Thursday, 25 September 2014

Puppy health: Rabies!!

dog with rabies in the paralytic (post-furious) stage photo
WHAT IS IT??
Rabies is a virus that may affect the brain and spinal cord of all mammals, including dogs, cats and humans.
It is a viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain.
Since animals who have rabies secrete large amounts of virus in their saliva, the disease is primarily passed to dogs through a bite from an infected animal.
It can also be transmitted through a scratch (especially with cats) or when infected saliva makes contact with mucous membranes or an open, fresh wound.
The risk runs highest if your dog-or any pet-is exposed to wild animals.
The most common carriers of the rabies virus are bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes.

┅Rabies is reported in cats more than in any
domestic species mostly due to their tendency to roam a lot. ┅

If there are also cats in your household, it’s important to make sure they are vaccinated and kept indoors.

Early symptoms...
*may include fever and tingling at the site of exposure.
*This is then followed by either violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, and fear of water or an
inability to move parts of the body and confusion followed by loss of consciousness .
※In both cases, once symptoms appear it nearly always results in death.※

Types/variations...

Hydrophobia ("fear of water")
It is the historic name for rabies. It refers to a
set of symptoms in the later stages of an infection in which the person/animal has:
*difficulty swallowing, shows panic when presented with liquids to drink, and can't quench his or her thirst.
*All mammals infected with the virus may
demonstrate hydrophobia.
*Saliva production is greatly increased, and attempts to drink, or even the intention or suggestion of drinking may cause excruciatingly painful spasms of the muscles in the throat and larynx.
This can be attributed to the fact that the
virus multiplies and assimilates in the salivary glands of the infected animal for the purpose of further transmission through biting and the infected animal's ability to transmit the virus will reduce significantly if he can swallow his saliva with/without external source of water.
*Hydrophobia is commonly associated with furious rabies that affects 80% of the infected people and animals.

Paralytic form..
The remaining 20% may experience a paralytic form of rabies that's marked by muscle weakness, loss of sensation and paralysis.
This rabies form doesn't usually cause fear of water.
Transmission..
The disease is spread to humans from another animal, commonly by a bite or scratch. Infected saliva that comes into contact with any mucous membrane is also a risk.
In humans death almost always occurs 2 to 10 days after first symptoms. Survival is rare once symptoms have presented, even with the administration of proper and intensive care.

Progression...
Once rabies infection occurs, the virus grows in muscle tissue and may go undetected for several days or months.
During this incubation (or latent) period, the animal appears healthy and shows no sign of infection.
Usually within 1 to 3 months, the virus migrates to the nerves near the site of the infection and spreads to the spinal cord and brain (i.e., the central nervous
system).
It usually takes from 12 to 180 days to spread through the peripheral nerves to the central nervous system.
At this point, the disease progresses rapidly, and the animal begins to show the classic behavioral signs of rabies.
The virus spreads to the saliva, tears, breast milk and urine.
The animal usually dies in 4 or 5 days.

Signs and Symptoms of Rabies in pets
Rabid animals usually stop eating and drinking, and may appear to want to be left alone.
After the initial onset of symptoms, the animal may become vicious or begin to show signs of paralysis.
Some rabid animals bite at the slightest provocation; while others may be somnolent and difficult to arouse.
Once the animal shows signs of paralysis, the disease progresses very quickly and the animal dies.

Prodromal Phase: First Symptoms of Rabies
The early symptoms of rabies tend to be subtle, last 2 to 3 days, and include the following:
★Change in tone of the dog's bark
★Chewing at the bite site
★Fever
★Loss of appetite
★Subtle changes in behavior

Furious Phase: "Mad Dog Syndrome"
The second phase of infection usually lasts 2 to 4 days and not all rabid animals experience it.
Animals that enter immediately into the final paralytic phase are sometimes said to have dumb or paralytic rabies. Animals that spend most of their diseased state in the furious phase are sometimes said to have furious rabies.
An infected dog may viciously attack any moving object, person, or animal;
a caged rabid dog will chew the wire, break their teeth, and try to bite a hand moving in front of the cage.
Rabid cats will attack suddenly, biting and scratching.
Foxes will invade yards and attack dogs, cows, and porcupines.

