Happy Monday, All!
It has been a much needed weekend to regroup and relax and continue with my regular routines of hitting the gym, tutoring and enjoying friends downtown. This weekend was cool, driving a rental car from Enterprise, which was a component of the excellent insurance coverage that I have with GEICO. Have you every wondered … especially when something unexpected happens … “Why me?!?” Don’t spend too much time on that one … bad stuff happens to good people, too! Don’t you ever forget it, please. Several friends have responded when learning of my challenges and I appreciate your concern, kind words, help and support. It is so nice to have friends like many of youse guys!
So, naturally, my first thoughts were: “What could I have done differently to avoid what happened?” Not too much, especially since the past is most often designed to teach us something. I got a nice dose of “patience” thrown at me as well as a touch of “figure this out!” I tried to stay focused on what my life is all about … my health, my work and my spiritual development …as I do everyday. These all help me get through the tough times. Trust me, I plan on sharing it in the near future once some of the “volcanoes” erupting in my life subside. Then, I read an e-mail from one of the readers, Rafael Ventura Rosa, a recent and long time friend since I have been here in SoFlo. He’s the kind of guy, with a background in law, who knows the things that are important to me as it seems we share similar passions. The article was about the Nobel Peace Prize winners, Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi. This is their time as they EACH dare to step out and talk about “peace”! Yes, this is close to my heart and has become a passion of mine as well.
Malala is a seventeen year old Pakistani school girl who, when a Taliban soldier asked for her on a bus and shot her in the head, not only survived but is still able to tell her “story”!! Amazing is the correct word here! Has your time “come” when your “claim to fame” is revealed to YOU?! I think hers has! The second recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 is an Indian gentleman who is a children’s rights campaign activist, Kailash Satyarthi. These two, while not contemplating their “destinies” as peace prize winners, have been thrust into the limelight of peace-workers on an international scale! Their time has come … are we each working on our “times” … or will it surprise each of us, too? We need to believe that our blessings are coming; we each need to believe that we have a divine purpose in our lives; and we each need to encourage each other so that our blessings continue to flow.
Have a wonderful day …
Peace,
John I. Cook
Educational Excellence 