BREEDING ABOUT FUTURE

Some feelings of worry can be healthy, pushing us to find solutions to real and present problems. However, chronic worry, even about things out of our control, can severely impact our mental health.

The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it well: “Life is not even close to being as logically consistent as our worries; it has many more unexpected ideas and many more facts than we do.” Worrying is pointless not only because it rarely makes things better, but also because you’re rarely ever worried about the right thing!

We hardly count our blessings. We enjoy counting our crosses. Instead of gains, we count our losses. We don’t have to do all that counting – computers do it for us. Information is easily had.

Facebook to and fro, back and forth, there and back – how many posts and comments have been posted already with sadness, loneliness, boredom strikes, problems, worries … .

Just remember this: Opportunity doesn’t just knock – it jiggles the door-knob. and “your social media online-friend” – the warrior is with you day and night, at every corner, following your every step. Complaining and grumbling are good excuses, right?

Seniors may experience more anxiety-inducing situations than younger adults, and they may not have as many resources for support. Some people may notice that their anxious thoughts get stronger or more frequent with age, but anxiety is a treatable mental health disorder.

Is social media bad for us? Four billion people, around 50% of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to some reports. That breaks down to around half a million tweets and Snapchat photos shared every minute. Stress, mood, anxiety, depression, sleep (or better non-sleep), self-esteem – Overall, social media’s effects on well-being are ambiguous, according to a paper written last year by researchers from the Netherlands. However, they suggested there is clearer evidence for the impact on one group of people: social media has a more negative effect on the well-being of those who are more socially isolated.

The whole world is an awful place filled with dreadful and horrible negativism. Yes, I confess, I’m also surrounded by many worriers who put their fears into me. Politicians, i.e., many times love to search for some grave alarm that will cause individuals to abandon their separate concerns and act in concert, so that politicians can wield the baton. Calls to fatal struggles and fights are forever being sounded.

The overbearing person, who tyrannizes the weak, who wants to domineer and to bluster, is simply nothing else than a worrier, who claims to be a friend. But he isn’t. Really not! The bullying of fellow citizens by means of dread and fright has been going on since Paleolithic times. The night wolf is eating the moon. Give me silver and I’ll make him spit out.

Well, when will we start counting our courage and not our fears, or enjoy instead of our woe? Worrying itself is pointless.Of course, no society has achieved perfect rules of law, never-ending education or unique responsible governments. Let’s seek out the worries but avoid the warriors, because they try to avoid liberty.

Worry, that sense of insecurity, unease, and fear over what negative events may happen – as unrealistic as these concerns may be – is one of the most unpleasant emotions that you can experience as a human being. It is also one of the most common. While everyone has worried at some point, many people suffer from chronic worrying in the form of anxiety. In Australia alone, 2 million people will suffer from anxiety in any one year.

If you worry often, you’re far from alone. In fact, it may comfort you to know that many of us tend to worry about the same issues. All of those anxieties and stressors that may plague your life also affect a huge chunk of the rest of the world as well.

Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., is a practicing psychologist, author, speaker, and life/business coach, with more than 20 years of experience as a clinician, professor, and researcher. She says:” One of the most helpful things you can do instead of worrying is problem-solving. Problem-solving means defining the problem in a way that you can do something about it (e.g., “How do I prepare for a possible loss of income?” or “How can I learn to accept that my ex has moved on?”). Once you have a defined problem, you can generate some possible solutions and think through the likely consequences of each (e.g., “What is most likely to happen if I do X?”). Finally, you can implement your favorite solution, whether it involves taking action, discussing the situation, finding out more information, or working to accept something you cannot change”.

If you are still worrying right now about something, try to read Jeremiah 29:10-14 or Revelation 21:1-8, just to mention these two. It works.

Juan Ponce Enrile, magdiriwang ng kanyang 100th birthday

Philippine Fairy Tales (XIX) - Philippinische Märchen (XIX): The Adventures of Juan - Juan's Abenteuer

The Adventures of Juan

Mabel Cook ColeJune 28, 2015

Juan was always getting into trouble. He was a lazy boy, and more than that, he did not have good sense. When he tried to do things, he made such dreadful mistakes that he might better not have tried.

His family grew very impatient with him, scolding and beating him whenever he did anything wrong. One day his mother, who was almost discouraged with him, gave him a bolo and sent him to the forest, for she thought he could at least cut firewood. Juan walked leisurely along, contemplating some means of escape. At last he came to a tree that seemed easy to cut, and then he drew his long knife and prepared to work.

