From Strangers to Family

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    A writer once said that people walk into your life for a fairly unknown reason that each side is unaware of. However, God is the only party in this game that really knows why people really walk into your life and at some point eventually walk out of it. The reason being so is that he is the one who made this meeting possible, he is the one that at some point in your lives, you met certain people, and after sometime one of you had to go separate ways. No, it's not "love" as you think it is, it's not a relationship, when we say one of you had to go separate ways, we refer to the act of finding your dreams in another place, or ending a chapter of your life in one place and deciding to continue your legacy some other place. Yes, that's more like it.

    You meet people in the most random of ways and in the weirdest of places, where you never thought you'd meet them. That's the beauty of interconnection and a change in your life. The beauty lies when you welcome this meeting with open arms and accept the fact that God brought you people together to either learn from one another, or to give yourself a chance to become a better you, or to stand up and finally make that daring change you have always hesitated to do. This is why the saying of "people walk into your lives do so for a fairly wonderful reason, only time will reveal." The problem lies in the time where suddenly life decides to make you go separate ways, you don't get to sit and talk to that person like before, you don't get to learn something or teach something, worst of all that person is no longer in that place you have always cherished to visit. This is when you discover that whoever God decided to make a path for in your life has become more than a friend, they started to feel more like family, a family member you never thought you'd have and a family member that is more precious and cherished than blood itself. But when you decide to look at the bright side, you feel really blessed of getting the opportunity to make a difference in their life and to actually meet them at some point in your life, that's simply wonderful. However it really does not overtake the feeling of helplessness and not having the ability to make a difference, this is where you start to apply healthy thinking as said by the outstanding Richard Carlson where he mentions that by having the ability to acknowledge that your sad and negative thoughts are only temporary and shall not pass, you are able to limit your negative thoughts that lead to different additional sets of other negative thoughts, that's the beauty of controlling the way you think to avoid harming yourself. The mere reason being is that most people don't really know that they are the ones causing sadness, and depression on themselves because of their thoughts and thinking. Look at the bright side and know that you are only harming yourself by forming a negative thought of a very simple sad thought that leads to a lot of damage to your mental health.

    Acknowledge that although that family member is leaving to pursue another chapter in their life to carry on with their book, you should feel really satisfied by having the chance and opportunity to know that person that quickly became a family member when they were only a stranger. That's more than a blessing to me.

    No one is really meant to stay by your side forever, this is life. Although people come and go in your life, their love and affection never leaves with them. Those feelings are all that's left along with the memories you make, this is why you were meant to cherish every single moment with such family members because deep down inside you realise that someday one of you shall move on with their life and all that's left are those pictures that now form memories that make you smile whenever you look at them.

"Watching is never going to make magic"

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"As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, its also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it." - Morrie Schwartz

    When you think of it one way or the other, there is so much to life that you are yet to experience and learn. You will never end the lessons, it's like a course that never ends till it's time for your departure. Part of growing up is actually to start comprehending and to start making plans. One should never stay at that one spot and remain there, it's boring. Imagine wearing the same outfit for the rest of your life every single day to every single occasion. How old-school will that be, let alone boring and embarrassing.

    Part of living life, is actually setting goals and reaching out for them. A coach, whom I admire very much, once said "Watching is never going to make magic." Now that might sound out of context, but in the context of when she said it, it was a gym class. Most of the attendees where simply watching the torture-like exercise the coach was demonstrating for us to follow. To get over that gut-feeling that it's impossible, personally speaking I got over that and worked it out admiring what she just said. I never thought words of encouragement were going to be said by that specific coach. That was inspiring.

    Going back home with that thought in mind, watching really is never going to make magic. It never will and as a matter of fact it never is magic itself. If you take a moment to fully comprehend that thought, it basically applies to every aspect in life especially if you're one that is currently planning out your life ahead. Everyone can set goals, everyone can make endless lists of what they want to do and what they want to be. However, not everyone "works" on making the magic happen. The toughest part of really being what you want to be and doing what you really want to do is "work". Whatever it is you plan to do with your life, you got to work for it regardless. The worst part of it all, is to lead a wreckless-in-the-void type of life. That's simply a waste of time, effort, and well...space.

    No matter how old you're getting, you will always learn something new everyday. That is inevitable. There will always be that lesson you learn as you grow, it's part of growing up and developing yourself. It's up to you though to widely accept this and learn/argue, or discard it and waste a possible life changing experience.