They may show the following signs:
★Craving to eat anything, including inedible objects
★Constant growling and barking
★Dilated pupils
★Disorientation
★Erratic behavior
★Episodes of aggression
★Facial expression showing anxiety and hyperalertness
★Irritability
★No fear of natural enemies (e.g., wild animals may not be afraid of people, rats will charge at cats, cats will charge at dogs etc)
★Restlessness
★Roaming
★Seizures
★Trembling and muscle incoordination

Paralytic Phase
The third and final phase of infection usually lasts for 2 to 4 days. 

Initial symptoms include the following:
★Appearance of choking
★Dropping of the lower jaw (in dogs)
★Inability to swallow, leading to drooling and foaming of saliva (i.e., "foaming at the mouth")
★Paralysis of jaw, throat, and chewing muscles
★Paralysis then spreads to other parts of the body, the animal becomes depressed, rapidly enters a coma and dies

Immunization...
For dogs and cats, immunization is usually done at around 3 months (cats) and 5 months (dogs) when the maternal antibodies will not render the vaccine ineffective. It is therefore very important to keep young pets protected from feral or wild animals until they are vaccinated.
The vaccination is usually done singly, unlike the DHPP/DHLP which is a 5-in-1 vaccine per dose.

Rabies will infect any mammal or warm-blooded animal that has not been immunized, and death is inevitable. 

 Protect your pets and your family by making sure that the animals are immunized, and booster vaccines are administered regularly. 



****
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Monday, 22 September 2014

Conditioning of the mind:

Garbage in - Garbage out...

※ “The Chinese symbol for the word “crisis” is written using two strokes of a pen. One stroke stands for danger, and the other for opportunity. In a crisis, beware of the danger, but also recognize the opportunity.” - John F Kennedy ※

                               

One day I was watching a clip on National Geographic Wild; a lioness had spotted a lone wildebeest calf and the lioness knew it was her lucky day!! A soft scrumptious snack to energize her to kill the larger buffaloes later. She stalked the poor calf, cornered it and moved in for the kill.
As with all content cats, she decided to play with her prey before killing it, then a miracle happened....

The poor calf, frightened, started to head-butt the lioness... then the lioness settled and started grooming the calf and pampering it...
The calf, in self defence, was accidentally sending an affectionate message to the lioness..one she gets from her cubs...head-butting!!!
All cats head-butt each other (and other animals) as a sign of affection. The harder and more frequent the head-butting and muzzling... the more love displayed!! As the calf was being groomed, he would instinctively  aggressively head-butt the lioness (being tiny, there was not much force to injure the lioness), but the only message she got was the same she would get from her cubs after a hard day of hunting ... "I love you Mommy!!"

After a while, the mother wildebeest approached the duo, and the lioness let the little calf go after a heavy dose of grooming and pampering!!! I was amazed!!

Two different languages ... one result: LIFE!!!
This brings my attention to all the violence going on in the world, and in our very own homes!! What is it that our children learn from us?
How can a child in the affected middle East know love after seeing his whole family massacred because of an ethnic divide .. then expect this child to peacefully abide with his neighbours?
How can a man expect his beloved daughter to conquer the  world because she has what it takes, yet she continuously witnesses her mother being belittled by the same father ... and then you expect her to settle and SUBMIT to another man? 

What if history repeats itself?
"Not in my life...", she will say (hence the generation of "strong-willed" women)
The nerds coined it well.. Garbage in - Garbage out!!
I am not yet a parent but I have been a child. I have struggled with the concept of "Do as I say, not as I do..", sadly from 90% of adults around me, from teachers, relatives, parents, "mentors" etc.
We are all familiar with that scolding phrase "Why can't you be like so and so..."
If they only knew "so and so's" true colours!!!

※ A mango tree with a low self esteem cannot produce plums... A mango tree on a bad day cannot change the principle that God put into it to produce after its kind. ※

God knew what kind of spirit to install when He made you.. and it is all for good and not evil. So, where is all this evil coming from?

Conditioning of the mind... The concept where something wrong is introduced to you subtly and for a long while, to the extent that the mind and spirit finds it acceptable.
If some things were introduced to us all at once (say, intolerance of other ethnicities), we would automatically reject it because it is NOT for the human spirit to hate without reason.

But what happens when we continuously make it clear that the "outsiders" are our enemies, even though we live with them and even study together? We tolerate them but subconsciously segregate them and the moment one of them does something silly, the discrimination comes out without much provocation. Sadly, this issue spans across all the human "divides" from religion, ethnicities, nationalities and even gender!!!

