to go to Kindergartner and even riding the school bus. I looked back at everything we have gone through together as a family, how much she has changed my life for the better and how much she has grown as a little person.  If I can summarize what is the best thing I got out of this deal, I would say is the quality time I get to spend with my family and that is priceless. It took me almost that much time to figure out how the never ending process of parenting and working operates together and improve it, but just being available to her and my family when they needed me, that is, knowing what are my priorities to me was well worth the effort.

Now I feel the winds of change moving my gyroscope yet again. With the welcoming of our baby boy just few months ago our family is complete and moving on to new things, new perspectives,  exploring new opportunities and adjusting the direction of our sails.  The circumstances have changed but the priorities remains the same and as our children continue to grow, we grow too.

Expect the Unexpected: hidden lessons in life

I travel a lot across the Sunshine State. You can find me in Orlando today, tomorrow in Jacksonville, next day in Miami and a week later through the Panhandle. My partner on the road is my 2000 Isuzu Rodeo, my Ol’ reliable. I love my truck; we have spent lots of time on the road. It is the only brand new car I ever purchased with zero miles. Recently we celebrated its 200,000 mile together. I couldn’t have done my job without my truck and I appreciate the years of service. I was never left stranded; driving safely from point A to point B. and keeping up with maintenance was paramount. I spend lots of money keeping up with my truck’s maintenance. Whatever needs to be done besides the regular oil and filter change, I was always eager to repair or replace anything that needs to be fixed. I can’t recall how many parts have been overhauled, replaced, remanufactured after so many miles, but I can vouch that my truck is as good as gold. It is my bread and butter and I don’t take its maintenance lightly. For a road warrior, the car is a sanctuary and nobody likes to be stranded on the road anyways. Recently though the car has been in need of immediate repairs. I knew that something was up and it was a matter of time but I was not expecting anything to happen now when least expected. The truck was failing to start properly and I was feeling like it could die at any time. I also knew the potential cost of this and my situation could not been the worst at that time. It was an unexpected expense and as much as I can postpone it until I can afford to do it, it had to be done and now! So I took Ol’ reliable to my mechanic, a guy who also has become my friend and has taken care of all my vehicles and some of my family members too for years now. He is a person I trust and appreciate taking good care of the maintenance of my vehicles. Good people are hard to find and my mechanic is one of a kind. He knows how I value good car maintenance and knows how much I travel. Whenever something expensive to fix he asks me first “are you ready?” Well I wasn’t ready when I learned that after the recent tune up that cost me couple hundred dollars, the major cause of the problem was the fuel pump and to change that had to lower the gas tank.  To do that plus the parts was several hundred dollars more and thus it became the major problem of my day.  A major expense right after another major expense with the A/C of my wife’s Expedition. Another unexpected expense that it had to be done, but why it had to be one after the other? Was there a lesson to learn?

I couldn’t help to feel vulnerable. In a moment of insecurity, of despair, of worry because that money to pay for the repair was completely unexpected and could not avoid feeling preoccupied, thinking how was I going to get the money when the money I am counting on is already accounted for? I also felt doubt in my believing that everything will be cool and I should not worry knowing that through worst I have gone and come out upright and even in a better place. Again I was feeling for a moment, defeated.  A blow after another in times where every dollar is accounted for. Wow! This was definitively not what I intended to happen but it did happen. It was a matter of time after all; the truck was going to breakdown on the road and could get even worse. There was no need to think of how I could have avoided this whole thing nor there was time to think why this happened to me. There was only time to taken in the lesson, live the experience and move forward. Knowing that I could not do anything else in my power at that moment,  I asked God to let me know what is the best course of action and to help me do it. He told me to forget it that he was going to take care of it. Is that simple, yet I betray myself casting doubt in my faith with worry. It doesn’t take much negative thinking to paralyze you and blow your day off, so the best thing was for me to get on with it.  The good thing is that I feel more aware of those “clear” moments as they happen and they do happen. Just these past months I have experience difficult situations where I was able to become aware in the present allowing me to experience the situations with some clarity and know when to use the energy of the situation to get over it and get into pro-action. In the end whatever happens, happens for a reason and it is for me to learn from it, to simply trust that it is for something better and that it’s coming my way whether I am expecting it or not.

