Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you all to embrace every moment because our time here is limited. Life gets so busy, but it's crucial to remember that we're only here for a short while, so let's make the most of it! I'm incredibly grateful for the universe blessing me with a healthy body, a healthy mind, and everything else I need for a fulfilling life. Let's start with my arrival into this world on September 14, 2006. My early years are a bit hazy, but I've been told that I was quite mischievous and loved taking my toys apart. I was ecstatic to start school at around 4 or 5 years old and got involved in nursery school and karate. I've always been passionate about learning, and I'll never forget the pride I felt when I scored 98% on a final exam, ranking first in my entire class. However, that joy faded a bit when my name was omitted from the award ceremony list and my scorecard was tampered with. It was a tough reality check for me. Afterward, I was feeling a bit down, but my parents took me to a Gift/Toy Shop to buy me a gift to cheer me up. I was stubborn and insisted on receiving an award/gift from school on a stage, but they bought me an expensive gift anyway, which I didn't accept at the time. Now, it's one of my most cherished memories, and the toy is proudly displayed on my memory shelf. This experience toughened me up and taught me some invaluable life lessons. Since then, I've grown to achieve a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Karate and I'm currently pursuing higher studies. I'm sharing this story not for your sympathy, but to illustrate that life often gives us a reality check. Maintaining a positive mindset has been crucial for me. It's not about the circumstances or the situation, but what we take from them that truly matters. I've also discovered that physical exercise has been a secret to building mental strength. Just a favor to ask: if you make a decision, keep it to yourself until you've applied it in your life. Also, it's best not to give advice on matters that you haven't personally experienced or don't have expertise in. Ananda, or true happiness, is within each of us. Start your self-discovery journey and embrace it. If you'd like to hear more about my life events, feel free to ask!

I ll never forget the face of that woman. She was sitting at an ideal place, at the fish tavern with her partner. She was enjoying a good fish platter with her husband or partner. She was next to the sea, she had the luck to enjoy the sea breeze and sun in a beautiful island. But did she look happy? Was she happy? You can guess the answer... And the answer is no, she looked deeply miserable. And unhappy. Miserable and unhappy together can be a deadly combination. You wander. Why people have sometimes everything they have asked for but still do not enjoy it? Why do we make life complicated? Why can't we live in the moment? Someone said that if you are too anxious about the future you are not present. You don't live the moment. Is it so hard to achieve that ? I' ll never forget the face of that woman who just gave me a day lesson. "Remember to smile. You never know who will fall in love with your smile".

Good Day, Wow wee has time just flown by. This summer I spent my time re-writing my manuscript for the editors. My book Viktor, Into the Light will be out sometime in the summer of 2020 and I am delighted to share this exciting moment in my life with you. I am just thrilled that my dream is on the precipice of coming true! Publishing one of my books and having it made into a real book is so exciting for me.I have waited 40 years for this moment in my life and now it is finally happening for me! This is just wonderful! The whole experience of writing Viktor has been quite magical and inspirational. Since 2014 I have written 5 books, with Viktor being my first for publication. I hope you all have something exciting going on in your lives that just brings you pure joy! Have a wonderful time dancing through life. Look for my book; it will make a great gift for someone you love. Thank you for your time! God Bless, Julie Ann

