Mandela... not just a house in Peckham!

Hello,

Just thought I'd do another blog quickly, I don't have anything new going on in the last few days (well there are a few exciting things happening, but I'll write about those later when i can give it my full attention, right now I'm watching Harry Potter!!!)

I was told beyond all doubt that my last blog didn't belong on glass half full as it was too negative, I was going to delete it, but I'm keeping it up for now because I'm trying to be honest with my feelings. There's no point pretending that I'm perfectly happy now because I know that these hard times are going to make me stronger and happier in the future.

I wanted to talk today about Nelson Mandela.


He is a great inspiration to me as he is a man who has gone through some (seriously) tough times and came out of them greater than ever before. For those of you who don't know, he was imprisoned for twenty seven years over some political problems but when he was released he went on to become the president of South Africa!

Whenever we are feeling down and as if the odds are stacked against us we should remember Mandela...... set backs are temporary and if we persevere, success is inevitable.

Id like to share with you two of my favorite Mandela quotes. This first one represents what I was saying in a previous blog about the few drops of goodness:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Remember South Africa is a country in political turmoil, torn apart by racial discrimination and hatred, but amongst it all there are people, like Mandela, who are willing to stand up for what is right. As long as there are people like him, I have hope that there can be a better future for all!

This next quote is the speech that he made when he was elected president after 27 years of hardship:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others!

Please, please remember this quote. You are all beautiful, special people, and my deepest wish is success and happiness for you!

Thank you for reading!
Love you all
Peter xXx

Gaining Perspective!

Hiya,

Let me just explain the lack of blogs in the last few weeks. This Sunday (21st) was the one year anniversary of the attack at the pub and I guess I wasn't as over it as I thought. When I think of it I just get sooo angry and stew on it for hours and hours until there's nothing left inside and my mind and body are fatigued.

I know it's bad for me to carry so much anger around and intellectually I realise I should be over this, I wasn't that badly hurt (although part of the anger comes from the fact that I could have been injured much worse, I mean the guy hit me in the head with a stool - he could have killed me!) but I can't seem to let go of this incident.

Maybe part of the problem is that every time I look in the mirror I see my ugly eyebrow scar, which of course makes me think of that night.

But I am feeling better today which maybe due to the fact that I'm now past the one year benchmark, but it's more to do with the fact that I just saw an amazing video that totally put my little problems into perspective. Click below to see it. It's only short, about 5 mins and it is actually amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQPmY4nIjVE&feature=related

Nick Vujicic

Okay welcome back!! I hope you watched the video through and found it as inspirational as I did. Seriously I watched it and I started weeping like a baby. It's put my life into perspective. All of the anger (for now) has washed away and has been replaced by feelings of guilt and hope. Guilt because I'm so wrapped up in my problems that I kind of forget that there are people that have it so much worse than me and hope because if that man (Nick Vujicic) can find peace and happiness in his life then I'm sure I can find it in mine!

Here's what I'm going to do, on Friday I'm going to go to my GP and get information on therapy groups to help me get over the attack, and I'll also talk to her about the possibility of the NHS fixing up my scar. (I don't know if such a thing is possible, but seriously I have to get it off my face)

I realise that this blog isn't the most positive one in the world, but I feel like by writing about this I'm starting down the road to recovery. Also that video is very positive, so I'm sure this (just about) fits into Glass half full's mission statement!

Okay I'm going to stop rambling soon. I just want you to take away this positive thought of the day:

Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one
foot on the brakes. 
In order to be free, we must learn how to let go.
Release the hurt. Release the fear. 
Refuse to entertain your old pain.
The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back 
from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?

Thanks for reading,

Peter xXx

Find your thing!

Thirteen day since my last post......hmmmm, this blog is rapidly turning into a record of my positive days. Those glimmers of hope that occasionally break through the otherwise dull monotony of life. The truth that I've realised lately is that the glass is nowhere near half full, in fact the glass has only a few drops in it. We live in a world where people rape and murder each other. They abuse, neglect and kill animals for their food and fur. Wars and genocide are rampant across the world and the people in power care for little beyond their own comfort and welfare.

Quite honestly I'm desperately searching for some sign that there is any hope that mankind will ever sort themselves out and learn to live in harmony. But for my own sanity I have to focus on on the droplets at the bottom of the glass, and have faith that one day the good elements and people of this world will gain enough power to lift us from this river of misery that we are currently living in.

