The Bully Project

Click on the text to lead to the trailer of the: The Bully Project

At his inauguration, Pope Francis said "I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment," according to NBC News.

According to the Catholic News Service, Pope Francis urged people to be tender and compassionate to others, saying that quiet compassion is a sign of strength. "In the Gospels," he said during his homily, "St. Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak, but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love." He also called for people to respect nature. "In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it," he said. "Be protectors of God's gifts."

Pope Francis said that respect for "each of God's creatures" means treating both people and the environment in the same compassionate manner. People who ignored "God's plan inscribed in nature," he said, leads to destruction and hardened hearts.

INTRODUCING THE 7-DAY RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Do you practice kindness in your life?

Are you kind only to people that you know?

Would you like to cultivate and nurture kindness in your heart and mind?

INTRODUCING THE 7-DAY RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Come August 27, we will be having a 7-day random act of kindness exercise.  Starting Aug. 27, you will post an act of kindness which you have done within the day itself. The act can range from saying a simple thank you to the cafeteria lady, saying sorry to somebody you bumped into no matter how much in a rush you are, changing an unpleasant thought towards others to showing appreciation to them.  At the end of the day, you are to share your experience to the blog and to join the other participants in their sharing.

This is a simple and exciting practice of being kind to others.  At times, with our busy schedule and our desire to be the best we tend to forget to be kind-hearted and to focus on the essentials of life –relationships.  This exercise will end on September 3, 2013.  May we remember to be kind to ourselves and to others as well!

Life is interrelated. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality; tied in the single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.-- Marin Luther King, Jr.

“So live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”--Steve Jobs

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Just as the saying goes:  In order to see the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain by Dolly Parton, it is a reminder that in life we should learn to face or better yet embrace our fears.  Afterall, courage is not the absence of fear but it’s doing what you fear the most.  Actually, my greatest fear is to leave this world when my daughter is still young and helpless to be on her own.  As a parent, that really is something unimaginable for me.  That is why, I really make it a point to enjoy every single moment with my daughter for time is fleeting and no one really knows what is yet to come.  To overcome this fear, I lift up all my anxieties and worries to the Lord and do my best to be positive.

My other fear is if I totally lose my vision.  I have this rare eye disease called Terrien’s Marginal Degeneration because of this I am visually impaired.  This is the reason why I truly make the most out of my schooling for I am truly grateful  that my eyes are still functioning pretty well though I am visually impaired.  For graduate school really requires a lot of reading and research.  Most of all, my fear is to just exist and not live life to the fullest preventing me to be the person God meant me to be.

Having fears are inevitable.  I really haven’t met anyone without a single fearful bone in his or her body.  It is really part of our journey in life but what really matters is what we do to face or overcome these fears. In my journey, I have learned  that God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Personal Philosophy

Finding my voice and inspiring others to find their voice as well.

As an educator, I believe each and every learner has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. I consider my students as an extension of my family.  I treat my students like family where love and compassion can be felt. My classroom will be an extension of their home where each learner can blossom and grow. My role as an educator is to provide learners the tools with which to cultivate their own gardens of knowledge. I believe that education is the route to self-improvement.  That is why, as an educator, my role is to be a guide and not a sage on the stage.  Learners are encouraged to study things that are meaningful and relevant to one's life and interests. Developing a curriculum around student interests fosters intrinsic motivation, stimulates the passion to learn and paves the path to self-discovery which hopefully will lead to clarity and self-mastery. I will make learning relevant to real – life situations. It is my desire as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential by providing a non-threatening environment---  an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites sharing of ideas.   As an educator, I will set fair and consistent rules as a sign of respect for them.  It is pertinent to hear the voice of each student and to provide an environment where students feel free to express themselves. As an educator, my role is to instill a love of learning, as I share my passion for the learning journey with them.  It is important for learners to not only receive a solid education, but to be respected for their individual differences.                   

As a Mother, the most important life role that I consider, I would like to be a catalyst to help my daughter develop a deep love and respect for oneself, others, and the environment. I will promote respect for all people and all things so that as my daughter matures she may live as a person who has respect for people regardless of race, culture, religion and sexual orientation. As a mother, it is my responsibility to provide a loving, secure and safe home for my daughter  -- a home that is free from judgment, supportive and open to diverse ideas and beliefs.  I would be passing on my faith to my daughter for it is the greatest shield and gift that I could offer my daughter even when I am long gone.  I will raise my daughter to be her own person and not just a mere extension of myself.  My daughter will be her own special person and will be loved for who she simply is no matter what.  I will teach my child to be confident yet humble; to enjoy her freedom yet to be responsible. I believe that each and every child has a greater respect for their family when they feel safe and sure of what is expected of them.

As a person,  I would work hard as if everything depended on me and pray as if everything depended on God.    I would like to be able to be a good steward of God’s blessings by using my gifts and talents for His greater glory.  I know that everything in this world is fleeting that is why I would like to be a good steward of the blessings that God has bestowed on me.   I would like to find my voice and allow others to find theirs to. As the Bible points out:  “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them” (Romans 12:6).  For each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that” (1 Corinthians 7:7).

Learning is a lifelong journey. It is a never-ending process.  I have always believed that living life with meaning provides an opportunity for continuous learning and growth. As an educator, mother and person my role is to instill a deep love and appreciation for life.  It is important to find meaning in one’s life and to live life with a purpose.

        

May God give me the strength to be steadfast with my conviction and to be the best person I could possibly be!  To God be the glory!