Family Bonding: Treasuring Memories with Significant Others

          Time is precious. Quality time creates special memories in our hearts. Thus last Saturday and Sunday, me and my whole family spent an overnight stay at Myrtleford Hotel right at the middle part of Myrtleford,  a popular tourist destination situated between Wangaratta and Bright. 

                                                                           

          For two days, we spent precious time exploring the similarly popular tourist destinations like Bright, Lake Buffalo, and Mount Beauty. While on our trip going to our destination, we already observed the breathtaking surroundings on both sides of the road most notably the Great Alpine Road. 

          When we were at Buffalo River Road which is more or less 21 kilometers away from Myrtleford, the serenity of the water attracted much of my attention. Further the cool breeze of the air penetrated the deepest part of me and gave me heaps of relief to free from stresses.

                                                                       

          Meanwhile, the town proper of Myrtleford was already filled with visitors when we arrived at 11 am. Both visitors and local folks were gratifying themselves with their delightful coffees while others were having fun strolling in the parka and chatting. Me and my family spent esteemed memories at the very clean park situated near the busy town centre. Night came and we had our dinner at the hotel and while we enjoyed our delicious food like my favourite salmon filet, we were at the same time delighted to listen to the live band featuring Tahlia Gibson, a very talented young girl who rendered both new and previous hits.

          Over all, the opportunity to bond together as a family allowed me and my wife plus our kiddo, Kurt to share wonderful moments.  

Health is Wealth

          Last Friday, I skipped work due to some pain on my knee part. It  started the day before while I was attending to my role at the workplace . As a result,  I went to see the doctor on that day and she initially assessed my condition as related to arthritis pain. She further recommended me for x-ray to find out the extent of the pain. 

          While I was resting at home since that day, I told myself how essential for us to maintain that good health day in and out. Comparing to any well oiled machine,  there comes a point in our life that we will suffer inconvenience in our bodies such as illness and others.

                                                                     

imagecredit:https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-curtain-near-ocean-water-169195/

          Indeed I know that this life is a gift and alongside with it is my huge responsibility to take care of it. And maintaining harmony as well as balance is my precious task. We need to take care of our bodies and think closely how we treat all its facets including physical, mental, social, psychological and others. 

        Being busy in whatever endeavour we are in is and never an excuse for us to forget listening to our bodies. On the other hand, we should also refrain from whatever activity that can cause negative outcome to it such as participating in vices and the like. After all, it is very true that "Health is Wealth!" We should love and nurture our bodies for our sake, for the sake of its giver as well as for our loved ones.  

                                                                       

A Poem

There is a You

For the world 

To look At

There is a You

Around which

The world spins

He walks silently

To every glance

Every step

The road left behind

Becomes light

imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/photos/water-surf-nature-spray-ocean-3288126/

Guest Writer: Victoria Dutu

Email: victoritadutu@yahoo.com, victoritadutu@gmail.com

Victoria Dutu is a graduate of the faculties of mathematics- 1995 and philosophy- 1999, University "Al. loan Cuza" lasi. She is a full-time mathematics teacher at the "Traian: Theoritical High School in Bucharest. 

She participated in Art and Book Festivals and Fairs in the country and abroad. She has won national and international prizes for painting and poetry and has has painting exhibitions in the country and abroad. New York, Miami, Oxford, London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, Medellin-Columbia, Berlin, Velden-Austria, the center of France at Chouzy-sur-Cisse, Sanremo, Poland, Switzerland, Romania and Bucharest. 

Treasured Life's Every Moment

     While enjoying the start of this Sunday with a delicious coffee prepared by my beloved, it dawned on me to go back into writing since it has been a while that I did not have the luxury of the time to write something about life.  Hence I'm back now into one of my favourite past time which is blogging. And my inspiration for this day's writing is the idea of treasuring every moment of our life.

     For the past three years, life has been so challenging for all of us predominantly due to the pandemic (the Coronavirus event) and as a result, heaps among us resort to being pessimistic about life. There are those who tend to withdraw from it instead of facing it fair and square. We all have our individual reasons on our stance against the pandemic. Personally, what I am constantly practicing within myself is to savour every moment of my life. 

