Blog

You are currently viewing Thirty Reflections From A Thirty Year Old!

Thirty Reflections From A Thirty Year Old!

Octoposts

Reflection 01of30

While celebrating 30 years of life lived I would like to be grateful for everything that has happened to me and everyone that has crossed paths and shared a journey with me. All these have made me who I am and I am proud to say I’ve turned out ok, which is a nobler and politically correct way of saying great 🙂 I believe there were no accidents and failures in this journey but more like opportunities and lessons. First of all, I’m thankful for HE who has made me and put me in this journey of life with this gift of time, conscious and most of all the will to love. I’m also grateful for the chance given to me to dream, to practice many trades and to be accepted for who I am. I’m grateful for being heard when I speak out and for being able to exercise my desires. I’m grateful for those elderly men and woman who have taught me the value of work, the place of arts and culture, responsibility, generosity, persistence, faith and integrity. I’m grateful for those four women who’ve taught me pride, reasoning, serenity, and greatness. I’m grateful for those broskies who’ve taught me service, style, worth, and class. I’m grateful for those who taught me friendship, respect, caring, and nobility. I’m grateful for those who’ve taught me love, laughter, and sarcasm. I’m grateful for those who’ve taught me spirituality, religion, and culture. I’m grateful for those who’ve taught me fun, dance, and unruliness. I’m grateful for those who’ve taught me morality and discipline. I’m grateful for those who’ve taught me humility, strength in solitude, outwitting challenges and self-mastery. I’m grateful for those who introduced me to drawings, to games, to music, to moving pictures, to codes, to systems. I’m grateful for the “What’s in store for the future”. NOTHING IS MADE for EVERYTHING IS LEARNED.

Reflection 02of30

The world might not be a beautiful place but that doesn’t mean your world should be the same 😉

Reflection 03of30

The bad days are too small numbered compared to the good days even though it doesn’t seem so. And those bad days rarely get to you if you are wondering in the what’s to come. 😉

“Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not Ok then it is not the end.”

Reflection 04of30

Things seem heavier in the brain than in reality. An apology you were thinking about for days, months or even years will most probably be done and over (no matter the outcome) in ten minutes. So, whenever something is stuck in the brain for a while, stop, be aware of it being stuck, open the door and let it out. Belieeeeeve me, It is always better that way.
TIP – You only need 20 seconds of courage.

Reflection 05of30

Jealousy is a false emotion and you are not the only one feeling it. If you really sit down and think about it, nothing bad will come to you when someone makes it in life. I know sometimes it rocks our comfortable boats and shakes our comfort zones. It is just a good motivator being expressed in the wrong way.

Reflection 06of30

There are NO ups or downs in life. There is Learning and there is Mastery; An opportunity to receive and an opportunity to give. Every person or situation you come across in life, either brings you the means to express yourself or a lesson to grow oneself, Nothing more, Nothing less 😉

Reflection 07of30

Life101 – You didn’t come into being of your own will, nor will you leave it with your own will. Whether you accept it or not SOMEONE or SOMETHING made you and only that SOMEONE/THING know your purpose and your destiny. This journey you are on was not created by you and it won’t end by you. So WHAT IS YOU ROLE???
Well, your role is simple. Grab a popcorn, sit down and watch as life unveils before your eyes, immerse yourself and get lost in every moment and never let anything from the outside and most importantly from the inside keep you in the past or pace you into the what’s to come. Your role is to be still, observe and understand how your MAKER works in every situation.
Then and only then will you know that,
“Life is indeed in great conspiracy with your MAKER to make all things Great”. 😉

Reflection 08of30

People were created to love and be loved, but rarely to be trusted. I know it sounds harsh but it’s the truth of the world. We were made with perfections and limitations. It is even hard to trust oneself some days. The times we’re thinking of commuting suicide are perfect examples in that we believe our thoughts over ourselves and decide we shouldn’t exist anymore. Looking back at reflection 7, there is only one we can trust and that is our Maker and his good intentions for us. 😉

Reflection 09of30

Mean people are not always bad people. If you get close enough to them you might find out that they’re just people who’ve most probably been through a lot of pain and suffering and are stuck on the wrong side of the road. And who knows you crossing path with one could be an opportunity for you to save a soul. 😉

Reflection 10of30

Regrets are inevitable and a necessary evil and you don’t have to be afraid of them. They are just your emotions telling you “You could have done it better or the right way”. They are just part of your subconscious that tries to teach you to grow and push you to do better the next time (if there is any). So you should never let them drag you down to the level of self-hate. 😉

Reflection 11of30

“There is no such thing as miracles and coincidences. Either you believe everything happens randomly or everything happens for a reason. You can’t have it both ways, Period.”

