Rebuilding Love, Hope and Faith - One Year Later

“May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance, and intolerance.”

After visiting the 9/11 memorial site last year, I felt compelled to launch my blog on 9/11 as a tribute to the innocent lives that were lost. Rebuilding Love, Hope and Faith was my first blog post and it was an encouraging piece on getting through the most difficult times and finding the strength and courage to rebuild love, hope and faith in our lives.

A year later, I can honestly say that the world has not gotten better but I’m not about to get into the further depressing details about how it is getting worse –that’s what the media is for. I have asked myself the following questions: how does one maintain his/her sanity and still see the good in the world despite being constantly bombarded with negativity? How does one continue to show love and kindness to people that do not deserve it? How does one continue to hope for the best when life keeps knocking them down?

I can’t say there’s one right answer to any of these questions but one thing remains for all of them – choice. You cannot choose what comes your way but you can choose how you react to it. God gave us the freedom to choose. You can choose to constantly watch the news and get depressed about the world (not that I’m advocating ignorance whatsoever – ignorance is not bliss) or you can choose when enough is enough. You can choose to be angry at people or you can choose to be loving and kind as you may not know what struggles the next person may be going through.

They say that the most difficult people are the ones that need our love the most. When life constantly knocks you down, you can get depressed about it and quit on life or you can choose to believe that everything happens for a reason and it’s only through the fire that you are refined and your character built.

A lot of us are so busy with work, family and other obligations that we don’t create any time for ourselves to do something that we actually love doing. I was talking to my best friend about why I wanted to start a blog and I said wanted to start a blog for myself – I love getting dressed and taking pictures, I love to write and I absolutely love to travel. She thought this sounded a little selfish and I agree; I started Maliny Collections for myself but I’m thankful for people like you that have supported my journey. I wanted to challenge my creativity, push my boundaries, and starting a blog provided me with that platform. If I inspire you along the way, then it’s a win win for all of us. I only have one thing to say on my blog anniversary and 100th post – find one thing that you are passionate about and do it wholeheartedly. Don’t do it for others, don’t do it for recognition because you’ll be greatly disappointed, just do it because you love it.

“Faith makes all this possible. Love makes all things easy. Hope makes all things work.” -Unknown!

Until next time, stay blessed!