You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2022

HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE?

Do you live for something? Do live for something! Admittedly, this sounds like a very easy request. Already, Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), establishment and founder of the Scottish Free Church, treated that topic with plenty flowering words. Innumerable human beings live, move and have to pass away - free from worries but unknown and unnoticed. Incomprehensible and inscrutable: no line written and no word talk by themselves are still in the memories of their bereaved. Their gleams of light switched out in night's darkness.


Not every individual can have a beautiful life in which he/she can live successfully. But to live, to love, and to laugh can make this possible. * L I V E * As the saying goes, “Live life to the fullest!" Always live each day as if it were your last. Enjoy every moment of your life and have everything you wish.


Who do people like to live like this? Still in my mind is the one question of Brother Francis Castro of the Little Brothers of Jesus about the "burning flame inside him that makes him jump out of the bed ... and hurry to work...".


As I journey through life's pathways, one of the most important lessons I have learned is that life is filled with seasons and contrasts. Life is indeed an interplay of light and darkness. So, let's live for something!


Kindness, hospitality, helpfulness, obligingness, ready to do favors - and your moment of virtue will not be destroyed by time's storm. Love and mercifulness from the bottom of your heart are shared with people who will cross your pathways, and nobody will forget you. In our daily life, we have plenty of situations where we could show our real calling. Thomas Chalmers describes it as follows: "Good deeds are shining like stars from heaven".


Understand what life should feel like. Tap into your calling within.Trust yourself and forget what others think. Feel the fear and take the first step anyway.Rethink your to-do list. Check in with yourself daily.Recognize that you have everything you need.


So, do live for something. For your beloved fellow creatures and for yourself. Do it now, because time is always limited.


Tuesday, June 14, 2022

IS LIFE REALLY JUST A LOAN?

“My life is on loan, like money borrowed from a bank. God is the lender, and He retains the right to call in the loan any time. Though I am responsible for taking care of it, I do not own this life; it is borrowed. Why should I fear its loss or the loss of anything else in this world when I must surrender it all anyway?” I love this quotation by James Dillehay,  author of the book "Overcoming the 7 Devils That Ruin Success".


Can you borrow against life? You can typically take out loans against permanent life insurance policies, but not term life insurance policies. Life insurance loans use cash value accounts as collateral. Term life insurance policies do not come with a cash value account, so policyholders can't borrow money from their insurer against these policies.


Sweet words are easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!


Our life is borrowed - from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life to the fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves?


Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don't understand cries from the heart of other people around them - cries for their hearts and families, for justice and for many other things.


Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like a dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever - they will give up!


I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and in reading the bible. "Proverbs" is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for daily life, the street and the market place. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. 


Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.

Saturday, May 28, 2022

LIFE IS NOT FAIR


Plenty of people work hard but never get what they feel they deserve. Plenty of people are incredibly decent but always seem to get the short end of the stick. Plenty of people are smart but never seem to apply their academic excellence to entrepreneurial or professional achievement.

Plenty of people fall in love only to see their love squandered on someone who doesn’t reciprocate.

The conclusion most of us reach . . . life isn’t fair.
Or, is it that many of us just don’t understand the “protocol” and have a bad relationship with “fairness”?

Many times I have observed that children at a young age like to cry out: “It isn’t fair”, whenever they feel they are wronged. Just a couple of days ago, I heard one father, whose patient was already very thin, responding grimly: “The whole life is not fair!”

Even we adults often have problems with the idea of fairness. the laborers in the vineyard certainly did. They received exactly what they had bargained for, yet they complained when others got the same pay for less work.

If this parable was a story about earned wages, the grumblers would have been quite right to complain. But this story is about the way God deals with us, and how can we say that God is not fair?

Fairness means clearness and being free from fault or stain. Fairness is the light-colored, hopeful and plausible part of our life – the span between life and death. Life is and cannot always be fair – of course not! But we could make it a little bit fairer, though many times our world is ruled by falseness.

Fairness requires people to be put into categories. Anyone who fulfills certain requirements will receive a certain reward, regardless of differences in the situation. But only God knows that categories only outline the sort of people we are. He knows that each one of us is unique and with individual needs.

In our everyday life, do we really practice the idea of fairness at our workplace and in our dealings with others? How? Let’s analyze ourselves. May we learn what it means to be fair to another person… .

I learned a lot from Steve Wohlenhaus, CEO of Weatherology, the leading company in the world at disseminating audio weather information. Wohlenhaus said, “We need to spend more time focused on the present and less time ruminating about the past. We need to accept the unpleasant aspects of our past and do our best to move on. Concentrate on the present and create a beautiful and better future. That’s energy well spent. 