You can’t believe in God some days and be an atheist on others.
If you ask me, I’ve lived long enough to witness meaningless things make sense in due time. I’ve seen things too good, too planned, too intentional to be random. And from where I’m at, Believing in life filled with miracles and divine interventions is a win win. Meaning If you are a believer and if it is true and their exists a divine power and an afterlife then good for you, you won. If not, nobody will be there in the non existence afterlife to say “I told you so”. Whereas, If you are a non believer and if a divine power does exist, well my friend that might mean you are literally “doomed”. If a divine power doesn’t exist, you will not be there in the non existence afterlife to say I told you so. But most of all you’ll not have a shelter during your dark times while on earth and that is really sad. 😉

Reflection 12of30

Sins (Wrong deeds), sometimes feel right, sometimes makes you feel good but whatever the case they will always leave you in this undefined, illusion of freedom and joy. They barely give back as much as they take, in fact they demand more and more of you physical, mental and spiritual time and energy. Where as Peace, Though It sounds boring, their is always this calm and understood answer in it and you usually learn its value when you lose it (when you are having those non stop headaches, when all you dreams are nightmares, and you’re anxious all the time, when you have everything you asked for and still feel empty, when your laughter’s are only skin-deep and when even-though you are not alone, you still feel lonely). So a word to the wise…

“TO KNOW ALL, IS TO UNDERSTAND ALL” 😉

Reflection 13of30

Doing Good and Being Good should come before and be the only source of Feeling Good and Looking Good 😉

Reflection 14of30

If you are in your twenties and you think of yourself as an adult…. well… you’ve no clue. Just live, don’t waste your time doing things you don’t like or talking about people or trying to see if you are immune to bad habits. Dream big and pursue it with all your might. #YouOnlyLiveOnce

Reflection 15of30

Life was meant to be lived. Period.
and the answer to life is not, and i say it again IS NOT 42. It is less than three to be exact aka 
Have these 5 in mind.

“Life, Love, Light, Luck and last but definitely not least Laughter.” 

Live everyday that’s been gifted to you though some of them don’t feel like one, Love everyone you come across though some of them don’t seem to deserve it, wherever you are in this tunnel of life always look at the end with Light and not darkness, seize every opportunity whenever lady luck turns towards you, and never and ever go a day without Laughing.

Reflection 16of30

Pay bribes, Yes you heard me right, You have to pay bribes to get things done in life. And you know what is the greatest bribe of all, a smile. I’m 100% sure that 99% of your issues will go smoothly if you just smiled and gave out a true, genuine greeting like “How’s everything life, family…”. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle, it might not be the same battle as yours but believe me we all are and don’t let that happy cover fool you.
Always remember this

“Greeting is the greatest and the only legitimate bribe out there” 😉

Reflection 17of30

Always remember this

“You might be the juiciest peach in the world but there will ALWAYS be people who are just simply not into peaches.”

Your purpose in life is not to make everyone get hooked on peaches, your goal in life is not making everyone like/love you. You don’t have to prove anything to this world. If there should be one person that needs to certify you of yourself then that person is none other than you yourself. And ones that is done then you might want to go outside and find people who are into peaches. 😉

Reflection 18of30

The most memorable moments in life are the ones that were not planned and in fact most of the time the ones you were too scared to do. Your purpose is usually found just behind your fears and all that is needed is faith.

