Rebirth & Recovery

  If we want to be good people, then continue and be good people.  If we want to treat all fairly and live in peace and harmony, well we will continue to do so.  But we must be mindful of something all at the same time.  These lifestyle choices do not ensure or entitle us to the same in return.  If you help somebody cross the street, perhaps pay it forward at the Tim Hortons drive thru (something I love doing every so often) or are engaged with someone lending a ear to help, we must understand at the end of the day that none of these behaviours warrants someone to do the same for us.  We shouldn’t even be doing these so called good deeds if we have an expectation that they will come back for our own personal benefits. Humble states that the strongest don’t survive, the most adaptable do.  When life is viewed this way nothing is seen as an obstruction, but merely an obstacle to overcome.   “Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If yo...

  One way or the other, we all see the world in terms of ourselves.  Our interests and needs need to be met first, and that isn’t selfish.  “Selfish is when you don’t allow others to do their own thing and expect them to conform to what you want”.  You wouldn’t want people restricting how you get to live your life so simply don’t do it to others. Believe it or not, focusing on yourself is in reality one of the least selfish things you can do.  It allows you and me to be more empathetic to other people.  This mindset created is the “Imma do me, and you do you”. It’s time to stop trying to find the right person for yourself and focus on becoming that right person for yourself.  This is also an act of survival.  We can spend our whole lives trying to make other people happy and when it’s too late we will realize we have no life left for ourselves.  Try baby steps if you need to but make that time for yourself, remember, it’s okay to be selfish. ...

  “Your priorities are not revealed in your words, they are revealed in your actions, and your actions are revealed by your schedule”.  Tomorrow is not a promise, not even kind of so if fear is holding you back from doing what you want or need to be doing in your life just realize that fear isn’t going anywhere.  Any of us who have done something amazing has done it despite the fear. Life is simply way too short to be in any situation you don’t want to be in, and it feels and will continue to feel even shorter when you’re with people you don’t want to be around.  None of us have erasers to undo our past, but what we do have is fresh pages to write a new chapter.  Try a little daily to escape your comfort zone, it may take time and feel like a struggle at times, but I can guarantee you that you will come out on the other end as a better person and in turn have a better life.  Take those risks you keep holding back on, you’re worth it.  Let your actions ...

  Humble states that loving someone can sometimes feel like you’re pouring everything into a bottomless pit.  Wouldn’t we give anything to hear some sort of splash at the end just to feel our efforts and energy are good enough.  Yes, we can indeed try harder and maybe we’re not doing enough, maybe we’re not good enough or maybe, just maybe: “you’re loving the wrong person”.  We all have love in us to share but at the end of the day the first person on the top of our list should always be YOURSELF .  Apparently if we don’t love ourselves then we have no business seeking love from others.  Humble goes on to state that other people will exploit our need for love and affection for their own benefit, so don’t hold that against them, just stay away from them. In the great words of Bob Marley in the song Could You Be Loved , “ We've got a mind of our own, s o go to hell if what you thinkin' is not right, l ove would never leave us alone, a h in the darkness, there...

  Apparently the less we give a damn, the happier we’ll be.  We will be able to create a life that not only feels good on the inside, it will be one that doesn’t simply look good from the outside.  We will never be able to see other peoples struggles, pains or pressures, what we will see is the front they put on just like we do.  We all have them, we will continue to have them, so trying to evaluate our own personal life in comparison to others will simply leave us feeling more and more depressed. “When we focus on creating happiness from the outside in, we’ll continue to fail because we’re using other people’s measures of success, and pretending they’re our own”.  If wearing faded torn joggers with a childhood hoody makes you feel like a million bucks just remember that how you and I feel is more important than how we look, and the best thing we can wear and continue to wear is our confidence and happiness. Let’s not care what others think until we have honestl...

  All of us have a moment of regret that we have encountered throughout our life.  Some event that we wish we could just turn back the hands of time and simply eliminate from our existence.  You may even find yourself daydreaming at times of what life may have been like had we not have made that mistake.  Humble states that it times to “snap out of that shit”.   None of us can predict the future, not even in our imagination.  “When we’re not happy with our present, we can start wishing away our future, by focusing on the past, or…we can do something about it NOW”.  Regret is something we all hold and the reality is it will continue to be that way unless we can learn to learn from our mistakes of the past, thank them from occurring and gently push them out the window.  For all it is doing for us is weighing us down. Let’s all understand our past and not waste anymore time judging it.  Let’s all understand present and not waste anymore time jud...