                                                                 

Imagecredit:https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-fluttering-berries-wings-tit-1045954/

     I believe that each day, life has so much positive to give to me and it is always a blessing to be able to wake up each day in the presence of my loved ones- my beloved wife and our son. Just similar to others, I had my own share of this Covid thing and it was difficult for me and my wife since we were struck almost at the same time yet with our faith in God and with taking care of ourselves, we were cured from the Covid virus.  

     Life is so full of surprises yet with determination and positive outlook, I believe then that everything will be placed on its proper place. We have to. move on from any defeat whatsoever it is and we instead will focus on the sweet side of life--- could be given to us by others like loved ones, family, friends, even strangers and most of all, by our own affirmative attitude towards it. 

Thoughts on Mother's Day Celebration

       As we celebrate Mother's Day today, allow me to share with you information with regard to this very popular and significant celebration. This event is remembered as having a multi-century history while in the United States, this was initiated by American Anna Jarvis during the 20th century.  Other countries have chosen other dates for their celebration. 

Below are some of the wonderful thoughts we have for this enormous celebration:

a.  " The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation."--- James E. Faust

       Early on, and since the development of the baby inside the womb of his/her mum, the bonding of the mother towards him/her is beyond any comprehension. And when the child is finally born until such time that he/she can stand on his/her own, it is the love of the mother that guides him/her all throughout the journey. That's how crucial the role of a mother is and for anybody that self- sacrifice should be acknowledged and kept deep inside his/her heart for such a lifetime. As others would say, one of life's best teachers is our mother. 

b.  "There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood.
"- Elder M. Russel Ballard

       Being a mother is a never ending role. For when the baby is inside the mother's womb for 9 

months then usually proceeding to that risk taking activity called birthing on to the growing years, the love of a mother is always there to embrace the growing child whether in joy or in pain. Other roles such that of being a manager or a lawyer could carry an expiration date on them but the role of being a mother goes on even up to the point of death. They never say no to give us a good life, comfort and security. That's how great and crucial their role is. 

Image by abnerh843 from Pixabay 

c. "We are born of love; love is our mother."---Rumi

•        The unconditional love of a mother is beyond any material treasure in return. The sacrifices they make is without any doubt the biggest and greatest example of how true love should be. They don't care about themselves for what is essential for them is the welfare of the children. They are always ready to deny comfort for themselves as long as the children are happy.  

d. "A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's."--- Princess Diana

•        When a child is suffering any pain or discomfort, the mother's instinct is to forget all other things and instead, promptly attends  to get rid of the child's discomfort. For whatever pain the child is suffering, she herself carries it on how own. The moment the mother offers her warm embrace, the pain or the cry of the child is gone for he knows and being assured that his/her mom is always around to protect him/her from life's trivialities and trials. Concretely, have you observe it yourself that when a baby cries and the moment the mother carries her/him in her arms,  then she/he just stops from crying? That is so true since the baby unknowingly and unconsciously feels the warmth embrace of the mother which is motivated by her great love. 

e. "When you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will never know." --- 

Mitch Albom 

•        What then is the true meaning of LOVE? I would rather say that when one is offering comfort and joy to another without expecting something in return, that then is the true meaning of love. No matter how cruel the world could become or the people around could be without love yet the love that is coming from a mother will unconditionally stay forever. Sometimes, the word love is misunderstood and taken for granted and that  it is only given as a reward for something accomplished but for the mothers out there, no matter how the child performs in his/her role yet he/she is constantly assured that the mum is there willing to offer him/her a warmth embrace when the world turns to its cruel side.  

                                                                                

Share Your Blessings

     We all have our own considered essentials in life. And one common element among these is money. Count me in as one of those who believed money as important element to our day to day existence. 

     But what will happen if ever I possess heaps of money in the world? I can count plenty of things to happen and I want to share with you three of them:

1. Providing for my family's needs- at this stage of my life, my top priority is the welfare and bright future of my family hence I am constantly enthusiastic to go to my workplace to earn money to provide for their needs. Moreover if I have heaps of extra money with me then I will make it sure that not only their present needs that are provided but also the security of their future. One way of doing this is by saving a big chunk to prepare for the coming years. 