“Fear knocked….Faith answered. No-one was there” 

Take that leap of faith to do so anyways. Let the best case scenario be your motivation rather than your worst case scenario. To be honest, At the end of the day we usually regret the things we didn’t do more than the things we did do. But still be wise, I’m not saying go jump of a 20 story high-riser screaming YOLO but more like yes take risks, smart risks. What are smart risks? well answer the follow questions.

 

  • Do you really want to do it?
  • Is it something good or at-least not bad?

 

If the answer is Yes to both questions then you definatly need to do it and don’t let fear (a False Evidence Appearing Real) hold you back. 😉

Reflection 19of30

I never wish anyone of you the feeling of either a heartbreak or a rejections. Or don’t I? o.O
Well, let me tell you the truth. If you are looking for a true understanding of life and reach a higher level of awareness, you have to go through them, at-least ones. Believe me they are not as scary as they sound and as awful as people put them out to be even-though they are being majorly held accountable for the increase in demand for alcohol and growing number of bars these-days #DrainThePain.
Yes, it hurts. The first few weeks will most probably be nightmares and it might take you months if not years of despair until you are fully healed if there is such a thing as a complete recovery but you have no idea how strong of a person you become after going through it. But first you need to choose to go and pass through it even-though the self-pity, the finger-pointing, the free pass to the world of unfairness and irresponsibility just because the world was unfair to you and lots of membership privileges might at times make it feel tempting to stay there. But you need to see and follow the light at the end of the tunnel and come back to the real world ones again, new and improved.

Just a couple of tips while you are inside. First, don’t make stupid decisions that may hurt others or makes you regret it in the future (like stalking, threatening, bashing…and the sort, it never ends well). Second, Don’t forget to take care of yourself (eat healthy, workout and pray/meditate). Third, MOVE ON in the sense that you should change your routines, change your fashion sense, add some to your hobbies, go out and meet new people (I didn’t say a rebound 😀 ). And last but definitely not least, NEVER EVER try to suppress it or try to act like nothing happened. If you must let-out find a close friend, a spiritual advisory, a journal or even a pet and let it all out. It’s always better that way. 😉

Reflection 20of30

Master the ability to see yourself as a third person. Create alter-egos for each chapters of your life. Think of life as a dope-a$$ game and consider your alter-ego as the main character in the game. In this way you can do what you want to do and still not get stuck. To be honest, we are not our body, nor our circumstances and most of all we’re not even our thoughts. We are higher beings who go through a worldly experience in a human form. And also by using this technique you can put a leash on your emotions since you’re experiencing things from a third man’s perspective.
😉

Reflection 21of30 #TheHalloweenPost

This day marks one of mankind greatest enemies aka fear. Mahatma Gandhi puts it like this.
“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is really fear.” and Yoda associates the two
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
What is fear you may ask. Well fear is simply the lack of faith in the System, the lack of trust in the order of things. We become fearful when we think the world around us revolves because of us, it’s when we think we are in control of life while we are sure of our limitations. Let go and trust the System, trust the System that made you and everything else, trust the System that made you who you are, trust the System that made you witness yet another day, trust the Global consciousness over the individual one. And, only then will you know no fear. 😉

Reflection 22of30 #TheFshipVsTheRship

I like to think the F in friendships stands for freedom and the R in relationships stands for Responsibility. Friendship is like having our character being played by our controls in a multi-player video game. Relationship on the other-hand is switching controls and letting the other person control our character and having the power to control theirs. To make it simpler, relationships are like having a voodoo dole of the other person and vice versa. And often the game is played in a manner that we mistreat the characters we control while expecting our characters to be treated well. And this is almost every families day-in day-out struggle.
But still I believe Family is the ultimate goal on AnyShip. We turn random people into acquaintances, acquaintances into friends and friends into families. Just simply think of friends as friends you chose to be with you and families as friends God chose to be with you. 😉

Reflection 23of30

Life101.2

“Life is a continuous redefinition of love.”

