Humans make plans, but God guides their steps

 

Humans make plans, but God directs their steps. You can trust this divine GPS. You set your goals in your mind. However, the Creator lines up the path for you. To find the right way, start with prayer, seek wise counsel, and follow the peaceful nudge in your heart.

I am happy! Yes, I am! I found joy, freedom, and peace of mind when I discovered what I believe is the secret to a happy life after living in the Philippines as an expatriate for 28 years.

Think of a maze. You cannot see the exit from the start. You might guess which way to turn and hit a dead end. But God sees the whole maze from above. When you ask Him for help, He gently guides you around the walls to the exit. Proverbs 16:9 reminds you that a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps. Read more about this truth on Bible Hub. When you surrender your daily choices to God, you take the stress off your own shoulders. Trust that His plan is always better than yours.

I was brought up in a religious family and lived in a parish house until my 10th birthday. Our Christian life was rooted in a strong religious tradition. Though I was used to it, my attitudes were often very ungodly. Many times, I was prone to anger and did all kinds of unpleasant things to others. I gave more attention to worldly things until I became deeply immersed in what we call “worldly trends.” I did those things simply to enjoy life without caring about the people around me.

But then, suddenly, “someone” — let’s call Him GOD — intervened. He directed my path. I received many different challenges and tasks — especially when I decided to stay in the Philippines for good.

Sure, I have always been able to travel around the globe. But believe me, not every trip — or even every single day — was satisfying or successful.

Today, I am no longer surprised by the painful trials I suffered in the past. Instead of being surprised, I try to rejoice because I have learned that trials are meant to test your faith — perhaps even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When I got the idea to write this piece, I rummaged through some very old books belonging to my late “Lola” — born in 1899! — and found a faded document that had more or less crumbled to dust. It was handwritten by an unknown Dutch soldier, apparently in mortal agony during his final battle in World War II; the document was dated November 1944. I would like to share it with you, my dear reader, because it also reflects my past — and perhaps yours, too:

“When I stopped my ungodly behavior, I learned to pray. But when I prayed, I asked for power to become popular, and He made me weak and taught me how to be obedient. When I prayed, I asked for health so I could do great things, and He gave me afflictions so I could do better things. When I prayed, I asked for riches and abundance, and He gave me poverty so I could become wise instead. When I prayed, I asked for strength to receive people’s glory and fame, and He gave me weakness to make me feel how much I need Him. When I prayed, I asked for everything needed for a wonderful life without problems and trials, living like a king, and He gave me LIFE!”

I didn’t receive anything I prayed for while living in the Philippines as an expatriate. But I received everything in time, when I no longer expected it. More or less against my own free will, all my unspoken and unutterable prayers have been answered. I am truly blessed.

That is also how I feel right now. I am what I am today, NOT BECAUSE I PRAYED FOR IT, but because all my unspoken prayers have been answered.

Humans think — God guides!

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Email me at doringklaus@gmail.com; follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or X; or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.

A chance of religiousness?

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

The Philippines is one of the most religious countries in the world. About 92% of adults identify as Christian, and 76% are Roman Catholic. While nearly 99% of Filipinos believe in God, religious participation is changing. Some locals go to church less often, but deep personal faith remains.

Belief is strong: Almost 80% of Filipinos pray every day. Daily prayer is a core part of life here. Christian majority: Around 76% of the country is Catholic. Groups like Protestants (12%) and the Iglesia ni Cristo (2.6%) are also large. Other faiths: Islam is the second-largest religion in the country, with over 6% of the population. Many Muslims live in the southern islands, such as Mindanao. Changing trends: A recent Social Weather Stations report shows that the number of people who view religion as “very important” dropped from 83% to 73% over a few years. People are praying just as much, but fewer attend in-person services.

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

Increasing negative headlines about the “institutional church” nowadays and in the past, as well as embarrassing comparisons, lead only to discord.

How come? 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 Chrysostom addressed 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.

Most scientists agree that religiosity, also called religiousness, is not an independent personality trait, despite there being some commonality between their characteristics. Religiosity and personality traits both relate to one’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

I am proud to have people in my surroundings who taught me 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 acting as Christians in our daily life. Having such people around us makes it easier to practice forgiveness.