The most beautiful moments of my life are the ones nobody sees. God has called me to see the sacred in the ordinary. From ripe, round, unbearably red strawberries in a simple pottery bowl to spindly curvy palm trees arching into a perfect Hawaiian sky or speckled-belly puppies lying on their backs under a hot Georgia sun, if I choose (and I do choose) to see with my heart as well as my eyes, I get to watch the common transform into the holy. I am one girl, one woman, one daughter, one mother. I have lived this incredible lifetime of memories, choices, gains and losses. Sometimes I wish I'd accomplished more: written my bestselling book, won the Pulitzer, made more money, acquired more possessions. I wish I'd become famous for something meaningful, helped to eradicate a disease, saved a life, or invented something really, really cool. In those times, when I'm thinking that way, I feel a little foolish. What is my life about? Why was I here? And, in some cases, what was I thinking? But, God reminds me. He made me with one purpose: I am here to bear witness. And I take that charge seriously, with great reverence and gratitude for that which I am privileged to see. Like the connection between my daughter, a homeless man and me in front of a Costa Mesa diner. A disheveled man with bright blue eyes in a sun-beaten face, whose name is Kevin. Who connected with my brand newly 26 year old daughter Zoe and me. The one who said, "I was just wondering what to do about dinner" when we offered him a burrito, uneaten, with a clean fork, knife, napkin, and a gorgeous fruit juice. I looked at him and took him straight into my heart. We will never see each other again but Kevin is a part of me now and I am a part of him and that is because God showed him to me, and me to him. Our hearts met because we could see. Like the nights - so many of them - when I leaned, exhausted after a long shift at the hospital, and stared down at my three daughters, sleeping in their little beds. I drank in the sight of them, lying there with their tousled hair and the innocence of sleep dusting their beautiful small faces. It was hard, lonely and scary being a single mom but every time I looked at my girls, my heart cracked wide open and new strength flowed through my tired veins, giving me life to keep going one more day - for them. Like when my parents' house was leveled by a tornado and I watched my 82 year old father searching through rubble for pieces of the 70-year-old train set he's had since his father gave it to him when Papa was 12. That strong man, that beautiful heart, that frail body, bent and weak after twin heart attacks, a stroke, and heart surgery less than a year ago...his will, his courage, his beauty shone like a bright light over all the broken bricks, splintered wood, uprooted tree trunks. Like the way God made me a Pied Piper of animals, mine and other people's and strays. I love them all the same. Ruffy, the tiny toy poodle who became my love, the son I never had, the husband I should have had! Ruffy, who became my dearest companion for the next eleven years til he died at 18. I think Ruffy is still with me. How could he be gone? I feel his presence. I loved him then and I will love him always. Thank you, Dillie, for being his first mom and for allowing me to be his last. And Molly, Beau, Dearie, Goldie, Sadie, Peter Criss, Lily, Sophie, Nahla, Ollie. To every animal I have ever seen wandering the streets, I pray each time that you will be safe, fed, protected. I give you food if I can. I love you. I see you. I see squirrels darting, raccoons scooting, deer leaping across roads and I pray to God for you to make it, and for you to live long lives, free from hunters and fast cars. You matter because I see you. We are all living souls. Like the one who gave life to me, my strong honest God-fearing mother. I watch her raising her grandchildren. She is 74 years old. Every morning she gets up and takes three kids to school. Every night she stays up late, getting clothes washed and lunches ready. I see you, Mama. I see your tiredness, your fear, your weariness and I also see your surviving spirit, your strong beating heart, your wisdom that goes on forever. Like the beauty of humanity: people making human chains to save one dog, a woman giving her life to save her child's, people of faith sacrificing for their beliefs, one homeless man giving his coat to a homeless child. This life is a gift to us from God. That's what I believe. You don't have to believe that way. One thing we all need to do, though, is find a way to bear witness. If we don't, it will go away. And we, as a people, will have lost out on an entire universe of honest, simple, ordinary, common moments that are actually magical, beautiful, wondrous, glorious, sacred, and holy.