Holding a grudge: living with resentment

A feeling of resentment is like walking with a ball and a chain shackled to your ankle. You can walk as far as the chain will let you until the heavy ball stops you and holds you back unable to move forward. Some people make their chain longer and as it gets longer so it gets heavier, making it difficult to carry on in life. Indeed the worst thing about holding a grudge without truly forgiving and not letting go is that no matter how far you go, you always be attached to the weight of the ball, the grudge, by the heavy chain, that is your emotions that holds you to that bitterness and you will always return back to those negative thoughts and feelings preventing you to move ahead in your life. However when you truly forgive another and decide to move on by letting go of the ill feelings and replace those feelings with kindness, optimism and good intentions, then you will really forgive and able to move forward because you finally let it go.  You have learned from that experience and now your improved attitude will allow you to really forgive that person, let go of the negative feelings so both can move on with your lives. You and only you can cut your own chain that will free you from hatred and allow you to move forward without having to re-live the past leaving it right where it belongs, in the past, never to be re-visited not with the same feelings you once had but you will notice that now you may look at the same  experience with a new set of eyes and so it will be remembered in a different way.

Random Selfless Act: giving blood

It was high noon on Wednesday when I visited my local VA clinic for a quick stop. I needed to pick up a pair of shoe inserts I ordered a while ago and it had arrived to the clinic about a week ago.  I have been busy the past week and it was until today that I was able to stop by the clinic. As I walked in, I saw the Florida Blood bank’s sign on the wall and immediately a thought came on me to stop by and give blood. Without hesitation I went there with the intention to donate blood for the first time despite my fear of needles. I picked up my inserts and I asked the clerk, a fragile old man “where is the blood bank?” “the bank?”  He asked and I said, “The blood bank” stressing the “blood” word in case he misunderstands me. Without hesitation he gave me the directions and as I walked down the hall and out of the building, my conviction level when up a notch. I was going to do this and it was going to be today. As the two double doors opened I saw my objective, the Big Red Bus. Walking the distance in the open, I felt the intense heat over me and started to sweat and uncomfortable, sticky sweat. When I opened the bus doors I felt a wonderful rush of cool air in my face and I could not resist entering inside to cool off. However, I quickly realized that I just entered the point of no return and it was time to back up what I said I was going to do. Then fear crept in; my palms and feet started to sweat and I felt uneasy.  That’s when the  nurse greeted me, breaking the anxiety that was building up inside me. “No backing out now man”, I said to myself and talked with the nurse who answered a lot of questions I had and also asked me a lot of questions about my health. After the first screening to see if I was a good candidate, I was feeling very comfortable with the nurse and the process was felt even welcoming.  After everything was set up,  it was on, the time of truth. I sat in a comfortable reclining seat and the nurse quickly took over everything else, keeping my mind occupied into something else than my arm and the needle. I was offered juice, got chocolate chip cookies for after the donation, and the good nurse put cold pads on my face and neck which felt like going to a spa, so cool and so relaxing. I didn’t even feel the first pinch of the needle and the whole thing took about 10 minutes. I was like “that’s it?” and she said “yes, we are done!” I was so happy that after all these years, in fact my entire life, I held a false believe about donating blood because of my fear of needles. Turned out to be a blissful experience. When I saw the amount of blood I donated I was shocked to see not a blood vial like the ones I have done for lab work, but a bag full of my blood. The nurse said “with this bag you can potentially save three lives” and I was elated just to hear that. There is life in that bag to help save someone’s life and I carry a lot of it to give over and over without me doing anything but to sit there, relax and be pampered for doing something so wonderful. I cannot wait to do this again on a regular basis, to do another random act of selflessness to help save a life.