Tag Archives: love

What I Love About You

Hey you! Yes, you. I love you. You who read this blog, add comments, or smile and spread joy.

I feel blessed that this small space in the internet has become a gathering place for generous, peaceful, wise, and empathic souls like you.

Case in point, one of my dear friends, Geo Sans, posted a comment on a recent post that included a video. This video made me smile, laugh, cry, and appreciate everything there is in life–including you.

I didn’t want the video to get lost in comments, so I’ve made a special post for it. Zach Sobiech defines Everyday Guru. His short life was spent loving and serving. He is an inspiration to everyone he touched, and thanks to the power of the internet, he touched a lot of people. According to Geo Sans, Zach passed away May 20th. Rest in Peace, Zach. You are loved and appreciated.

Enjoy. Love. Smile.

Celebrity version of Zach’s song, “Clouds.”

May you be free from suffering. May you find peace and joy.

Heart-Tinted Glasses

heart tinted glassesI’ve always been a judgmental person, so I’ve decided to see the world through heart-tinted glasses. Rather than see people as people, I’m trying to see their heart, not their physical heart, but how much heart they have.

Boy with HeartFor example, although this boy looks disabled, I see him motoring around our library every week. Everything about him reveals a huge heart.

Kids in general have tons of heart, yet we often tend to forget that. We tend to be condescending towards kids, rather than filled with admiration. Continue reading →

Love, Reign O’er Me

Looking back at my childhood, I realize that it wasn’t the 10 years of physical abuse by my step-father that hurt the most; it was watching my mother stand idly by as I screamed for mercy. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. That was part of the problem.

Until recently, my whole life has been a desperate attempt to become loveable. As an Asian American growing up in the 80s, I loved this country. Yet my love was often rejected with angry chants of “go back to where you came from.”

Continue reading →

Monthly Peace Challenge: Giveaway!

forpeace25jpgWith close to 130 Bloggers for Peace, the number of peace posts continues to expand. I, for one, can honestly say that this experience is changing my life. Reading multiple posts about peace every week from a variety of perspectives inspires me, guides me, and re-minds me to practice peace at all times. I am grateful to all of you for every contribution you make.

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace or leave a link to it in the comments below. Also, make sure you copy your URL to the Linkz collection. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt. Continue reading →

Five Steps to Peaceful Resolution

“If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those not in love with God only see their face in it.”–Rumi

In the past week, I’ve gotten into three arguments with three different people about faith, spirituality, and the law of attraction. All three of these people were close family members that I care about. In the arguments, my views were labeled as “insane,” “delusional,” and “desperate.” In my eyes, I lost all these arguments because I could not make the other person see what is so essential to my existence.

Since I’m practicing peace, I came up with five tips for conflict resolution: Continue reading →

Love and Oppression

“Truth is on the side of the oppresed.”–Malcom X

I am an oppressor. I did not choose this position; it was given to me at birth. Ignorant of my privilege, I have abused this undeserved power throughout my life. Not until one of the oppressed loved and forgave me was I able to see the massive power structure that I inherited with my Y chromosome.

On this Valentine’s Day while a billion people are dancing to end violence against women, I want to call out to all other male oppressors to lay down their weapons and commence dismantling this Patriarchy the empowers us. The dismantling will not be easy because the system is entrenched in everything we know. Continue reading →

Everyday Thanksgiving–January 2013

“A thankful person is a thankful person under all circumstances.”–Baha’u'llah (1817-1892)

This is the monthly download of my daily gratitude practice–everyday I try to post five things I am grateful for. Gratitude continues to alter my life in so many ways. I don’t expect anyone to read this list, but I hope you discover the power of gratitude.

January 2013

Thank you for bubbles–cheap, but full of joy; the wonderful peace post by Grandmalin; living in a time of peace in America; all the food that was given to us over the holidays; the amazing edit Joanne Wadsworth did on my first chapter.

rhee bevere photoThank you for my empathic wife; legos, especially Star Wars legos; Vietnamese hairdressers who know how to cut Asian hair; Anne Hathaway’s performance in Les Miserable; second chances. Continue reading →

A Word, A Word, My Kingdom for a Word

stockicide / Foter.com / CC BY

When you are alone,
watch your mind.

When you are with others,
watch your mouth.

–Tibetan saying from Lambre: Dawn of Enlightenment by Lama Choedak Yuthok

One of the few childhood sayings that is completely erroneous is “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” I’ve learned the hard way that words can cut deeper than samurai swords.

Marshall Hattori Vader photoI’ve always wanted to be a Jedi Knight so I could use the force to fight people without touching them. Little did I know, I’ve already got that power and I’ve gone to the Dark Side. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to make people cry just using words. Continue reading →

Feeling My Way to Peace

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears…”–Jimmy Valvano

Last week, I took my wife to see Les Miserable, and Anne Hathaway  brought me to tears. (Quick review: Hathaway=Oscar; Jackman and Crowe sounded off key at times, and I’m tone deaf; Tom Hooper revolutionized filmmaking with his skin-tight close-ups) By the end of the film, however, my wife was sobbing, and I was just enjoying the music.anne hathaway

This is not the first time this had happened to me. In college, I took my girlfriend to see Platoon and she almost had to be removed from the theater because she was crying inconsolably during the My Lai-like massacre scene. My response, like everyone else in the theater, was “calm down; it’s just a movie.” Continue reading →