When I visited my home in Cebu a few months ago, I found an old notebook that I had in my teens. It contained a lot of my writings and some newspaper clippings from a woman named Katherine Oyson. She had a column in The Freeman, a local newspaper, that discussed life lessons, self-help quotes, and everything that makes you feel good when you are at your lowest moments.
I guess back then I needed a lot of encouragement. I guess I had felt that I was always at my lowest moments and I resorted to reading self-help books and articles to boost my morale.
I scan the pages, read the articles, see if anything I can find there can provide me some inspiration.
Some good quotes relevant to me now are the following:
From Dale Carnegie:
Remember that unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. Remember that no one ever kicks a dead dog. When you are unjustly criticized, do the very best you can and they put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism running down the back of your neck.
When you are kicked and criticized, remember that it is often done because it gives the kicker a feeling of importance. It often means that you are accomplishing something and are worthy of attention.
From Harold J. Sala:
Refuse to judge life by any one situation or experience. Learn to take all things into consideration before you settle on your mood for the day. When something unpleasant happens, do not ruin the rest of the day by dwelling on it.
From Katherine Oyson:
Life is more than a heartbeat, or the ability to breathe, see and feel. It is also anchored on our relationship with other people.
From Harriet Beecher Stowe:
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
It does feel good to go back to this notebook and just read what I have here. It somehow soothes my soul and gives me back a clear mind.
Whatever each one of us does to uplift his or her spirits, for me, this old notebook does its purpose.
