You hear a lot about happiness these days.

You have to be happy 24/7. You have to only do the shit you love. You have to wake up everyday and jump out of bed, because if not, you’re broken.

While I certainly wish that were the case, the fact of the matter is, it’s unrealistic. We can’t always be happy, we can’t always do the stuff we love, we can’t always wake up every day feeling like we can take on the world. Yes I used the C word. That’s not negativity that’s life.

Before you label me as a sadistic monster who enjoys to see people in pain let me explain.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to be happy, we all too often make that our main objective in life. And In our quest for bliss and contentment we fail to embrace the beauty of suffering.

Today’s post isn’t about being happy. Instead it is about finding beauty when all hope is lost. Today’s post is about the beauty of suffering.

The Importance of Suffering:

The words pain and suffering have a relatively negative connotation. You hear the word pain and you immediately get set to run. But the truth of the matter is, without them we wouldn’t know what it is like to be happy and content.

Suffering is inevitable. The sooner you accept that pain, death, and sadness are felt by every human to ever walk the earth, the better your life will be.

I’m not suggesting you purposefully find ways to be miserable. Instead, I’m inviting you to use pain to encourage you to be thankful for the blessings you have. Sorrow is natures greatest reminder.

While pain and suffering aren’t comfortable; they aren’t the bad guys we make them out to be. With each moment of misery comes the opportunity for love and compassion.

I know what it’s like to feel empty on the inside. When I witnessed my best friend pass away I suffered for a long time. The more I resisted the pain that the event caused, the deeper my wounds grew. It wasn’t until I saw the beauty in my own suffering that I began to be grateful for the life that I had.

Instead of running away from pain and suffering, embrace it for what it is. Misery deepens your threshold for bliss.

Breaking up sucks, but when you do find a relationship that works it makes it that much better.

Losing a friend is one of the worst feelings in the world, but it also reminds you to appreciate the moments you currently have with the ones you love.

Getting fired and not being able to provide for your family can make your world come crashing down, but the rise to the top will be that much greater.

The funny thing is, when you accept suffering the meaning behind the word changes entirely. Suffering is no longer a punishment but rather a guardian of truth, a lesson to be learned.

The Beauty of Suffering:

The majority of the world suffers on a regular basis. Many deal with wars, drugs, poverty and inner demons.

At first glance it may seem like there is nothing you can do, but with suffering comes the opportunity for you to make a difference. With suffering comes the ability to rise above. With suffering comes the chance for you express the loving person you are. Don’t run away from your pain, fears, and heartache. Embrace them.

For every person  suffering, there is a moment of love and compassion. For every person hurt, there is a time of healing. For every dark alley, there is a beacon of light. This is the balance of life.

The beauty of suffering lies in your ability to do something about it.

Post from: A Boundless World

The Beauty of Suffering

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I apologize for the delay in posting the review. I originally had planned do a recap after each day (it was a three day conference), however after finding out the hotel charges 15 dollars a day for internet, I decided against it. This worked out well because the conference was packed with information so waiting has given me a week or so to completely digest the experience.

Why did I attend?

I’ve received a few email’s asking why I decided to attend. I’ve been a big fan of Steve’s blog for a while now, reading him on and off for the past 2 years. I found his website soon after the death of my friend and it gave me plenty to contemplate while helping me cope with my loss. I also resonated with his idea of oneness and how we are really all one. His article The Meaning of Life really got me thinking. Because I’ve liked much of what he writes about I decided I’d make the trip to Vegas to hear his principles in person. I had originally planned to attend the first CGW but I unfortunately would then miss a bunch of class. Lucky for me, the second workshop was scheduled just a few days before I had to go back to school, so I figured it was meant to be.

Before The Conference:

The conference began on Friday morning but I flew into Vegas Thursday night. My cousin who lives in San Francisco decided to come to Vegas to hang out with me for the weekend which turned out to be a lot of fun. Although she didn’t go to the conference, we explored some Vegas shows together at night ( I loved the Lion King). When I arrived Thursday night I spent some time just walking up and down the strip taking in the scenes of Vegas. I also stopped in on the meet up at a local cafe which I found to be very cool. The energy of everyone was extremely upbeat. It was also nice to meet several of the attendee’s who I had already spoken to via Twitter of Facebook.

Day 1

Going in to Day 1 I was somewhat nervous. Out of the 100 or so attende’s I was one of the youngest ( There was also another attendee who was also 18 but for the most part everyone was in their late 20′s or early 30′s.) It was definitely interesting to see the wide range of people who attended. To name a few groups, there were raw foodists, entrepreneurs, and people interested in physic development. There was also plenty of diversity in terms of spiritual beliefs of the group which I found to be refreshing and thought provoking.

