Can you give me some advice?

Today a friend of mine asked me for advice on how to give advice to someone else.

At first I looked at the situation in a wholly objective manner such as the problem itself and who is the person being advised and all. Then my thoughts started to go on the negative as if I was sort of judging the party which is to be advised (in my head that is). So I did not like where my thoughts were leading me and I chose to follow another train of thought...I told myself that I would advise as if I did not know the person who was to be advised.

I told my friend that the advice can be what one thinks best but it is only as effective as it can be if it comes from the heart of a caring friend and not the mind of an intellectual moral police.

Usually I have given advice before and at times when I was not even asked for it (and of course I learnt the hard way not to do that anymore) but usually I get what I deserved because i had unconsciously cultivated an attitude called 'holier than thou'. This term plainly means that I give advice on the terms that I think I am a more holier person than the advised.

And I think every now and then each one of us falls into this trap.

Nowadays I think twice whenever I give advice and whenever I do I try my very best to let only one thing be my beacon of guidance - my care and compassion for the other.

Perhaps there would be no point in advising when you are doing it half-heartedly or merely because it just seems to be the right thing to do at the time. Only do it when you mean it. People are more susceptible to the heart and soul rather than the mere words from a practical mind. And once the heart is in the game, you can see that it influences everything being said and done in order for that very same advice to be effective. Perhaps I should end this post with the last thing I told my friend.

Let him hear it from your heart as a caring friend and not from the words in which you speak.

Of a welcome and a polite urge

When I was first asked if i were into blogging some years back when it was a catching-on trend, I gave a neutral reply saying that blogs did not show forth proper use of English and was merely a diary or journal of someone pouring out their negativities...I was of such ignorance back then.

Well thank God I am more mature these days. But I did not mention the short anecdote above for dramatic purposes. It is a sign or rather an introduction (which I hope won't be forgotten) to my future posts in this blog.

My dear fellow readers, this is my blog but I would not like to attribute it to my name. But rather let it be that instrument which serves to inspire all its readers.

Does that mean that I think I am worthy of inspiring others? Hopefully it did not come off that way for I see it rather differently. As you can see from the first paragraph up there, I too am a rather fallible human being and if there is anything in which I would take pride in (God forbid), it would be that posture of learning which I am trying to cultivate in myself.

I have this feeling that when a person undergoes certain trials or challenges, there is always something to take out of it, hence it is ever so important to have a posture of learning within us so we can take the most out of our everyday lives.

And would it be so wrong for those lessons to serve as inspirations to others?

Therefore, here is my solemn vow to you that this blog is where I shall translate my life's lessons (be they from trials or moments of epiphanies) into becoming an inspiration to all those who set their eyes here...or at least this is me trying.

However, I also must note that I hope there are others like me who blog to inspire and for those of you who think you can't...you can.

Inspiration does not linger on the elite or downtrodden but rather in all of our hearts when we listen to it.