Now it happened that this was a magic tree and it said to Juan:

“If you do not cut me I will give you a goat that shakes silver from its whiskers.”

This pleased Juan wonderfully, both because he was curious to see the goat, and because he would not have to chop the wood. He agreed at once to spare the tree, whereupon the bark separated and a goat stepped out. Juan commanded it to shake its whiskers, and when the money began to drop he was so delighted that he took the animal and started home to show his treasure to his mother.

On the way he met a friend who was more cunning than Juan, and when he heard of the boy’s rich goat he decided to rob him. Knowing Juan’s fondness for tuba, he persuaded him to drink, and while he was drunk, the friend substituted another goat for the magic one. As soon as he was sober again, Juan hastened home with the goat and told his people of the wonderful tree, but when he commanded the animal to shake its whiskers, no money fell out. The family, believing it to be another of Juan’s tricks, beat and scolded the poor boy.

He went back to the tree and threatened to cut it down for lying to him, but the tree said:

“No, do not cut me down and I will give you a net which you may cast on dry ground, or even in the tree tops, and it will return full of fish.”

So Juan spared the tree and started home with his precious net, but on the way he met the same friend who again persuaded him to drink tuba. While he was drunk, the friend replaced the magic net with a common one, so that when Juan reached home and tried to show his power, he was again the subject of ridicule.

Once more Juan went to his tree, this time determined to cut it down. But the offer of a magic pot, always full of rice and spoons which provided whatever he wished to eat with his rice, dissuaded him, and he started home happier than ever. Before reaching home, however, he met with the same fate as before, and his folks, who were becoming tired of his pranks, beat him harder than ever.

Thoroughly angered, Juan sought the tree a fourth time and was on the point of cutting it down when once more it arrested his attention. After some discussion, he consented to accept a stick to which he had only to say, “Boombye, Boomba,” and it would beat and kill anything he wished.

When he met his friend on this trip, he was asked what he had and he replied:

“Oh, it is only a stick, but if I say ‘Boombye, Boomba’ it will beat you to death.”

At the sound of the magic words the stick leaped from his hands and began beating his friend until he cried:

“Oh, stop it and I will give back everything that I stole from you.” Juan ordered the stick to stop, and then he compelled the man to lead the goat and to carry the net and the jar and spoons to his home.

There Juan commanded the goat, and it shook its whiskers until his mother and brothers had all the silver they could carry. Then they ate from the magic jar and spoons until they were filled. And this time Juan was not scolded. After they had finished Juan said:

“You have beaten me and scolded me all my life, and now you are glad to accept my good things. I am going to show you something else: ‘Boombye, Boomba’.” Immediately the stick leaped out and beat them all until they begged for mercy and promised that Juan should ever after be head of the house.

From that time Juan was rich and powerful, but he never went anywhere without his stick. One night, when some thieves came to his house, he would have been robbed and killed had it not been for the magic words “Boombye, Boomba,” which caused the death of all the robbers.

Some time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of the kindness of the magic tree they always lived happily.

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Juan geriet immer in Schwierigkeiten. Er war ein fauler Junge und darüber hinaus hatte er keinen gesunden Menschenverstand. Als er versuchte, Dinge zu tun, machte er so schreckliche Fehler, dass er es besser nicht versucht hätte.

Seine Familie wurde sehr ungeduldig mit ihm, schimpfte und schlug ihn, wann immer er etwas falsch machte. Eines Tages gab ihm seine Mutter, die von ihm fast entmutigt war, einen Bolo und schickte ihn in den Wald, weil sie dachte, er könne wenigstens Feuerholz schlagen. Juan ging gemächlich weiter und dachte über einen Fluchtweg nach. Schließlich kam er zu einem Baum, der leicht zu fällen schien, und dann zog er sein langes Messer und machte sich an die Arbeit.

Nun geschah es, dass dies ein Zauberbaum war und er sagte zu Juan:

„Wenn du mich nicht schneidest, gebe ich dir eine Ziege, die Silber aus ihren Schnurrhaaren schüttelt.“

Das gefiel Juan wunderbar, sowohl weil er neugierig war, die Ziege zu sehen, als auch weil er das Holz nicht hacken musste. Er stimmte sofort zu, den Baum zu schonen, woraufhin sich die Rinde löste und eine Ziege heraustrat. Juan befahl ihm, seine Schnurrhaare zu schütteln, und als das Geld zu fallen begann, war er so erfreut, dass er das Tier nahm und nach Hause ging, um seiner Mutter seinen Schatz zu zeigen.