As much as we preach peace and sing how "We are one", what is it that our children are learning from us?
Because peace exists in all of us... ever wonder how nurseries and day care facilities have so much harmony despite the clutter?? There are no divides. 

If you have a problem with certain people, please keep that opinion away from the children... they don't need that nonsense in their lives; they have too much to learn and negativity is a waste of their precious intellect!!
We are one; please show it to our children!!

This is Serenity!!
Life is Beautiful!!!

***
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Sunday, 21 September 2014

TRY - Song by COLBIE CAILLAT

TRY...

Put your make-up on, Get your nails done, Curl your hair
Run the extra mile, Keep it slim so they like you, do they like you?
Get your sexy on, Don't be shy, girl....Take it off
This is what you want, to belong, so they like you
Do you like you?

You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards
You don't have to choose, buy it all, so they like you
Do they like you?
Wait a second,
Why, should you care, what they think of you
When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?
Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try so hard,You don't have to bend until you break
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try
Take your make-up off, Let your hair down
Take a breath, Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you? Cause I like you
This is Serenity!!
****
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Friday, 19 September 2014

Puppy Health: Canine Distemper

What is it?

bakerinstitute.vet.cornell.edu
Canine distemper is a contagious and serious viral illness with no known cure. The disease affects dogs, and certain species of wildlife, such as raccoons, wolves, foxes, and skunks. The common house pet, the ferret, is also a carrier of this virus. It affects many areas of your dog's body and it is highly contagious. In approximately half of the cases, it is fatal.

The disease is highly contagious (via inhalation) and fatal 50% of the time, thus making it the leading cause of infectious disease death in dogs. The virus infects the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, the brain, and spinal cord. 
Young puppies, between 3 and 6 months of age, are most susceptible to the disease and are the most likely to die from it. However, non-immunized adult dogs are also highly susceptible to distemper. These older dogs often develop mild cases.

The virus that produces canine distemper belongs to the paramyxovirus group. Human measles virus is also a member of this group. 

Distemper virus is easy to kill with disinfectants, sunlight or heat.

Symptoms

Common symptoms can include:
1) High fever,
2) Watery discharge from the eyes and nose,
3) Vomiting and diarrhea,
4) Hardening of the footpads and nose,
5) Seizures (of any part of the body, but seizures that look as if the dog is chewing gum are unique to distemper),
6) Paralysis

medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
Gastrointestinal and respiratory signs
Commonly observed signs are a runny nose, vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration, excessive salivation, coughing and/or labored breathing, loss of appetite, and weight loss. When and if the neurological signs develop, incontinence may ensue.
Dog infected with canine distemper: Note the purulent nasal discharge and hyperkeratotic nose.
Neurological signs
The signs within the central nervous system include a localized involuntary twitching of muscles or groups of muscles, seizures often distinguished by salivation, and jaw movements commonly described as "chewing gum fits", or more appropriately as "distemper myoclonus". As the condition progresses, the seizures worsen and advance to grand mal convulsions, followed by death of the animal. The animal may also show signs of sensitivity to light, incoordination, circling, increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as pain or touch, and deterioration of motor capabilities. Less commonly, it may lead to blindness and paralysis. The length of the systemic disease may be as short as 10 days, or the start of neurological signs may not come until several weeks or months later. Those few that survive usually have a small tic or twitch of varying levels of severity. With time, this tic will usually diminish somewhat in its severity.
Lasting signs
A dog that survives distemper will continue to have both nonlife-threatening and life-threatening signs throughout its lifespan. The most prevalent nonlife-threatening symptom is hard pad disease. This is when a dog experiences the thickening of the skin on the pads of its paws, as well as the end of its nose. Another lasting symptom commonly is enamel hypoplasia. Puppies, especially, will have damage to the enamel of teeth that are not completely formed or those that have not yet grown through the gums. This is a result of the virus killing the cells responsible for manufacturing the tooth enamel. These affected teeth tend to erode quickly.
Life-threatening signs usually include those due to the degeneration of the nervous system. Dogs that have been infected with distemper tend to suffer a progressive deterioration of mental abilities and motor skills. With time, the dog can acquire more severe seizures, paralysis, reduction in sight and incoordination.
These dogs are usually humanely euthanized, due to the immense pain and suffering they face.
www.smallanimalchannel.com

www.worldclassgsd.com
Progression..