During Day 1 Steve gave an in-depth overview of the 7 principles in his book. For anyone who has ever read the books these principles should be fairly familiar. For those have not yet read the book I’ll give a brief summary of the principles.

Love: Love extends further than just being an emotion. Having love in your life means being able to connect and communicate effectively as well as being open to making new and lasting relationships. Those who lack love surround themselves with people who bring them down  rather than help them be the person they know they are meant to be. If you are in alignment with love your social circle is a source of energy rather than a place

Truth: Truth is being willing to admit and accept your current situation as is.  Are you happy with your job? Your relationship? Truth means accepting your reality even if you’re not happy with it. The idea behind truth is you can’t move on unless you’re willing to accept what is. Turning your back on truth means inviting false hood and denial. You have to be able to recognize where you really are before you can get to where you want to be.

Power: Do you have the ability to create the reality you desire? Power means being able to consciously and deliberately create the world around you. Are you living the life you want? Or do you allow your relationships  and circumstances dicate how you live? Power involves courage and taking action to bring you closer to your goals.

As shown in the photo, the three principles also go on to create other sub principles.  They are courage, authority, and oneness.

Courage: Courage is created from combining the principles of Love and Power. Simply put, courage is taking risks. Courage is about facing your fears head on rather than running from them.

Authority: Authority is created from combining Power and Truth. Authority is the perfect combination of action and knowledge. Too much action with out knowledge will only lead you in circles, whereas too much knowledge without action is only setting yourself up for routine failure.

Oneness: Oneness is the result of both Truth and Love. The idea of oneness states that we are only part of an entire whole. Oneness means contributing to humanity rather than simply living from a  moocher mindset. The idea of oneness states that the more you help others the more help you receive in return.

All 6 of the principles add up to create the 7th principle Intelligence. Are you living an intelligent life? Assuming your daily life is congruent with truth, love, and power it’s safe to say you’re living an intelligent life.

Overall I found Day 1 to be very helpful. While I didn’t learn anything new per se it was nice hearing Steve talk about his principles in person. I also found the various exercises we did throughout the day to be very valuable, especially the exercises that required us to step out of our comfort zone ( dancing on stage during break for example.)

Day 2 and Day 3

While day 1 was an overview of the principles Day’s 2 and 3 took a more in depth look at the principles and how they apply to our everyday lives. On day 2 we talked about career and finances as well as habits and during day 3 we covered relationships, skill building, and health. Going into each of these areas in depth was extremely helpful for it gave one a more complete picture of how the principles relate to our lives. During each section Steve gave us time to contemplate where we currently stood in each area and allowed for us to write down ways for us to improve. Doing this greatly enhanced my clarity in terms of where I was and where I wanted to be.

Throughout the workshop Steve used the analogy of Planet A and Planet B. Planet A is where you are right now, and planet B is where you want to be. In order to reach planet B you must first accept that you are actually on Planet A, doing so requires Truth. Also to get from Planet A to Planet B you must surrond yourself with people who will help love and nurture you thus the principle of Love. When you surrond yourself with people who inspire you it allows for you to give more back to humanity. Being stuck on your planet A isn’t going to do anyone any good. Getting from Planet A to Planet B also requires power. Can you take action to where you will reach where you want to go? Will you show courage and take risks? I found the Planet A and Planet B analogy to be very beneficial in terms of getting clear on where I want to be.

Social Connections

By far the greatest aspect of the conference was the networking I was able to do. The energy of the group was just amazing. I grew  a tremendous amount by just going around the room and introducing myself. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated at first,  but as the workshop went on I found myself more and more comfortable. The group was incredibly accepting and supportive as was shown when individuals shared their hearts on the stage. I was amazed at the amount of hugs given out.

Out of the 100 or so attendee’s I expect to stay in good contact with at least a quarter of the group. I throughly enjoyed meeting everyone and hearing their own story. During the conference I also had several people come up to me to tell me that they read my blog, which just amazed me. While I love receiving emails from my readers it was neat to just connect with a few of my readers in person. I even had one person compliment me on the work I did on Reality Switch (an e-book I coauthored with Glen Allsop.) I’d like to say that was the highlight of my trip.

Having the opportunity to meet so many remarkable people reminded me  how  amazing relationships can be. Far too often we under estimate how important our relationships really are. I even recived several hugs from KB and Crystal Silver.

