CREDENDA from "The Gift of Acabar" by Og Mandino

Malou's Note:
For the past days, I was not really at my best. I went through life's blues that can be packaged in two words: Quarterlife Crisis. I have to deactivate my accounts from various social networking sites to have some peace and quite time alone. It proved helpful indeed.

Last November 25, before going back to Bacolod, I happen to drop by a bookstore in the Airport. I then looked for a book to read while waiting for my flight. I excitedly asked for Mandino's book, glad they have. :) I have read a couple of his books when I was in high school, but it is just now that I own a book of him.

His words might be very cliche to you. In fact, I have heard these so many times too but now, more than ever, the thoughts he conveyed in Credenda have so much impact in me. The book came right on time, just when I needed it the most.

Please spare some time to read. I hope this will be of great help to you to live life to the fullest and be the best gift you can ever be to the world! :) God Bless!
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Turn away from the crowd and its fruitless pursuit of fame and gold. Never look back as you close your door to the sorry tumult of greed and ambition. Wipe away your tears of failure and misfortune. Lay aside your heavy load and rest until your heart is still. Be at peace. Already it is later than you think, for your earthly life, at best, is only the blink of an eye between two eternities.

Be unafraid. Nothing here can harm you except yourself. Do that which you dread and cherish those victories with pride. Concentrate your energy. To be everywhere is to be nowhere. Be jealous of your time, since it is your greatest treasure.

Reconsider your goals. Before you set your heart too much on anything, examine how happy they are who already possess what you desire. Love your family and count your blessings. Reflect on how eagerly they would be sought if you did not have them.

Put aside your impossible dreams and complete the task at hand no matter how distasteful. All great achievements come from working and waiting. Be patient. God’s delays are never God’s denials. Hold on. Hold fast. Know that your paymaster is always near. What you sow, good or evil that you will reap. What you are is through your choice alone. Learn to live with honest poverty, if you must, and turn to more important matters than transporting gold to your grave.

Never meet trouble halfway. Anxiety is the rust of life; when you add tomorrow’s burdens to today’s their weight becomes unbreakable. Avoid the mourner’s bench and give thanks, instead, for your defeats. You would not receive them if you did not need them. Always learn from others. He who teaches himself has a fool for a master. Be careful. Do not overload your conscience.

Conduct your life as if it were spent in an arena filled with tattlers. Avoid boasting. If you see anything in you that puffs you with pride, look close and you will find more than enough to make you humble.

Be wise. Realize that all men are not created equal, for there is no equality in nature, yet no man was ever born whose work was not born with him. Work every day as if it were your first, yet tenderly treat the lives you touch as if they will all end at midnight. Love everyone, even those who deny you, for hate is a luxury you cannot afford. Seek out those in need. Learn that he who delivers with one hand will always gather with two. Be of good cheer.



Above all, remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. Look up. Reach out. Cling simply to God and journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity and a smile. When you depart, it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found.
~ o ~

Credenda...Latin word for matters of faith or doctrines to be believed. It's from the verb "credere", which means to trust or believe.