Life Skills

Life Skills facilitator.

""Life skills" are defined as psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life." -UNICEF

How can anyone facilitate life skills? Who can honestly say that they have gotten their challenges of everyday life under control and qualified enough to tell (okay fine, "teach") others how to manage their lives. Who can adequately identify what skills others need to successfully live life. Who can possibly think that they know how to live life better than someone else?

I certainly cannot. 

Okay, I get it, no one is being told what to do or how to feel. And no one is saying they have everything under control. And everyone has something to offer others to enrich others' lives.

It is just that I find it difficult to look introspectively and thoroughly at my own life and convince myself that I am in any position to help others figure out how to effectively deal with the challenges of everyday life. At one point or another, everyone has experience the sense that their life is falling apart. Everything they know and all the pillars surrounding them are crumbling. When that is the case and you yourself are unravelling, how do you feel confident enough in your role as a life skills facilitator?

I suppose that is when it is the most important to conduct a self-inventory. Look back at all the things that are amazing about you and you have to offer. It's difficult to remember, but as cliche as it sounds, it's important to keep in mind that nobody is perfect. Everyone faces challenges and everyone experiences "failures". The life skills definition mentions the adaptive behaviours that people exhibit. It is not that the facilitators and people in general are now allowed to make mistake and go through rough patches. It is their resiliency that makes them qualified for the role and good at what they do. 

Everyone has baggage. But that should not stop anyone from helping others whenever they can. 

Feels kinda good when it works out.

Own It

Never ever tell anyone how to feel. How they should feel. How they need to feel.

Feelings and emotions are some of the only things we have that are truly our own. No one should be able to take them away from us. If you're sad, cry. Go for it. Weep. Pour your sorrows out. Don't let anyone convince you it's not right. If you're angry, scream. Do not for a second let anyone let you think you're wrong. If you're happy, emote it. Don't let anyone persuade you into thinking it makes you inferior.

You are the only only one that has to live with your circumstances. You are the one that has to decide how to deal with it. Everyone handles situations differently, and who is one person to decide which way is right and which is wrong? Emotions are primal reactions and feeling them only makes you human. Never ever let anyone make you feel inadequate for feeling one way or another.


Something filled up 
My heart with nothing
Someone told me not to cry

But now that I'm older
My heart's colder
And I can see that it's a lie

-Arcade Fire: Wake Up

One Against the World

When you feel like no one understands you, is it time to take an introspective peek or is it the world that just is not getting it?

Random Late Night Thoughts

I may not be rich in lived experiences, but I intend to embark on creating a vast compilation of them asap.

I love you. Not just 3 words, but one deeply intense feeling. (Not just for that one special someone. Wish everyone knew just how much I loved them.)

Nothing is impossible. Just keep at it and climb your way out. (Sure you might feel like breaking something or killing someone on your way, but that inexplicable feeling at the end...of wightlessness or accomplishment or of general awesomeness is definitely worth it. Definitely.)

Sometimes you just gotta act like a fool.

Never give up on yourself. Ever.


I am probably going to regret posting this tomorrow morning and find it totally lame and juvenile, but you know what? Who cares. I'm gonna act like a fool and no one can stop me. Not even sane, non-deluded me.

How Late is Too Late?

How late is too late?
How late is too late to do something? To say something? To take something back?
How late is too late to apologize? To forgive? To forget?
How late is too late to go for it? To make a change? To change?

How late is too late to avoid regrets?
There has to be an overarching answer, right?
There must be.

Barf

And I am finally back! It has been a long hiatus, but I am sure, like Community, it is a thrill to see me return. I haven't barfed for a very long time. I mean, sure I puke a little in my mouth every time someone says "teehee!" or when a new Facebook status appears quoting a beaten down, extremely obvious, old cliché, but no full blown thought barfs.

 I am sure that all two of you that have ever read this blog by mistakenly stumbling upon it on your journey through the wide world of the interwebs are wondering what brings me back. Well, we all know that there is no better motivation to do something than the pressure to do something even more important. It is simply procrastination 101. What better way to spend an early morning on a work day than to conjure up a generic impersonal blog post sending out wishes to all of my friends celebrating their birthdays today and pretty much all week long. No, Facebook did not have to remind me of everyone's special days, because it is simply common knowledge that I am kind, caring, thoughtful, and just generally very incredibly awesome! Wait what, this isn't about me? Alright, fine.

So everyone is always harping about how over the years we have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, but what about birthdays?? When did they become a huge production? It seems as if now it has become all about planning up big fancy special events, going to them, doing things. You know, things that require...effort! Just the thought of it makes me shudder. I would like to take this moment to snap people back and remind you all of the true meaning of birthdays.

Cake.

Remember the good ol' days when birthday parties meant going over to the friend's place and just completely immersing yourself into and completely clobbering and devouring a beautiful piece of delicious delicious art? Seconds? Puh-lease! That's for amateurs. We dealt in no currency smaller than triples. Or how about when birthdays meant friends bringing timbits to school to share with their classmates and bribe us for love our attention...or to celebrate their big days. Whatevs. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Times were simpler then. No worrying about buying expensive, trendy, or sentimentally-overloaded gifts. A simple hand-made construction paper card did just the trick. Oh how I miss all that.

So for all your birthdays, I would like to revert back to Nostalgia Lane and dedicate this beautiful, hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind blog post. You are very welcome.

Happy birthday!

In the wise words of Lizzie McGuire, I leave you all with the parting words:

"You rock! Don't ever change."

Wise words

I am a sucker for quotes and little pleasures in life. I came across this quote recently and fell in love.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa

Even though there are many that argue over the idea that there is no such thing as a self-less deed, I'd like to oppose. Yeah sure, every act leads to self gratification of some sort but when one doesn't think about the happiness the deed will bring them beforehand, I believe that's a self-less deed. It's a human instinct to feel happy for helping another. And so it becomes a selfish deed because it brings you happiness. However, at most times, people are not thinking about their own happiness when they do good deeds. It's a different story if it's a natural reaction to feel happy after seeing someone happy; it doesn't take away from performing a self-less deed.

And self-less deed or not, if it bring people happiness, it's a good thing. It's nice to have faith in people and to know that there are good people out there.