Whistling Uncle

One day, over a cup of coffee, my friend told me about his “Whistling Uncle”.
He clearly was very proud of him.
“My uncle was one of the happiest people on earth,” my friend said. “I call him my Whistling Uncle. Because wherever he went, he was whistling.”
“What did he do for a living?” I asked.
“My uncle was a public school teacher. But he was a gardener at heart. After his classes, he taught his students how to garden. For free.”
“Wow.”
“Uncle lived a simple life, riding his bicycle every morning to Mass, whistling a tune. He also biked to his small barrio schools, always humming. He lived a very healthy life too—eating mostly the vegetables he harvested. He also was very generous, going around, giving his crops to friends and neighbors.”
I said, “Didn’t he have any problems?”
My friend chuckled. “He did. His big problem was his wife!”
I laughed. “Hey, don’t say that about your Auntie.”
“Oh, it’s true. This is an open secret in our family. You see, my aunt came from an affluent family. She was a complicated person. And she was always irritable.”
“Yikes.”
“At early dawn, neighbors would hear her shout at her husband. But he’d respond by smiling and putting his arm around her shoulder, saying, “Are you through? Let’s make up now.”
“What a guy! Is your Uncle for real?” I chuckled.
“You bet. By the way, his ‘problem’ didn’t last very long. My Aunt died of a heart attack before the age of fifty.”
“Well, if she was irritable all the time, I guess her heart couldn’t carry the burden of her anger anymore. And may I ask how long did your Whistling Uncle live?” I asked.
“My Uncle died at one hundred years old.”
“Gosh, I need to whistle more!”

Do You Want To Be The Whistling Uncle
Or The Irritable Auntie?

The choice is really yours.
You can be the Whistling Uncle.
Or the Irritable Auntie.
The Bible says, Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time (Proverbs 17:22).
Make a decision today to live a happy life!

What’s The Best Prayer You Can Pray?

I meet a lot of spouses who pray, “Lord, please change my terrible husband” or “Please change my nagging wife.”
Some people say, “That’s wrong! You need to pray, ‘Lord, please help me change myself.’”
Yes, I agree that’s a better prayer.
But I’ve now come to realize that there’s even a better prayer to pray. Here is what I believe you need to pray: “Lord, please help me accept myself.”
I can hear you now. You’re saying, “Huh?”
You see, I’ve met a lot of Irritable Aunties in the past.
Root cause of their negative disposition: They don’t accept themselves.
They hate everyone because deep within them, they really haven’t accepted their own imperfections. Irritation, most of the time, is a self-projection. Thus, they can’t accept the imperfections of the people around them.
Unlike The Whistling Uncle.
He’s happy with himself.
He’s accepted, embraced, and loved himself.
To him, life is wonderful.
And every human being around him is wonderful too. Yes, even the irritable ones.
The Whistling Uncle is happy with life because he’s happy with himself.
Dear friend, learn from the Whistling Uncle.