THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

LISTEN CAREFULLY

I’ve always loved the works and words of our heroes. Quotes and wise words from them have stayed with me since forever. I recently had the pleasure of talking to one of my heroes standing 2 feet away from him.  And the feeling is amazing, it is like a dream come true. 

But then an experience I had turned out to be even better. I heard a voice that I wasn’t even sure I’d hear or existed. A voice within me (I am not talking about those burps). And boy! It saved me from some major trouble. I’ve never been happier to hear any other voice. And now I listen to it every day, and it always says the right thing, not always what I want to hear though. 

You too can hear the voice within you but only if you…… Listen Carefully

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

ISOLATE YOURSELF

I heard this speech in a class with my English professor. He narrated an incident of how he travelled to a foreign land and had to make a phone call to his hotel to come pick him from his current location. He entered the phone booth but because of the fading light outside he could not clearly see the number or the dialpad. There was a bulb above in the booth but he could not find a way to turn it on. So he left the door ajar to let some light from out come in. A passerby noticed his plight and told him to shut the door and immediately the light overhead came on. 

This happens with us in life too. We seek the light to our problems but are not willing to let go of them or commit ourselves completely to the solution. It is actually really simple. But being simple does not mean it easy. All you have to do is shut the door completely for the light to come on. We all find it hard in life to let go of many things and we hold on to them not knowing that they are the cause of darkness. 

We fear shutting the door will keep us in complete darkness while in fact it will bring on the light.

So don’t turn on the light… simply shut the door.

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

HERE’S SOME MORE

 

I remember a time I has asked God for something and he didn’t give it to me. I was 10 years old, my sister 11 and she was about 2 inches taller than me. I remember praying every day that year in our daily prayers asking the Lord to make me as tall as her. 

Unexpectedly I didn’t grow much that year as my sister grew even taller and I knew my prayers were not answered. So I stopped asking for that wish and resigned to the fact that she would always be elder and taller. 

When I turned 13 I had grown to be the tallest in the family. My sister stayed 5’0 for the rest of her life (though she still is the biggest person in our family) proving good things do come in small packages. I went on to be 5’8. 

You see my prayers were not answered and thank God for that. God deferred the wish but gave me more than what I had asked for. 8 inches more to be precise. He loves us deeply and hears our prayers but that does not mean he will always give us what we ask for. Just be sure that if your wishes were not fulfilled its because he wants to give us something better.

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

Height of Laziness

An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening taking life easy.

After a long silence, the wife said: "Jed, I think it's raining. Why don't you get up and go outside and see?"

The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire for a while, sighed and then said, "Aw, Ma, why don't we just call in the dog and see if he's wet."

That's what you call the height of laziness. And I wouldn't want to say that we are downright lazy, but we all have a lazy streak in us.

And laziness is a faith killer.

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

SEEING LENSES

The lenses that we tend to wear

Blur and mislead our vision

And even though we pass on the blame

We know we commit sin

You probably have done this experiment. Try wearing a convex or tinted lens and then take a look around. Everything appears distorted and different.  Yet it’s bound to happen that you will slowly adjust to the lens and manage to see beyond the distortion that is being created. Because you do know that this is not reality.

Now imagine if you had been wearing this from the beginning. Your view of the world is warped and unreal. Our mind works in a similar fashion and produces a world of illusions. We think of ourselves as good and unblemished even when we are ridden with guilt and then we manage to do some scapegoating.

Blaming things on your environment, upbringing, or influences is simply wearing lenses that prevent you from seeing your own self-centeredness and revolt. Be aware of your misgivings and faults and correct your vision through knowledge of yourself and your true inner voice. 

Power of the Mind

Do you know Harry Houdini?

Harry Houdini, the famed escape artist issued a challenge wherever he went. 
He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free quickly and easily.

Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong.

Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible. He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock. For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere.
An hour passed, and still he had not opened the door. By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock. Finally, after laboring for 2 hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock.

But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all! But in his mind it was locked and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.

That's how powerful your God-given mind is.

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

SCAPEGOATING

We all live in glass houses,

And should never attempt to throw a stone;

No point blaming others,

The fault is always your own.

The easiest way to deal with failure or try and gain success is scapegoating. Our success is our own and the failure is owing to someone else. But blaming others for our problems and misgivings is unjust, cruel and unfair to others and to ourselves.

You see it all around you. Parents who blame the children for failed marriages, children who blame parents for their problems and failures. Then you also find bosses who blame their subordinates and subordinates who denunciate their superiors.

The biggest damage scapegoating does is to our soul and to our life, not to others. Do not look for a scapegoat to blame all your problems and failures on. Instead look inward, find out what is the cause of the problem, acknowledge your failures, seek help and ask for forgiveness. 

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

Daily Tips - Key Place

A Key Place

How to achieve peace of mind?

It is a fact that we all feel a greater sense of calm and decreased frustration when we feel in control of the smaller things in life like keys, remote’s, spoons, forks etc. Therefore is is necessary to assign a place for all items and keep them in its place. 

A place for everything and everything in it's place. 

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

The Silver Lining

One time, a young man who attended a local church heard that the husband of one of their ushers recently died.

He decided to visit the widow in their hope. He was even practicing the words he will tell her once she opens the door. 

To his surprise, the widow was in good spirits. She even offered tea and biscuits.
He asked the widow why she was such in a good mood considering that her husband has just died. 

She replied, “Yes. I am saddened. But I am also joyful because my husband is with the Lord.
The Lord will take care of me. I do not have to worry about anything. 

Instead of being the one to encourage the widow, the young man left the house encouraged. Consider it a change of roles. The widow overcame her depression not through therapy or a self-help book. It was because she meditated of the Word of God. 

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

God Exists

A preacher and an atheistic barber were once walking through the city slums. 

Said the barber to the preacher: "This is why I cannot believe in a God of love. If God was as kind and loving as you say, He would not permit all this poverty, disease, and squalor. He would not allow these poor bums to be addicted to dope and other character-destroying habits. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits these things." 

The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially unkempt and filthy. His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of stubble on his face. Said the minister: "You can't be a very good barber or you wouldn't permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood without a haircut and a shave." 

Indignantly the barber answered: "Why blame me for that man's condition? I can't help it that he is like that. He has never come in my shop. I could fix him up and make him look like a gentleman!" 

Giving the barber a penetrating look, the minister said: "Then don't blame God for allowing the people to continue in their evil ways, when He is constantly inviting them to come and be saved." 

Truth be told, God can't change you unless you step forward and ask God to help you change for the better.

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn

THE BACHELORHOOD according to Melwyn