Learning A Very Important Lesson From A Kid

In my adult life I never thought that I would learn the biggest lesson I could ever learn in life, from a kid. It all started when I watched a movie I missed seeing when it was first shown in theaters. Please allow me to tell you about it.

Of the hundreds of movies I have seen so far, only one made a profound, life-changing impact on me. Essentially, in watching the movie, I learned what I think is the most important lesson about living, from a kid. 

All my life, people I know kept telling me I am a good man. I never bothered to study myself to find out if they were right. I simply took their word for it and went on with my life believing that what they said of me was true ... until ... I watched the movie, Pay It Forward.

Then, I realized, I was not really the good man I thought I have always been, after all. I've been living a lie. 

The movie revealed what I have come to see as a major flaw in my character. It hit hard where my ego hurt the most: the realization that I was selfish all along. I wasn't doing what a real good man was supposed to be doing. And that is: doing good from the heart with no strings attached. 

Yes I did good, countless times, but I did only when asked. Very rarely did I volunteer to do good.

Thank God for the movie, I came to my senses. My life was never the same again afterwards. There's a lot more that I need to work on in making things right about myself and I cannot expect to be perfectly good in my physical life, but I'm making progress. 



Along the lines of "paying it forward," all I want to do now is pass on to others the many good things ...

Can You Share To Help The Talented But Marginalized Kids Have A Bright Future?

Moving forward with our plan to put up the MindSpring Center for Value-based Learning and Entrepreneurship aimed at providing education and entrepreneurial skills-training to talented but marginalized youth who are deprived of the benefits of education due to poverty, we have identified our would-be beneficiaries and they are the kids aged 10-15 who are presently making handcrafted products for a home-based handicrafts business, just to earn money to augment family income. Some of these kids are out of school owing to financial constraints.

Handicrafts-making being the main livelihood in the community where they live, these kids have acquired skills early in life which now enable them to make products that earn them some income but barely enough to get by. 

Basically, what is needed is research and training in modern crafts-making techniques and  designs to enable them to make products that appeal to today's consumers. Part of our mission is to create market for their products.

We are not condoning child labor with our plan, rather, we want to help them improve further the skills that they already have and motivate them to make the most of their free time producing instead of engaging in juvenile activities that may lead to the commission of petty crimes that progress into more serious social problems as they grow older. 

Much as no one wants to see these kids work just to make a living, it cannot be helped. Reality demands it of them. Either they do or they will have to cease to exist. Household income is just not enough, even with both parents working, to sustain the family's needs.

Below are the pictures of just a few of the products these kids have produced. I have included them here to give you an idea of just what they are capable of doing, per chance that you'd get interested and place an order or donate to our cause.

For more information, you can contact us through the button at the upper left corner of your screen. There's really nothing like doing good. Good begets good. Pass it on.

Wake-up Call

Aftermath of Japan quake

Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions and other killer cataclysms are becoming more and more frequent these days. 

We call them "natural disasters" that strike without mercy anytime, anyplace, leaving behind large swaths of destruction with myriad lives lost, billions of dollars worth of property damaged or destroyed and economies ruined. 

Just days following the devastation of Christchurch, New Zealand by a 6.3 temblor last February, the entire country of Japan is now  reeling under the heavy blows of the magnitude 9 killer quake that struck March 19, which spawned a 30-ft tsunami that wiped out villages and damaged the country's Fukushima Nuclear Power complex that is now causing jitters around the world because of radioactive emissions.

Only the most callous of hearts perhaps would not feel sympathy towards the Japanese for all the troubles they are going through now. I can't imagine being in such a situation myself.

Doing Good and Giving From The Heart

We have always known kids to be selfish ... that if you don't give them what they ask -- pronto, they throw tantrums and won't stop until  you give in. 

But there is something about kids that I like the most: when they give, they give from the heart. 

Not so with adults (of course not everyone). To a good number of grownups, "What's in it for me?" is the first thought that comes to mind when they find themselves about to part with something they possess to give to someone else. I admit, I have been guilty of this, myself, on several occasions. Thankfully, that's all been changed when I watched the movie, Pay It Forward.

I was just thinking, if only everyone, the world over, has the pureness of a child's heart, there would be none of the troubles and miseries now plaguing mankind. There would be no poverty, no hunger, no hate, no wars, no suffering, no wickedness.

