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Comment by Saggi_tario on January 16, 2009 at 10:26am

Hey, Thanks Steph! This should be the place to gather natural born smilers.. haha! Lurve the positive energy here!! make me addicted! mm..Lurrve it!

Comment by Stephanie on January 16, 2009 at 9:42am

Saggi tario
Loved the final line, all the way up to the top one! The story of you driving up and everyone wanting to be like YOU. Super! A story that should be spread around, giving courage to those who want to make a change-around. LOVE your energy!! Another natural "Born Smiler".
S

Comment by Saggi_tario on January 16, 2009 at 9:27am

That's so true, mr. Sandman! I couldn't agree more!

btw, Mr. Hans Mertens! WE SHARE THE SAME BIRTHDAY!!!! (except for the year of coz!) haha! this is amazing.. u are the fifth person I met sharing the date.. we just need another 6 or 7 to make a football team! haha! And btw, Quantum Mechanics share the same birthday too.. 14 Dec. 1900 (where energy quantization was revealed for the first time in the German Physical Society..) - I see the date as among the important days that science revealed to the world that it kisses the aroma of God..

Anyway, your storyline is more or less reflects mine.. How you started your career doing something that was not meant for you.. And ended up with arts.. Now I run a multidisciplinary design agency (besides some other businesses) .. Started, about 10 years ago, in my own bedroom (because I couldn’t afford even few dollars to cut my hair! Haha!) after a drastic career twist..

I am much younger than you... Perhaps because of my family background and personal shortcomings that I used to have, I was really a nutcase when I was growing up.. Went to school just to have fun, kicked out four or five times (gosh, I really forget!) for various discipline issues, questioned God and labeled as heretic! Haha...”heretic”, that’s so funny! So I don’t really have an educational background that I can be proud of. But anyway, I’ve flushed out most of my family’s painful memories out of my system, and let the beautiful ones remains..for so many years, I no longer see the path of my life was full of mistakes, anyway... it was just full of luck and blessings that molded me to be the man I am today... And really, I forgot so many things that happened yesterday and I don’t really care what to plan for tomorrow .. Perhaps because my mind is so busy dwelling and enjoying the moment. Haha! There are few things that I remember tho.. Like few years ago, I went to the secondary school that one of my sisters was teaching (I have 4 out of 5 sisters working as teachers) just to check out her lab. This particular sister of mine, really dislike the way I was while I was growing up.. I was some sort of a black ship of the family.. But the moment my driver opened my door, I noticed the kids were looking out the windows and gossiping among them .. my sister came to me and said “u know what, I have a big problem now, everybody here wants to be like you..” Apparently, she thought she wants to inspire them with my story .. But it turned out that some of them asked her permission, refusing to come to school! Haha! She made me “infamous”! it’s okay tho, since I know my story inspired many growing up kids, from broken family, labeled as “failure” and thought that they have no future at all.

But Mr Hans Mertens... above all, my point here is.. When I read your story, it reminds me of a bookmark that I saw so many years ago, It says “It’s never too late to be the person you should have been!”

Comment by Stephanie on January 16, 2009 at 9:23am

There are people who are "Born Smilers" and you are one of them.

And I'm another.

Comment by Sandman on January 16, 2009 at 1:29am

A smile cannot possibly come from anywhere but love..............and that love innate in us all, flowing in the most natural and easiest of ways.

Comment by Hans Mertens on January 15, 2009 at 11:35pm

"Great expectations"