When we get trapped believing our past defines our future, life seems unfair. When we spend too much time contemplating the future and believe our destiny is outside our control, we feel helpless and life seems “unfair”. Allocating our emotional energy wisely helps us dedicate our time to what truly matters and gain control over the belief that life is unfair”.

Proverbs, probably the most down-to-earth book in the bible, prepares us for our daily life. In its prologue (Purpose and Theme) it says in 1:3: “…for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just fair”. The Colossians added in the “Rules for Christian Householders” in 4:1, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair… .”.

Monday, March 7, 2022

LIFE BRIDGES


 "If you are good at building bridges, you will never fall into the abyss!" said Mehmet Murat Ildan. Understanding is the bridge between two minds; love is the bridge between two souls.


We are all bridge builders during our whole life. I am not talking about the raised platform on a ship or a bridge mounting for false teeth or, as in the bony part of the nose. I am talking about spiritual bridges establishing connections between us and other people - or, between God and us.


Another elementary example is the "birthday bridge" or the turn to the year, that takes us from the old into a new period of life. A very important bridge in life takes people to me and me to people. It does not matter if our skin is black or white, if we are rich or poor, man or woman, being sad or happy.


So obvious our daily life is that we might even forget simple things easily. Self-esteem, respect and freedom from anxiety are the necessary and conclusive foundations for this kind of bridge.


Earl Nightingale discussed topics with regards to human character development and behaviors. He was known for his deep voice and clear diction. He was the voice of 'Sky King', which was a radio adventure series.


Nightingale also co-authored a book called 'The Strangest Secret' which is considered to be one of the greatest motivational books of all time. Earl Nightingale's 'Our Changing World’ was a five-minute radio commentary program which spoke about personal development.


Every person experiences a struggling period in their lives where they learn, and understand the wonders of life precisely.


“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach”, Earl Nightingale describes the significance of the bridge and how it helps one to travel through the hard phase of our lives. The bridge is a path and a direction that motivates us to move towards enlightened life.


What comes out from dark times is a whole new person who has risen up and has crossed the bridge for a brighter world. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.


Small but important bridges every daily - how easily are they to be built: gestures of love - like a medicine; a handshake together with commendation and praise, encouraging words, a warm smile, instead of a superficial "How are you?" and the expected "Fine" or "OKAY LANG!".


Allow me to say it clearly and directly to the point: Separations result from crumbled or fit for demolition bridges. Destroyed spiritual bridges can be found at any corner. Look into your neighbourhood or, don't drive away and repress this topic in your family. Insignificant trifling matters, minor arguing, misinterpretations, results in silence - and after the destroyed bridge follows an invincible wall not only between estates but also in the hearts and minds of stubborn human beings. Men as well as women build too many walls and not enough bridges.


I was born and grew up together with my parents in a parish house. Up to the time of my active performances - among many other things - I did learn this: 


"Build your own bridge to God and never doubt in Him. Always remember His promise. When a rainbow appears, it confirms His proximity and neighbourhood and His faith. God's unique bridge, a rainbow, is always there and durable, long lasting and solid. The main bridge, which affords passage to God, is the institution "church".


In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.


Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Let’s complicate our life




By Fr. Roy Cimagala *



        WHETHER we like it or not, or when we try to do everything to avoid it, our life will always get complicated, one way or another, sooner or later. There are just too many things for us to manage, and many of them are beyond our control. We just have to be prepared for it.


In the life of Christ, the pattern of our humanity and savior of our damaged humanity, we can see very well how this reality of life’s complications can come about. He went around preaching and doing a lot of good, and all sorts of difficulties, challenges, requests, etc. hounded him. If this happened to him, we have no reason to think that our life would be exempted from complications.


One time, Christ started to preach to many people who followed him, and a centurion approached him with an urgent request. Could Christ come to the centurion’s house to cure his dying daughter. He readily went, and along the way, a woman secretly touched his garment, convinced that she would be cured of her ailment. (cfr. Mk 5,21-43)


Things like this happened to Christ, and also to his disciples who tried to be with him. It is said, for example, that Christ had to wake up early in the morning and go to a deserted place to do his prayer. And Christ sometimes would ask his disciples to rest a while, since with all the things they were doing with him, they hardly had time to eat.