The Magic Strings Of Frankie Presto - Mitch Albom

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    Sometime last Summer, I came across the news of Mitch's newest novel that was set to be released on the 30th of November. Having read all his books I  literally couldn't wait till the 30th, it felt like forever. It was such a long time to wait for yet another goodie of his captivating writing. Who knew I'd be super immersed in my college work from the very first day till the very last day, having that said I completely forgot what the 30th of November was all about. It wasn't until my sister told me she saw the book on the latest release section. Now what was from me to do but work on getting my hands on a copy ofcourse.  When I finally did get a copy, it was time for finals, "what finals when there's Mitch's book?" who was I kidding. I knew that if I started reading this, I was not going to stop till the very end, but then I also knew I would regret reading it first on the list, what was left for my long trip? Oh well, I eventually started at the wrong time, with no regrets ofcourse.

Who said I can wait after my finals to start reading it, boy I started the minute I got my hands on that precious.

    This book was again very different than Mitch's previous writings so far. For this time, Mitch tried a different approach and took on the story of Frankie Presto from the very first day he was welcomed into this world to the very last day he took in his last breath. Everything was connected amazingly and got you hooked till the very last sentence. This novel speaks the story of a gifted guitarist, life lessons through his mentor, and a touching story of an abandoned child that was gifted and guarded from afar. It breaks your heart to know that Frankie was abandoned and later taught by his very own father, yet his father had no clue he was passing on his one and only gift to his very own child whom he thought was actually dead. Till the last minute, El Maestro had no idea, at the very end of Frankie's heart warming story, he gets to know who his father is, but it's toooo late. Frankie is already taking his last steps, and he is already running out of time. He got nobody left. He was really alone, regardless of what he had, where he stood with fame and the music industry, nothing can replace that feeling you get when you actually know you belong somewhere and you belong with a "band". 

    Through his writing, you don't only read but you actually get to feel the pain ,misery, and everything Frankie has felt. It's just the way Mitch makes you feel through his writing, and its kind of difficult to express. You just have to read his writing to know what this really means. Everything makes sense now though it's sad and all the events link together, everybody joins a band during their life time. The number of bands you're currently part of is limitless. You're part of a family, you have got you're special group of friends, bla bla bla and the list goes on and on. 

    The best part of the novel is how the fantasy of the magic strings was appended to the progress of Frankie's life.  Those strings really held magic in them, every string was meant for a reason and the at the end the biggest shock I was anticipating was just how Frankie passed away on stage, who knew it was going to be magical like that?

    He started off in doubt, and ended with great success. Mitch yet again did not fail to blow my brains apart, why did I have to start off with his book and not another one, now I shall be waiting for yet another magical novel, this could take a few years but that doesn't mean I won't dig my way through his books yet again for another round.

    For an A to Z literal story this was by far the best, it felt like I was actually there during all the ups and downs of Frankie's life. As a reader, I watched Frankie Presto grow. 

   The only question that's been bothering me throughout this book was " Is Frankie Presto real?".Real musicians were talking about their experiences with Frankie and how he influenced them in different aspects, but then is he real? Well the real question is..was he? Sadly speaking, he was fictional. Written very grandly in a way that brought him to life. That's what makes Mitch my favorite. He made you live the life of Frankie Presto behind the curtains that not everyone can actually experience that, he was not real, but he was depicted in a real manner to the very least detail. He was not real, but he was spoken about and remembered by very real people that eventually made him real. He had the ability to change six lives with his magic strings, he was capable of making a difference in people's lives...now how can that not be grand?

Have a Little Faith

A while back, I started off my "Mitch Albom" marathon reading challenge. I think it was sometime in November and I read basically all of his books so far except for "Bo". The last book on my marathon list was non other than 'Have a little faith". I'm glad I had this book for my last read because from it Mitch has become my most respected author. This book as well as "Tuesdays with Morrie" is just a different twist, through them you do not only get to know what Mitch has been doing, what he was up to and how he got to where he is, you also get to know about the people that basically changed his life and opened him up to reality and faith. In this book in particular, Mitch writes about an 8-year journey to explore faith with 2 people that never actually met each other, and as a person from a different faith I was hesitant as to whether I would enjoy reading this book or not but eventually I loved it. 

This book not only shows what real life is all about and what life with a struggler is about, it also shows you that no matter what you do, where you are, or even who you are...God is always there. Now there are some concepts I do not agree with, or I don't think I should say that but the point is, in this book if you are a person that respects other faiths then this book will definitely be the one for you because most people argue and fight over what they believe is right, but that's not the case in this book...it's a book that convey thousands of messages through the words of a rabbi.

Whenever you feel like the world has closed down on you and you have got no way out and you feel devastated, just remember that whenever something unexpected happens, it's a sign for you to change or a sign for you to accept reality and plan ahead for change.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Reading through my "read" shelf I noticed that I haven't written a review for this book and that's kind of weird because I remember rating it and thinking of reviewing it sometime through that day. Anyways, I'm going to write my review right now.