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WE WRITE, YOU DECIDE

What Truths Do We Hold?

"Assertions to bear" usually refers to bringing facts or emphatic statements forward to prove a point. Depending on context, it could mean citing evidence to back up a claim, the rules used in software testing, or management claims in financial audits.

We love to complain! Many times we don't have reasons at all to do so - but, we love to complain. Especially nowadays. Our world is full of mess - isn't it? Of course, somehow it is indeed if you look around.

We bring many more assertions to bear: first, in the past we have been thriftier and economical, more religious and devout, more patriotic, industrious, more hard-working, keen and obedient. And, second, above everything and all: in the past we had more idealists. Third, nowadays we have (mostly?) material things in mind - what a disgrace. 

Materialists or idealists? Materialism or Idealism? Whom or what do you love? Love most?

I just quoted Vox Populi... .

A "materialist" has indeed become a swear word. I don't mean with "material" the accumulated data out of which a writer creates a work of literary, historical, or scientific value. A materialist is being easily described as someone with an attitude, who ignores spiritual values, compared with an idealist, who has the tendency to seek the highest spiritual perfection.

Idealism means the doctrine that appearance is purely the perception, the idea of subjects, and that the world is to be regarded as consisting of mind. The coquetry of higher philosophy makes it difficult to bear the ups and downs in our daily life.

Sure, we all know that "our last earthly dress has no pockets  any more". Striving for earthly and terrestrial possession, property and estate might be the hit-man of idealism. That's how we have been taught. "Wine, women and song", having the unpleasant feeling of fullness, egoism and bragging as well as showing-off - are these the materialist's real attitudes?

Is the idealist, many times not being able to stand on earth with both feet, the only one who occupies himself with religion and virtuousness - so to speak, with celestial and heavenly things? Is that really so? Can we make such a distinction? Sure, it's easy to do so: it's manageable and comfortable. But well, why is the enjoyment of having a tasty meal BAD, and listening to a recital composed by Johann Sebastian Bach BETTER? Why should art be better than roasted pork and a bottle of wine? Value judgements and moral concepts... .

Owning a house and lot and a car  - or even more then one - are earthly properties, as well as bank saving accounts, profitable insurances, and invest advantageously in stocks. Is a terrible underpaid nurse or a book author an idealist, because he or she doesn't work for the filthy lure but for higher values? 

Has Jesus been an idealist, because He accepted renunciation and died without terrestrial possession? Has Jesus been a materialist, because He fed thousands of people on the breadline? Are we idealists, if we bequeath nothing to our families and might die without a single centavo, because earthly things are bad?

Worth to think about it ... .

Nothing comes from nothing

 

The Daily Guardian is a renascent Iloilo-based publishing firm and media outfit with bureaus across Western Visayas and beyond. Led by Iloilo's most respected journalists, we pledge to tell the Ilonggo story as seen through the various lenses of society so that every side may be told.

“Nothing comes from nothing” is a famous idea. It means you need a cause to get a result. You must do work to see rewards. However, this idea has two very different meanings. Let us look at them below. “Nothing comes from nothing,” a Latin phrase called ex nihilo nihil fit, is

By Klaus Döring

June 26, 2026

Updated June 25, 2026

4 min read

By Klaus Döring

“Nothing comes from nothing” is a famous idea. It means you need a cause to get a result. You must do work to see rewards. However, this idea has two very different meanings. Let us look at them below.

“Nothing comes from nothing,” a Latin phrase called ex nihilo nihil fit, is a core idea in philosophy. It means something cannot be made out of complete nothingness. Everything that exists must have a cause, a reason, or existing matter to start from. The phrase you mention is a variation on ex nihilo nihil fit, or “from nothing, nothing comes,” attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides.

For me, the answer lies in the oddly philosophical line in one of the songs composed by Richard Rodgers, with music, and Oscar Hammerstein II, with lyrics, in the 1965 film musical “The Sound of Music”: “Nothing comes from nothing.”

“Something Good,” sung by Maria and the Captain in “The Sound of Music”

The lyrics go: “Nothing comes from nothing — nothing ever could.”

