Great Opportunities

We are all faced with a

series of great opportunities brilliantly

disguised as unsolvable problems.

~ John W. Gardner ~

Dreams

Your dreams are not meant to put

you to sleep, but to alert and arouse

you to your immense possibilities.

~ David Phillips ~

The 1%

I found myself this past Saturday thinking about the 1 percenters (1%).  No, I am not referring to the ultra-wealthy that many politicians like to rant against.  Rather, I was thinking about the 1% of the population that is serving their country as a member of the U.S. armed forces.  Saturday was Veterans Day and it is a day when our nation pauses to thank all those men and women who have served in the military.  It is estimated that currently 1% of the US population is a member of one of our armed forces. This number has not always been this low.  In past years, and particularly during armed conflicts, that percentage was much higher.  

This country has gotten better in recent years thanking our veterans for their service.  I was on active duty in the Army during the Vietnam era.  When I was discharged, I was told to not wear my uniform as I traveled home.  That was because the Vietnam War was so unpopular that protestors would accost anyone wearing a uniform.  What a sad way for someone who had served their country to be treated.  Many who served during Vietnam did so because they were drafted.  They were not in Vietnam so much by choice as much as they were there because they were drafted and were sent there to fight in an unpopular war.

I recently heard a statistic that was troublesome.  At one time in our Congress, over 70% of our senators and representatives had been in the military.  Today, it is less than 10%.  It is no wonder that veterans are often forgotten when it comes to enacting laws that will improve benefits to those who have served their country.  Unless you have been in the military, it is difficult to understand the emotional, financial, and physical strain that can be put on military families.  These military families deserve much more from this country than they are presently receiving.

            Whether you agree with the policies of our government concerning the use of our military, the fact is that we will always require a military to be trained and ready to protect and defend our country.  Now that we no longer have a draft, the men and women who are in our military are there because they want to serve this country.  This is not only a noble cause but it is one that this country should support with our appreciation and we should ensure that these military families receive the benefits they so richly deserve. 

            So, rather than focusing on the 1% of those in our population that are extremely wealthy, why not focus on the 1% of the population that are giving the rest of us the freedom to live and be successful in the United States…the members of the U.S. military.

Veterans

Veterans are a symbol of what makes our country great,

and we must never forget all they have done to ensure our freedom.

~ Rodney Frelinghuysen ~

Just Remember

Just remember that you don't 

have to be what they want you to be.

~ Muhammad Ali ~

Imagination

Logic will get you from A to B.

Imagination will take you everywhere.

~ Albert Einstein ~

We Each Can Help

In this dangerous world we live in,

where hatred and violence and

natural disasters sometimes collide

to overwhelm us, we each can help in some way.

~ Marsha Blackburn ~

Love & Baseball

Love is the most important thing in the world,

but baseball is pretty good too.

~ Yogi Berra ~

Congratulations to the Houston Astros! 

Silently Affirm

Each day silently affirm

that you are the type of person with

whom you would like to spend

the rest of your life.

~ Bob Moawad ~

Halloween

If human beings had genuine courage,

they'd wear their costumes every day of the year,

not just on Halloween.

~ Douglas Coupland ~

Self-Image

The starting point for both

success and happiness is a

healthy self-image.

Playing the Violin

Life is like playing the violin solo in public

and learning the instrument as you go along.

~ Samuel Butler ~

Music

Music is probably the only real magic

I have encountered in my life.

There's not some trick involved with it.

Its pure and its real.

It moves, it heals, it communicates

and does all these incredible things.

~ Tom Petty ~

Every Day

Every day is a new opportunity.

You can build on yesterday's success

or put its failures behind and start over again.

That's the way life is, with a new game every day,

and that's the way baseball is.

~ Bob Feller ~

What Life Expects

In the Auschwitz death camp, a group of inmates told Victor Frankl

that they no longer expected anything from life.  Frankl responded

that they had it backward.  "Life expects something of you,

and it is up to every individual to discover what it should be."

Point of View

We cling to our own point of view,

as though everything depended on it.

Yet our opinions have no permanence;

like autumn and winter, they

gradually pass away.

~ Zhaungzi ~

Never Be In A Hurry

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly

and in a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace

for anything whatsoever, even if your whole

seems upset.

~ Saint Francis de Sales ~

Dreams & Tasks

A vision without a task

is but a dream.

A task without a dream

is drudgery.

But

Dreams and tasks together

are the hope of the world.

 

 ~ Written by an English Lord in 1730 ~

Doing the Impossible

Never tell a young person that

something cannot be done.  God may

have waited centuries for someone

ignorant enough of the impossible

to do that very thing.

~ Dr. J. R. Holmes ~

Good Humor

Good humor is a tonic for mind and body.

It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression.

It is a business asset.  It attracts and keeps friends.

It lightens human burdens.  It is the direct route

to serenity and contentment.

~ Grenville Kleiser ~

Mother Earth

     I just returned from Albuquerque, New Mexico where I attended the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with my wife, sister, and brother-in-law.  We were fortunate to take a hot-air balloon ride where we flew for about 1 1/2 hours, and rose as high as 9,000 feet.  Upon landing, we were treated to a champagne toast, a French custom for hot-air ballooning, and our pilot read the following Irish Balloonist Prayer:

The winds have welcomed you with softness

The sun has blessed you with it's warm hands

You have flown so high and so well

That God has joined you in laughter

And may set you gently back again

Into the loving arms of Mother Earth

     Flying silently above the land brings a form of serenity and calm to what is often a frenzied existence on earth.   You may not have the opportunity to ride in a hot-air balloon (although I strongly suggest that you put it on your Bucket List), but we all should strive to duplicate that serenity and calm in our lives as we go about our activities here in the loving arms of Mother Earth.  

Don’t Get Discouraged

Don’t get discouraged; it is often

the last key in the bunch that

opens the lock. 

You’re the One

You never work for somebody else. 

Someone else might sign your check

But you’re the one who fills in the amount. 

Things You Wear

Of all the things you wear,

Your expression is the most important. 

~ Janet Lane ~

It's Your Life

It's your life, your one and only life -

so take excellence very personally.

~ Scott Johnson ~