Turn It Around

I was restless.  I was doing okay,

but I was restless.  One day it dawned 

on me that I had been looking at life

 through the wrong end of the telescope.

It was up to me to turn it around -

to make it bigger, better, more satisfying.

~ Arnold Swartzenegger ~

Something You Create

People talk about "finding" their lives.

In reality, your life is not something you find -

it's something you create.

~ David Phillips ~

Look Inside

For awhile I looked outside to see

what I could make the world give me,

instead of looking inside to see

what was there.

~ Bell Livingstone ~

Freedom

That's what freedom is all about-

a chance to be better.

~ Albert Camus ~

Look For The Helpers

    

     It is difficult to express what I am feeling about the series of devastating events that have occurred recently.  The horrific hurricanes that caused so much loss of life and damage and the awful carnage caused by the shooting in Las Vegas are difficult to comprehend and can really hinder our ability to maintain a positive attitude.

     Sadly, these events are not the only things that we may have to face in a lifetime.  During my years, I have experienced the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the tragic events on 9/11, numerous terrorist attacks and natural disasters caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.  When you live through these tragedies they are not history, but real-time events that will live with you forever.  Such will be the case with the natural disasters we have seen ravage Texas, Louisiana, Florida, the Caribbean Islands, and Puerto Rico.  Similarly, the man-made disaster in Las Vegas will be etched into our subconscious forever.   As each specific event occurred, you first were struck with the sadness of what had happened and the concern how we, as a country or the world collectively, could ever recover from such a difficult circumstance.

     As history has shown us, we were able to recover but not without difficulty.  Damaged buildings and infrastructure can be repaired, but repairing the emotional and psychological scars is much more extensive and difficult. It is at times like these when we must look for the good that occurs when bad things happen.  The children television star, Mr. Rogers, is quoted as saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”  

     There is no question that television has allowed us to witness so many people who helped during and immediately after these disasters.  It gives me comfort to see that there are so many more good people who are willing to help their fellow human beings than there are those who inflict harm.  That should be the basis upon which we can begin to build confidence that we will be able to overcome the devastating effects from these events. 

     Keeping a positive attitude in these troubled times is not meant to suggest that we should stick our heads in the sand and ignore troubling things that go on around us.  Rather, we should recognize that it is troubling times that are the challenges each of us will face in our lifetime.  It is these challenges that we must overcome.  If we do not, we lose our direction and will lack the ability to rise above the sadness and grief that we all are feeling.  Look for the helpers…they will give us hope.

Prayers

Thoughts and prayers are with the victims

and families of the Las Vegas shooting.

Opposition

Don't be afraid of opposition.

Remember, a kite rises against -

not with - the wind.

~ Hamilton Mabie ~

An Old Chinese Legend

        This is the story of a wise old man.  He was considered to be an odd sort of fellow because of the way he had of looking at things.  One time one of his horses ran away.  His friends rallied around him to console him.  "That's too bad," they said.  "We are sorry for you."
        "How do you know it is bad?" the old man asked them.
          A few days later, the horse returned.  He had two wild horses with him.  This brought the neighbors on the run.  "Good, good!" they said, rejoicing with him.
         "How do you know it is good?" the old man asked them.
          They could not answer that one either.  So they said no more.
           In training the two wild horses, the man's son was thrown and his leg was broken.  Again the neighbors came to commiserate with him. "Oh that's too bad," they said.  "We sympathize with you in your misfortune."
           "How do you know that this is bad?" the old man said again.
            The very next day a war lord and his army came through the land conscripting all able bodied young men to fight for them.  But not the son of the old man.  He was not able bodied.

MORAL:  There is neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so.  Hidden within each challenge is a blessing in disguise.

Being Cheerful

Everyone, including you, just naturally feels better

when exposed to a cheerful, optimistic, individual

regardless of the nature or length of the contact.

Persistence

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not.  Nothing is more common than unsuccessful

men with talent.  Genius will not.  Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not.  The world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence, determination and hard work make the difference.

~ Calvin Coolidge ~

Promise Yourself

Promise Yourself:

    To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

    To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

    To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

    To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

    To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

    To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

    To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

    To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

    To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

    To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.          

A Second Spring

Autumn is a second spring

when every leaf is a flower.

~ Albert Camus ~

I Will Try

"I can't do it" never yet accomplished anything.

"I will try" has performed wonders.

~ George P. Burnham ~

Attitude

     The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...a home.

     The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is
our...attitude.

~ Charles Stinwoll ~

Being Appreciated

Everyone appreciates being appreciated.

Catch people red-handed in the act

of doing something right each day -

and praise them for it.

~ Bob Moawad ~

The One You Feed

An old Cherokee told his grandson, 

"My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil.

  It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.

The other is Good.

It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.

The boy thought about it and asked,

"Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man quietly replied,

"The one you feed."

~ Author Unknown ~

Worthy of Its Children

Each second we live

is a new and unique moment of the universe,

a moment that never was before

and never will be again.

And what do we teach our children in school?

We teach them that two and two make four

and that Paris is the capital of France.

When will we teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them:

Do you know what you are?

You are a marvel.

You are unique.

In all the world there is no other child

exactly like you.

In the millions of years that have passed,

there has never been a child like you.

And look at your body....what a wonder it is!

Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers

the way they move!

You may become a Shakespeare,

a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.

You have the capacity for anything.

Yes, you are a marvel.

And when you grow up,

can you then harm another

who is like you, a marvel?

You must cherish one another.

You must work

we all must work

to make this world worthy of its children.

~ Pablo Casals ~

Get Involved

You must get involved to have an impact.

No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.

~ John Holcomb ~

Rebuilding

When we rebuild a house,

we are rebuilding a home.

When we recover from a disaster,

we are rebuilding lives and livelihoods.

~ Sri Mulyani Indrawati ~

September 11th

The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit.

Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified.

We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political,

economic and religious freedom, the rule of law, and

respect for human life.  We are more determined than ever

to live our lives in freedom.

~ Rudy Giuliani ~

Nothing Worse Will Happen

Eat a live frog first thing in the morning

and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

~ Mark Twain ~

Ability

You are the only person on this earth

who can use your ability.

Being Paid

When you do more than you're paid to do,

you will eventually be paid more for what you do.

Labor

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance

and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

Prime Purpose in Life

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.

And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

~ Dalai Lama ~