Once these pets are infected, the virus is shed in all their body secretions
Puppies from three to six months old are particularly susceptible. CDV spreads through aerosol droplets and through contact with infected bodily fluids, including nasal and ocular secretions, feces, and urine, six to 22 days after exposure. It can also be spread by food and water contaminated with these fluids.The time between infection and disease is 14 to 18 days, although a fever can appear from three to six days after infection
The virus first appears in bronchial lymph nodes and tonsils two days after exposure. The virus then enters the blood stream on the second or third day.A first round of acute fever tends to begin around three to eight days after infection, which is often accompanied by a low white blood cell count, especially oflymphocytes, as well as low platelet count. These signs may or may not be accompanied by anorexia, a runny nose, and discharge from the eye. This first round of fever typically recedes rapidly within 96 hours, and then a second round of fever begins around the 11th or 12th day and lasts at least a week. Gastrointestinal and respiratory problems tend to follow, which may become complicated with secondary bacterial infections. Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, otherwise known as encephalomyelitis, is either associated with this, subsequently follows, or comes completely independent of these problems. A thickening of the footpads sometimes develops, and vesicularpustular lesions on the abdomen usually develop. Neurological signs typically are found in the animals with thickened footpads from the virus.About half of sufferers experience meningoencephalitis
Treatment
No antiviral drugs exist that effect canine distemper virus
Treatments are symptomatic and supportive, aimed at limiting secondary bacterial invasion, supporting fluid balance, and controlling neurologic manifestations. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, balanced electrolyte solutions, parenteral nutrition, antipyretics, analgesics, and anticonvulsants are used, and good nursing care is essential. No single treatment is specific or uniformly successful.

Immunization

Excellent vaccines are now available to protect dogs from canine distemper virus. These vaccines are manufactured from living, weakened (attenuated) virus that induce long-lasting immunity. Immunity lasts many years. 

Vaccinations must not be given too early to puppies. The shots must be given to puppies at a time when the level of circulating antibody that they received from their mothers is in decline or the vaccine’s effects are neutralized

Successful immunization of pups with canine distemper modified live virus vaccines depends on the lack of interference by maternal antibody. To overcome this barrier, pups are vaccinated with the vaccine when 6 wk old and at 3- to 4-wk intervals until 16 wk old. Alternatively, measles virus vaccine induces immunity to canine distemper virus in the presence of relatively greater levels of maternal distemper antibody. MLV (modified live vaccines) measles vaccine is administered to pups 6–7 wk old and is followed with at least two more doses of MLV distemper vaccine when 12–16 wk old.

This vaccine is usually administered through the 5-in-1 vaccine, or DHLP or DHPP vaccines, at around six to 10 weeks, depending on the environment and exposure to other animals.

*****
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_dg_canine_distemper
http://www.2ndchance.info/dogdistemper.htm
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Thursday, 18 September 2014

Puppy Health: Canine Parvovirus


Puppybop
WHAT IS IT?

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV2, colloquially parvo) is is an acute, highly contagious disease mainly affecting dogs, and thought to originate in cats. The current belief is that the feline panleukopenia mutated into CPV2.
The virus has a tendency to attack rapidly reproducing cells, such as those lining the gastrointestinal tract.
'Parvo' is a highly contagious disease characterized by diarrhea that is often bloody.
Parvovirus is a very common problem that is a huge killer of puppies. Due to its ability to be transmitted through hands, clothes, and most likely rodents and insects, it is virtually impossible to have a kennel that will not eventually be exposed to the disease

 HOW IT SPREADS...

 The virus is shed in large amounts in the stools of acutely infected dogs for up to several weeks following infection. The disease is transmitted by oral contact with infected feces. Parvo can be carried on the dog’s hair and feet, as well as on contaminated crates, shoes, and other objects

 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS...
Dogs that develop the disease show symptoms of the illness within 3 to 7 days. 
The first sign of CPV is lethargy. Usually the second symptoms would be loss of appetite or diarrhea (sometimes bloody) followed by vomiting.
The symptoms include 
  • lethargy, 
  • vomiting, 
  • fever, 
  • diarrhea (usually bloody). 

 Diarrhea and vomiting result in dehydration and secondary infections can set in. 
Due to dehydration, the dog's electrolyte balance can become critically affected. 
Because the normal intestinal lining is also compromised, blood and protein leak into the intestines leading to anemia and loss of protein, and endotoxins escaping into the bloodstream, causing endotoxemia. 
Dogs have a distinctive odor in the later stages of the infection. 
The white blood cell level falls, further weakening the dog. 
Any or all of these factors can lead to shock and death.

