Recall the times when your mummy told you not to touch the hot kettle but you still did? Recall the times when your teacher told you that you've to put in extra effort for the grade you desired but still you didn't heed?

Many things in life are actually simple truths but as humans we complicate them. Certain things are best dealt with in certain ways but we'd walk the big round and take the fall despite being warned against. Perhaps it is our inability to accept things rawly, perhaps it is our curiousity at work or perhaps it is just the human tendency to take things for granted.

If there must be pain before pleasure then the pleasure had better be worth the pain.

I don't know if I'm generalising if I were to say there no one likes to suffer pain. 'Cos I do know of a friend, S who would go through perennial pain for moments of pleasure. I don't know if he really thinks it's worth the while. I know of another friend, D, who gives herself 'quiet days of solitude' whereby she indulges in feeling sad and she refuses to be disturbed or comforted. When the veil is lifted, it's hard to understand why she's gotta spend time indulging herself in sadness and bitterness when she can better spend it feeling happy. The natural sadism of human nature? Maybe? I used to do that too, days whereby I would just sink myself into thoughts that would hurt, listening to songs that would evoke emotions then leaving myself feeling all sombre and melancholic. l I would justify it by saying I'm merely being reflective. But ever since I've stepped out of it, I've been a much happier person. Perhaps, I now feel the completeness of joy. That there is such a thing as pleasure without pain...i.e blessing.

I remember there's this period of time where a friend of mine, A told me about her Auntie getting a divorce. She was apparently seeing someone else. At that point of time, she cared very little for her 9-year old son and was definitely not in the best of spirits. I am in no position to criticise anyone for anything they do and neither am I doing so. To begin with, I don't even know the story in it's entirety It's just that I can't help but feel sad for the family that crumbled. And it feels even sadder to see her go through the pain when it could have been spared. Maybe it's 'cos I'm so close to A that when she told me about the auntie I could feel the pain... so real. You can criticise me for having such opinions 'cos I'm risk averse, resistant to change, whatever. If I'm happy with my status quo it's hard to give a tempting enough incentive to leave my comfort zone.

Personally, there was a period of time whereby I was hoping my parents would just get a divorce since they quarelled every single day. Throwing of chairs, slamming of doors, hurling verbal abuses and accusations. I used to think...why not split when you both can't get along? It's a selfish thought, I know. But at that point in time, I felt it best that way. Back thhen, I hadn't seen the power of having a third party in a relationship and that third party is none other than God. Today, I see their relationship improve and I'm happy for them from the bottom of my heart. (God answered my prayer!) I'm not saying things will always stay so happy but I'm a prisoner of hope. It's hard for me not to be hopeful. Come to think back, if my mum had really left my dad, she'd be one lonely person. God created Eve to be Adam's companion and I don't think any man can be an island alone. Deep within us, there's definitely a need for affection. A need to belong and a need to be loved.

Sometimes, a revelation of how your partner loves you would be the key to how much you can love the person. It's hard to love someone whom you think does not love you. So, reminding yourself how your much other half loves you, not only helps you to love yourself but it also gives you the capacity to reciprocate that love. It's beautiful when you think of how it works. Similarly, the area in life in which you are most uptight about is most likely to be the area in life that will hurt you. To break out of that cycle, some times some things, you just gotta give...

I'm not trying to make myself sound perfect. I am flawed in very many ways. Imperfections are written all over me. But I'm grateful and happy that my God's perfect. With Him, there's nothing more I need to justify myself with. =)

If you feel a tug in your heart when you read this, remember God loves you. He wants to give you the blessed life you deserve so let Him embrace you before closing your door.

Shout out: Loveya l.m.l! Loveya Siscie! Loveya A, D and CL.