Yes, our life, indeed, if it has to reflect the life of Christ, cannot help but get complicated. But as long as we keep our faith strong and continue to be close to Christ, we can always manage, and avoid making a big issue out of this predicament. We can even find fulfillment in it.


We should not be afraid when our life gets complicated. As long as we are with Christ, we even would be willing to complicate our life. I think that is the proper attitude to develop in ourselves. We should not just wait for our life to get complicated. We somehow should complicate by truly involving ourselves in the mission of Christ and in the lives of others.


Obviously, we should try our best to be properly prepared for this unavoidable condition in our life. Let’s prepare ourselves for this physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and morally. For this, we need to avail of all possible and appropriate means.


We certainly need to develop virtues, like order, fortitude, optimism, cheerfulness, prudence, etc. We have to avail of the spiritual means of prayer, sacrifice and recourse to the sacraments. Let’s always remember that we are always guided by some supernatural forces that can only come from God. That way, we would also be ready to tackle the strong and subtle infra natural forces that come from some evil spirits around.


It would be good to devise a variety of plans to address our different concerns. We should be making daily, weekly plans, etc., to guide us in all our needs, from the physical and the most material, to the moral, spiritual and our ultimate supernatural goal. 


Obviously, we also have to learn how to be flexible, because no matter how much we plan, we will always encounter surprises and spoilers along the way. We have to learn how to be game in all this. The most important thing is that whatever happens, we should always go to Christ.


* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com


 


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU IN LIFE?

What counts: Faith? Hope? Charity? Very often I ask myself: What's the sense of doing like and like that? What's the real meaning of life?


Nearly every morning, we get up and hurry to work. We see so many remorseful faces of people as if there are full of problems that a smile to them is like a sunbeam trapped behind the black clouds. Yes, sure, in these pandemic times, many of us might have already forgotten to smile.


Whether in good or bad times, our day at the workplace or in the home office goes on with our colleagues, employees or employers. And leisure time is there, no matter how great or small our zest for life is. 


So, we live our life in a logical sequence: day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year.  Every day is a cycle of life: every morning is like a birth and every night like a death.


But how do we live our life? Often we can notice people living an easy-go-lucky way of life. Others feel good and satisfied when they can make someone else's life hell. Others have to escape with their bare life while still others experience life-and-death-struggle.


What counts for us? Success? Power? Or money? Is it contentment? Peace on earth and in our souls? Really zest for life? 


If I observe people who really choose to be unhappy even without any reason at all, I feel sad. Being unhappy makes life miserable. Whatever happens around me, I don't like to be unhappy. For me, the meaning of happiness is to try to manage life even with problems and difficulties. Easier said than done! I know, I know.


The Bible states that love is greater than both faith and hope. We couldn't live our lives without faith or hope: without faith, we cannot know the God of love; without hope, we would not endure in our faith until we meet him face to face. Thus, love is the virtue upon which all Christian faith and hope now stand.


Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (20 April 1826 – 12 October 1887) was an English novelist and poet. Allow me to quote her, "When faith and hope fail, as they do sometimes, we must try charity, which is love in action".


Ano ang mahalaga? Paniniwala? Pag-asa? O kaya pagbibigayan at pagtutulungan?

Monday, October 11, 2021

Developing unity and consistency in our life





By Fr. Roy Cimagala *



          WHILE Christ was always patient, compassionate, merciful and

the like with everyone, we cannot deny that there were occasions that

he showed anger and expressed some lamentations. He even did this with

his disciples, and especially with those self-righteous leading Jews

of his time and those who converted the temple into a market place.


          In one occasion, while being invited for dinner by a

Pharisee, he was criticized, at least interiorly by those around, for

not observing the prescribed washing before the meal. That’s when he

told the host, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of

the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You

fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?” (cfr.

Lk 11,37-41)


          This gospel episode somehow warns us that we are always

prone to fall into all kinds of formalism and legalism without the

proper spirit and motive behind our actions, laws, culture, etc. It

reminds us that we have to be truly consistent and to develop a

certain unity of life that can only be achieved if we are with Christ,

who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged

humanity.


          Developing this consistency and unity of life should be an

abiding concern for all of us. Even if we have to contend with many

aspects and dimensions of our life, it is only one life that each of

us has, not two or three. And thus, to build and keep our unity of

life is a daily task of ours. We can neglect it only to our own

serious risk and damage.


          Our life is not only biological that relies simply on our

biological functions. Neither is it just purely physical or material

that requires merely material nourishment.