2. Sharing with others- if I have lots of extra money then one possible thing that I can do in my lifetime is sharing them with others especially those who are devoid of the chance to provide for themselves. Personally I believe money is but a temporal thing and what is precious is the positive things that it can provide such as food, clothing, education and shelter. My heart is pierced with pain whenever I see unprivileged members of our society most notably children and old people. 

                                                                   

Image by pasja1000 from Pixabay 

3. Travel to other places both in and out of Australia- travel for me is a means to understand the culture and uniqueness of other places and countries. Me and my wife Yanyan love to travel and if the situation will allow us, it is our earnest desire to spend time travelling both interstate and abroad.  Travel could be a tiresome activity yet for me, I believe that its positive fruits outweigh the negative ones. If I own heaps of money then I would love to explore those lovely destinations such as Europe and Asia.

Hence those are just examples of what will I do if I have heaps of extra money in my possession. What about you, how will you spend your money if ever you are gifted with heaps of extra financial abundance?

                                                                                          

The Fear of the Unknown

  Today marks another milestone in me and my beloved's life since she had her medical procedure in one of the hospitals here in Melbourne, Australia. Thus this day has become a waiting day for me- anxiously waiting as her ordeal goes on. 

     We started the day by bringing her to the hospital. So I drove her very early since the procedure was scheduled in the morning. Upon arriving at the hospital, me and  our son said and kissed her goodbye as well as good luck for her surgery. While I was driving home and on most part of the morning, I had that feeling of fear of the unknown. Being far away from her and unable to witness her proceedings, I was without hint at all how everything goes by. Of course, I trusted fully the capability of her surgeons yet as human as I am, I could not deny the fact that I also had that negative feeling like helplessness for I don't exactly know what will happen on her journey today.

Image by Brigitte JAUFFRINEAU from Pixabay 

     In the midst of such feeling of anxiety, what comforted me is the thought that there is God who is willing to embrace me in such a state. Moreover, I was also aware that our loved ones including friends are joining us in prayers to give my wife a positive surgery today. Anyway, I didn't wait that long for maybe at 10 am, I was able to speak to one of the hospital's staff and she shared with me the GOOD NEWS that my wife's surgery was successful (plus the bonus point of her ovary being saved). 

     Indeed, it is challenging to be in a situation wherein one doesn't know exactly what will happen and consequently, this will result to an awkward or negative feeling such as fear of the unknown. However, we only need to remember to put our whole trust in God and on people in charge of any procedure or whatever. What counts most is the awareness of such feeling and trying to dialogue with the self that everything will be alright. 

The Ultimate Goal of Life

     As human beings, we may vary from our considered ultimate goal in life. One may say wealth is his ultimate goal while another individual would claim its his family. Others would pinpoint achievement as the decisive end of life. Somehow, for today's sharing, I would say happiness is the ultimate goal in life. We all strive to perfection so as to attain eternal happiness now and in the coming days. 

     Since we wake up each single day up to the time that we go to bed, all our actions are geared towards making ourselves happy. When one is devoid of any sense of happiness, life then becomes so boring and not worth living for. And it gives me heaps of inspiration to witness people around me who are seemingly deprived of life's abundance yet in the midst of that limitation, no one somehow could take away from them their being happy and determined in life. 

                                                                               

Image by kinkate from Pixabay 

     Personally I would consider my family as my source of daily happiness. Seeing my significant others in good health and in their sense of life direction, it becomes  my determinant of joy. On the other hand, if I witness any of them in pain or in agony then that also breaks my heart and it makes me so sad to feel such similar amount of negative emotion. Putting myself on the shoes of the other person-- that is constantly my motivation in my daily undertakings. And it is always my prayer to God to make me an instrument of happiness for my family and for others. 

                                                                                       

The Joy of a Father

     Being a father to a 10 year old boy, it is always a source of joy for me to watch every single day the journey of my beloved. I know from the very start how crucial my role as a parent to him and this task is one of the most important roles I need to perform each day.

     As I recall back the moment that my boy was born until this day, how I stand in awe to realise my being so blessed (and of course to his mother as well) to have him in our life. I have heard heaps of stories from friends and also from reading everywhere, both offline and online, about kids growing up  and I know, the role of a parent is not an easy one. 