As a kid we loved to play so we spent all our days playing. As a teen we loved talking about the opposite sex so we spent our days doing just that. But ones we grow up we stop doing what we love and rather fell in love with the concept that life is ugly. Yes, we go through lots of ordeals and through them-all life makes us either hard as a boiled egg or soft as a boiled carrot but we could have chosen and still have the ability to chose otherwise and be like a roasted coffee bean. Don’t let harsh times change you’re perception of life. You are still here to experience life and pursue joy through your dreams and there is nothing more to it. So a word to live by

“Find the things you love to do and do them for the rest of your life” 😉

P.S – But first ask yourself which one you are, a carrot, an egg or a ground coffee bean
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dagmawi-bedilu/carrot-egg-or-coffee-bean-which-one-are-you/10151812276770535

Reflection 24of30

“The trick is growing up without growing old”

Yep, That’s the trick to a joyfully peaceful life. Too many us grow old. That’s the real problem with the world too many us grow old when what we should have done is simply grow up. A grownup is a child with added layers of responsibility and accountability. A grownup experiences life while an old man becomes his life. A grownup reflects on his experiences while an old man consumes it. A grownup lives inside-out expressing himself through his own happenings while an old man lives outside-in reacting to happenings of others. A grownup is mindful while an old man is mind full.
So the first step to being a grown up before dyeing the gray hair and put on your dentures is to know thyself (Gnothi Seauton) and look for the kid inside through stillness.

“Be still and know”

Then be aware of the tiny details, notice how much less you’re laughing nowadays or how much of your laughters have stopped being genuine. Notice the number things you worry about these-days and the actual probability of them happening. Remember the last time you did something “stupid” like prank someone, played games or even went roller-skating. Notice the number of peoples in your “If Murder was Legal” list and how there number has increased lately. Notice how much thoughts go in to your mind than actions that go in to your life. Notice the far-fetchedness of your fears. Notice how much your childhood image of God has changed and how much serious and judgmental He has become over the years. And most of all notice how much hate consumed you and made you slave to your own thoughts. Then simply liberate yourself through love and fly away. Literally stretch and fall down on your bed, stand naked in front of a mirror and smile, eat a sambusa on the road, join kids playing football on the street, teach toddlers to stick out there tongue while there parents are not watching, dance freely while in a car or whenever a song comes up on the tele, radio or while passing by a music shop, provide really silly answers to very serious questions, laugh at your own misfortunes, drive slowly so angry dogs will catch up with your car and witness there confusion on what to do with it, do an evil doctor laugh when you accomplish a task, acknowledge awkward situations, talk to people though facial expressions rather than words, do gangster handshakes when meeting people, hang out with kids and ask them serious question like the meaning of life and the list goes on and on (stupidity has no ending)…. But most of all Exaggerate everything. Let your inner kid out by allowing others to do the same. Growing up is simply losing some illusions, in order to acquire others. 😉

#CompiledReflections #30at30 #ThirtyMessagesFromAThirtyYearOld#LifeLessons24of30 #BirthMonthRefelection #የጥቅምትዕይታዎች #OctoPosts#ScorpionViews #CaseyStengel #WoodyHarrelson #WaltDisney

Reflection 25of30

Know that we all are equally lucky and it’s just that we’re lucky in different ways. Consider each gift, each forte to have the nature of duality as a double edged sword and can do more harm than good if not used wisely. For instance, The gift of beauty can be used to influence many and at the same time can be used for manipulation which intern results in self manipulation. The gift of knowledge is the cause of over thinking and anxiety whereas it can be give birth to creativity, power can wreak havoc and at the same time used for the betterment of humanity, love can liberate a soul or trap one in obsession and vengeance, hope bears joy and laziness, faith can nourish inner peace or can blind completely. So since luck has both sides of good and harm, in a sense everything adds up to zero (a zero sum game ) and it’s up to the receiver to capitalize on it through stillness, awareness and understanding and use it as a blessing so it wont become a curse hence proving the fairness of life and the Maker’s System.  😉

We haven’t walked enough in people’s shoes to reach to a level of either envying or scorning them. Individual judgement is never a true judgement since we put the person being judged on one side of the scale and our-self and not the truth on the other side. Our judgments are always relative judgments, comparative judgments and we should never compare our-self with others. In fact, comparison is completely missing the main point of our existence. We just don’t know enough to pass whatever kind of judgement (either positive or negative) towards others. Life gives us the same question but expects different answers, unique answers because this world is designed in such a beautifully original way that it has no place for imitation and impersonation. We simply can’t compete with one another because we’re not in the same category with one another in the first place and that 

“the only common thing we have is our common sense, the common sense that we have a common future or no future at all”. 