Transformations

Unlike some of the other attendees, I didn’t have any major breakthroughs during the conference, however the workshop did give me a little kick in the rear to get going. Heading into the workshop I had a reasonable idea of where I wanted to go with my life so my attending simply reaffirmed what I already knew.There are a few things that I know I need to work on especially in the area of relationships and health but nothing substantial.  Being around so many amazing people definitely raised my energy levels so for that I’m extremely grateful.  It’s still far to early for me to say any of any long term impact of attending the conference but I’m definitely  glad I went. The workshop did make me realize how important it is to surrond yourself with people who are going to help you reach your goals and give more back to humanity.

Las Vegas

This was my first time in Vegas and I can definitely see myself going back, but probably not until I turn 21. I’m a big fan of blackjack so I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to play (being that I’m 18.) Although I was able to sneak in a few dollars on the slots.

While there I stayed at the MGM Grand one of the few hotels that allows 18 year olds to check in. They hotel was on the opposite side of the Flamingo so each morning I had a bit of a walk which I didn’t mind one bit. I really enjoyed the walks up and down strip as I spent most of the time people watching.

While in Vegas I also went to see the Lion King with my cousin which was an absolutely AMAZING show. If you ever make it out to Vegas I highly recommend seeing it. The food in Vegas was a bit step but everything else was top notch.

My stay in Vegas was a good one (Coming home from the airport not so much.)

Overview: Should You Attend?

For 500 dollars (as well as airfare and hotel) the trip to Vegas can be a bit costly, however I found the experience to be well worth the price. The opportunity to meet so many amazing people as well as meet Steve in person is just too good to pass up. The conference was surprisingly non controversial unlike many of Steve’s blog posts. Not once did I feel as if I was being pressured into a certain belief system.  If you got anything out of his book I’m almost certain you would benefit from attending to the workshop. If you have any more specific questions feel free to throw me an email.

Final Verdict: It can’t get much better than spending an entire weekend with loads of people who love personal growth.

Post from: A Boundless World

Conscious Growth Workshop and Las Vegas Review

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I’ve received quite a few emails asking where I have been over the last couple of weeks so I’d like to take a moment to update everyone. I appreciate those who have contacted me over the past few weeks but I ask to please be patient while waiting for a reply, I promise you’ll get one.

I originally intended to do some major blogging work while traveling, but as you’ll find out in my upcoming post on expectations, things don’t always go according to plan. I fully expect to be on a regular schedule no later than January 19th as that is what I begin university again.

As far as my traveling is concerned, my two big trips are done with. I was Shanghai in from December 17th to the 30th and Brazil from the 31st of December until January 10th. With my international travels are complete, I’ll be heading to Las Vegas to complete the tri fecta of trips and attend the Concious Growth Workshop this weekend. I’m really excited to connect with other growth oriented individuals.

I’ll be breaking my travels down into further detail over the next few weeks as the past month has provided me with an abundance of growth opportunities. One month ago seems like ages to me, and if that’s any indication for what the future has in store I’m in for an exciting 2010.

NOTE: One thing I quickly learned is that buying a digital camera might be a good idea. For the past month I mostly mooched off my friends camera’s while traveling, so as soon as I get those pictures I’ll be sure to post them. I’d love to hear any recommendations for a solid digital camera.

I hope you have had a wonderful start to the new year and I look forward to whats in store!

Post from: A Boundless World

Travel Update

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A few people have asked me what I intend to do over the holidays. Being a college student, I get a very generous month off for vacation, something I’m looking very forward to. The next thirty days or so will be jam packed with traveling. First, I’ll be heading to Shanghai China, next to Brazil, then Las Vegas, and finally back home to Columbia Missouri. Whew!

Despite my busy schedule for the next month, I fully intend to keep up to par with A Boundless World. So if you feel I’m slacking, feel free to throw me and email and  kick my butt into gear In all seriousness, expect to see more life changing articles in the upcoming weeks as well as a few surprises along the way. You’ll just have to stay tuned.

First Stop Shanghai

On Friday, I’ll be boarding a plane to Shanghai, China. As I’ve mentioned before, my family still lives in Shanghai and this will be the first time I’ve seen my entire family all at once since I started college in August. I’ve been looking forward to returning home for a very long time.

Both my mom and dad have been in town since I’ve started school, but I have yet to see my brother and sister. Having been away from them for a good four months has really made me appreciate them more and I intend to take advantage of every moment I can to spend some quality time with them.

I’m also looking forward to seeing a few of my friends who will also be returning home to Shanghai for the holidays. Having gone to an international school for high school many of my friends dispersed to cities all over the world. I’m looking forward to catching up with some of my high school friends.

