Balance

One of the most important lessons in life we learn is to maintain balance. You might be having a fantastic day and throughout the day you get bad news or your plans just didn’t go the way it should’ve OR it might just be the complete opposite, your day is not going so well, and without expecting it, your day just becomes the best, whether it’s a good friend you bumped into or passing your exam.

             Everything has its time, place and reason. There is a lot that happens throughout your day, and it is a lesson learned, an experience gained.

             Balancing means to juggle and multi task, and to make sure you don’t over work yourself both body & mind. Balancing both negative and positives may be a struggle at times, but eventually in time, you realize the importance of this balance. It makes you the person who you are today; you become a stronger person and gain more knowledge. Your balance in life keeps you aware, calm and brings you down to earth.


Internal (Mind, Heart, Health)

Mind: Challenging yourself intellectually vs. creating opportunities for your mind to rest
Heart: Giving love vs. receiving love
Health: Eating, drinking, exercising properly vs. resting and treating yourself to some extra yummies

External (Work, Social, Family, Fun)

Work: Pushing yourself to achieve goals vs. seeing the bigger picture and enjoying the ride
Social: Satisfying your social desires vs. taking time for yourself
Family: Fulfilling your familial responsibilities vs. creating healthy boundaries
Fun: Allocating time for things you enjoy doing vs. making sure you don’t overdo it
As you can see, both ends of each spectrum are actually positive; but if either side is taken to an extreme, something that is intended to be positive can end up being detrimental.

It’s helpful to check in with yourself to see if you feel balanced. To read more further more about the internal/external and the 9 tips to a balanced life go to:

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/9-tips-to-create-a-balanced-life/

Written By: Opola Karim




Value ‎

    Having value for everything in life is important!  The way you value your self, relationships, parents, brothers, sisters, kids, jobs, friends, pets, things you own ...etc
  
     In life sometimes we are not that lucky to have those things, and if we have them we should be thankful.  
We should not take any thing for granted or anyone for granted. Remember there is always someone out there who needs a job, who needs a friend,who needs a family, or who needs parents etc.  

     So we should have value for everything around us, it's a part of life. For example, you should value things such as your body because without them you wouldn't be able to do things you would normally do in your daily life. People who give you a job, your family who loves you, your brother and sister's who are there for you in the good and bad times, your parents who take care of you and so on...Value is important and that we must cherish.

By: Mary & Anisa 
Change

Do we need to Change ourselves?
Our life, community, country, world, self esteem, respect for others, job,the things we say,or do, the way we look, what we eat, what ever it is, it starts with us. 
We are the ones who have to change, the world can't change itself.
We are the ones to love each other, to care for each other, to help each other, and to understand each other. Everything in life works around love. 
So are we going to sit there and feel sorry for our selves, or are we going to be the very best we can be in life and make a good change; to feel happier and to have the confidence to be a better person. One who is strong, and proud of who they are. We need to believe that we can make a new change, not only for our self but the younger one's. We must set an example to the ones who look up to us. 
Do we need to change?..and what do we change? 
It start with ourselves! 

Written By: Mary Harroo
For the dark clouds that come in our lives, it is the beacon of light that shines through,     
As the weight of life brings us to our knees, it is the strength that allows us to rise in the moments that we feel lost, it is the compass that allows us to find our way.

Those will come and will try and tear us down, it will always be the bricks to build a greater foundation and stronger walls.

However life presents its many peaks and valleys, it will always be the one constant force in our lives.

Written by: Sheldon

TRUST

TRUST – noun. Dictionary definitions found were:
a.       Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety of a person or thing; i.e. confidence.
b.       Confident expectation of something; HOPE.
c.      A person on whom or thing on which one relies; as in in God is my trust.
d.       The condition of one to whom something has been entrusted.
e.         The obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed: a position of trust.

I’ve come to realize that…Trust is a very big word.
If we have struggled with trusting at some point in our life, be it with family, a friend, a loved one or with society, the most important part is to not let Trust or the lack of it define you. Life is about the ups and downs, the choices one makes, the people one touches and those that touch us. Life is a lesson and the way one lives it. Believe it or not it is a choice, your choice. It’s not about being unbeatable, the best. Life is about how you shared your time and what was learned from the moment that was shared. How you and the other person gained from both of your experiences. We came into this world not knowing about this word Trust, because it’s built in. You are here now reading these words because it was built in, in your very beginning. Parents gave you life then with Mom’s nurture you developed until you had the ability to know and the knowledge of choice. The choice of who to trust, when, whether to take it away or not. You also had the choice when, where, how you wanted to live and why. It defined you. In the beginning!!!…because life, to live, you needed to do so.

Trust. Don’t LET Trust, Define You, because doing so your choices then are being dictated by external forces i.e. someone else. Trust your fellow men/women/person. It’s okay to take your trust away if you choose to do so. The important question you must ask is what was learned so you grow, and grow as a person. What was learned so you’re now a better person then you were before…for no one but for yourself.

“Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It’s what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust in others when that happens. Don’t let them take that from you.” 
― Sherrilyn Kenyon, Invincible


Written by: Alex Salinas

To me success is having a set goal and working towards it as much as possible . 

Success can be anything you want it be such as obtaining a house, having the relationship you always wanted, graduating from university or college and more. I personally know what it is like to fail several times at a goal. A good example would be when I was trained to replace a flat tire on bicycles. A very simple task yet I failed 7 times and by the 8th try I finally knew how to replace a flat tire and I felt relieved. It was my success and the reason why I achieved it was because I did not want to give up despite how difficult it was. I kept going until I did it. Success is achieved by not giving up. 

By Peter D.

Friendship is like a relationship that lasts forever, friends come and go,they can love or hate, to make or break, to stay or go, to give a message. Friends should love you for who you are. Through the Good times and the bad. We all are here to live one life, so why not live with love no matter the reason, so before we enter someone's life, think before we acknowledge the friendship, it's also to give and to take; it doesn't work one way, always stay true to each other, this is what friendship means to me 
Written by: Mary 

Friendship , what it means to me, many people use the word daily and never understand and take it lightly, in my opinion friendship is almost like a marriage without the intimacy. Someone who has your back at all times and at the same time, tell you and look in the face as well when you are wrong, tell you so, they never keep you guessing where they stand. That goes both ways, in health, sickness or in laughter, good times or bad times. They are there for you.
Written by: Dave