8 o’ clock.

I glanced at the time and silently computed how fast I needed to move if I wanted to make it to work at 9 a.m. Not very much, I thought.

Until I suddenly realized, it’s a Sunday today. I sighed in relief and relaxed a little bit.

“It’s okay, you can go back to sleep. The bed looks so inviting…” That’s the lazy part of me talking.

“This is just the right time to get up. Church starts at 11 and you need at least two hours to get the kids ready.” Of course, that’s the more sensible me.

I was tempted for a moment to justify my laziness thinking weekends are the only days I get to sleep in. I even thought I could skip Church today. One day wouldn’t hurt, right?

But then I remembered how I’ve been waking up tired and sluggish for the past days, always dragging myself from place to place.

When I look back, I can always trace those blah and tired days to mornings like this: giving in to laziness and gobbling on more sleep.

“You can make this day different, you know. You can make it great!”

I got up from the bed and scooped my pink journal out of my bag.

Then I started writing…

“Thank you, God….”

I filled up three whole pages for my gratitude journal and I felt energized instantly.

I took out my vision journal and reviewed my life goals and dreams. I felt on track immediately.

I read my abundance affirmations out loud and finished with a prayer. I felt blessed simultaneously.

Two hours later, I was at the church service with Jamaine and Kalia thanking and praising God for blessing me with motivation and inspiration to start my day right.

Just imagine how much of a difference it would make if I started every single day like this? I would go from blah to good to great.

Do you want to have a great day?

Say thank you the moment you wake up. The fact that you opened your eyes and you’re alive means God is blessing you today.

Take time to remember the things you are grateful for and thank God for all of them. I assure you, it would instantly make you feel better about your life and blessed beyond words.

Review your dreams and goals. Imagine them, write them down or say them out loud. Doing this will help you to act on purpose, remembering that everything you do should be aligned with your goals and every step you take should help make your dreams come true.

Days pass by so swiftly. Years end before we even know it. Every day that passes is a valuable part of your life, you owe it to yourself to make it great.

Photo: ifatma

I have been battling a severe case of writer’s block for weeks now. I’ve been staring at blank screens waiting, then forcing inspiration to come out of me. But nothing comes out. I felt like I lost my muse and wondered where she had gone.

And now I’ve found her.

She’s been with me all this time, waiting for me to come to that inner wonderland where all my ideas and inspiration arise.

I was the one who was lost all along.

Getting lost

It all started weeks ago after one of the pieces I wrote got “severely edited.” At least for my standards, it was.

I was passionate about that piece and I thought I wrote it so well. When it came back to me all cut up and mixed with words and ideas that were not my own, I felt like my muse disappeared taking all the inspiration I had in me.

So when the next assignment came along, I couldn’t write. It was a relatively simple piece that needed very little inspiration to begin with, but whenever I tried to type something, I still ended up with a blank screen.

Truth: I was afraid to get cut up again.

First there was pride. I’ve fallen in love with my writing too much, I convinced myself that I was a perfect writer. And perfect writers don’t get edited like that.

Then came insecurity. Am I such a bad writer?

Desperate to write, I went looking for my muse, trying to grasp at sparks of inspiration when I could. But I couldn’t find her and the glints of inspiration faded too soon.

I forced myself to write methodically, looking at other people’s works and copying how they string their words. I did manage to finish a piece. But in the end, I knew it was missing “me.”

Finding my muse again

And then I surrendered.

There’s something amazing about surrendering. Because when you finally give up, that’s when things start to work out.

I surrendered my pride as well as my insecurity.

The moment I did, my vision began to clear. And I saw the signs leading me to the place where my muse was waiting.

I was going through my feed reader when I spotted this article about hooking your audience. It had links to blog posts by author Steven Pressfield which absolutely hooked him.

I clicked links and started reading Mr. Pressfield’s post “Write what you don’t know.” It may just as well have been titled “Write when you can’t” because it was his ideas that got me writing this post at past 4 in the morning.

Here are some of his insights that really hit me:

The part of us that we write from is far deeper than our everyday selves. In fact it has nothing whatsoever to do with our everyday selves. It comes from the Muse. It comes from the unconscious. It comes from some place we only tap into in dreams or intuition or inspiration.

It takes a little madness to write what you don’t know. It’s like leaping into the deep end. But it’s also tremendously liberating. I’m reading a wonderful book now called Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson, who for years was one of the star teachers of drama at Stanford. Her thesis is “Don’t prepare, just show up.” In other words, trust in the mystery. Open your mouth and see what comes out. I’ve heard Jackson Browne say that he writes songs to find out what he thinks about something. In other words, he doesn’t know going in.

There’s stuff “down there” in all of us. It’s vast and deep and limitless. That’s the vein we need to mine as artists and as entrepreneurs. I’ve heard start-up businessmen say the two qualities they needed most in their initial ventures were arrogance and ignorance. You gotta be a little crazy (or desperate) to write or do what you don’t know. But there’s great wisdom and magic in that act. It demonstrates faith in the universe, in the Muse, in the source of all inspiration. And that faith, almost invariably, is rewarded by the cosmos and vindicated by events. I recommend it.

After reading that, I just know I won’t be able to sleep anyway if I don’t write this. So I did. And it feels so good.