Brazil

After being in Shanghai for about 10 days, I’ll be taking a flight to Brazil celebrate New Years ( Can you say beach anyone? ) While there, I’ll be staying with a very good friend of mine who’s from Brazil. While it would be accurate to say she is my ex-girlfriend I prefer to drop the labels within the confines of our relationship. To this day we remain very close friends and I’m excited to spend a good week with her. She has taught me a lot about life and I am very appreciative of her.

This will also be my first time in Brazil so I’m looking forward to seeing the country and embracing the culture. I plan to explore the city and take many long walks throughout the countryside. While I know parts of Brazil can be dangerous, I’ll be taking measures to remain safe.

I fully anticipate my trip to Brazil to be rewarding in many ways, and I’m looking forward to spending time with my friend. I plan to take many pictures which I will be sure to post.

Conscious Growth Workshop

My last stop for my holiday travels will be in Las Vegas. To which you might ask “ You’re only 18 why are you going to Las Vegas?”

The truth is, I won’t be going to Vegas to party or gamble, but rather to attend Steve Pavlina’s Conscious Growth Workshop. For the past few years I’ve been inspired by Steve and so I wanted to take full advantage of his workshop. I also plan on going to a few shows at night with my cousin who is meeting me in Vegas.

Not only am I excited to be meeting Steve and partaking in his course, I’m also looking forward to networking with many conscious-growth-oriented individuals. With the workshop being nearly a month away, I’ve already connected with a few of the attendees. I truly believe the workshop will help push me over the edge and make 2010 one of my most memorable years yet.

Holiday Travels

Although I’ll be very busy for the next month,  I know the next 30 days will provide me many growth opportunities. I feel very blessed for being able to do all the travel I’m doing as well as spend time with the family and friends that I love.

Remember to share your love and kindness to all those who need it during this holiday season.

What are you doing for the holidays? Please share in the comments below.

Post from: A Boundless World

My Holiday Plans

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I realize I’m cutting it awfully close with this post, as Blog Action Day is slowly coming to a close, however giving blood tonight took a bit longer than I anticipated.

This is my second year of participating in Blog Action Day and I have to admit I love the concept. With technology as powerful as it is now there is no reason why we can’t leverage blogs to create MASSIVE change. That being said this year’s topic is Climate Change and I hope to tackle the topic from a fresh perspective.

Develop Awareness:

While many climate change activists use fear based methods to create change, I personally find it more effective to develop true awareness rather than scare someone into action. I think any reasonable human being will admit, quite freely, that our environment and climate are of great importance. And I also believe that any reasonable human being would acknowledge that our actions large and small, have a large impact on our planet.

If we wish to create any lasting change (change that is beneficial to our environment) it is essential that we develop awareness of our surroundings. Only after we develop awareness can we truly restore our planet back to the the beauty it needs to be.

In order to develop awareness try asking yourself these three questions:

Three Questions

“Do I need this?”

One of the largest reasons our planet is destructing like it is, is because we live in a world of consuming. We equate happiness to stuff.  Following that  model, we buy more stuff. This way of  “happiness” depletes resources from our planet faster than you can say “Climate Change.”

Using less resources  is something I’ve been personally working on, and I find the journey incredibly empowering. The past few months I’ve been making a conscious effort to live my life as simple as possible. And guess what? I’ve been happier than ever.

Asking yourself “Do I need this?” is without a doubt one of the best ways you can help the environment.  Buying less not only contributes less to the destruction of the planet but also enables you to appreciate all that you already have.

To clarify,  by no means am I perfect in this regard. I have just as much work to do as the next person but I’m doing my best to create lasting change.

“What will the future look like?”

It is my belief that as global citizens of the world,  we are obligated to create a world that is not only beneficial to ourselves but future inhabitants as well. It’s very easy to get caught up in the “I’ll be dead by then” mentality and succumb to the instant gratification at the cost of the destruction of our planet. However, any truly conscious person knows that the easy way out is usually not the best course of action.

Taking time to reflect on what the future may hold is a powerful motivator to take action. Can your conscience  handle that your children might live in a world that is almost inhabitable? Imagine the type of world that your current actions are creating.  Is it one of love and abundance?  Or is it filled with scarcity because of your selfish needs? Too often we underestimate the power we possess.

“How can I live more simply?

Living simply creates less pollution. Living simply creates less clutter. Living simply creates less stress. Notice the minimalism rage? It’s we are finally catching on to how porweful it really is.  The benefits of a simplistic life are extraordinary.

The answers to our climate woes  lie in our ability to simplify. A life of simplicity creates rather than destroys. Take pleasure in the the beauty of life. Realize that we are incredibly blessed to be alive in the time we are now. Open your eyes and immerse yourself into the world.

