THE PROPHET

"The lust of comfort murders the passion of the soul."

It is often said that the comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing grows there, or that
life begins when you step out of it. While we need our comfort zones to rest and recharge, it is
only when we push ourselves beyond what is familiar and comfortable for us that we grow and
develop our personalities. Personally, I am one of those people who often stays in their comfort
zone, is afraid and has a hard time stepping out, but there are times when I realize that if I
stayed in my comfort zone, I would not grow. I also realize that there are a lot of opportunities
that I have missed just because I stayed in that comfort zone. Now I am slowly trying new
things, and sometimes I encourage myself to do things that scare me. I intend to teach these
lessons to those around me, especially my younger siblings. I would encourage them to be bold
and do things that are outside of their comfort zone, so that they will not miss opportunities
and have many regrets.

"if you pray when it rains, make sure you also pray when the sun shines"

Most of us, particularly Filipinos, are very religious, and whenever we face difficulties or
problems in life, we always turn to God for help and guidance. We run to him whenever we are
in pain or hurt. When we want something, we ask and pray hard for it, but when we get it, we
often forget to thank God. We ignore him and enjoy the gifts we have received without ever
thanking him. I often pray to God for something I want to have or happen. I pray to him and talk
to him whenever I face challenges or experience pain, but when I have what I want or the pain
is gone, I tend to forget about him and forget to thank him. I realized I was being ungrateful and
selfish by only calling him when I was in pain and not when everything was fine. When I realized
this, I began to thank God in my prayers. I want to tell the people around me the lesson I've
learned by telling them that before they pray, they should acknowledge God for who he is, how
great he is, and thank him for everything. To remind them to be grateful and thankful for
everything they have.

"They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not
to you"

I'm sure many of us have been pushed by one or both of our parents to behave in a
certain way, make a specific decision, or pursue a specific career. Whether it is to follow in their
footsteps or to pick up where they left off, the psychological motivation may differ, but the end
result is the same: unhappy, frustrated children. The worst part is that most of them are
unaware of the impact they are having, or the extent to which they are willing to control. We
understand that parents only want the best for their children, but there are times when they
put pressure on us to be this or that in order for us to be successful. Most of them never ask us
what we truly want to do with our lives. Although we have our own minds and decisions, we
cannot deny that they influence us and pressure us to follow them most of the time. I realized
that all you have to do is talk to them about what you really want to do and explain why, and
they will understand. I'd like to remind parents that they, too, should be understanding of their
children.