For a start, Mitch Albom is becoming one of my favorite writers however, this book wasn't the best he's ever written, or the best I've read by him. That reasons my rating of 3 stars on goodreads. When I read the brief description at the back cover I got attached to the book first because it was real, it was different and it was another book I wanted to read by M.Albom. As I started reading through the book, I liked every page of it, but suddenly I started to lose interest in the book for some reason and I am not sure why really. There was something that got me scanning through the pages although I loved the characters very much and the way they were illustrated and written and expressed, but something made me lose interest so I just skimmed till the end and was somewhat disappointed really.

In terms of the story as a whole, I had mixed feelings and I liked it but why I lost interest I dont really know, maybe because of all the tuesdays but still it felt like Mitch intentionally wrote all those Tuesdays to reflect and show what really happened during their meetings so probably brining it back to reality. 

From what I read, Mitch Albom is a writer that is not affraid to admit to reality and to write about everything that was going it, having it good, bad, embarrassing, whatever that was he wrote it and that's what I like about him, when  he talks about the lectures and his college days...it's true and I can feel it somehow...that's why he stands out from everyone else.

 

Well that's what I thought of this book.

For One More Day

 

This was another book I bought at the library when I was looking for Mitch Albom's "The first phone call from heaven". Reading it was unplanned, but because I loved the FPCFH I had to give him another shot, it's just the way he sets his plot and characters that impresses me.

It didn't take long for me to actually get attached to this book and never putting it down, I just couldn't and this is not one of the situations that always go like " The book was amazing I couldn't stop reading" No, this is different and I felt it. Through every page, and every sentence of this book, it emotionally touched me. I could feel the regret, the pain and the embarrassment as I read the sentences and I could very much relate to them, not because I was human, but because I was a child myself. This book made me aware of a lot of the things our parents do and we as children think of them as being what...a waste of time? or we just always end up being selfish right? I mean look at all the things Chick's mom has gone through, and despite the pain and humiliation she received from the world, she never gave up...she was a " Mother ". She suffered so much but still was able to keep her problems to herself because his children were young and she didn't want them to affected by her divorce. Not until chick was a father himself, and not until his daughter was old enough to get married that Chick was told the truth of why his mother did not want his father back at home. As a child her hated her for that, but as the man he'd grown to be , when he was on the verge of dying did he know why his mother did that.

This highlights the trait we children never fail to get rid of, we fail to acknowledge the fact that our parents are always aware of things we are not, they know it all, but they're just waiting for the right time for us to know as well...this is why they teach us to be patient..this is why they raise us to be patient...but the question is...who's willing to be that patient?

The Five People you Meet in Heaven

 

The other week I gave my local bookstore a visit and sadly they did not have the books I wanted ( they were actually out of stock). One of the books I wanted to read was “ The first Phone Call from Heaven” by Mitch Albom. The bookstore did not have that in stock but they had other books by the same author in stock, so I decided to give them a try. One of the books was titled “ The five people you meet in heave” and that was definitely one of the best reads of 2014 so far. That book was a complete turn in my usual reads and it was totally worth the time I spent on it, and the following is my review of the book. 

Just as the title implies, the story revolves around the 5 people the main character meets in heaven when he dies and each person tells him a story and a lesson. The story told by each person( some who the main character do not know) is indirectly related to the lead and that’s what made the book hard to put down. The other factor that made the book worth reading was the lesson told by each person met by the lead “Eddie” in heaven.

Lesson 1:

 “Strangers,” the Blue man said, “ are just family you have yet to come to know” 

Lesson 2: 

Sometimes you have to hurt the ones you care about in order to help them move on. 

Lesson 3: 

Strangers you never knew or met can walk into your life to teach you a lesson “ Forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive,forgive, forget and move on” 

 Lesson 4:

Love has no limits even when the person you love the most leaves this world before you. 

Lesson 5:

 Although you killed me, I held you tight to bring you up here and keep you safe. The lesson that kept me re-reading the page was the fifth lesson that was told by the little girl Eddie burns when he was at war. They ( the group of soldiers with Eddie) the mine they were forced to work in on fire and Eddie suddenly sees a small figure running into the fire. The ironic part is when Eddie keeps on wondering whether he saved the little girl in park when the accident happened and throughout the book he mentions her little hands that caught him for protection. He thought it was the girl from the park, but the real little hands belonged to the girl that walked back to the fire set up by Eddie and she held him to keep him safe. 

So I see there was an adaptation of the book in 2004? I shall check it out now that I read the book!