We have the power:

Believe it or not we have the power. We have the power to create a beautiful world in which abundance covers every inch of the earth. We can end poverty. We can stop the destruction of our planet.

We have the power to respect and nourish the nature that created us. We have the power to give more than we receive.  We have the power to save our planet from becoming inhabitable and instead allow its real beauty to shine.

Acknowledging the fact that we have the power to literally alter the course of humanity is a strong truth to accept, yet it doesn’t make it any less true.

We have the power, the question is: Will we take action?

Post from: A Boundless World

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Just wanted to give a  quick update on what I’ve been up to the past few days. My two friends have been here about a week now so we’ve spent a good amount of time exploring the city of Shangahai. Yesterday I took them to the Shanghai World Financial Center, the world’s tallest observatory. It’s been great catching up with them as I haven’t seem them in a year.

So far my friends seem to be really enjoying Shanghai. I’m sure it’s been a large cultural shock for them as well, as neither of them had  yet  traveled outside the United States (aside from Mexico) up until now.

Starting tonight we begin a 5 day journey through various provinces in China. We will be taking trains to most of the places and it should be a great time. The train to Beijing is a good 10 hours and the train home from Xi’an is 18, so my friends and I will have plenty of time to have some heated discussions

I will be gone from Thursday to Tuesday and it is unlikely I will have internet for the duration of my trip. Therefore,  I won’t be able to post or respond to any emails or comments. Although I will spend some time crafting some posts on the train so expect some killer posts when I return.

I was hoping to get a post set up that would auto post when I was gone, but I unfortunately didn’t have enough time.

I will be traveling with my dad and two friends. Although I’ve lived in Shanghai for two years I have yet to go to Beijing and the other major Chinese cities so it will be a first for both my friends and I. I will be seeing the Great Wall, Beijing, as well as the Terracotta soliders in Xi’an. I’ll post a review of the trip when I return.

Post from: A Boundless World

Trip to Beijing and Xi’an

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First lets take care of some business shall we?

New Theme:

If you haven’t noticed ( you’d be crazy if you haven’t), my blog has been completely redesigned.  The design was done by David Wright (better known as Blogger Dad.) He also runs the blog I Draw Comics as well as coauthors the blog Collective Inkwell. Not only does the design look professional but it’s simplicity stands out and fits my blog perfectly. I can honestly say he is Thesis master.

David specializes in Thesis design, so if you’re looking for a wonderful custom Thesis design, I can happily recommend him. You can contact him here.

This design is here to stay and I couldn’t be happier with the way it looks. If you’re reading this, thanks again David it was a pleasure working with you.

Graduation:

Now for something even more important:

As of last Thursday, I officially entered the transition between being a senior in high school and a freshman in college. I will be attending Mizzou this fall.

Aside from the many goodbyes I’ve had to say over the past few days, I couldn’t be happier. Graduation was sweet

Summer Plans:

I expect my summer to be very busy.  Starting the 20th my friend from Texas will be visiting followed by another buddy of mine on the 26th. The three of us are like brothers so I’m excited to see them. It’s the first time either of them have been out of the country (USA), so it will be interesting to see how they react to the wonderful city of Shanghai.

Not only are my two friends visiting, my summer to do list is almost over flowing. I have a bunch of projects I wish to start, as well as about two dozen books I wish to read. Because I’ll be doing a lot of reading, you can expect I will have a lot of material to contemplate and reflect on , which means more blog posts! I also plan on setting a week or two aside, to finally go through my photoreading course.

Because one of my buddies also likes to meditate, we might also take a quick trip into the Chinese mountains. It should be fun.

Although I’ve been in Shanghai for two years, I have yet to visit Beijing so that’s definitely something me and my friends will do. If time permits we might also take a quick trip to Hong Kong. I expect to be doing a lot of traveling,  so that means a lot of pictures.

My friends will be staying with me until July 9th so we will have plenty of time for some fun.

The Future of A Boundless World:

Although I’ll be busy traveling with my friends, you can still expect to see two or three posts a week. And if you find me slacking off I expect to see some emails holding me accountable. I take this blog very seriously.

Over the next few months I plan on writing  an e-book, one that I know my loyal fans will love. Pull out your credit card and toss it aside because this beauty won’t cost a thing.

I’m super excited to be bringing you such a powerful e-book  that I know will be of tremendous benefit too you. As I’m of right  now it’s still in the planning stages but If you have any suggestions for topics you’d like to see covered in the e-book, just head over to the contact page and let me know.

As of right  now it looks like the title will be :

A Boundless World
Consciously Creating
The Life of Your Dreams

I will be putting a lot of time and effort into the making of this free e-book over the next few months and I know you will find it valuable. Many e-book’s today are drowned in hype and filler, but I can safely say my e-book will not be fluff free.