Image by kinkate from Pixabay 

     While I journey with my kid these days, I notice how he has changed in so many ways. Too many to mention yet I would single out his ability to grow in self confidence as one of his surprises to us parents. Recently he run for the role of captainship for their class and in spite of his being not able to attain it yet to me and to his mom, we acknowledged his efforts and confidence to aim for the role.

     Thus, I would say that we, as parents, should always stress it to ourselves to endow time every day in accompanying our children in their journey. By allowing this to happen, we are giving assurance to them that they can rely on us whatever will be their journey's outcome- to laugh and celebrate on their successes yet to comfort them when storms of life hit them. 

Life is All But Temporary

     Life- one of the greatest gifts that we have received on this earth. In fact this is the most treasured one yet somehow along this gift comes our responsibility to take care of it. No matter what then is at stake to us every single day, whether positive or negative, still we have the huge promise that we will make the best of what we can do to preserve and improve it. 

     On this time of pandemic brought by Covid-19 reality, we are challenged to strive further in spite of all the limitations that we encountered such as the numerous lockdowns plus all the restrictions as consequences of this pandemic. Life must go on as the popular saying tells us and with this, we continue to trek our separate ways thinking that with or without this pandemic, life must be continued.

Image by Peter H from Pixabay 

     On the other hand, we should believe that this gift of life is a temporary one. That sooner or later, one will end his journey. This may come as a surprise for others while maybe an expected one for those who are on its ending point like those who are presently terminally ill. With this awareness, the more that we should realise how essential t is for us to make its every minute a positive one. 

     Thus we are tasked not just to make ourselves happy, productive, cheerful everyday but also, we are invited to allow ourselves as instruments to enable others see a light over their dark realities (such as problems, sickness, limitations etc). 

Life is Like a Three-Legged Stool

    While I am relaxing here on our living room with our kiddo, I am reflecting on my life and able to think of a comparison between it with that of a three-legged stool. Recalling back how lucky am I to have received all my life's blessings, I have heaps of reasons to be so glad and feel so special in spite of life's being so complicated. Everything in life then is temporary so we have to embrace every moment with openness and a welcoming spirit.

Consequently, these are my reflections for today:

A three-legged stool:

- each leg relies on each other for strength;

- on top of the stool is a space for a comfortable sitting;

- equal footing for each leg to stand in balance and in harmony;

- each leg's brace provides support and strength as the three of them are intertwined with each other

                                                                

                                                                 

Imagecredit: Photo by Artem Saranin from Pexels

                                              

Relating it to life:

- we need support system such as each other, family, friends, relatives, community etc. Alongside with this, there is a responsibility to nurture and constantly check the stability of each one;

- we can't survive relying merely on our own selves. Basically we need others to journey with us especially in the fulfillment of our dreams and aspirations. We need each other for life's check and balance;

- we give space for others so as to feel comfortable with us;

- we need to mutually show equal footing. As such, we are invited to render due respect to others notwithstanding any differences in terms of race, status, gender, age, and any other differences.

       

                                                   

Is It Good if Both Parents are Working?

    Before, it was typical for a family that the father is the one that works while the mother takes care of the kids and at the same time managing the house. But with the present set up that we have especially here in Australia and maybe in other countries, it is a common sight to have both working parents.  These two contrasting realities have their positive and negative effects. 

    One may perhaps think that the kids with both working parents naturally receive the material benefits. As such, the parents can afford to buy anything luxurious like toys, modern gadgets, and can even send the children to exclusive and popular institutions.  Moreover,  proponents of this view argues that due to the family's extra wealth, it will enable them to go overseas for holidays. 

                                                                     

imagecredit: Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels

    On the other hand, one of the possible negative results when both parents are working  is the deprivation of guidance and moral support to the growing children. On certain situations like fulfilling school assignments, extra curricular activities and examinations, the children will direly need the after school support of the parents. Consequently, the children would not excellently perform at school and what is worst is when they get involved with friends of bad influence. This type of friends endow no good outcome except trouble especially when they  get involved with illegal drugs, excessive drinking and the like. 

    A friend of mine in high school had parents who were both working. Yes it was true that they indeed provided her all her needs. Yet she grew up in such a situation that she badly missed her parents' support on time of assignment making, accomplishing school projects and many other endeavours. Being on this reality, she felt envious with her peers who did perform well in school most notably due to their parents' support. Apparently most of them emerged as top of their class while she was not. Consequently she lost her self confidence, became inferior in the class and aimless in. life. 