          Our life has many more important aspects and dimensions that

need to be integrated into one whole consistent thing. There’s the

manual and intellectual, the active and contemplative, personal and

social, the material and spiritual, the temporal and eternal, etc.


          And precisely because of our spiritual nature, we open

ourselves to a supernatural level. That’s just how the cookie

crumbles. Thus, we should also be aware of what is natural and

supernatural in our life, the mundane and the sacred.


          We can manage to have this consistency and unity of life if

we identify ourselves with Christ. Let’s remember what Christ said so

clearly. He is the vine, we are the branches. We can only have life,

let alone, consistency and fruitfulness in our life, if we are united

to him. Outside of him, we can only expect death, inconsistency and

sterility.


          Yes, only in and with Christ can we have the real principle

of unity and fruitfulness in our life. We would be fooling ourselves

if we fail to recognize this basic truth about ourselves.




          This, of course, is a truth of faith, not so much of

science. And that’s where the problem lies. There is a crisis of faith

in the world, especially involving those who rely more on their human

abilities than on belief in Christ.


          We have to correct that predicament by realizing more deeply

that our life is supposed to be a life with God since not only are we

one of his creatures, but a creature that is meant to be his image and

likeness. We are meant to be like God through Christ in the Holy

Spirit. That’s how we can have consistency and unity of life.


* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Thursday, October 7, 2021

WHEN OUR LIFE BECOMES SENSELESS

My column in Mindanao Daily News and BusinessWeek Mindanao

OPINION
By KLAUS DÖRING


"In this world there are only two tragedies," said Oscar Wilde. "one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." This paradoxical proverb has often proved true.

Many people think that if they only had more money they would be happy. Howard Hughes was the world's richest man when he was only 45 years old. Twenty years later, at sixty five, he still had all his money but was probably the world's most miserable man. He had retreated from society, living in small dark rooms in different hotels and keeping all the sun out. He was dirty , his beard grew down to his waist, and his hair fell down his back. His fingernails were two inches long. His huge body had shrunk to nothing.

In today's pandemic times many people are also asking themselves about the meaning of life. I don't need to go into that any further here. Everyone knows. Everyone may experience it themselves or find it in their families and surroundings. Yes, the pandemic is far from over, even if there are the first openings and loosenings here and there.

"What is the point of life?" people are asking. You work hard, and many times someone else gets the credit. You struggle to be good, and evil people take advantage of you. You are in a great situation and accumulate money, and it just goes to spoiled fellow men and women. You seek pleasure, but it turns sour on you. And everyone - rich or poor, good or evil, meets the same end. We all die.

I found Ecclesiastes in my bible. A book for our time. Ecclesiastes strikes a responsive chord. No century has seen so much progress, and yet such despair. What is the purpose of life anyway? Is there any ultimate meaning? I even asked myself all these questions, since some people around me passed away during the last weeks.

A key phrase in this book, "under the sun", describes the world lived on one level, apart from God and without any belief in the afterlife. If you live on that level, you may well conclude that life is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes attracts extreme reactions. Novelist Thomas Wolfe said of it, "Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound."

It's really true. Please check it out and try to read it. And find out for yourself if life really seems so meaningless!
 

+++


Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

LIFE CHANGES DRAMATICALLY

Do you remember, my dear readers, what I wrote already months ago at this corner? Our life will never be the way it used to be - due to Covid-19. Everything in our life changed. Really everything. 

Being in online classes while teaching or in the daily home office, I experienced a total change when it comes to the digital body language:  cues you send – or don't send. Writer David Robson gets to the point in a nutshell: "Online, as in real-life, it's not just what you say – but how you say it".

Think about the last work email that you sent. Did its sentences end with full stops or exclamation marks, or did you forgo punctuation altogether? Was it peppered with emoji – or plain text? And was your response prompt, or did you have to apologize for the time it had taken to reply?




Now, consider your last Zoom call. Did you check your phone or email at least once during the meeting? And did you pause to be sure that the other speaker had finished? Or did you find yourself frequently interrupting their sentences, as you failed to take into account the slight delays in the connection?

According to the leadership expert Erica Dhawan, these are all examples of our “digital body language” – a concept that serves as the title of her new book. Like our in-person physical body language, digital body language concerns the subtle cues that signal things like our mood or engagement, and change the meaning of the words we say – be it in text, on the phone or in a video call.

Following David Robson, it is needless to say, the rise of remote working during the pandemic has only made these issues more urgent, but psychologists have long known that digital communication is ripe for misunderstanding.