Our globe and its population bear innumerable strange facts. In many people’s opinion, this world mostly shows worrying characteristics and symptoms nowadays. No wonder. Just try to consume and digest today’s headlines and news from around the globe.

The idea of “nothing comes from everything” is a philosophical concept and a common question explored in various fields. It suggests that existence can emerge from a state of absence or nonbeing. While it might sound paradoxical, this concept has been a topic of debate in philosophy, theology, and even physics. Some perspectives posit that the universe could have arisen from a previous state of nothingness, while others suggest that something always existed, even if it wasn’t in a recognizable form.

The notion of “nothing comes from everything” challenges the fundamental assumption that something cannot come from nothing. It prompts questions about the nature of existence, the potential for creation from nonexistence, and the relationship between being and nonbeing.

Some religious traditions, like Christianity, have a concept of creation from nothing, or ex nihilo, in which a deity created the universe from an empty void. This idea, while seemingly counterintuitive, has been a cornerstone of theological belief.

In physics and cosmology, the concept of “something coming from nothing” is explored in the context of the Big Bang theory and the nature of the quantum vacuum. Some cosmologists propose that the universe could have emerged spontaneously from a state of nothingness, a concept referred to as “quantum fluctuation” or “creation from nothing.”

Re-evaluation of existence: The idea encourages a re-evaluation of what we understand as “nothing,” considering that it might be a state of potential rather than total absence.
Emergence of order: It suggests that complexity and order could arise from an initially simple or chaotic state.
Challenging causality: The notion of something arising from nothing challenges the traditional view of cause and effect, in which an effect must always have a cause.

It is a world with quickly bridged distances — our Mother Earth is becoming smaller and smaller. Any tourist, even with little time and only a small budget, can travel to other faraway cultures. But joining them, as well as different races and religious communities, requires, first of all, great care, tact, instinctive feeling, empathy, and logical ideas.

The stranger whom we meet for the first time during a business meeting, for example, may be an uncommon, odd, and extraordinary guy. He may be someone from a foreign country who speaks another language and whose skin is a different color. He may be a migrant, a restless hiker, or an expatriate in our neighborhood.

The foreigner beside you and me can become a provocation or a challenge. Strangeness can become exoticism. Maybe that’s why my family and I decided to move to the Philippines in 1999. On the other hand — going abroad can open new and even better horizons. We must not feel like “a stranger in paradise.” By the way, I never did, since I have toured around the globe many times. On the other hand, I am not putting my country of birth into the trash. Heaven forbid, no!

However, a migrant carries a juxtaposition of optimism, even calculated optimism, confused feelings, nostalgia, and homesickness. Yes, guys, during the first years of my expat life in the Philippines, the round-trip ticket was always in my mind because no one among us can escape his native roots.

But I am really a lucky guy. I experienced amazing tolerance in the Philippines. Real, practicing

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, or follow me on Facebook, X-Twitter, or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.

I AM THE WAY

By: Klaus Döring

That phrase famously echoes a core statement of Jesus in the Gospel of John, where He declared: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".

In order to understand what “I am the way, the truth, and the life” means, which was said by the Lord Jesus, we must first be clear that only God can express the truth, grant people life, and show people the way. Before the Lord Jesus said He Himself was the truth, no person had said he himself was the truth, and no person could express the truth. Only the incarnate Lord Jesus said that He was the truth and moreover He could express the truth. Just as it is recorded in the Scriptures, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us … full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Most followers of Jesus are familiar with this verse. It’s commonly read in churches. However we often miss the significance and richness of what Jesus is actually teaching us.

He does not offer a linear route or a series of actions. He offers Himself. In very simple straightforward words, He declares, “I am the way.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:5-6)

Many times we compare our life with a path. We talk about "the way". We describe a determined man as, "He's on the right track". We go about our tracks, but we are reproved if we take a short-cut and not the path across a rice-field. We learn that there are many ways of solving problems.

We also don't want to stand in other people's way. Sometimes we prefer to keep out of someone's way and plan to avoid getting in their way. Often we try to find the golden middle course... .

Many different ways have been offered to us during our whole life. How can we be able to choose the right and correct one? Which signs can be trusted blindly? These are urgent and vital questions for all of us, and, especially during this time, very important like never before.