Stereotypes will never unite us as we thought they would rather they give us a false understanding of identity/difference and blind us to the truth that our unity is our diversity. We were made to fit in like jig saw pieces to complete the big puzzle and not as red bricks to make a plain wall. We can be fascinated by our differences rather than be threatened by it. So the only thing we can, should and must do is complement one another and create a mosaic. We can only understand the Maker in full spectrum when we understand the spectrum of his full work, visa a vis, US. 😉

#30at30 #ThirtyMessagesFromAThirtyYearOld #LifeLessons26of30#BirthMonthRefelection #የጥቅምትዕይታዎች #OctoPosts #ScorpionViews

Reflection 27of30 #TruthVsReality

One thing I’ve noticed lately is the theophobic tendency that seems to be spreading, The fear of religion to a point of assuming it is the root of all that is bad in this world. In fact, statics shows that ten of the least developed countries are ten of the most religious ones (Ethiopia being one of them) and also terrorism has always been related to religious extremism. Though I don’t challenge these facts and I understand how religion can influence such outcomes, I also believe religion to be the path to a higher level of awareness. The same blinding character that makes religion to become a dangerous tool is the same character that makes it the passage to a higher self.

I believe religion has been misused and misunderstood. Religion has been used as a political tool, as a form of manipulation, a humanity gauge and it has been narrowly characterized by fantasies, routines, rituals and gatherings. In my opinion religion is beyond that, I believe religion to be the greatest liberator of humanity. We’ve seen capitalism liberating the poor out of poverty, we’ve seen democracy liberating people from autocratic regimes but still mankind is enslaved to the deadliest prisoner of all…The Self. We are prisoners of our selves because most of the times we aren’t even aware of it. We’re enslaved by our thoughts, our emotions, our desires… and the only remedy that would set us free from ourselves has always been found in religion, the understanding that we have a Higher Good Willed Savior watching over us and we should strive to be more like Him.

Now the utilization is where it becomes tricky. We should use it to look inside ourselves, use it to separate our thoughts, emotions and desires from our true self rather than look outside for analyzing the wrongs in others. Religion unlike the other social tools should only be used to fight the enemies within. It’s a means to discover the unseen, the underlying, the individual experience. We say we have a common God but our perception of Him is as different as our faces and our experiences. An artist friend of mind ones said

“When we were small, God was the lessons we were taught in church, He was the God who has blessed Abraham, has appeared to Mosses, was given birth by our Mother Mary and saved us all from ourselves and thought us the meaning of all… Love. But as we grow older God stops being just the lessons we’ve taken and becomes our day to day experience.”

Our purpose on this world should not be finding a common Maker since we are insignificantly small in size, number and also lifespan compared to the Maker of all. We are here to experience Him thought our lives and be transformed. Religions have been busy waging war between one another; counting number of followers and they seem to have missed the whole point, which was creating beautiful souls.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you’ll be able to test and approve what God’s will is… His Good, Pleasant and Perfect Will” 😉

Reflection 28of30

“To know all is to understand all.”

This is by far humanities toughest challenge we need to overcome. Knowledge seems to be the fundamental treat that gave humanity its name. In fact, it was the yearning for wisdom that got Adam and Eve thrown out of the Kingdom of Heaven in the first place. But people with knowledge has always been categorized in two groups, the smart and the wise. Smart people seem to have a premature understanding of the self in the sense they are too much aware of themselves and see there environment as an external entity whereas wise people always understood the self in relations to the surrounding (Ubuntu – “I am because We are”). True wisdom lies in Understanding, the understanding of everything, the understanding of the good and the evil. And only in understanding will forgiveness, tolerance and patience can be practiced. Only understanding will deliver us from prejudice.

“To err is human, to forgive divine.” 😉

Reflection 29of30 #Gratitude

“The road to Greatness starts with Gratitude.” 