Not only am I working on the e-book, I also expect to be doing a few interviews with some top notch personal development bloggers to give you a more complete perspective of the topics this blog discusses. If you would like to be interviewed for A Boundless World just send me an email through the contact page.

Over the next few months I also plan on ramping up my guest posts to get my name and my blog out into the bloggersphere. The infancy stage of this  blog is no more. If you would like me to contribute a guest post or interview send me an email.  Provided your blog has more than a handful of readers I’m likely to comply.

Although  I won’t be on the computer as much as I normally am,  I will still read your comments and respond to your emails daily.

Because the conversations with my friends tend to be highly philosophical, expect my posts to follow suit.  If you’ve thought my past posts were deep, you haven’t seen anything yet. I hope you don’t get offended very easily because my purpose is to help you grow.

I also plan to begin monetizing this blog in the near future, but I’ll leave those details for another post.

Just thought I’d keep you guys in the loop with what’s going on. I’m really excited about seeing this site bloom to it’s full potential.  I can honestly say, it’s only the beginning. After all we do live in A Boundless World

Post from: A Boundless World

Summer Ramblings

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Living in Shanghai has offered many wonderful benefits especially the opportunity to travel. One of my more memorable trips was a trip to Inner Mongolia.

Inner Mongolia proved to be a relief from society. No tall buildings. No loud noise from daily construction. No computer. Just nature and myself. A perfect opportunity to soul search.

The plains were especially gorgeous for I was visiting during the fall. For miles, all you could see was grass and multicolored trees.  It was peaceful and soothing. Looking out on the beautiful plains of Inner Mongolia, I remember thinking how lucky I was to be alive.

The trip was fairly relaxed which allowed for some quality time between my classmates and myself, which I enjoyed immensely. I’ve always savored quality moments with my friends, for authentic relationships are especially important to me.

While on one of our daily hikes our guide said, “ Your foot prints will most likely be here for the next few years,” the thought of my footprints remaining somewhere for several years just fascinated me. For a brief moment the enormous world became small.

Footprints. Footprints. They soon came to symbolize much more. I began contemplating my contribution to humanity. I knew I was leaving footprints each and everyday both figuratively and literally, but were they doing any good?  For the remainder of the hike only one thought consumed my mind. Were my footprints providing any real value to the world?

From an environmental standpoint our footprints have incredible power. It has become increasingly clear that our everyday choices have a tremendous impact on our planet. But the power of our footprints don’t end there. The way in which we go about  our daily lives affects more than just the environment. Are you using your gifts to benefit humanity each and everyday?

Too often we get caught up in believing that because we are only one person out of nearly six billion our actions don’t matter. But the truth is, they do. Regardless of how we choose to live our lives our actions directly affect the progress of humanity. Our footprints good or bad are still felt. We may just be one person but we are one person that forms a whole, a whole in which has the potential to alter the world.

No longer may we simply exist. The time has come for us to accept our true self and finally begin to live. What we do today will be felt for generations to come.

Are your footprints just going to be washed away once you’re gone? Or will your footprints aid the growth of humanity? Your footprints have tremendous power. Which path will you take?

Post from: A Boundless World

Footprints

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Having now lived in Shanghai for nearly two years, I would like to share with you some of the benefits in which I have reaped.

Cultural Awareness:

I’m going to be perfectly honest, prior to living in Shanghai my knowledge of countries outside the United States (and even that was suspect) was quite simply embarrassing. The fact that I was oblivious to my lack of knowledge only makes things worse. Living in Shanghai has significantly increased my understanding of the world around me. I now find myself thoroughly interested in international affairs. I find it troubling so many individuals continue to be ignorant of the world around them. I believe it is imperative we must strive to learn not just about our own country but others as well. Many societies today tend to be particularly close minded a trend in which we must begin to change.

Never again will I look at the world  from such a limiting perspective. Being immersed in various cultures from around the world has greatly accelerated my cultural awareness. I make a great effort to continually further my knowledge in this area. I now view the world from a variety of different perspectives.

Living in Shanghai  has also provided me the wonderful opportunity to learn Chinese. While I have not been putting as much effort into this as I would like , I have found it fascinating to communicate in a different language. I love chatting with taxi drivers and random people on the subway. My conversations are still relatively basic, but fun nonetheless. I have found  Chinese  people to be particularly friendly.

I am forever changed in regards to how I view the world and now consider myself a  Global Patriot.