 TREATMENT...

 Survival rate depends on how quickly CPV is diagnosed, the age of the dog and how aggressive the treatment is. Treatment usually involves extensive hospitalization, due to the severe dehydration and damage to the intestines and bone marrow. A CPV test should be given as early as possible if CPV is suspected in order to begin early treatment and increase survival rate if the disease is found.
IMMUNIZATION AND TREATMENT...
In general, puppies are usually immunized at the age of 4 weeks after birth.
The primary cause of failure of canine parvovirus vaccines is an interfering level of maternal antibody against the canine parvovirus. (Maternal antibodies are the antibodies present in the mother's milk during the first 24 hours after the puppy's birth.)

 The complicating factor is that there is a period of time from several days to several weeks in which the maternal antibodies are too low to provide protection against the disease, but too high to allow the vaccine to work. This period is called the window of susceptibility. This is the time when despite being vaccinated, a puppy can still contract parvovirus. The length and timing of the window of susceptibility is different in every puppy in every litter. 

 This issue can be limited by ensuring that the mother has been immunized prior to pregnancy, and the puppies are kept away from other dogs or cats (and all mammals, to be safe..), and their environment is kept clean at all times. The mother/dam will regularly keep the kennel clean by eating the wastes produced by the pups, and she will ensure that she relieves herself far from the kennel, and feeds also relatively away from where the puppies are. 

 It is therefore very important not to confine the mother/dam in an enclosed area, or if you have to, there should be enough space for her to go a bit far to eat and relieve herself.

TYPES/KINDS OF CANINE PARVOVIRUS...
Intestinal form
  • Dogs become infected through oral contact with CPV2 in feces, infected soil, or fomites that carry the virus.
  •  Following ingestion, the virus replicates in the lymphoid tissue in the throat, and then spreads to the bloodstream.
  •  From there, the virus attacks rapidly dividing cells, notably those in the lymph nodes, intestinal crypts, and the bone marrow. There is depletion of lymphocytes in lymph nodes and necrosis (cell death) and destruction of the intestinal crypts.
  • Anaerobic bacteria that normally reside in the intestines can then cross into the bloodstream, a process known as translocation, with bacteremia leading to sepsis. The most common bacteria involved in severe cases are Clostridia, Campylobacter andsalmonella species. This can lead to a syndrome known as Systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS). SIRS leads to a range of complications such as hypercoagulability of the blood, endotoxaemia and acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).
  •  Bacterial Myocarditis has also been reported secondarily to sepsis.Dogs with CPV are at risk ofintussusception, a condition where part of the intestine prolapses into another part.Three to four days following infection, the virus is shed in the feces for up to three weeks, and the dog may remain an asymptomatic carrier and shed the virus periodically.
  •  The virus is usually more deadly if the host is concurrently infested with worms or other intestinal parasites.
Cardiac form
  • This form is less common and affects puppies infected in the uterus or shortly after birth until about 8 weeks of age.
  • The virus attacks the heart muscle and the puppy often dies suddenly or after a brief period of breathing difficulty due to pulmonary edema.
  •  On the microscopic level, there are many points of necrosis (cell death) of the heart muscle that are associated with mononuclear cellular infiltration. The formation of excess fibrous tissue (fibrosis) is often evident in surviving dogs. Myofibers are the site of viral replication within cells.The disease may or may not be accompanied with the signs and symptoms of the intestinal form. However, this form is now rarely seen due to widespread vaccination of breeding dogs.
  • Even less frequently, the disease may also lead to a generalized infection in neonates and cause lesions and viral replication and attack in other tissues other than thegastrointestinal tissues and heart, but also brain, liver, lungs, kidneys, and adrenal cortex. The lining of the blood vessels are also severely affected, which lead the lesions in this region to hemorrhage.
Infection of the fetus
  • This type of infection can occur when a pregnant female dog is infected with CPV2. 
  • The adult may develop immunity with little or no clinical signs of disease. The virus may have already crossed the placenta to infect the fetus.
  • This can lead to several abnormalities. In mild to moderate cases the pups can be born with neurological abnormalities such ascerebellar hypoplasia.(..view source...)
Call/text/whatsapp +254725733412 for more queries and quotations regarding a vet, surgeon, breeder, vaccine, treatment and grooming, or you wish to adopt a dog or cat...

bakerinstitute.vet.cornell.edu
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Friday, 12 September 2014

Of relationship articles: Sow to reap...

