The Secret of Happiness

The Secret of Happiness
by Steve Brunkhorst, © Copyright 2004


The old man shuffled slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted, and shoulders bent forward, he leaned on his trusty cane with each unhurried step.

His tattered cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, large rosy cheeks, and thin lips held in a tight, steady smile.

He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big grin right back at him. A young waitress named Mary watched him shuffle toward a table by the window.

Mary ran over to him, and said, "Here, Sir. Let me give you a hand with that chair."

Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she scooted the table up close to him, and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it.

In a soft, clear voice he said, "Thank you, Miss. And bless you for your kind gestures."

"You're welcome, Sir." She replied. "And my name is Mary. I'll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the mean time, just wave at me!"

After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon, and hot lemon tea, Mary brought him the change from his ticket. He left it lay. She helped him up from his chair, and out from behind the table. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door.

Holding the door open for him, she said, "Come back and see us, Sir!"

He turned with his whole body, winked a smile, and nodded a thank you. "You are very kind." he said softly.

When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card, and a note scribbled on a napkin. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill.

The note on the napkin read...
"Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness.
Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you."

The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.

Note:
This story is based on actual events experienced by a friend from St. Paul, Minnesota. The note is the exact wording on the napkin that she has kept in her scrap book for fifteen years.

a reason to photograph

this morning, i've came across a <a href=http://rangefinderfilipinas.com/forums/index.php?topic=3170>post</a> on RFilipinas forums, which made me think and rethink my reasons for taking pictures...  i have been doing this since 2007 when i got hooked with lomo and until i found the better place to be and to learn...

what is it really? why am i doing this?

for years, i've relied on my memories to treasure moments in my life... i never had a concrete memory of my childhood... my family... my father... all of them are just in the mind... but people grow old.. they tend to forget things.. and memories, no matter how great they were... i want something i could see, touch, and feel... something to make me remember and re-live those precious moments...

most of the photographs i've had are pictures during recognition and graduation excercises.. the only time we are able to get our pictures taken, aside from the mandatory ID pictures..

my friends and classmates may have had pictures of me, which may find its way on <a href=http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/photo.php?pid=1350062&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=613134671&id=750929102>facebook</a> from time to time.. but most of our family pictures and albums were destroyed by typhoons...

sadly, the only memories of my family and my father i have on print were those taken at his funeral..  

and i don't want that for my family and my son.. that is why i take snaps of his life.. of my family's journey... and it is my goal starting this year to take at least one picture of my son each day... if i missed taking one on film.. my trusty Nikon D40 or even my Nokia N82 would be enough to freeze a moment each day in his life...



they may not be good enough technically and mean nothing to the world but it speaks a lot for me and my family...

aside from the fact that i've always wanted a camera for my own since childhood and the fact that i love taking pictures... these are my most compelling reason to take photographs... and for me.. it is more than enough reason...

and for that primary reason, i believe i don't need fance gadgets and whatnot's.. they belong to the want category unless i decide to earn from this hobby... but for now, the camera's at home are more than enough...

Save the best for last...

I got this from a forwarded mail and the message is just to good not to be shared with everyone I know.



A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:

"This," he said, "isn't any ordinary package."

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

"She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on, was saving it for a special occasion."

Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said:

"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion."

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything...
I use crystal glasses every day...
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.

The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.

I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.
I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.

If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it "One of these days."
Remember that "One day" is far away... or might never come...

No matter if you're superstitious or not, spend some time reading it.
It holds useful messages for the soul.

Just for Laughs

Tawa ka muna bago ang lahat.... please red su yo will andjoy.

~~~~~

Genie: Bibigyan kita ng isang kahilingan.

Aling Dionisia: Talaga?...gusto ko gumanda!

Genie: Buksan mo ang bote.

Aling Dionisia: At gaganda na ako?

Genie: Hindi. Babalik na lang ako.

~~~~~      
 
Pacman: Sabi ng titser ko, bakit daw ang eggplant walang egg?

Aling Dionisia: Sabihon mo sa titser mo, na pag me egg yun, turta na yan, TURTA!

~~~~~      
 
Reporter: Nguang nanalo ka Manny, anong pasalubong mo kay Jinkee?

Manny: Ibon syempre. Mahilig sya dun e.

Reporter: Ibon? Anong klaseng ibon?

Manny: Yung mga lipstek, pangmik up ba? Basta mga Ibon products! Yo know…
     
~~~~~
 
Dionesia: Doc gusto ko magpalagay ng breast.

Doctor (gulat) magpapasexsi ka na?

Dionesia: Breast sa ngipen ba. Para umayos yun ngepen ko! Deba uso yon?

~~~~~      
 
Pacquiao: Wala, talo ka na kahit anung gawin mo.

Hatton: Pagandahan na lang tayo ng nanay!

Pacquiao: Ah! Wala namang ganyanan. I mean you know…

~~~~~      
 
Aling Dionisia: Inday, akina nga yung seeds ko.

Inday: Bakit po magtatanim po ba kayo?

Aling Dionisia: Anung magtatanim sinasabi mo? Nasisilaw ang mata ko kaya kailangan ko yung seeds. Wahehehehe.

~~~~~

60 seconds

60 seconds with Jesus...

For the next 60 seconds, set aside what ever you're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.

THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS



At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty.

At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet.


Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.



The nails were driven into His wrist. Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist that tendon would tear and break; forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself so that He could breath.

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of the pain so He was forced to alternate between arching His back then using his legs just to continue to breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, and the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours.

Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding.

He was simply pouring water from his wounds.

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side. But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body. A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even large nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. But before the nails and the spear Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.

He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds.
The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters' (just less than a gallon) of blood.

Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into his members; a crown of thorns on his head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into his chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation He passed after carrying his own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where his hands were nailed).

Jesus had to endure this experience, so that you can have free access to God.
So that your sins could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception! Don't ignore this situation. JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU! For you, who now read this e-mail. Do not believe that He only died for others (those who go to church or for pastors, bishops, etc).

He died for you! It is easy to pass jokes or foolish photos by e-mail, but when it comes to God, sometimes you feel ashamed to forward to others because you are worried of what they may think about you.

Accept the reality, the truth that JESUS IS THE ONLY SALVATION FOR THE WORLD.

God has plans for you; show all your friends what He experienced to save you. Now think about this! May God bless your life!

60 seconds with God...

For the next 60 seconds, set aside what you're doing and take this opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop this.


All you have to do is:
1. Simply pray for the person who sent this message to you: Lord, you know the life of _________. I ask You to bless him/her in all things and make him/her prosperous. Take care of his/her family, his/her health, his/her work and all his/her future plans. Lead him/her not into temptation, but deliver him/her from evil... In Jesus' name, amen.
2. Then, send this message to 10 people.
3.10 people will pray for you and you will make that many people pray to God for other people.
4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, for doing what pleases Him.

If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus' instructions. He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33): "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whosoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven".
If you believe, send this message.... But send it only if you believe in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my savior. He keeps me alive day and night.
Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13...
This is the simple proof. If you love God and you believe and trust in salvation through Christ Jesus, send this to all those you love.

Vote, only if you think it's worth it.. =)

			Hi! Please join me as I celebrate the joy of a mother's hug with Pampers Comfort by voting for Richard Frederic Abrigo's photo entry! Just click on the button below to vote or text VOTE 04975 and send to 2910. Thanks!