  Humble states that relationships can be a deathtrap for dependencies, and he’s not just referring to romantic relationships but to professional, friends, creative, and family ones as well.  We must watch out and be extra cautious for developing dependencies in our relationships.  As soon as we put the key to happiness in someone else’s pocket well we’re now at their mercy.  Let’s all remember that the most important relationship you have is with yourself.  Putting the responsibility of our smiles on anyone else will often lead to the opposite, and we have no one else to blame in the end but ourself. Dependencies aren’t healthy, whether it is to a substance, idea or another human being.  Wanting less at the end of the day will lead to having more.  I know vices are not easy to just give up as well, I’ve used ones that help me in the clutch but at the end of day I know they are an unhealthy way to cope.  Let’s all be motivated to be in a position ...

  “Let’s have strawberry shortcake to celebrate another day on Earth.”  When the cake arrives the lady asks the waitress, “Did you remember to take out the calories?”  We must learn and start to paint the world we want to see.  Do you want a world with ten shades of grey, or black and white?  Well the reality is it will all be about how you choose to paint your picture.  It wont matter if at the end of the day if your view of the world is that it is nothing but shit.  Humble says “simply put, if you think life sucks, life will suck; and you’ll ignore your full fridge, running water, access to internet, and ability to have leisure time to even contemplate how much life sucks”.   Be honest, do you focus on the people that love you, or the ones that won’t return your calls?  Do you share your problems or your joys with people?  I’m not going to sit here and even begin to pretend that I am someone who I am not, and yes, I have spent most my ...

  Like me, do you have a fear of failure?  What about disappointment?  Embarrassment?  What about when it comes to the fear of loss, fear of change or even the fear of truth?  Humble states that these fears are technically considered phobias because they’re irrational, and don’t even actually involve danger.  I don’t know about you but if this is indeed the case then I need to start a journal for all my so called “phobias”.  When we experience feelings of uneasiness or just hesitancy, let’s ask ourself “what are you afraid of?”  Humble goes on to state that answering this question will clarify who you are, and it’s the first step to overcoming our fears.   “No one is fearless, but the bravest people are those most in tune with their fears and phobias, and have decided not to let those get in the way of their happiness”.  We must have a conversation with ourselves to discover these fears, as this will only be the first step to conquering...

  So why does the picture in our head never match what is in front of us?  We feel unhappy because we don’t have what we want, or we aren’t where we expected to be.  Why do we get into this vicious cycle of comparing ourselves to others or even a former version of our own selves?  Remember always that how you wanted something is never set in stone.  You and I will both overcome the obstacles and hurdles that are set in front of us.  Wanting less will definitely get us both closer to the happiness we seek.  Humble states that “expectations are a bigger enemy to our happiness than our circumstances; the less expectations we have, the better off we are”.  Let’s also always remember that everlasting happiness is a concept that is typically only promised by preachers, gurus and infomercials.  I’m trying not to only learn but to daily practice the fact that the less things anger me, the more things will excite me.  The less things that make me...

  Write down five things in your life that you’re grateful for?   Humble states that happiness is a mindset and that we should set our mind to happiness by thinking of happy shit.  Easier said than done I would say, yes we can think of the happy times and try to focus on only those thoughts but lets be real here, if we were happy all the time, would we even know what happiness was anymore?  Be comfortable with your variety of emotions, they will teach You and Me something new on a regular basis.  Humble goes on to state that “we hide the darkness with our smiles, feel lonely in crowded rooms, and become so accustomed to these feelings that we begin to believe they’re apart of who we are”.  Let that sink in for a moment, even read it over and even one more time.  Well let me tell you something from my own personal journey, they’re not.  I wouldn’t be the same person if I let them go, in fact I’m better and will continue to be better.  I’ve lea...

