If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they’re always yours.
And if they don’t, they never were.

Kahlil Gibran

Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain,
can we truly know what love means.

Leo Buscaglia

Love is a tough subject – too complex to define, too extensive to understand, and too tricky to take control of. And though identified differently by the many sectors of society, love remained to be one of the common factors that build friendships, attachments, and relationships.

Living in an interdependent society makes us give love in order to receive love. But some of us have restrained the flow of love for fear of not receiving it back. We start to create expectations and we react negatively when these expectations are not met. Our willingness to give love then comes from a need that we also want to get love back. Giving love in exchange for love seems to be not love at all – such neediness disables us from truly loving.

Love is supposed to be a verb, an action. It is supposed to be unconditional, not considering the principle of reciprocation; for such limiting conditions hinder us to expand our world as we increase connection to others. And although living in this worldly society makes unconditional loving a challenge, let us trust and hope that it is possible – that it is within the nature of humans to feel, share, and give love without expecting anything in return.

In our perpetual search and continual quest to define and understand love, we will always find it difficult to put a single definition to love. But we really do not have to identify or outline or label such powerful emotion, for it is already defined in our hearts.

Listen only to your heart as it speaks the language of love and there you will find what love means.

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

Mother Teresa

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.

- John Wooden

Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.

- John Petit-Senn

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some.

– Charles Dickens

It’s how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success.

– David Feherty

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

Chinese Proverb

We tend to define happiness according to our level of contentment. We tend to measure happiness according to the wealth we have acquired, to the quality of life experiences we have encountered, and to the degree of satisfaction we feel for these earthly riches. Such tendency makes us forget that only 20% of our happiness is due to the quality of life circumstances we have. Eighty percent of our happiness is actually under our control, which means that most of the things that will make us happy are intentional activities that we can do.

There are plenty of things that could make us happy, but there are only a few things that could provide lasting happiness. We may be overjoyed that we are able to buy the things we want. We may be delighted that we are able to travel and explore the world. We may be pleased that we have finally reached our dreams. However, the blissful feelings associated with these accomplishments are trifling and superficial. At the end of the day we still wonder why we keep on wanting more and why there is no complete gratification.

This is where the essence of genuine happiness comes in. It seems that pure joy and gladness can only be achieved when it involves other people. To support a relative, assist a friend, lend a hand to a neighbor, help a stranger, or just simply be in service of other people makes the higher form of happiness available to us. It is when we invest in our relationship with others that we find enduring harmony and lasting pleasure.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will avoid one hundred days of sorrow.

Chinese Proverb

We are all aware that problems and trials in life come and pass. We all know that there will be plenty of instances where our patience will be tested. We also know that there will still be circumstances where we could be truly happy. These facts simply imply that our awareness of the possibilities in life would help us positively cope with all of life’s circumstances.

Our mindset or attitude plays an important role in our ability to deal with the different emotions life would make us feel. Our minds are so powerful that it can change negative thoughts into positive and progressive outlook. Our reason enables us to recognize, accept and evaluate life experiences while our motives make coping and adjustment possible. When we properly employ reason and apply our moral motives in weighing the things that happen to us, sinking ourselves in sorrow, disappointment, anger, or hurt would less likely happen.

We cannot look at the world through rose-colored glasses all the time; we cannot deny that we may feel hurt, distress, or regret at the challenges of life. But it isn’t necessary that we adopt a non-productive mindset in order to get through life’s trials. Positive thinking is clearly more essential because if we are able to put constructive interpretation on the negative things that happen to us then there will be less pain and hurt and disappointment that we will endure. We need not be extremely tolerant or indifferent; we only need to strategize and employ a positive attitude so that we’d be able to live less weary and more thankful.

Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

Charles Reader

Humans are crazy for their own destinies. We always believe deep within ourselves that we are destined to do something or destined to be somebody. Maybe we really are but what do we do about it?

You should realize that it is not like destiny would come knocking at you door late at night or manifest itself while you are taking a shower. You have to work for it like every person does. Destiny is not a trophy that is given to somebody for accomplishing something but instead it is the end result of our works.

But how can you reap your destiny? It is really not that hard. Just develop a habit of constantly being better each day. In whatever you do, always have the habit of giving it your all. Do not let your failures get the best of you. If things do turn badly then just go back to the drawing board. Sit down and think about what you want to be and what you want to accomplish. Then act on that thought. Do not give up until you have found the best way possible on how to act on it and then you will be surprised that things will begin to become easy for you. This is when a habit sets in. once you have created that habit then nothing will ever be hard for you.

Just always remember that creating a habit is never an easy thing. It requires patience and a ton of determination. But once you have created that single habit that will push you to do the things you want to do easily and become the person you want to be then you have now reached your destiny.