~※ When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.※~

Be good to yourself..

So, for a while now, I have been paying attention to publications I thought were a waste of time; dating and relationship articles.
For a long while, I never gave the pages more than a look-over because I did not need to be told how to date!! How can someone I have never met know the dynamics of my love life?

A few weeks ago, I came across a cliche article: How to get and keep a man (I did say cliche...)
But i read it anyway, and it was an eye opener!! The entire article did not talk on how to manipulate someone and attract them; on the contrary, it talked about IMPROVING the relationship you have with yourself, and loving yourself more. Not once was there a mention of being a tigress...or cougar...or whatever...

With time, I realized that these relationship-fixing articles actually advice you to fix the only one thing you can; your relationship with yourself.

This brings to mind the law of harvest:
※You SOW then you REAP, not the other way round. ※

You sow love to reap love.
Over the years, we have been through enough life experiences that have hardened us, and taught us to make perimeter walls around our hearts because we have been hurt. Everyone goes through betrayal of any form; from family, to friends, spouses and even colleagues. Then we encounter strangers who should be classified as wildlife....
All this is enough to create an iron heart in anyone. The problem is that, the iron heart grows spikes so sharp, that they pierce the vessel that houses them; your spirit.

And so I start my "relationship-fixing" article..
I always say that unless you allow yourself to be strong, you cannot be strong (learn to love yourself well). Prophesy strength in your life, and you will rise.
If you don't love yourself, it is hard to find someone who truly loves you. Many people are usually surprised that they found love the moment they stopped looking for love.

As much as we are encouraged to put ourselves out there, how do we do it?
Do we do it in such a way as merchandise are displayed on a window? Or do you exist as something someone would love to have, not to afford?
I believe that we should put ourselves out there - we are not stored herbs waiting to be cooked.

I also believe that when you put yourself out there, do it like you own your life. Join clubs that make you happy. Associate with people that you find valuable, not people you hope will find some use for you (as in, when you attend a function, go there to grow, not to land a sale or contract..or whatever else..).
Put yourself first, and your spirit will radiate charm and charisma. Charisma, as I found out is not in-born or created; it is ignited. Charismatic people charm others because they fully believe in themselves, and have a way of making other people also feel capable (and I am not referring to political charisma... that is Class-A PR).

When you take charge of your happiness, you will not look for something or someone to do it. You will also not have any reason to have grudges because of our previous hurtful experiences.
Look at it this way; True- someone did hurt you; but, you also believed them and trusted them out of your own will.

- So, will you cordon off any other person that tries to come close to you?
- Or will you bear that grudge like a heavy sack of potatoes, ulcerating yourself?
Or will you look at yourself and congratulate yourself for being capable of trust, honesty and integrity even though someone else took advantage? - This is the outlook I chose.

★For one, I accepted that I was too trusting, meaning that I am trustworthy. It means that I can also trust myself to make healthy decisions, so in case something smells fishy, I can trust myself to get out of the rat-hole, without being connived to stay, or getting confused on whether its the right decision in the first place, or am I blowing things up... I will trust my foresight and insight and come to a decision that is good for my life.

★I can also trust myself not to let me down; if I encounter a challenge, chances of backing off due to fear of failure are greatly minimized; not because I cannot fail, but because I am sure that I am giving it my very best, and there will be no real loss. Either way, I took advantage of an opportunity to grow, and got something new out of it. 
- Finally, you will reap what you have sown; a relationship with yourself. You will not judge yourself too harshly when you mess up, because you knew that you did it the best way you could.

★You have no reason to be ashamed of yourself or your choices, and you will not need material things to 'upgrade' your status. You will also not be ashamed of your family, spouse, colleagues or even your background.

★And so, you will not have a reason to run the race so that you can be on someone else's level, career wise, financially or even socially.

That, I believe is true freedom.
★The freedom to meet a new person, and not have a list of things I need to hide or change before they find them out, lest I shame myself because of who I am.
★The freedom to introduce this new person to my friends and family without worrying of what they will think...
★The freedom to have a good day without having to compete whose car is fastest, or whose sound system is loudest...
★The freedom to know that even if someone else doesn't like me or what I have, that is their own problem, and that their opinion of me will not pay my bills.
★And finally, the freedom to be yourself around the people you admire, the freedom to ask them questions without being ashamed that they will know you lack, and the freedom to learn from them without feeling like an under-dog, and not waiting for the chance to beat them in their own game...
※ That is true freedom. ※
You sow love for yourself; you reap a lifetime of freedom to enjoy love...