So, now on to focusing on the positive drops:

I have an embarrassing confession, I really love the show Glee at the moment, but if I'm being truthful I find myself a tiny bit jealous of them due to the fact that they always look so happy. However, when I really thought about it I came to the conclusion that the characters can't really be any happier than I am.

They are dealing with issues such as unrequited love, pregnancy scandals, marriage breakdowns to name but a few, so why is it that they seem to me to be so contented? I've decided that it's because, so often in the show they are depicted doing the thing they love.... in this case singing. Their passion for glee club unites them and helps them through difficult times.

So for now that's the key, I need to find my thing. Something that can unite me with like minded people and serve to lift me out of this funk I'm in at the moment. Some things I'm going to try are:

1. A book club. I love reading so I think it might be nice to meet with people and discuss opinions on literature.

2. Some form of self defence class. Doing karate or something could help me feel empowered and in control of my own life again.

3. Acting/ Writing classes. I'm feeling creatively stifled at the moment and I feel a class may help get the juices flowing again.

So that's it for this blog. The conclusion being that I need to find my thing. I hope that you all have a passion that makes you happy, if you do please let me know in the comment section below as it maybe something I would like to look into. If you don't maybe we could help each other find ours!

Thanks for reading
Love Peter xXx

Here's today's positive thought

We are not foolish for making a mistake - only for refusing to learn from it... Stop settling for less than the best for yourself!

Society!

Woah nine days since the last blog! Where did that time go?? So much to talk about... but which topic to choose today? (I really need to start planning these better so that I can get my thoughts out clearer)

Okay first just a quick side note then I'll get onto the main point of this blog. This Wednesday was absolutely the most exciting day of my life, because I got to go to a party that was also attended by the fabulous Kim Cattrall.

If I'm being honest I was expecting to be able to talk to Kim but I only got to see her briefly (she was standing near me for a while and I was so tempted to slap her on the ass but I was on my best behaviour) In the end I met some absolutely lovely people that work in the Vaudeville theatre and had a great night!

Now on to the main section of the blog:

A few days ago I was coming home from work during the rush hour and I was waiting at London bridge for a train. It was due at 7.25 and it was 7.23 and they still hadn't announced what platform the train would be departing from. There were about 250 people waiting in front of the screens and when they finally told us what platform the train was at everybody started a massive surge down a towards the platform. On this particular day it had been raining and the roof of the station leaks quite badly over the left hand stairway. (as seen below)
So in the interest of public safety the station managers had roped off the wet steps, effectively corralling us down the right hand steps and creating a bottleneck and slowing our progress considerably. Then one man, obviously thinking that he wanted to take a short cut down the left stairs and bypass all the other commuters, stepped over the cordon and started down the left steps. As soon as everyone else saw that, it was as if some invisible line was crossed and all of a sudden people started piling down the wet steps (mostly men in suits, with the intention of pushing in front of women. Nice to know that chivalry is dead!!) A few people slipped and fell in the puddles on the stairway, but others just pushed passed and climbed over them, in their eagerness for a seat!

It may not sound much, but it was interesting to observe how easily the fragile facade of society crumbles away. It only took one man to break the rules set up by the station, for everyone to follow suit. This was only a small example of course. But the same could happen on a much larger scale at any moment!!

'Now hold up one minute', I hear you say 'This is supposed to be a positive blog!!'

Well I've been obsessing and worrying about the possibility of a total collapse of society for the last few days now, but then I remembered this blog and decided to start looking at the situation as if the glass were half full!

So today I have spent a lot of time looking on You Tube for some sign that there are people who believe in the value of society and human compassion, and will live their lives morally and with principals, and I think I succeeded!! Check out the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfoiQXnbnf8

This man, Anderson Cooper, saw a young boy in trouble, with society crumbling around him and, despite having a job to do he was one of the few to help the child, whilst others rampaged around him. Mr Cooper is a true hero, and we should all take a lesson from him. Put yourself in his shoes. Faced with that much death and destruction would you have the courage to help someone else, or just focus on self preservation. I'd like to think that I would have done the same as him, but I pray that I'll never be in that kind of situation.

So there's my example of a good man, if the world had more of him the glass would not only be half full, it would be full to the brim.

Thanks for reading
Peter xXx

Here's today's positive thought:

“The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.”