So, what can be done? It’s indeed a question of mindfulness, so that we can be sure that our digital body language is intentional and appropriate to the situation at hand.

Do you like emojis?!? Well, first consider written communication, starting with the use of emoji and punctuation marks, like the exclamation point. Stylists may sneer, but many people (and include me in!) argue that they often help to clarify the meanings of the words themselves, much in the same way as a nodding head or a smirk in person. Whether you’re signalling urgency or excitement with ALL CAPS, impatience and irritation with an “?!?” or mutual appreciation with a fist-bump emoji, you are helping your text to convey the feelings you would have embodied in person.

It took me almost a whole year, but right now allow me to tell you: don’t feel shy about adopting these more informal digital cues, where appropriate – and be aware that others may well be expecting them.

Broadly, your use of punctuation and emojis are part of a bigger set of cues that will establish the tone of your exchanges – whether they feel formal or informal, enthusiastic or bored. Other signals will include your greetings (whether you include a friendly “Hello” at the start of the message or simply dive straight in), and your sign off (an emotionally distant “Regards” versus an enthusiastic “Thanks!”).

Honestly, sometimes I'm really getting tired of video calls and zoom meetings. They present their own unique problems. Your body language, manners and level of engagement on video-chat platforms can influence how colleagues see you and interpret your message. Even during my online teaching, I observed some student being absent-minded or even not being dressed well.

Whatever medium you use, you should remain conscious of two factors – trust and power – in all your interactions. These ratings will be subjective, of course, but if you sense there is a clear gap on either of these dimensions, you need to be more cautious.

In the past, the handshake, the smile and the smile gave us many well trusted signals,– but in online communication, our gratitude is often less apparent, or may not be expressed at all. Measures to remedy this could be as simple as sending a follow-up email, after a virtual meeting, to make it clear that you valued someone’s input, or cc’ing a junior colleague on an email to a client, acknowledging the role they played in a project. We can’t just assume that our colleagues will know how much we value them.

Erica Dhawan’s book Digital Body Language, is out now from St Martin’s Press. I learned a lot from her, especially perfecting our digital body language will take practice – but a few moments of thought each day may save hours of anxiety and confusion in the days and weeks ahead.

Earlier in this writeup, I mentioned David Robson. He is the author of The Intelligence Trap: Revolutionise Your Thinking and Make Wiser Decisions (Hodder & Stoughton/WW Norton) – out now in paperback. He is @d_a_robson on Twitter.

Since the pandemic, employees are leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves. For many, employers have played a big part in why they're walking away. It's another big change in our business world. Read more about my thoughts in my next column here at this corner.

Monday, May 10, 2021

WHEN OUR LIFE SEEMS SENSELESS

"In this world there are only two tragedies," said Oscar Wilde. "one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." This paradoxical proverb has often proved true.

Many people think that if they only had more money they would be happy. Howard Hughes was the world's richest man when he was only 45 years old. Twenty years later, at sixty five, he still had all his money but was probably the world's most miserable man. He had retreated from society, living in small dark rooms in different hotels and keeping all the sun out. He was dirty , his beard grew down to his waist, and his hair fell down his back. His fingernails were two inches long. His huge body had shrunk to nothing.

In today's pandemic times many people are also asking themselves about the meaning of life. I don't need to go into that any further here. Everyone knows. Everyone may experience it themselves or find it in their families and surroundings. Yes, the pandemic is far from over, even if there are the first openings and losses here and there.

"What is the point of life?" people are asking. You work hard, and many times someone else gets the credit. You struggle to be good, and evil people take advantage of you. You are in a great situation and accumulate money, and it just goes to spoiled fellow men and women. You seek pleasure, but it turns sour on you. And everyone - rich or poor, good or evil, meets the same end. We all die. 

I found Ecclesiastes in my bible. A book for our time. Ecclesiastes strikes a responsive chord. No century has seen so much progress, and yet such despair. What is the purpose of life anyway? Is there any ultimate meaning? I even asked myself all these questions, since some people around me passed away during the last weeks. 

A key phrase in this book, "under the sun", describes the world lived on one level, apart from God and without any belief in the afterlife. If you live on that level, you may well conclude that life is meaningless. 

Ecclesiastes attracts extreme reactions. Novelist Thomas Wolfe said of it, "Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound."

It's really true. Please check it out and try to read it. And find out for yourself if life really seems so meaningless!

Thursday, March 18, 2021

I LOVE LIFE!