It took nearly a week for me to grasp the words for depicting my thoughts on the paper. Few things make our life embellished in such a way that we are unable to define them. I realized this fact after getting spliced to the one who becomes my reason for living. This is a relationship called blessing gifted by God enfolded with love, care, understanding and much more. I still memorize the day when I was inquired about my plans for getting married during the initial interview for my current job. I replied hurriedly: “I don't want to be a caged bird with clipped wing”. Today a slight glance on my answer makes me giggle. I still remember the unforgettable golden journey of my life with my soul mate. The scorching Sun of August with 54 degree in Dubai has spruced my life tome with lots of vibrant moments. Each instant was constructing a precious memory filled with his saccharine presence. Within a month we discovered the beauty of the desert land covered with glass scrappers and the marvels of 21st century. I loved the Big Bus ride with its briefing service about the places we were visiting one after other. We decided to take our meal while hunting for the best cuisine after getting exhausted on the first day of our excursion. On the way towards the restaurant, as we entered to the foot wear outlet I asked him unpredictably: “what are we doing here?” As we were planning to take our meal first, he said to get the pursuit sneakers for me, so that tomorrow I will be able to walk properly without any throbbing. How come he knows that I am not contended in these shoes? You make me whole; my heart whispered….It is care with no judgments. We had the best dinning outs right from Palm Atlantics to the cruise dinning's ---.Each cuisine was giving a divine taste because they were amended with the fundamental ingredients of his love and affection. There were two fascinated things I wanted to try at least once in my life, since my child hood: One was to hover like a bird on the sky and other one to swim like blue face angel beneath the sea. I still remember the paragliding at Jumeirah beach. It was my first ride of paragliding with my beloved one. That moment made me speechless because he was adventurous to do those things that I was enthralled for. How come he knows that I was dreaming of all this... I enquired to the God… I felt like whatever I was asking to God it was all diffused in his mind. The more we were flying up the more I was feeling like I am the luckiest wife on this universe, undeniably. Next morning another surprise was ready which he shared while holding my hand: “Let's explore something new!” I asked him surprisingly: “Like what?” He said, “Let's go for swimming”. I was astounded and the only reply which I would be able to give was my tight hug with thankful expression to God. I still remember my first dive while holding his hand and heeding to his instructions in the glinting blue wavy water of the pool. I took a long breath and came out of the water with the feeling of freedom and success while leaving all the fear factors behind. I can't believe I have done it. You drive me mad, I embraced him tightly while yelling with pride and contentment of a dream comes true. A relationship of trust with no ifs and thens. I kept all the precious moments of our trip in my mind to be recalled specially when there are any pros and cons for silly things… A self-reminder when a voice comes from my heart that “I am blessed”. He is the one who adjudicates me more than I evaluate myself. He guides me before I slouch down. He always emboldens my every single effort for doing something new and crazy. He is the one who can read my silence if any discord arises. I adore you and my love for you has grown by leaps and bounds by every passing day. I am chasing to filch the magical words for extracting my feelings towards my partner. Everything gets a side except his love and devotion. Life is beautiful and is the biggest blessing I am rewarded with. Life is not about hunting for Mr. Perfect, It's about enjoying it with the one who makes it perfect! I got mine whom “I love so much” and suggest you to adore yours.

A year ago, the Philippines faced a devastating terrorist attack in the Islamic City of Marawi, Lanao del Sur. This attack came to be known as the “Marawi Siege”. It went on for months ending in November 2017 when President Duterte announced the city's liberation. Days after the siege begun on May 2017, in a volunteers' group chat of our NGO, we were asked if we're available to join a peace mission in an evacuation center located in Lanao del Sur. The slots were filled immediately and although I fiercely wanted to join the said mission I didn't have the opportunity. Nevertheless, I did what I could to support the team. Yet, even now, as Marawi begins to build its city, there is still a piece of me that wishes to have been part of that peace mission, to have been able to bring joy and support to the children of Marawi while the siege is ongoing. Weeks turned into months and Marawi City was liberated from the terrorist group but it left part of the city, near Lanao lake, completely obliterated. Back in Manila on March 2018, I was asked by my friends if I'm available to join a month-long peace mission in Mindanao; I had mixed feeling about it. I felt like this maybe a blessing since I've already wanted to resign from my job, but, this may also be a test, to see if I am brave enough to resign from my job without another work lined up when I get back from Mindanao. Add in the fact that volunteering is my passion and the feeling that I'm wasting away in the office helped me reached my decision. Turns out, I did have the guts to resign without another job lined up and the trip really was a blessing. The peace mission was a blessing due to a number of reasons. First, I was able to live in Mindanao for a month and immersed in their culture and lifestyle. Second, I was able to see the battle ground or what we like to call “Ground Zero” in Marawi City from afar. “Ground Zero” is still prohibited to civilians because the armed forces is presently