Unterwegs traf er einen Freund, der schlauer war als Juan, und als er von der reichen Ziege des Jungen hörte, beschloss er, ihn auszurauben. Da er Juans Vorliebe für die Tuba kannte, überredete er ihn zum Trinken, und während er betrunken war, ersetzte der Freund die magische Ziege durch eine andere. Sobald er wieder nüchtern war, eilte Juan mit der Ziege nach Hause und erzählte seinen Leuten von dem wunderbaren Baum, doch als er dem Tier befahl, seine Schnurrhaare zu schütteln, fiel kein Geld heraus. Die Familie glaubte, dass es sich dabei um einen weiteren Trick von Juan handelte, und schlug und beschimpfte den armen Jungen.

Er ging zurück zum Baum und drohte, ihn zu fällen, weil er ihn angelogen hatte, aber der Baum sagte:

„Nein, hau mich nicht ab, und ich werde dir ein Netz geben, das du auf trockenem Boden oder sogar in den Baumwipfeln auswerfen kannst, und es wird voller Fische zurückkommen.“

Also verschonte Juan den Baum und machte sich mit seinem kostbaren Netz auf den Heimweg, doch unterwegs traf er denselben Freund, der ihn erneut überredete, Tuba zu trinken. Während er betrunken war, ersetzte der Freund das magische Netz durch ein gewöhnliches, so dass Juan, als er nach Hause kam und versuchte, seine Macht zu demonstrieren, erneut lächerlich gemacht wurde.

Noch einmal ging Juan zu seinem Baum, diesmal entschlossen, ihn zu fällen. Aber das Angebot eines magischen Topfes, immer voller Reis und Löffeln, die ihm alles lieferten, was er zu seinem Reis essen wollte, hielt ihn davon ab und er machte sich glücklicher als je zuvor auf den Heimweg. Bevor er jedoch nach Hause kam, ereilte ihn das gleiche Schicksal wie zuvor, und seine Eltern, die seine Streiche satt hatten, schlugen ihn härter als je zuvor.

Völlig verärgert suchte Juan ein viertes Mal nach dem Baum und wollte ihn gerade fällen, als er erneut seine Aufmerksamkeit erregte. Nach einiger Diskussion stimmte er zu, einen Stock anzunehmen, zu dem er nur „Boombye, Boomba“ sagen musste, und er würde alles schlagen und töten, was er wollte.

Als er auf dieser Reise seinen Freund traf, wurde er gefragt, was er habe, und er antwortete:

„Oh, es ist nur ein Stock, aber wenn ich ‚Boombye, Boomba‘ sage, wird er dich zu Tode schlagen.“

Beim Klang der Zauberworte sprang der Stock aus seinen Händen und begann, seinen Freund zu schlagen, bis er schrie:

„Oh, hör auf damit und ich werde alles zurückgeben, was ich dir gestohlen habe.“ Juan befahl dem Stock, anzuhalten, und dann zwang er den Mann, die Ziege zu führen und das Netz, das Glas und die Löffel zu sich nach Hause zu tragen.

Dort befahl Juan der Ziege, und sie schüttelte ihre Schnurrhaare, bis seine Mutter und seine Brüder alles Silber hatten, das sie tragen konnten. Dann aßen sie aus dem Zauberglas und den Löffeln, bis sie satt waren. Und dieses Mal wurde Juan nicht gescholten. Nachdem sie fertig waren, sagte Juan:

„Du hast mich mein ganzes Leben lang geschlagen und beschimpft, und jetzt bist du froh, meine guten Dinge anzunehmen. Ich zeige dir noch etwas anderes: ‚Boombye, Boomba‘.“ Sofort sprang der Stock hervor und schlug auf sie alle ein, bis sie um Gnade flehten und versprachen, dass Juan für immer das Oberhaupt des Hauses sein sollte.

Von da an war Juan reich und mächtig, aber er ging nie ohne seinen Stock irgendwohin. Eines Nachts, als einige Diebe zu seinem Haus kamen, wäre er ausgeraubt und getötet worden, wenn nicht die magischen Worte „Boombye, Boomba“ den Tod aller Räuber verursacht hätten.

Einige Zeit später heiratete er eine wunderschöne Prinzessin, und dank der Güte des Zauberbaums lebten sie immer glücklich.