growing inches

original post: 1.08.2006

It was New Year’s Eve.

Instead of the usual wishing-you-a-blessed-new-year greetings, you got several friends reminding you to jump—not from the 4^th floor—at the strike of midnight for you to amazingly grow inches (or centimeters at least) despite having gone past the growth spurt some years back. Obviously, you must be one of the vertically challenged people who are also called: short or bonsai (excuse the term, but cousin Jec calls his cousin that), nonetheless cute. Ha!

Superstitious year-openers like this may not be untrue altogether. For despite the fact that you remain standing five feet flat (yes, believe her, she reached 60 inches), you realize that you could very well use growing a few inches in other aspects of your life, and so the list begins…

Hope—You begin with hope. Yes, growing a few inches of hope would mean waking up to every morning, less dreary and more upbeat. Because despite dreading Mondays (we all have different reasons), there will always be Fridays to look forward to and you remain hopeful that come every Friday you can freeze time and unfreeze it to your liking.

Trust—Trusting more is really easier said than done. You’ve always wished you could go back to being a child when trusting was as natural as sucking milk, period. You can get a little too world-weary at times, but you sure could do with less worries and unnecessary anxieties and trust that things will be okay, everything, in its place.

Faith—Have more faith in people too. Set aside the bad experiences with those who broke your belief that human beings are inherently good and try to see: there are still people who are there to make you see life differently.

Endurance and resilience—You’re a Filipino. Need you say more?

Laid-back attitude—Cherish every moment of your life as though everything that unfolds happens for something purposeful. Why get stressed by leaving the house at 6:30 when the shuttle arrives at 6:45? Little things like this, remind you that there are things, which are beyond your control—so why fuss over things beyond your control? There are better things deserving of your energy don’t you think?

Truthfulness—Remain truthful. Life is a stage, but you don’t necessarily have to wear masks.

Generosity—Give more. Make people feel you are truly giving a part of yourself with every time you share with them. Make them smile through your generous words of kindness and an equal amount of understanding. If it is real generosity you’re showing, they’d see you’re not giving to get something else in return, but simply because you enjoy the deed.

Forgiveness—Growing inches of forgiveness is the best way to lose weight—talk about shedding “excess calories”.

Appreciation—How many people have you left unappreciated? It’s time to become more appreciative of the people you care for. Count your blessings, sounds cliché but gratefulness is really a gateway for more blessings to come your way.

Love—Many people love and care for you. Don’t let them down by throwing yourself to the ditches. Love yourself more. Yes, you deserve it, so go get that Mraz ticket…not! Haha!

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this was written almost two years ago, and yes, wouldn't it be nice if we keep growing inches?