 


Sometimes, we feel our life is turning miserably. Especially now. Living with the big "C"! Our negativism doesn't allow us to keep our eyes, ears - and, most important! - our minds, hearts and souls opened. We're reaching our breaking point. Me and you!

This breaking point can be the prelude to our strongest moment. Can be! Must not! But try it! Despite the virus! But if yes, then it is when we reach our breaking point,  we discover our real strength. Allow me to ask you, my dear readers: "What happens to you or with you when you reach your breaking point?" Do you face it or do you run away? I'll be giving you a very simple answer: If you face it - you break it. If you run away (and/or close your ears, eyes and mouth) - it breaks you!

Are you in love with life? No? Why not? Sure, in my previous column at this corner, I stated that it's okay if you feel bad. But many have taken this as a general instruction.

Everyday - a dull reality! Many of us will answer this question with a big YES! Actually, we do like to cover a newborn day already with grey veil.But, each day has a new face, but sometimes we don't have the strength to watch its countenance. Of course, not every day has adventures and highlights. Would be really too easy!

Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that, at the same time, seemed especially desolating and painful with a particular satisfaction. Indeed, everything I have learned, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction and not through happiness.

If it ever were to be possible to eliminate affliction from your earthly existence, the result would not be to make life delectable, but to make it too banal and trivial to be endurable.

By observation, we can feel that many of us need help to manage our everyday life. We need something that would keep us going as we journey through life. Many times we can also learn from other people and their experiences.

And here is one more thing: Affection is the humblest love - it gives itself no airs. It lives with humble and private things: soft slippers, old clothes, old jokes, and the thump of a sleepy dog's tail on the kitchen floor. The glory of affection, the disposition of mind, the good will and tender attachment, that can unite those who are not "made for one and another"! .

For me life has been a thing of ups and downs in approximately equal measure. I don't have something sensational to report every day about my progress. Often, I wonder if fulfillment in life is necessarily tied to change for the better. But one thing is for sure: I keep staying in love with life. Maybe you can feel my great optimism .... .

Monday, December 30, 2019

Happy New Year 2020/Frohes Neues Jahr 2020


Before we end 2019, let me say this:

For the friendship
For the care
For the laughter
For the bond
For the jokes
For the text messages
For the smiles
For everything YOU have shared
THANK YOU…
peace in your heart,
health in your body,
wealth in your life,
joy in your home,
may you always be blessed with this priceless treasures.
Happy New Year 2020!
Ein Frohes und Gesegnetes Neues Jahr 2020!

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Borrowed life

My column in Mindanao Daily, BusinessWeek Mindanao and Cagayan de Oro Times

OPINION
By KLAUS DORING
 September 27, 2019

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SWEET words are easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!
When this paper hits the roads, I am still in Manila attending several important diplomatic meetings and celebrating Germany's National Day of Unity on October 3. Especially this celebration let me always think back. 20 years ago, 30 years, even 40 years ago... .
Fact is: our life is borrowed - from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life at his fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves? Remember: life is just a loan!
Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through the indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don't understand cries from the heart of other people around them - cries for their hearts and families, for justice, cries for peace and for many other things.
Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever - they will give up!
I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and, in reading the bible. "Proverbs" is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for the daily life, the street and the market place, but not for the schoolroom. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.
While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious "people" around them. I also observed a lot of people living a thief life, as if it it has been giving them without limitation.
"Let's enjoy every single loophole in law!" What a sad and fatal attraction!

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Our conflicting life


We are in conflict with ourselves many times during life. Our future gives cause for concern; the past hold up captured, therefore we miss the future.

The grief and sorrow asked the hope, "How are you?" The hope answered, " I am a little bit low and sad today!" The sorrow  replied sarcastic, "I hope so!"

Nobody wants  to really know what might happen after reaching the retirement age. Sure, if we can observe our neighbors and all other people in our surroundings, we really don't like to know it. If we treat ourselves with care, our real age will not be shown. I don't make any secret celebrating my 65th birthday  this year. I enjoyed. I was proud to reach this age with God's help.


I am retiree now - but I love to continue my teaching at the University of Southeastern Philippines and offer my services as German Honorary Consul for the Mindanao people.

If I look around from to time, it seems that the respectable treatment of our beloved seniors around us are disappearing into the past and are forgotten by the younger generation. Praising the elderly nowadays means to attest them impudent and imperishable youth-fullness.

I must confess, I was not much better while talking to my parents and grandparents, who reached the 92th and 93rd birthdays with the help of our Almighty God. Especially my mother was  strong,  indefatigable,  a phenomenon,  intellectual and  spiritual on top until her last breath.