( If by chance you are thinking about moving to Shanghai I whole heartily recommend it. )

Service:

My years in  Shanghai have been incredibly rich in service opportunities. Whether it be the 30 Hour Famine or the Rice Bowl Dinner or installing running water in a local Chinese village. I have been blessed with numerous outlets in which I have been able to give. No matter where you are service opportunities are out there. The question is, can you find them?

While living in Texas, I did not have the service mindset. However that slowly changed as I transformed into a global citizen. Without a doubt I owe my personal transformation to the many service minded individuals who have inspired me. So many of my classmates exemplify a life a service doing so one only one goal in mind: Making this world a better place. Watching my classmates serve selflessly has sparked a fire within me.

I have found the more I serve the hungrier I am to contribute and give back. As with all things I am not perfect, and still do not serve as much as I would like, but I am proud of my contributions. One thing I discovered is that there is an endless amount of ways in which you can serve. It doesn’t matter how you serve all that matters is that you do. You can serve by being a good friend. You can serve by standing up for the kid being picked on. You can serve by living life to your fullest potential. Be creative. Just serve.

I hope to further explore service opportunities next year at college.

Friends:

When living in Texas I was blessed with a group of friends that to this day I remain in close contact with. One of my fears of moving to Shanghai was that I would be unable to duplicate these brother-bonds. Fortunately my friendships in Shanghai have been just as strong. I have friends from all over the world. Canada. The Philippines. Korea. Australia. China. My girlfriend is from Brazil. It is wonderful to have such a diverse group of friends.

What’s great about having such a varied group of friends is that they all come from different backgrounds. Not one of my friends is the same. This allows for some interesting and enlightening conversations. In fact I recently had a several hour discussion on religion with my Chinese friend Richard who is Christian. I have a passion for learning new perspectives.

Despite only living in Shanghai for two years I have made some friendships that I hope will continue for quite some time. In living in an international community it can be sometimes hard to open up as many students are constantly moving, but I have found that when they do many are tremendous individuals. I will not soon forgot the many sensational relationships in which I have formed while living in Shanghai. They truly have shaped the person I am today, and for that I am ever grateful.

Weekly Massage:

Do I really have to explain? The benefits of massage are extraordinary.  Massages in Shanghai are particularly cheap (12 U.S dollars for one hour.) Upon receiving weekly massages I have found myself to be more relaxed and alert. The amount of time I have been sick has also dropped significantly. Nothing beats an hour long oil massage after a stressful day at school

Many of my post ideas have come rushing into my mind during a massage. In fact I once had to stop the massage so I could write my idea down. You can thank my weekly massage for this wonderful post!

If you have the money and are not getting a massage once a week your surely missing out

Travel:

Living in Shanghai has presented me with an incredible opportunity to travel. I have visited numerous local villages all over China as well as inner Mongolia and even Russia. While I have yet to visit Beijing I plan to do so this summer. There are numerous places in which I also plan to visit such as Singapore, Nepal, and hopefully Australia.

It has been wonderful to experience so many other countries while living in China. It’s not often you get to roam the endless plains of Inner Mongolia, or visit St. Petersburg Russia. The experiences I have had while traveling have profoundly impacted the person I am today. Each trip I have taken remains a small part of the person I have become.

Each time I travel I expand my awareness of the world around me. My life and travel have been pleasantly welded. I hope to continue to travel around the world as we truly live in a boundless world.

A Beginning:

When I began my freshman year of high school in the Woodlands Texas, I had absolutely no idea that I would graduate in an international school in Shanghai.To this day I sometimes have difficultly believing that I actually live in China. While my stay in China will end next year (as I have chosen to attend college in the U.S) my world travels have just begun.

Post from: A Boundless World

5 Extraordinary Benefits of Living in Shanghai

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In today’s post I’m going to discuss my trip to St. Petersburg Russia, during which I participated in a Model United Nations conference. I had hoped  to do this update sooner, but I  unfortunately had a great deal of make up work as the trip required us to miss a week of school. ( Two weeks later, I am pleased to say I am officially caught up with all my work.) It also didn’t help that upon returning a had a rather severe sore throat. I would have loved to have done real time updates in Russia but the internet was rather slow.

A quick warning: This post is particularly lengthy for a I have a great deal to share, I therefore suggest breaking this post down into several smaller reading segments.

Another note: I had planned to take a some photos, however my camera’s battery conveniently decided to stop holding a charge during my travels. Luckily for me a great deal of my friends posted pictures on Facebook.