    Thus if today's trend of having both working parents will continue, I personally believe that one thing that should be given value and utmost important is the constant giving of all out support to the kids towards their growth and development. The parents' positive role modelling plays a significant part in the children's life. 

Guest writer: Myra Jugan- my beloved wife

  

                                             

The New Normal AMidst The Present Day Pandemic

     Whew...... how time flies and I just didn't realise that it has been a long time since I published my last writing here. However it is but with sadness that pandemic is still very much present in our society today. As a result we have the so called "new normal" nowadays and most significant among the list is the trend nowadays to work from home and also the remote learning of our kids. 

     If one needs to become relevant there is that challenge to learn how to cope with today's reality that we have. No one among us ever have that idea when will this pandemic ends but the concreteness of surviving each single day is present in the here and now moment.

     This trend of the so called new normal is not easy though personally I see them both on the positive and the negative sides of the matter. Like for example at work, there could be limitations that working remotely will bring and also that many are not appropriately designed to work remotely so they become part of the less privileged to discontinue working amidst this pandemic. 

                                  imagecredit: https://focastock.com/photo/trees-and-sun-in-park/

     Meanwhile one of the positive elements would be the opportunity of the business. owners to save especially in the physical on its physical component. Indeed it directs to a greater chance to save like electricity and others in which if you total them all will also contribute to their huge savings.

     Thus I would say that this pandemic's challenges are tough but we also have to make ourselves relevant so as to proceed with the cadence of the times. 

                                              

Sharing of Love Amidst A Calamity

          Australia is tested at this point in time through a major incident which is the ongoing bushfire especially in states like Victoria and New South Wales. Since last year, bushfires happened everywhere in those states plus that happened in Western Australia and South Australia. 

       It is painful to see the damages done by the tragedy- all lost lives, burned properties like houses, centres, playgrounds and millions of animals dead- they also left a burning pain on the hearts of the directly and indirectly affected. 

       On the other hand, the influx of assistance handed to the victims and to the affected states as well clearly shows the caring hearts

Imagecredit:

of others who have witnessed the said incident. How people sacrificed a part of their resources, time, presence and others to support all victims is a clear manifestation of the goodness in humanity.

       Moreover, prayers are continuously offered for them and for Australia herself since the threat of possible major bushfires is still present. Hence may the love shared and showed by Australians and non- Australians nowadays in the middle of this tragedy endow hope and strength to all.  

                                             

                                             

Build Your Dreams

        What drives us to wake up everyday to go to work and perform our daily activities? What motivates us to hang on to life in spite of all its challenges? How do we make our life more meaningful and worthy? The answer to these questions is our dreams- they are the ones that drive us to look up each day as a gift full of surprises. 

       Given that we have varied dreams from one person to the other- may this be a bright future for our family.... for our loved ones....or this is the dream of building and living in a house which you can call as your own someday......dream of achieving the best of our ability realising our potentials to its maximum capacity.

       Yet later on, we then realise that achieving our dreams is not an easy thing to do--------never an easy walk in the park.

Imagecredit

         Challenges come along the way and they emerge in so many forms. But we need to trust in ourselves that sooner or later, we will be able to achieve them. Others can only accompany us and inspire us to proceed with the journey yet the very first ones who will and can do it is ourselves.

      Everyday, wake up to proceed in achieving this dream- never allow discouragement, negativity etc.  to hinder us to reach it. Never be contented with mediocrity. Yes it's true that failure is painful but never allow it to hold us back in attaining our DREAMS. Thus let us continue to dream big and focus our energy to reach it. 

https://amzn.to/2qxbkuq

                                             

The Paradox of the Cross

          If I may ask you a question, " How would you perceive the image of the cross? Is it a sign of victory or a defeat? Is it a sign of hope or a sign of failure?" These are but some of the questions we can raise in our mind in relation to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ when He offered Himself to die on the cross. 

         Personally I would say that we should always be grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His preparedness to sacrifice His own life to merit our salvation. With this in mind and in heart, I unceasingly put my prayer that may our minds be enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit, the source of truth so that any decision that we will make especially those which will affect others could be honest and sincere.