Let's forget our respect, sometimes just being artificial or an affected stammering, that "our old lady" or "our old gentleman" hasn't become senile yet.

On our way to an honorable and respectful age, we should try to fulfill some of our greatest longings in life.

During the last decades I met many people around the whole globe. Unbelievable, I found out, no matter where in this world, the conflicting attitude is everywhere. "It's an absolute certainty, that's doubts are the main certainty!" stressed already the German Author, philosopher and dramatist Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956).

Please allow me, once in a while being able to say NO. Please allow me deleting inferior and defeatist feelings. Please allow me admitting, that I can't do everything during a single day. Please allow me being no longer afraid about other people and their spiteful comments about me.  

Please allow me accepting my silence. Please accept me being terrible tired from time to time. Please allow me being excused even without having an intelligent reply. Please allow me being carried by salvation and bliss.

Hopefully, we may have enough understanding people with us to accompany us during the voyage of our sometimes very conflicting life. Thoughts to guide us by. Especially today on Christmas Day.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Work-life balance?

My column in BusinessWeek Mindanao and MINDANAO DAILY

How many hours do you work usually daily? We are all workers whether we work in a plush carpetted office as executives and managers, in a hot and noisy assembly-plant as factory-hands or as house-wives at home.

Why do we work? Why do we slug five or six days a week (or even more?) for eight or more hours at a stretch? The church has had quite a lot to say about work and especially, the rights of the workers. And when you get through the church jargon, you'll find statements on minimum wages for workers, needs for leisure and social benefits.

It is the Book of Genesis which tell us that work is God's gift to human beings. God gave us the will, power and intelligence to "fill the earth and subdue it" and not just talk about seeing the wild beasts, the fruits and grains... .

We are given the enormous task of shaping the earth, whether as machinist in a textile factory, or as clerk in court. The important message is: Work is for man (and woman) and not man (and woman) for work! Through work, man develops himself, his personality and his sense of self-worth. It is also through work that man produces goods and services contributing and participating in the development and society.

In the encyclical Laborem Exercens (on human work), Pope John Paul II made it clear that there should be just remuneration for the work of an adult who is responsible for a family and this means enough money for the breadwinner to feed, clothe and maintain his partner and children, with provisions "for security for his future".

I came across an Asian nation's legislators overwhelmingly approved a bill that reduces the maximum weekly work hours.

South Korea is reducing its maximum working week from 68 hours to 52 hours in a bid to boost the country’s productivity and the number of children being born. But the average working week varies depending where you live in the world. So, which countries are “burning the midnight oil”?

In March, South Korea's National Assembly passed a law that will give a substantial amount of its workforce a well-deserved break. It is the developed nation with the longest working hours, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The South Korean government also believes it could even increase the country's birth rate, which has decreased substantially in the last few decades.

This new law will come into force in July 2018, although initially it will only apply to large companies before reaching smaller businesses.

Despite opposition from the business community, the South Korean government believes the law is necessary to improve living standards, create more jobs and boost productivity Exceptions to the rule? The South Korean government also believes it could even increase the country's birth rate, which has decreased substantially in the last few decades.

South Korea has currently longer working hours than any other developed country: an average 2,069 hours per year, per worker, according to 2016 data compiled by the OECD. The analysis covered 38 countries and showed that only Mexicans (2,225 hours/year) and Costa Ricans (2,212 hours/year) worked longer hours.

South Koreans bucked a global trend: studies carried out by the International Labor Organization (ILO) show that lower and middle-income countries tend to work longer hours than their richer counterparts, thanks to a series of factors that range from the proportion of self-employed workers in the labour force to lower wages, job insecurity and cultural issues.

Death by overwork is so prevalent in Japan that they have a word for it: Karoshi. But South Korea is not the only rich country to defy the odds. Japan has a problem with "death by overwork".

In more specific terms, the word means employees dying either from stress-related ailments (heart attacks, strokes) or the ones who take their own lives because of the pressures of the job.

The average of 1,713 hours worked per year in Japan is not among the highest in the OECD list, but beyond the number, there is the grim reality that the country has no legislation at all stipulating a maximum weekly hours limit and neither overtime limit.

In the 2015-16 financial year, the government registered a record 1,456 karoshi cases. Workers’ rights groups claim that the actual figures could be many times higher due to under-reporting. Japan has a problem with "death by overwork", expressed not only by statistics but also the fact that the Japanese language has a word for this: karoshi.