 There aren’t many straight lines in nature, and that includes your life Humble states.  Absolutely bang on, unless anyone can honestly tell me that there personal life has been a straight line, straight road.  Highly unlikely due to the fact that all the roads we will travel will definelty have curves and bends.  Even more so, some of these roads will come with forks in them, where we will need to make a decision to go one way over the other, usually not a easy feat.  How have your lines and roads been?  Apparently we gain more from letting go there’s nothing mystical and secretive about this idea Humble goes on to state.  No matter the shape of our lives and journey, lets do our best to make the trip more enjoyable.  Let’s discuss our lines, roads and journeys with each other, I am certain we will find a lot of similarities very quickly.  Are you with Me?

Dear Mr. Harvey, My name is Alok Malhotra and I am employed with Desjardins who is a Top 3 insurance company in Canada based on market share. I recently gradually returned back to work after suffering a traumatic injury which caused me to be on sick leave for almost 6 months. You’re probably wondering what this has to do with you so let me explain. You see, I returned after the New Year to a new company mantra and philosophy goal entitled “Become You”. Our individual goal for this year is to become the best version of ourself. We each will strive to get out of our comfort zone. No risk no reward. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fortune favours the bold. The biggest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one are all some of the takeaways from a recent presentation I watched. But the one that is most engrained in my mind is “get comfortable being uncomfortable” and that is where you come in. I saw a clip of the day you were going to quit. You were at your breaking point, li...

  Dear Mr.   Dwayne   “The Rock”   Johnson ,   My name is Alok Malhotra and I am employed with Desjardins who is a Top 3 insurance company in Canada based on current market share.  I recently gradually returned back to work after suffering a traumatic injury which caused me to be on sick leave for almost 6 months.  You’re probably wondering what this has to do with you so let me explain.  You see, I returned after the New Year to a new company mantra and philosophy goal entitled   “Become You” .  Our individual goal for this year is to become the best version of ourself.  We each will strive to get out of our comfort zone.  No risk no reward.  Don’t be afraid to fail.  Fortune favours the bold.  The biggest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one are all some of the takeaways from a recent presentation I watched.  But I couldn’t help myself constantly coming back to a personal area of improvement I’...

  Now back in Niagara Region, bed ridden and slowly becoming one of the worlds best insomniacs, all thanks to the bruised right rib cage and nasty jaw and temple pain, I lay there contemplating my future life.  I cant even open my mouth wide enough to fit any sort of solid food and just have that “gut” feeling that something is still not right.  One thing I’ve learned is to always trust that gut of yours, coupled by my love of Malcom Gladwell’s novel “Blink” so please give it a chance.  Fast forward to numerous dentist visits, panoramic x-rays, more jaw CT Scans and I now find out that I have not one, but three breaks in my jaw.  One is in the centre of my chin, while the other two are in the left TMJ joint and all I can think is, why was this not detected and confirmed while I was in the hospital?  I’m a born Canadian, but still suspect to mediocre health care that I’m not gonna lie sometimes seems very third world.  My life flashes before my eyes and...

  It’s August 7th, 2021 and another busy schedule is on deck.  The day begins with a neighbourhood yard sale.  Though not to my success liking, it gives me the chance to speak to different people, face-to-face, something I love to do.  I possess a social personality, I yield satisfaction from interacting with other people, and, many times, physical closeness as well.  Turns out social people not only enjoy people but they tend to like to be helpful as well.  This I-STYLE personality should have my picture next to the dictionary definition, just saying.  So my day didn’t stop there, next on deck was a trip to Brampton to visit a mutual friend who just brought a beautiful princess into the world followed by a house warming gathering, which I’m not gonna lie seemed like a boring drag but allowed me to be refreshed within the backyard pool.  My last stop was to visit yet another friend who sadly just lost his father.  There was no way I would be ...

  My goal here is to encourage and inspire you through the trials and tribulations of my own life’s journey. They say men are typically socialized to be stoic, rational and are expected to be strong and proud in all aspects of life.  So what happens when that may have been true at one point of your life but today is not the case.  I am seeking transformation, hope, a new beginning, change, comfort, positivity and essentially a new life.   They say the wings of transformation are born of patience and struggle.  Apparently the caterpillar never feared change as it knew to fly, it was the only way.  I am here, moving ahead bravely despite everything that went wrong.  If nothing ever changed, there would be no such things as butterflies, nor Alok.  If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.  How will I know I can fly if I never spread my wings.  I want to feel how wonderful it feels to fly. Wan’t to know something?  We...