In the past, traditions and customs are the paths we took. Nowadays, we make decisions and long for the correct path - mostly on our own.

The German atom-physician Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) described it very impressively. The man of today is like a ship's captain. This ship is made out of iron. The compass needle is no longer able to show the Northern direction, as expected, because of the ship's iron inflexible body. You have one choice only: look up to the stars and study their guiding support!"

We're all happy and proud, when we have every need at our disposal. On the other hand, it only confuses our aims, goals, and objectives in life.

"I am the way" is NOT ONLY a traffic sign - or a shepherd without responsibility - or a religious founder, who thinks, that "only he is the right way, if one follows him"... .

HIS way is the only right way. Only His deeds colored our fates. Let's keep our eyes open for the important signs at our way, such as :

- Unselfish participation in the life of others;

- Courage to uncover prejudice;

- Ready to help the unprotected and defenseless;

- Struggle for freedom and justice;

- Commitment for peace.

Most of all: Love, which does not calculate and count. Love without measurements, boundaries and limits.

If you can share with others, you'll know one day in future, that someone walked this way - earlier than you - and, and, FOR YOU!

The hidden trap of worry

 

Learning to stop worrying involves training your brain to recognize that worry is merely a misguided habit. By actively managing your mindset with techniques like scheduled worry periods, radical acceptance, and mindfulness, you can break the anxiety cycle and take back control of your life.

Worrying is generally unhelpful because it traps your brain in a loop of “what-ifs” without producing actionable solutions. While moderate worry can briefly motivate you to prepare for a specific event, excessive worrying impairs decision-making, reduces creative problem-solving, and harms your physical health.

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 already been posted with sadness, loneliness, boredom strikes, problems and worries …

Just remember this: Opportunity doesn’t just knock — it jiggles the doorknob, 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, for example, often 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 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 uniquely 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.

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Comments, suggestions or questions? Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook, X-Twitter or LinkedIn, or log on to www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.

Those were the days…

 

 

During my time as a radio host at different radio stations in the Philippines, this song was requested innumerable times. “Those Were the Days” is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put new English lyrics to the Russian romance song “Дорогой длинною” — literally, “By the Long Road” — composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948), with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. It deals with reminiscence about youth and romantic idealism. It also deals with tavern activities, which include drinking, singing, and dancing.

Mary Hopkin’s 1968 debut single, “Those Were the Days,” which was produced by Paul McCartney of the Beatles and arranged by Richard Hewson, became a No. 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart and the Canadian RPM Magazine charts. The song also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind “Hey Jude” by the Beatles.

McCartney also recorded Hopkin singing “Those Were the Days” in other languages for release in their respective countries: In Spain, “Qué tiempo tan feliz”; in West Germany, “An jenem Tag”; in Italy, “Quelli erano giorni”; and in France, “Le temps des fleurs.”

Yes, time flies by. I think about sitting in a jet plane. Almost November 2024 again. Wow!

Do you always count the days until the next legal holiday when you are not on duty? Or do you start longing for Christmas as early as September? And do you hope the weeks or months pass quickly until the next possible salary increase?

Many times, we are really in too much of a hurry and feel uncomfortable when we notice how time flies. We have no time for someone or something, or even for ourselves.

When I was still a teenager, I longed to be an adult already. Later, I enjoyed listening to my grandmother’s stories, such as “Once upon a time” or “When I was young,” from her “yesterday’s life.”

After a couple of years, especially while observing that time really flies like a rocket to the moon, I also have the same question in mind: Are the present hours and days less valuable?

Of course, each day has its own set of happiness and trials. But it also holds great possibilities for us to take the initiative to do or to move something, if … !

Many of us retreat into the past and forget their present existence. A possible topsy-turvy world of golden youth makes us forget that the past also had its share of disappointments, pains, tears, darkness, tricky and desperate days — yes, lost days and irretrievable time.

Without having achieved anything, we dream our impossible dreams from past to future and vice versa. We forget that between yesterday and tomorrow is our valuable present. Well, now, well then — if we know just how to fulfill this period.

“Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
Think of all the great things we would do?
Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way…”

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