According to ILO's most recent figures, Asia is a continent where more people work the longest hours: most of the countries (32%) have no universal national limit for maximum weekly working hours and another 29% have high thresholds (60 weekly hours or more). And only 4% of the countries abide by the ILO recommendations and set the international labour standards of a maximum of 48 hours or fewer for the working week.

In the Americas and the Caribbean, 34% of the nations have no universal weekly hours limit, the highest rate amongst regions. One of the countries without a limit is the United States.

But it is in the Middle East where the legal limits are more open for long hours: eight out of 10 countries permit weekly working hours in excess of 60 hours per week.

In Europe, on the other hand, all countries have maximum weekly hours, and only Belgium and Turkey have legal working hours of more than 48 hours. 

But it is Africa that shows the greatest number of countries in which more than one of third of the labour force works over 48 hours per week. The rate in Tanzania, for instance, is 60%.

Surveys have also identified cities in terms of average hours. In 2016, Swiss Bank UBS released an analysis of 71 cities that showed Hong Kong with an average of 50.1 weekly working hours, ahead of Mumbai (43.7), Mexico City (43.5), New Delhi (42.6) and Bangkok (42.1).

Mexicans, apart from the longest hours, are also subjected to one of the meanest holiday regimes in the world: their legal minimum paid annual leave is less than 10 days, like in Nigeria, Japan and China, for example, while regional neighbours Brazil offer a minimum of between 20 to 23 days.

It could be worse, though. In India, where there is no universal national limit for maximum working hours, workers do not have a guaranteed minimum amount of annual leave.  

Lastly, let's find out where your work-life-balance is. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

A chance of religiousness?

A CHANCE OF RELIGIOUSNESS?

One of the most important parts in my life is the belief in supernatural power which governs the universe. It doesn't matter which religion we belong to or believe in: the recognition of God as object of worship. The form of worship should be our primacy need.

During my stay in several Western countries, I experienced icy and conceited comments such as religiousness isn't popular any more. Religiousness makes people unwilling and morose because of exaggeration and sometimes even hypocrisy.

Increasing negative headlines about the "institutional church" nowadays and also in the past, and embarrassing comparisons lead only to discord. 

How comes? We want to see the religiosity of our fellow creatures. We want to understand their ideology. 

But we are also poking our nose into other people's business too much. Let's look behind the scenes and let's find out what religious behavior promotes: humility in actual life. Maybe. It's hard for us to do without affecting others. We even forget the real meaning of religiousness. St. John Crysostom subscribed the topic "Pagans and Christians" very well: "There would be no pagans if we were good Christians. But the pagans see us manifesting the same desires, pursuing the same objects - power and honor - as themselves, how can they admire Christianity?

They see our lives open to reproach and our souls worldly. We admire wealth equally with them and even more. How, then, can they believe? From miracles? But these are no longer wrought. From our conversion? It has become corrupt. From charity? Not a trace of it is anywhere seen. (Quotation "Winnowing Fan", Vol. XX, June 2003, S of G Foundation, Makati).

I am proud to have people in my surroundings who taught be how to be on the right track - unconcerned and unnoticed. Natural and uninhibited, they showed me how to put real religiousness into action besides praying and going regularly to church. I call such people religious. I mean it as praise because they don't like to blow their trumpets while a acting as Christians in our daily life. Having such people around us make it easier to practice forgiveness... .

I'll be back on air soon. It's Mango Radio 102.7 FM proudly broadcasting from Davao City and Zamboanga City. It's a mission-oriented radio station. I am blessed being together with all these wonderful religious people.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Roller coaster life



Roller coaster life

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring
Yes, nowadays, for many of us life is indeed an emotional roller coaster. All over the world. Political instability, wars, terror attacks, climate change with extreme natural disasters, questionable global economical situations, illnesses or diseases.
A day starts with traffic jam and continues with terrible conditions at the workplace. The crab mentality seems to become nothing unusual now. In any case: everyone for himself. Each one by himself/herself/itself alone is quite nice, but together we have a problem. So what! It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Well, sweet words might be easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!
Our life is borrowed – from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life at his fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves?
Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through the indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don’t understand cries from the heart of other people around them – cries for their hearts and families, for justice and for many other things.
Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever – they will give up!
I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and, in reading the bible. “Proverbs” is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for the daily life, the street and the market place, but not for the schoolroom. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.
While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious “people” around them. I also observed a lot of people living a thief life, as if it has been giving them without limitation.
Is our world order in danger?