Model United Nations:

What is MUN? If you are not familiar with  MUN he concept is fairly simple. High-school students from around the globe meet up and reenact the United Nations, during which they debate today’s most pressing issues. Basically MUN is the UN but with high school students. MUN has become increasing popular over the years, which goes to show that our future is in good hands. It’s nice to know that the younger generations understand the importance of international affairs.  If I’m not mistaken a few resolutions debated at some MUN conferences have actually gone on to be proposed to the actual United Nations. Pretty neat if you ask me.

My school is particularly involved in MUN and participates in three or four conferences each year. One conference our school attends is in Singapore and then a few others locally. This was the first time my school participated in the SPIMUN conference.  Around twenty students attended from our school thus requiring three teachers to chaperone.

The trip to Russia was a long one. We first flew to Helsinki Finland in which we had a 5 hour lay over. Then we took an hour flight to St. Petersburg. I really enjoyed bonding with my classmates, especially the one’s in which  I rarely talked to in school. During our lay over in Helsinki  many shared their religious views. I found this discussion to be particularly enlightening.

MUN requires a great deal of time and loads of research. The way it works is this:  A few months prior to the conference, your school is assigned various countries in which it then represents.  Because our group was around 20 students we were assigned 5 countries (Denmark, Hati, The Philippines, Uganda, and Lithuania.) I was assigned the Philippines. Since my birth-dad is Filipino I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about my heritage.

My topic in which  debated was Human Rights: Protecting journalistic freedom. Some other topics that were debated included HIV stigma, nuclear proliferation, and child soliders. I spent a great deal of time immersing myself in different perspectives pertaining to journalistic freedom. Journalistic freedom is a particularly controversial issue in the Philippines so I found it a rather interesting topic to research. I was disappointed to see that so many journalists around the world are continually  intimidated (some even brutally murdered) all because of what they write. Being an aspiring journalist myself, I find the topic of journalistic freedom especially appealing.

Upon completing research one is supposed to write a resolution in which action is taken to solve the problem. Writing resolutions can be rather difficult if it’s your first time.  Luckily, many of my fellow delegates had written numerous resolutions before and knew what they were doing. One of the problems I had with writing a solid resolution on  journalistic freedom, was that for the most part there is nothing the UN can do. Some nations just don’t care. Nothing the UN does can prevent a country from harming journalists if they choose to. Therefore much of my resolution simply reaffirmed basic journalistic rights. I ended up merging my resolution with other nations and it ended up being passed.

Most MUN conferences have  an opening ceremony which is often a time in which countries give a 30 second opening speech introducing the delegates country. I was “chosen“ by my fellow delegates of the Philippines to give the opening speech. Having not participated in Model United Nations public speaking is something I have not practiced much.  As luck would have it  I was the first country to give an opening speech in front of 650 other delegates! Let’s just say I was a bit nervous. I had my speech prepared so it wasn’t too difficult reading off a note card but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated. It felt really good afterward and something I am very proud of.  Not many people can say they gave an opening speech in a old Russian church!

The Model United Nations conference in my opinion, was pretty solid. It was a bit unorganized at times but well worth attending. The atmosphere  was pretty relaxed. It was unfortunate to see that some students came only to party and to view Russia but there were also a great deal of students who came well prepared. I was amazed at how prepared some one them were! I was also amazed at how many of them displayed confidence when speaking in front of a bunch of people. I wish I had known about MUN my freshman year.

A Cultural Experience

Touring Russia was wonderful. The city of St. Petersburg was rich in tradition. The architecture was just unbelievable. While in St. Petersburg we toured numerous palaces and famous art museums, including the well known Hermitage museum.  We also walked through the summer and winter palaces of  the Russian emperors. We even made time for a snow ball fight at in winter palace’s garden. The size of the palaces were astounding. Talk about roomy! It was said at any given time  several hundred guests would be staying at one palace. Some large feasts consisted of up to 300 different meals and lasted days!

One of my favorite places in which we visited was the place in which Rasputin was shot. I found his story incredible. We also visited various churches around St. Petersburg which were beautiful. We even had the opportunity to see a life mass in which the entire mass was done while standing.

I bought a bunch of souvenirs for my family back home and it was fun bargaining with the Russians vendors. It was interesting to see the similarities in bargaining in China and Russia. One seller cut his price in half without me saying a single word.

What I enjoyed most about the trip in Russia was the interaction with people from all over the world. I met a group from Bahrain and they were the nicest people one could ever meet. They just walked up to my friend and I and began chatting. They even took the time to teach me some Arabic! I also met several students from Romania. They were just as friendly. I find it  fascinating that within a week I was able to connect with so many people around the world. This phenomenon is becoming increasing common as social media begins to further connect the world.

My voyage to Russia will not soon be forgotten.

Post from: A Boundless World

Russia and Model United Nations

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