The Pursuit of HappYness

On my 34th birthday, I watched a DVD "The Pursuit of HAPPYness".



Based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner (Wil Smith).
Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a "Bone Density Scanner", an apparatus twice more expensive than x-ray with practically the same resolution. However, they do not sell as they are marginally better than the current technology at a much higher price. As Gardner tries to figure out how to sell them, his wife leaves him, he loses his house and his bank account. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner is now desperate to find a steady job; he takes on a job as a stockbroker, but before he can receive pay, he needs to go through 6 months of training, and to sell his devices. But Chris is determined to make it.

Some of the memorable quotes are:

Chris Gardner: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right?
Christopher Gardner: You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period.

Chris Gardner: It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?

Christopher: Hey dad, you wanna hear something funny? There was a man who was drowning, and a boat came, and the man on the boat said "Do you need help?" and the man said "God will save me". Then another boat came and he tried to help him, but he said "God will save me", then he drowned and went to Heaven. Then the man told God, "God, why didn't you save me?" and God said "I sent you two boats, you dummy!"

Reverend Williams: The important thing about that freedom train, is it's got to climb mountains. We ALL have to climb mountains, you know. Mountains that go way up high, and mountains that go deep and low. Yes, we know what those mountains are here at Glide. We sing about them.

Kung hindi mo pa napanood, hmmmn try mo:-)

Five Minutes!

Minsan, mahirap mo bang mahuli si Sweet Dreams?
I pray that you will be encouraged by this one. Read below.

Kaya nakakatulog ako ng mapayapa dahil binabantayan n’yo ako, O PANGINOON.
Awit 4:8


FIVE MINUTES!
If you wake up as weary as you were when you went to bed the night before, try to recall what you were thinking about the last five minutes before you went to sleep. What you think about in that five minutes impacts how well you sleep, which determines what kind of day tomorrow will be.

When you sleep, your conscious mind is at rest, but your subconscious mind remains active. Psychologists call the subconscious the “assistant manager of life.” When the conscious mind is “off duty,” the subconscious mind takes over. The subconscious carries out the orders that are given to it, even though you are not aware of it.

For example, if the last minutes before going to sleep are spent in worry, the subconscious records and categorizes that as fear and acts as if the fear is reality. Thus muscles remain tense, nerves are on edge, and the body’s organs are upset, which means the body is not really at rest.

However, if those last five minutes are spent contemplating some great idea, an inspiring verse, or a calm and reassuring thought, it will signal to the nervous system, “All is well,” and put the entire body in a relaxed, peaceful state. This helps you to wake up refreshed, strengthened, and confident.

Many of the days that begin badly started out that way because of the night before, during those critical last five minutes of conscious thought. You can input positive, healthy thoughts into your conscious mind and pave the way for quiet, restful sleep by simply meditating on God’s Word as you drop off to sleep. For example, Psalms 91:1-2 NKJV: “He who dwells in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Sweet dreams!

--Quiet Moments with God for Mother
2002 by Honor Books