I kicked off my 2012 with 14-days of walking on sunshine. It was the most fantastic gift I gave myself—a 14-day cruise from Sydney, Australia to exotic, spectacular islands in the South Pacific Paradise. On board the gigantic Holland America Volendam ship, I simply did not sun-tan, but learned and enriched myself in the company of the international renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development Dr. Wayne Dyer who conducted a workshop for “Mastering The Art of Manifestation.” I also attended another workshop on board, “Movers and Shakers – Speak, Write, Promote” conducted by Hay House CEO Tracy Reid and famous best selling author Cheryl Richardson.

Gratitude at its highest level. Just when I thought the past year was amazing, adding years to my life just gets better and better.

When I appreciate the past and the present, I get excited to move towards my future. Which is why I took the time to recollect the highlights of my 2011—precious experiences that I will carry with me on my best year yet.

Love is family.

• Last year, my mother turned 76. And so I went home to my beloved Philippines to celebrate her birthday, enjoy time with my eldest daughter, and spend New Year’s day in Matabungkay beach where I used to sell mangoes as a child.
• As a birthday tour for myself, my husband and I went to Philippine historical sites such as Corregidor Island, Roxas Boulevard, American Cemetery, Luneta Park, and hiked Sagada Mountain Province.
• Back in Canada, our home was filled with our lovely children again – Catherine, Mish and my “foster” Korean son Tom who are all grown up and are now in their 20s. We had picnic on the beach, lovely walks, prepared dinner together just like before, and we all shared our joys and heart’s dreams and desires. We bonded and a few days later went back on our chosen paths again. Though empty nested, love filled my heart.

World travel is a memory investment.

• I visited Seoul, Korea for the fifth time to connect with Tom’s family. Tom lived with us in Canada for 6 years while studying. He is serving in the Korean army until this spring. I miss my “adopted” son!
• And then for the second time, I went to Colombia and experienced the South American culture even with my little Spanish. The highlight of this trip was attending the Ayahuasca Ceremony which is led by a local “shaman” or native priest. He made us drink an exotic potion from the medicinal plant ayahuasca, believed to be a sacred plant that promotes soul and physical healing.
• Oh Europe! Who would have thought that this girl who used to sell mangoes for pennies will travel Europe’s best destinations?  For four weeks, I explored the rich European culture hopping from Switzerland, Germany, France, Amsterdam, and England and had an amazing time on a small budget. Thanks to “Couchsurfing” I was introduced to a network of kind and friendly individual hosts who opened their homes for fellow CouchSurfing (CS) members. Imagine experiencing and exchanging rich cultures simply by hosting other CS members in your home. Before I left Europe, I reconnected with a school mate from the Philippines whom I haven’t seen for 27 years!  Jojo now has a lovely family of her own, lives in Geneva and a home in Annecy, France where we stayed for few days. We had the greatest time remembering our college years cherishing how far we have come from those days that we were cleaning and scrubbing floors and toilets in La Concordia College.
• Hot and Sunny Arizona! We finished the year with a warm climate when we went for an 8-day getaway in Arizona, USA with our friends Neil and Rosie. Although Ted was sick with flu, we managed to do the most out of it. As soon as he felt better, we hiked up the mountainous and scenic desserts of Mesa and the Apache trail.

No one is old to learn a new sport.

• Who says winter is boring? I spent two weeks in the winter paradise of Whistler Blackcomb, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, where I learned to snowboard. Snowboarding is not like skiing, it is much harder for newbies like me but thrilling, and it was worth the pain!
• I also ziplined on top of Europe’s snowcovered Jungfraugh mountain and Canada’s Whistler mountain.

Home is the heart that welcomes visitors.

• My good friend from the Philippines, Jenny and her five-year old daughter Nicole stayed with us for a week. We had the greatest time—played along the beach, hiked, had breakfast al fresco, walked early mornings, and we discussed our plans for my second book. A Grouse Grind Mountain hike even on a rainy day was our symbolic hike towards the realization of my second book which is dedicated for children around the world. That you have to stay tuned on.
• I also hosted a young lady, Penny from Thailand, and three young nursing students from Denmark. All of them made me feel much much younger. We went hiking, ziplining, running, kayaking, canoeing. Healthy eaters, these ladies made use of my entire kitchen making salad, fresh bread, muffins and sumptuous dinners. Ladies thanks for the fun and lessons learned.

Happiness is in the simplest things.

• Canada is nature at its best. In my neighborhood, we had an abundant harvest of blackberry, blueberry and apples.  How happy it is to hand pick these myself. I even climbed an apple tree like a monkey.
• My every day is filled with self-nurturing activities, walking along the beach, visiting parks and walking and hiking trails, pilates, zumba, yoga, guitar classes, cooking. I am leaving an ideal life, a life that is so far from those day in the Philippines where I had to sweat selling mangoes and walk miles just to earn pennies. Among many things my impoverished childhood days taught me “self reliance”.

Every time I round up my year, thankfulness just overflows. I am grateful for my family, friends and wonderful people whom I connected this past year, you know who you are — YOU  all are my greatest teachers and what makes this life worth living at it’s best. I also thank all the mentors who continue to inspire me with their work; my book fans for the many emails on how the Tale of Juliet inspired them. Thank you for reminding me of my purpose here on earth.