This is Serenity!!
Because Life is Beautiful...

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Friday, 5 September 2014

Learn to let go..


Psalms 127:1-5 The value of the Divine blessing. - Let us always look to God's providence. In all the affairs and business of a family we must depend upon His blessing.

                     

It is said that God provides for those He loves while they are asleep... (Psalms 127:2)

I know what its like to wish back upon days long gone. When you spend today busy worrying about next year, you let today's joys fly by. Next year does come, and my goals are met; most of them anyway....
I could not complain; yet I did not feel fulfilled!! I celebrated only one event out of years lived!!! I lived through hundreds of days, yet I could only remember one; why?? 

Because I did not let go and live!!!
The verse above does not talk about reckless living; quite the contrary!!
We are not meant to be busy-bodies!!
To progress, you will get off that bum and do something!!
What King David meant when he wrote the psalm was that we should learn to invest ourselves wisely, and invest in the One who truly has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11-12).

I have been in business long enough to lose LOTS of money; and I mean A LOT!! But I was not reckless; I followed my business plan to the letter!! Same thing with life, you can do all things right but whatever can go wrong, will go wrong (Murphy's law). This however should not be the end of you.
Life has its own funny way of rebuilding us. Just like volcanoes, sometimes it will take great destructions for new mountains to rise. We will be shaken, cracked open, a great deal of hot pain and pent-up energy will gush out of us and those around us will witness it all. In the end, there will be a new feature in us that is remarkable!!

Imagine the magnificent Mt. Kenya; how many eruptions did it take to make it that high?
Now imagine yourself as that magnificent mountain; all that you have been through in life! Yet you still stand, and those around you are seeing it for themselves! You are a mountain, a magnificent creation of great adversity!!
But the mountain cannot rise without the solid foundation of the earth; you cannot rise until you allow yourself to be firmly anchored in the Rock that never falls. If you place your faith in your hands, you cannot rise beyond your imagination. You can achieve something, granted you have worked for it, but you cannot truly rise to great heights. Like I mentioned earlier (self appreciation) God has great plans for all of us; and for your information, most of His plans involves us achieving the DESIRES of our hearts (provided they are noble). Letting God take control then means that you can actually have the confidence to PLAN AHEAD and HAVE GOALS!!

I learned to let go the day my goals started fulfilling my life. Many may not have seen what the celebration was all about but I was happy and learned to look forward to the next day. Even where I did not succeed, I was grateful for the opportunity to try.

I may not be the poster-kid of success, but I can walk with my chin high because I have risen. I am not where I was last year; I am stronger, wiser, more resilient and got zero-chills for nonsense (previously, I feared people and confrontations; now, I don't like them, but I will not let anyone ruin my day because they can!!). I actually feel like a mountain. And, I am sure, the next time there is a great eruption in my life, I will be shaken and burnt but I will rise higher!! I am no longer afraid to stand out. I now desire to share the heights with other mountains. I have read about them, and have observed them and I know that I should not let the next eruption destroy me. But I can only do this if I can have confidence in God, and I should allow that confidence to spill over to the other aspects of my life.

Just like the eagle, let go of the branch, spread your wings and allow the currents and turbulence to lift you higher and higher until the world is under you!!

Now, I do not 'wait' for God to start blessing me. I just look at my life, the people and the experiences, and I acknowledge that I am ALREADY blessed!! This gives me more faith to lean on Him, and less on my own understanding. He will continue blessing and establishing me.

Just like success, life is not a destination, but a journey. When you sit and wait for that ideal moment where you can toast and give thanks, you will miss out on life itself. You will toast one moment, and spend 99 moments reliving the days you let pass you by, wishing they could just rewind themselves.

Allow God to provide for you. Do not sit there like a duck and wait for manna, or cash, or well wishers. 

Allow your spirit to flourish because you are God's child. Allow your mind to think and innovate because you are God's masterpiece. 

Finally, allow yourself to make decisions that are good for you and those around you because you are a co-creator on this earth.

Just don't allow yourself to gain the world, then start wishing you could trade it all for just one moment of peace and happiness.

This is Serenity!!
Because Life is Beautiful,,,

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