Because of selfishness and greed, we have become like the beasts of the jungle who know no better than kill to survive. Such savagery, however, is understandable because these animals live by instinct not by reason, by necessity rather than want. For that reason, it could be said that mankind is worse because we are equipped with minds that could reason and hearts that could love but then, instead of being what we are supposed to be, we think and act on the contrary.

Must We Wait For Kids To Show Us The Way ...?

I was browsing the videos on YouTube when I stumbled on these. Please watch. Very powerful messages that can move mountains. I won't say much here, the songs say it all.



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I have A Gift For You

I'd been thinking of what I can give you through this blog since I set it up -- something handy and timeless which would be of use to you not only at the time you receive it but all through the days of your life -- as a token of appreciation for your support.

An idea came to mind. How about a digital library? Yes. I'm sure you are going to like this one.

Please click on the tab FREE Gift For You for the contents of the library and download link.

I would appreciate a "like" and a "follow" from you for this blog. Thank you very much.. 

The Greatness of Little Things

Have you noticed how big and wide the ripples would grow when you throw a tiny pebble into the water? 

How about that big tree in your backyard under whose shade you often find yourself cooling off during summer, did you pause a moment to ponder how it grew so large from the tiny seed that it once was just like the one you extracted from its fruit moments ago? 

Little things becoming big in the course of time is so common a knowledge, perhaps only a little kid just out of his/her diapers would wonder how such a thing could have happened, that we regard it not worth spending time to think about. 

Insignificant as it may seem though, this phenomenon, if you like, affects every aspect of our physical existence regardless of whether or not we take cognizance of it. 

The Purpose and Meaning of Life

We live in a time and age when people "run to and fro" in the mad rush to acquire material possessions. Get this ... get that. 

"Give ...? Are you kidding?" 

Have you got no pity for the poor?

"What ... the lazy bunch ... you ruin my day."

In the news today: The "notorious son" of a despot somewhere "commissioned plans to build a super yacht worth $380 million -- almost three times more than his energy-rich country spends annually on health and education programs combined."

WOW! What a life! This guy must be feeling good ... really good. But ...

Thank You Very Much

Some kind of euphoria is sweeping over me as I write this post. Can't help it. Since I set up this blog just a few days back,  I've been getting favorable responses, positive feedback, perfect 10 reviews from Linkreferral members and encouragement, left and right.

I'm inspired like I've never experienced before in previous undertakings. I'd say, I have finally found my place under the sun. Indeed, there really is nothing like doing good.

But I have only just begun. The road ahead is long and hard and for sure, it's not going to be an easy ride for me. There'd be difficulties and challenges to face but for as long as there are people like you with a golden heart who unselfishly lend a helping hand, I'm confident I will succeed.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Good Begets Good - The Golden Rule

"Do unto others what you would want others do unto you," so states the golden rule espoused by practically all religions of the world. 

Simply stated, treat others as you want to be treated. Naturally, each one of us wants to be treated well. You do, don't you?

What a real nice place this world would be if everyone just lived religiously by the golden rule. Sadly, in this dog-eat-dog world where selfishness reigns supreme in the hearts of men, the golden rule, though still generally accepted to be the right thing to do, has become nothing more than just an expression of rightness that has lost its relevance and have very little use in the real world. 

The sad thing about it is: when this golden rule, by the least of chances, is practiced, it is not to serve the noble purpose of building mutually beneficial relationships but to satisfy selfish objectives, like when trying to gain favor or advantage over a negotiated deal.

God minced no words when He said: "They worship me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." A clear indictment of men's hypocrisy.

What You Do To Others Will Be Done To You

View more presentations from He Yan

Nothing Like Doing Good - Pass it On.

Hello Friend,

Welcome to my new blog. This is my first post and here, I'd like to discuss the issue of selfishness as the stumbling block to thinking and doing good, wholeheartedly with no strings attached.

If there is any human weakness that we can regard as the main culprit in all of the wretchedness and suffering in the world, it is: SELFISHNESS. 

No one would like to admit that he/she is selfish. But that doesn't change the reality of the fact that everyone is selfish, to one degree or another. From the least of us, to the greatest, everyone is guilty of selfishness at some point(s) in his/her life. Anyone who says otherwise is blind to his/her carnal proclivities.

Listen to what the Bible says about selfishness: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet but you cannot have what you want ... because (of) wrong motives, that you spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:1.3)