After two years of being cancer-free, I feel stronger, healthier, centered, grounded, spiritually connected. Each day I wake up, my heart is filled with gratitude. Though the stock market stumbles down, the economy goes haywire, savings decrease than go up, and investments do not yield enough returns, I am counting all my blessings, happy and at peace for being true to myself and doing what matters the most to me.

Starting the new year begins by thanking the past year.

Happiness, peace and joy are all inside jobs. Deep inside in each and every one of us is this inner knowing and guiding light. By being grateful, we all have the keys and tools to living an abundant life, confident that things are all in Divine order and Divinely orchestrated, our own visions fuels us to fulfill our dreams.

If I am thankful for the past year, I am expectant that the next will be even greater! Keep in mind that “living each present moment at it’s best” is the key to happiness here on earth.

Oh what a year that was to remember!!! May 2012 see the best ever in you!

“People freak out when they see me the first time.”

What Nick Vujicic previously thought was a curse is now a potent blessing to people from all over the world. He was born without arms and legs, grew up being teased and bullied for his disability, and wallowed in despair on the things he cannot do.

With the help of his supportive parents, Nick came to accept his limitations and decided to dream big rather than sulk within the boundaries of his physique. At grade 7, he was elected captain of his school. He then went on to finish a double bachelor degree on accounting and financial planning before finally deciding to do what he love most, to share his story and inspire people from all walks of life.

Now at only age 28, Nick Vujicic moved from his home country Australia to the United States as head of an international non-profit organization and also owner of his motivational speaking company Attitude is Altitude which is based in California.

“You can look at the things that you don’t have, but you forget at the things you do have. It’s a lie to think that you are not good enough. The key to a good life is to be thankful for who you are, to dream big, and to never give up,” Nick often shares on his inspirational talks.

Nick’s story remind me a lot of the same struggles I had growing up. Born to poor but hardworking parents with 12 children, I spent my after-school afternoons selling mangoes, fish and rice cakes. In college, I was the only poor girl in a class of middle income and wealthy students. I survived on hand-me down clothes, worn-out shoes, and financial aid from sponsors while working as a part-time cleaner.

Despite all these, I remained thankful for the scholarship and made good use of it. My dream was to travel the world, have a loving and happy family, own a beautiful house, and never be in lack again. 30 years after, thanks to persistence and angels along my way, my life is way better than I ever imagined.

The choices we make, our perspective on things, our attitude towards the events and circumstances on our life determine whether we will live one that is good, great, or worst.

We can choose to either be thankful or gripe about our looks, appreciate or resent our current situation, make use or complain about our abilities or be inspired or get envious of what others have successfully accomplished. At the end of the day, the choices we make determines our level of success, our happiness, the life that we live.

Attitude does determine our altitude in life.

What do you choose today?

What do climbing a mountain and writing a book have in common? They are both not easy. And its the not-so-easy things that I just love to do.

To jumpstart my journey in writing a second book, a follow up to my first self-published best-selling book The Tale of Juliet, I took on the challenge of climbing the Grouse Grind - a 2.9 kilometer trail up the face of Grouse Mountain which is the highest peak in Vancouver, Canada.

With an elevation of 2,800 feet and an approximate 30 slope, Grouse Grind is not for the average hiker. Apart from the rugged and steep terrain, hikers will need to face off with 2,830 stairs!

It will take an average of an hour and a half to reach the top, but for new hikers, two hours or more is recommended. It is a trail that requires physical and mental preparation.

On a cloudy Wednesday morning, I arrived at the site at 6:30AM with a friend. Usually there are more hikers during summer, but because of the light rain, we only saw a few hikers.

At the base of the summit, we took a moment to visualize our goal of writing and publishing the book. My friend happened to be a children’s book illustrator and she will do the illustrations for the book.

“Write the book, draw the illustrations, publish the book, launch the book,” this was our mantra as we took our steps.

The first few steps were a breeze, but after 10 minutes, the weight of climbing up the steep terrain was already getting on our legs. 30 minutes after, we were already panting and  catching our breaths.

And what we thought was already a long and painstaking achievement was only…

The rugged terrain was getting harder and harder as we move closer to the summit. The light drizzle turned into a shower, making the trail slippery and requiring more caution from those that step on it.

“Write the book, draw the illustrations, publish the book, launch the book.”

“Write the book, draw the illustrations, publish the book, launch the book.”

It was our mantra that kept us going,  plus the sheer beauty of the trees and the fog that embraces it.  As some hikers were giving up, we went ahead and pressed on.

We then reached the half-mark, and then the three quarters. These markings were like medals to our feat, cheering all hikers that the summit is within reach.

Our water and granola bars were done. We can hear the gondola from afar, it was like music to our ears! The bright light from the summit is already cheering us on, waiving hello to us.

We knew it’s only a few minutes and we can reward our tired legs with a wonderful rest.

As we reach the summit and saw the peak of the chalet, we felt like olympic champions. Oh we were shouting with joy! “Yes, we did it!”

1 hour and 30 minutes, that was our time. We didn’t finish it like the pros who complete the trail in less than 40 minutes. But we were so happy! The climb itself means nothing is impossible to achieve.

And so the journey to Grouse Mountain by climbing it has ended. But its end is only the beginning. It is the bell that heralds the journey to writing my second book. It is like the torch light that signals the start of a 3-month book project.

So  please stay tuned as I post more on the development of my second book!

Have you ever done a physical challenge to jumpstart another chapter in your life?

Marathon for a career change, skydiving to love again?

Share it with me!