Photo credit

If we can live by the principles of truth then we will be able to contribute to the peace and harmony in our society no matter where we are in. 

         Consequently the image of the cross is a paradox of what it meant to be for others. The cross where Jesus Christ died becomes a complete manifestation of His triumph over our wickedness and sinfulness. When humanity suffers insults and rejection because of the desire to follow Jesus Christ, the image of Mary comes out as a spiritual mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who while witnessing the humiliation of her son, pleaded to God the Father for the forgiveness of His executioners and also for our own conversion. 

         As a result, the cross at this time becomes a symbol of good being triumphant over evil. May we then continue to imitate all these examples in our life in spite of all the odds out there, witnessing and believing in the concrete sacrificial act done by our Lord Jesus Christ this day. 

                                            

Get Rid of Negativity

          January 2019 has started and maybe it is good to look at how the first few days of this month and of this year has gone undetected.  Perhaps we already encountered several incidents in the workplace, or at home, or in the streets and others that brought worries to us. That when faced with a challenging situation, we resulted to negativity and such attitude also affecting our dealings with the other members of our household. 

Photo by Robert Katzki on Unsplash 

          Moreover, instead of leaving behind in our workplaces or office desks/ corners the worries of our responsibilities at work, we decided to bring them at home therefore, they also stressed out those people living with us. Confronted by them, we tend to panic right away and overthink about what will happen in the future without enjoying the now moment. There is a call for us to change this perspective and as a matter of fact, we need to constantly remember that what counts most for us is our immediate time with our loved ones especially with our spouses and kids.

         We need to spend time everyday to sit back and relax then  forget about those stresses and channel our energy to improving our relationship with our spouses and children for they are the very first priority (should be!) that we have in our life. They are the reasons why we positively wake up everyday to go to work or else perform other day's tasks. Let us learn to embrace all negative elements, situations, conditions, emotions as part of us and just allow them to have their own moments. Finally, let us be friendly with them and on the other hand, we endeavour also to make each moment a positive avenue of expressing love and affection to our loved ones as well as to others. 

                                         

Moving Forward to 2019

          Soon 2018 will be a part of our history and we welcome a new year 2019. For sure, 2018 has been a colourful year for all of us- yin and yang, white and black, light and dark etc- those are constantly the contrasting reality of all our events this year.

          However whatever may be our moments for this year, we should learn how to move on from those negative memories that we had and be grateful for the positive things that we experienced.

Photo by mckenzie toyne on Unsplash

          Moving forward could be challenging for some most notably if it involves a lot of pain but for us to grow physically, morally, psychologically and spiritually, we ought to embrace both positive and negative events.

          And as we start the new year tomorrow, may we spend this day with the special people in our life -wife,husband, kids- instead of spending this day with other people who are less relevant to us. In spite of the quick evolution of our life today brought along by today's technologies, there still present the basic and essential reality that our family comes first and our top priority among all other things. 

          Thus we welcome the new year 2019 with full enthusiasm and optimism that life will be better for us and for our loved ones. 

                                              

Drop It....Let It Go

          Each day in our life, we encounter moments wherein we are pained, down, disappointed and it is as if life is so meaningless anymore. Yet at the end of the day, we all need to remember that when we look into our eyes, we can always tell ourselves, " I LOVE YOU" then just by saying those magical words, may we remember that life indeed is so precious. By telling ourselves those affirmative words "I love this self" in front of the mirror, we are therefore affirming our own belief and acceptance of our own uniqueness. On numerous circumstances, we fail to appreciate our own giftedness and instead, envy those of others. 

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          Learn to move on in life. As I was listening to one motivational speaker today, I was reminded that life is such a beautiful gift that we ought to treasure and no matter what obstacles lie along the way, there is always a force that will allow us to let it go of all those negative elements.

          Learn to accept who we are...... we all need to embrace our very own identity and it is only by then that we can also be able to accept others. How could we share love if we don't feel being loved on the first place.

Hence let us  treasure those special people in our life for from them we experience how wonderful this life is. Let us learn to let go then drop those negative events as well as  their memories and instead, let us focus on our dreams. 

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