in the process of clearing out the areas of undetonated bombs and IEDs. Lastly, I was able to act as a support to the children of Marawi, at least for those in the group I facilitated in. The peace mission we conducted in Mindanao was in the conflict areas of Maguindanao and Marawi City. We taught the children and their parents peace education. In Marawi, I was given the chance to act as lead facilitator for one of the 10 groups. Together with me is a member of the “Hijab Troopers”, they are women soldiers who wears white hijab. Our group was composed of 3 boys and 4 girls, all coming from 4 different schools. Despite being strangers, our group was able to form a bond like that of a family. I was their big sister who helped them with their activities such as writing and drawing. But, there was 1 kid who was extremely shy. He would not answer my questions (that were spoken in Filipino) and at first I thought that he could only understand Maranao so I asked the other kids to translate for him, but he still wouldn't participate in our activities. In that case, I told him that it was alright if he doesn't share his thoughts but if he wants to share then his new friends can translate for him. During the 2nd day, as I was observing all my kids, I felt elated on the fact that everyone is bonding, they maybe strangers yesterday but now, they've accepted each other as friends. I also found out that the shy kid can understand and speak Filipino well but he adamantly refuses to share his answers in the group. Accordingly, after an activity where everyone had to share their drawings, I went to him and asked him to share his drawings to me, he started telling me the reason behind his drawings and I felt like I was going to cry at that moment because finally, I was able to get through his walls even if it was just a little. Indeed, those 3-days were the best but they were also the most exhausting. Handling 7 kids is draining emotionally and physically. It made me really appreciate the kindergarten and elementary school teachers all over the world for their limitless patience and energy in handling hundreds of kids in their career life. On our last day in Marawi City, we visited an area near Lanao Lake where “Ground Zero” can be observed. The only word that came to mind when I saw it was destroyed. The battle ground area was completely and utterly destroyed. The whole area was colored gray by ashes. Mosques that were once magnificent now had huge gaping holes in them and houses that were home to thousands of Maranaos were reduced to piles of rocks. As I watch the scene before me, I felt anger and the thirst to find out the answer to my questions, “why? Why do this? What did it accomplish?” And as our group continues to hear the stories of the Marawi Siege, one person shouted “look, there's a rainbow” and as we all turn to gaze at the breathtaking beauty of the rainbow, I said to myself “how ironic.”

Hello dear reader! My name is Myrzabek, I come from Sunny Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. I wanted to share my life story. So, first, I'm 23 years old, a man, working as a doctor. I'll start with my childhood. Childhood. I was born in the summer month of July, 1995. I'm the only son in the family. I lived in a village with my own traditions and peculiarities. As a child, I was a very active boy, I could not sit in one place. Since I was constantly running (playing football), I was a lean physique. Constantly fell during the run and with bloody knees came to where the water flows, washed and applied the plantain to the affected area. When I was 10 years old, I realized one thing that someday I would grow up and earn my own money, but I wanted it already at the time when I was in grade 4, at school. It was 2005, and computer technologies have reached our village. It was at this time that computer games like Counter-Strike, GTA Vice City, NFS Most Wanted were popular, and enterprising people bought about 10 sets of personal computers and were provided for use, and for each used hour computers were paid 10 soms - $ 0.14 ( local currency). I really liked the game GTA Vice City, played it every day and spent from 10 to 30 soms a day just to play on the computer this game, because at that time a personal computer was a luxury and not everyone could afford. And that I did not ask for money from my mother, I decided to make money on my own. Almost all the inhabitants of our village had their own farm, bred cows, horses, rams. In autumn the sugar beet season came and the harvested crop was surrendered to a sugar factory. It was transported on tractors and other trucks. On the way to the sugar factory, in one section, about 300 meters long, there was a wavy and poor road surface, and it was on this site that the beets were falling from the sides of the loaded transport, I collected it with bags, every day after school I came in school clothes with two bags in his hands, and collected the beets that fell to the ground. So in one day I collected about 2 bags of sugar beet and sold them to my neighbors. On the money I earned, I bought my food at school and every day I visited a computer club on my way home. I was very happy that moment, the feeling when you could pay your own expenses made me very happy, added strength and spirit to me that there is nothing unreachable, no matter what age you are, the main thing is a great desire to want it and have a clear implementation plan. Everything went on for the time being. Mom suspected my frequent absenteeism of the last lessons from school and the fact that I stopped asking her for pocket money. Since our village is small, everyone here knew about each other about who and where. In the end, my mother learned everything and forbade me to do this business, convincing me that I needed education and eventually I realize that she was right. I really love my mother and always did what she says, because her mother does not want a bad son. At this point my first project on sales with daily income ended. What I want to say, you ask. It's just my Asian childhood story. I hope you will enjoy.