I am so fired up again and the sparks have turned into flames of inspiration inside me. I have reunited with my Muse and I intend to be one with her from now on.

***
Are you feeling uninspired or stuck lately? Find your inner wonderland and reunite with your muse. She’s just there waiting for you.

Have you gotten over writer’s block? What did you do?

Photo: john

I have a confession to make: one of my greatest dreams was to become an angel.

I remember watching “City of Angels” and thinking how awesome it would be to be an angel who could be anywhere in the world in a heartbeat.

I knew then that, when I die, I’d become an angel wearing a pink and white robe guiding and inspiring people right when they need it.

I was so taken by this idea that I even wrote about it in my first ever blog post back in November 2004:

Do you know what it’s like to be an angel?

I can’t remember exactly when the idea struck me. Maybe it was my fascination with wings, the idea of flying through the clouds, being able to hear prayers and wishes, or guarding someone on earth.

I just realized my greatest dream is to become an angel.

When i told a friend about it, he said i was weird. How can you aspire to become something that you aren’t even sure exists?

I just believe.

I said i would let him know if or when i do get to fulfill that dream. But i never got the chance, he went way ahead of me.

Now i guess i don’t have to prove it to him, he already knows.

Most of the time, I forget him. I guess it’s my defense mechanism against all the pain we went through, I’m not sure if I ever really healed.

But every now and then, I try to remember if only to relive the good times and thank him again for changing my life.

Now I think, it’s not so bad when i finally go to that other place. At least I know, someone would be there to reach for my hand.

Though i have my own angel on earth, you are my angel in heaven.

This post was dedicated to a friend who did not believe in angels. But I sure hoped that despite that, he became an angel nonetheless after he died.

The angel on Earth I wrote about was my then boyfriend, now my hubby, Kernan.

We call each other Angel because we inspire and motivate each other to be the best versions of ourselves.

When our daughters were born, we also called them our angels because they moved us to be the best parents.

A lot of things have changed since that entry four years ago.

I still dream of becoming an angel but I realized I don’t need to die to make it a reality.

I’ve seen a lot of angels all around me with no white wings, flowing robes, or heavenly voices.

They just go around helping and guiding people even if they don’t know it

Are you an angel?

You probably are. You could be.

Be a helper. Extend a helping hand whenever you can, no matter how small the effort. Something that may seem so insignificant to you may mean the world to another.

Be an inspiration. Life can be a real pain sometimes, we all know that to be true. But face your struggles with courage and always focus on the good and the best. People who are having the same struggles may be inspired with your example.

Be a guide. When you do something or you know something so well, share your skill or knowledge. Giving and sharing to others won’t threaten your position or possessions. Generosity stimulates the flow of blessings that will surely come back to you.

Be a listener. Sometimes, all people need is a good listener. You don’t even need to talk or give sage advice. Just listen. Really, really focus your attention to the other person’s need and really listen.

Can you be an angel?

I could feel the vile words starting to rush out of my mouth.

But I snuffed them out before they could even fire up.

My chest was beginning to tighten and I could feel the tears of frustration welling at the corners of my eyes.

Is it even worth it?

I stepped outside, took a walk and tried to breathe.

Slowly.

I looked up at the sky trying to imbibe it’s lightness.

I started to feel better and the tightness in my chest suddenly disappeared.

What do you do with sudden rushes of negative emotions?

1. Walk.

2. Breathe slowly.

3. Look up at the sky.

4. Imagine you’re in a beautiful and happy place.

5. Smile.

But the most important thing of all:

Remember that none of this will matter ten years from now. And no matter what happens, everything always turns out all right.

“Ma’am, artista po ba kayo? (Ma’am are you an actress?)”

The cab driver asked after I told him I was bound for the TV network building.

“Hindi po, dun po ako nagtatrabaho. (No, I just work there.)”

Then he said I looked like this popular actress who is now making waves on primetime TV.

I told the cab driver he should wear some corrective glasses but deep inside I was glowing with appreciation.

Who doesn’t like a good compliment right?

Whether he meant it or not, the cab driver’s compliment really made my day.

Giving a compliment is probably one of the most inexpensive yet most powerful way to brighten up someone’s day.

Compliments make us feel appreciated: a feeling that I think everyone needs.

I remember one of our college professors who liked to call his students by Hollywood celebrity names.

He called me Catherine Zeta Jones.

I don’t remember a single lesson he taught us in class, but I do remember how happy I felt every time he called me Catherine Zeta Jones.

He made me feel beautiful.

And that’s one important thing I remind myself whenever I deal with others:

People may not remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Be generous with compliments whenever you can. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. You will score some good points for your heart and you’ ll make someone else feel appreciated too.

And what do you do when you receive a compliment?

I’m still trying to learn this but this is the only way you should receive one.

Accept it. Wholeheartedly.

Then say “Thank you.”

And no, saying “Thank you” for a compliment doesn’t make you proud or assuming.

The compliment was given freely and you are just as free to receive it.

Bask in the glowing feelings it gives you.

Then share the compliment love with someone else.

Pass on the floating-in-cloud-nine goodness.

Remember to focus more on giving compliments and finding the good in people.

You’ll be a much better person because of it.