I was born on December 14th, 1955 and raised by my uncle and aunt because of my mother having an illness. I was the best of "lower school" (that is, the school I had until 12 years old).
So my parents and family had great expectations and so did I.
When I was 19 and graduated from high school, I was one of the young few adults who knew exactly what he wanted to become: "An artist"
Life had different plans for me in 1975. From 1977 till 1987 I was very unlucky and stuck in an office job.
I was always drawing during my childhood and in 1987 I quit the office job to follow an education in art. In 1987 I had my first exhibitions.
In 1991 I graduated as an illustrator and painter. I was really lucky for the first time in my adult life.
However, bad luck followed me after that. The market was very bad in 1991 for illustrators. So just to be able to keep on painting I took several jobs (from 1991 to 2005); most people wouldn’t have liked to take them: cleaning toilets was one of them.
Than finally in 2006 bad luck left me and everything changed.
I received an invitation from Ferrara in Italy to exhibit, Trani and Barletta in Italy would follow.
My abstract works were praised for their high quality and in 2007 I became the first international artist from whom the abstracts were printed on Habotai -silk in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
In 2006 I became an art teacher as well , so finally having a decent job after 51 years , I suddenly sold paintings in New York, St Peterburgh (Florida) and Kirksville USA.
In 2008 an exhibition in Leipzig ( Germany) followed..During this same year I got my own one man artbusiness called "Contrast" too. Finally looking forward to an exhibition in Ankara in 2009, a boys dream of "Great expectations "came true.
Having never forgotten when times were worse I became active for human rights.
I founded "Peace for Christmas"on Ipeace for the poor people in Nigeria in 2008.
Now in 2009 I go on carrying "Peace for Christmas"for human rights and any kind of injustice. The Christmas spirit goes on the whole year in 2009. So this is an invitation for all of you to join me at "Peace for Christmas"here on Ipeace. Share your thoughts with me.. Together we are stronger!!

With special thanks to my dear friend Stephanie Seymour in Italy..

Yours from Holland,

Hans Mertens
www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/a/aragorn

Hans

Comment by Saggi_tario on January 15, 2009 at 9:03pm

sorry if the moral wasn't really clear.. haha! ok, what i really meant was.. we judge and challenge, when we fail to see the reality of being ... like the cells in our body - unique but no difference .. serving and working side by side for the benefit of one being. They become malfunctioning when they take more than what they can give.. and thus cancerous..

As for the angry part.. it's just an adds on! haha!

but really, seeing our reality, making our hearts just too big to love and to forgive, leaving no space for anger and hatred.. don't you agree?

Comment by Stephanie on January 15, 2009 at 8:20pm

All I can say is, wow! I knew you had that in you the moment I saw your huge smile!! (I'm a little confused about the moral of the story.....can you help me with that one?)
ps waiting for your "True Life Story".....sure you have several
Steph

Comment by Sandman on January 15, 2009 at 7:52pm

Thank you very much Saggi Tario----------for both the smile and the reminder.

Comment by Saggi_tario on January 15, 2009 at 7:26pm

Ok.. Here you go, Steph!

A STORY OF 3 VAMPIRES

Once upon a time.. There were 3 vampires... They were new friends.. The first vampire was the youngest .. 100 years old.. And the second vampire was older.. 250 years old.. And third one was the eldest.. 1,000 years old..

So one nite, they sat together.. And the youngest one said, “you know, being a 100 years old vampire, I can drink blood from everybody in that town in just a few minutes” ..

And the two replied.. “Oh.. Ok! Show it to us!”....

In a few seconds the youngest vampire flew like a bolt of lightning towards the town.. And come back in a few minutes later, with fresh blood all over his mouth, a little bit on his cheek ..

And He said, “ok, done!”..

The other two vampires were amazed, and challenged..

So the second vampire said.. “hmmm.. If u can do it from that town in a few minutes, I can drink from the next three towns in just one minute!”

And the two replied.. “Oh.. Ok! Show it to us!”....

so he flew like a bullet to the next three towns and came back in a minute.. Satisfied..

And said “see, I told ya!”.. He got fresh blood all over his face..

So, the eldest felt really, really challenged.. And said proudly.. “haha.. You know, I am just being humble.. I just didn’t tell you guys that I can drink from the entire state in just 30 seconds”..

Before the other two vampires replied, he already flew, like the speed of sound, and came back in a split second with fresh blood from his head to his toes!

The other two were so shocked, “WOOHOOO! man, that’s so fast!”

And the eldest replied, “ya, do you see that wall over there?”

The two said, “Yup... Why?”

And he replied.. “I didn’t!”

--
Ok, morale of the story – We feel challenged, when our perspective is too narrow to see ... we feel angry, when our heart is too small to love and forgive...

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