Thank You; A phrase powerful beyond imagination. People came up with millions and millions of habits, rituals, routines, remedies for a beautiful life but nothing comes closer than the practice of gratitude. It’s definition is way broader than the obedience of the ego and humbleness of the soul. It is where faith and hope meet and love quantified, personified. It’s what keeps one’s faith intact, It is what holds relationships and friendships together. It is how one seizes the moment and be present. It is the understanding of Glory and Grace. If you have attentively listened to the three hours church daily sermon “Qedase”, all that you’ll here is gratitude, three hours of giving thanks to the Maker. And It’s the same with “Shukr”. You don’t need to be thankful only for the good in your life but for everything since everything is either a blessing or a lesson. And the amazing part about giving thanks is that it rejoices the taker more than the receiver. It is one of the main pillars of any prayer/mediation (Repentance, Solicitation and GRATITUDE).

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer”

If the maker came to you and told you that he would take all virtues and leave you with only one that you chose, let gratitude be the one you choose for gratitude is the beginning and the end of all virtues and it should be the beginning and the end of every conversation.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

And a thought to remember, we are nothing but a clay, a mix of dust, water, fire and wind but was given the blessing of awareness, time and the will to love and those gifts by themselves should be enough to be grateful. Give thanks every morning for yet another opportunity and give thanks every evening for yet another souvenir.

“If the only prayer you said was Thank you, that would be enough.”

Thank You!!! 😉

Reflection 30of30 #LastReflection #Time

People will tell you that age is just a number, and I agree with the fact that age being a number but I completely disagree with the idea that a number is a “just”. Numbers are everything. In fact, it is numbers that make me less attractive than Bill Gates; twelve digits of numbers to be exact. 🙂

Anywho, from all the types of numbers out there one is really special, Time. Time is the only possession that humanity ever had. Everything else the family, the house, the car, the friends, the job, the service, the joy, the sadness, the wealth, the wisdom, the health…. EVERYTHING even the Love, the Life and The Self is are functions of time (We say a baby is born when his/her clock starts to tick and say someone has died when his/her time stops ticking). Time is the most precious gift anyone can receive and it is also the most precious gift anyone can give. Time is indeed truly Priceless and you must not waste it, you need to guard it and be aware of how you’r spending it. So I tell you, Yes age is a number but it is the most important number that any of us has ever really had so

“Count your numbers, 

Count your days, hours, minutes and seconds, 

Count each and every moment, but most importantly 

Make every moment count” 

Why Thirty? you may ask. Maybe Well, Thirty marks manhood, It was at this age that Adam was created, It was at this age Christ started his mission to save the world so it must really mean something. 😉 

At thirty anything anyone does is no longer special since it is expected. It is the mark where one is old enough to be a mentor and young enough to still be a dreamer. It is the ultimate turning point.

So let this mark marks the day that we set out to become Alchemist of the Soul (those who turns clay hearts into to gold). Lets all….

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.”

P.S. – So in memoir of the thirty years lived, me and my equally aged friends have created and accepted a challenge, a challenge to do #ThirtySpecialThings that we haven’t done before. So we call upon everyone to share your ideas, wishes, requests….

Dagmawi Bedilu

Dagmawi Bedilu is an aspiring Entrepreneur, Software Engineer, Game Designer and a Game-Thinking Activist with an appetite for both, Science and Arts. He has worked as a Senior Software Architect for Ethiopia’s biggest IT Company, designing and developing Location-Based Systems. As an entrepreneur, he has founded the social enterprise gursha.org and co-founded the game-thinking company Chewata Awaqi. In 2017 and in 2019 , he was a speaker at the Gamescom in Cologne and A Maze in Berlin, Germany. He is now a Project Coordinator and Game Thinking Lead for the ambitions Afro-futuristic project, EnterAfrica, where 15 Teams from 15 African Countries with 15 Visions come together to reimagine their Cities’ future through 15 Games, thus planting the seed for the start of an African Creative Gaming Industry. Dagmawi has one vision “Selling Joy in Jars”. He describes himself the real jack of all trades, an observer and traveler of time. A true believer of Love, Light, Luck, Life and… Laughter :)

Leave a Reply