Love these quotes and advice!

Today when I got up, I realized that I maybe being up yesterday...was a bit too much!
So today I had to just lay low.
I loved these quotes...

20/20 vision

We listened, as probably much of the world did last night as our President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. As we watched the excitement around the world, we realized how many years we all have been waiting for this day. We also listened to the phone interviews with many of the people who lost family members in the Sept. 11th attack. It was interesting to hear how some were still angry, some excited and some... a mixture of both.

Many of the kids that were celebrating at the White House were young adults, who at the time of Sept. 11th were only probably around 9-10 years old. Still their whole life they have been watching the world look for Osama bin Laden. I liked seeing the ones who were holding up the American Flag and singing songs, much better than the kids that were just screaming and jumping around in front of the camera.

We have a nephew in the service right now, and we were grateful to hear that there were no American soldiers were hurt during this attack. I thought as I listened and watched last night, how different everyone's view on this whole thing was. When you have children or loved ones that are serving in the Military, every day you are concerned and watching the news. And yet to others who aren't as involved, it seems a world away at times.
I do think we need to daily pray and think about all those who defend and protect our country. Each day they are putting their lives at risk ...to save ours! 

I also believe the only way we are going to have 20/20 vision on this subject, is if we never take for granted our freedom and liberty!

I pray we will continue to have more success. God Bless America!

 

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."  ~Abraham Lincoln

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."  ~Elmer Davis

"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy."  ~Paul Sweeney

How we see the world

I love this story...so true!

A Yiddish Folk Tale
An old man sat outside the walls of a great city. When travelers approached, they would ask the old man, "What kind of people live in this city?" The old man would answer, "What kind of people live in the place where you came from?" If the travelers answered, "Only bad people live in the place where we came from," the old man would reply, "Continue on; you will find only bad people here."
But if the travelers answered, "Good people live in the place where we came from," then the old man would say, "Enter, for here too, you will find only good people."

"We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it."  ~ Stephen R. Covey

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." ~ Unknown

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

How is your vision?

I read this quote the other day that really hit home to me. Here it is ... "A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing
eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision." 

That is so true! Being able to have a healthy perspective in life is very valuable. It seems like the hardest times to do that is when...life gets really hard such as... a heart ache, illness and disease, death, loss of job and on and on. But those are the times that we need to make sure that our vision is clear. We must focus on what is real and what is the most important. I guess that is why my whole life I have loved people older than me. When my grandmothers and Aunt use to tell me stories about their lives...I loved it! I hung on every word. It seemed like they gained a greater insight into life, because of their trials and struggles. At my age now, I truly understand how that happens. Life is a great teacher and we need to be great pupils and keep our vision clear.

So let's try and remember, that no matter what happens in life, there is a reason,and that there is a lesson to be learned in all of this. Yes, being able to see that life is good, and that we are blessed is a very important thing...that we definitely DON'T want to lose!

 

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." (p.43) from Mitch Albom's international bestseller "Tuesdays with Morrie

"May we never let the things we can't have, or don't have, or shouldn't have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we do have and can have. As we value our happiness, let us not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have."  ~ Richard L. Evans

"A beautiful life does not just happen, it is built daily by prayer, humility, sacrifice and love. May that beautiful life be yours always!"   ~ Dennis Castillo

Perception

Someone sent this to me today, it was a true story about perception. It was wonderful and definitely worth passing on. It also gives us all something to think about. Enjoy!

       THE SITUATION

In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:

The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story.  Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

    *In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

    *If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

    *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

 

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."  ~ Camille Pissarro

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."  ~Marcel Proust.

"What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are."  ~C. S. Lewis.

Difference between Night and Day?

Jeff and I read this somewhere the other day and I loved it! " The rabbi who once asked his pupils, “how can you tell when night has ended and day is about to begin?” The pupils pondered for a while, argued, and finally one of them said, “Could it be when you look off in the distance and see two trees, and you are able to tell that one is a fig tree and one is a palm tree?” The rabbi answered, “No.” The pupils argued a bit longer until another one offered, “Could it be when you look off in the distance and, seeing two animals, are able to distinguish that one is a sheep and one is a dog?” Again the rabbi answered, “No.” Finally, exasperated by the arguing, the students said, “All right then rabbi, tell us, how do you know when night has ended and the day is about to begin?” The rabbi slowly looked each one of them in the eye and said, “It is when you can look on the face of any man or woman and see there a brother or a sister. Because if you cannot do that, no matter what time of day it is, it is still night.”

God does not expect that we will change the world in an instant, or heal all its divisions on our own – only that we be human; that we treat others as neighbors; that we not let our own needs blind us to our capacity to help others.  http://saintalbanchurch.org/carosel/sermon-alan-gates-july-11-2010/

"May God grant us the vision and courage
to tell the difference between night and day;
to recognize our brothers and sisters;
to offer our eyes, even when we are lame;
to offer our legs, even when we are blind.
to be the unexpected but ordinary heroes along the roadside of our own life’s journey."

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  ~Anne Frank

"I expect to pass through life but once.  If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."          ~William Penn

Parable of the Muddy Footprints

 

I read in a story related by Jack Weyland in 1986, about a parable which he calls the Muddy Footprints. Here is the jest of the parable. He mentions all of us, at some time in our lives whether we mean to, or not ...leave muddy footprints. He mentions there are three kinds of people in the world...

Those who absolutely refuse to do anything to clean them up.

Those who will only clean up when they are required to.

And those who see the mud and voluntarily go about cleaning up.

It made me wonder when I read this, about how aware we are of our choices and decisions we make in life. Is our vision limited? Do we only see what we want to see?  Or do we pay attention to the results of our actions and if they are wrong, are we the first ...to try and make up for the damage we might have caused? How is our conscience? Do we feel bad, when we have done something wrong or offended someone ( even by mistake)? How do we then, go about handling the situation? I believe it is important to be responsible for our actions. We will all make mistakes, but it what we do about those mistakes, that show our true character. It is important to lose the tunnel vision and see the whole picture, remember we aren't the only one going through this school called... LIFE!

Just food for thought!

“By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.” ~ Grenville Kleiser

"Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous-not just to some people in some circumstances-but to everyone all the time."  ~ Thomas J. Watson, Sr

"Everybody, my friend, everybody lives for something better to come. That's why we want to be considerate of every man--Who knows what's in him, why he was born and what he can do? " ~ Maxim Gorky

Looking out our own windows

I was grateful for my sister-in-law sending me this cute poem, which had a profound meaning.

WINDOW THROUGH WHICH WE LOOK

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they were eating breakfast,The young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
Depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

I really loved this! A great reminder for us all! Good night!

 

"JUDGEMENTS PREVENT US FROM SEEING THE GOOD THAT LIES BEYOND APPEARANCES" ~ Wayne Dyer

"EVERYTHING THAT IRRITATES US ABOUT OTHERS CAN LEAD US TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES"                     ~ Carl Gustay Jung

Light verses Darkness

I have a few dear friends, who are truly going through some huge challenges in their lives. Some of a physical nature, others of a emotional and spiritual nature. One this that is common with all of them is PAIN! They are hurting in different ways, but they certainly are hurting. I don't have answers for them or a cure for their problems, but I do know that they will need all the light that they can find. Still I know that the dark times are part of the lessons in life.

I found this inspirational story and thought of my dear friends, who are surrounded my some darkness and hopeless feelings. I pray that they will hang on and that soon, there will be healing that comes there way and I am sure when it does, there will be a lot of light that comes with it too!

Walk In The Light.
By: Audrina Jones Bunton

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It was a mild October night, weeks after the horrific September 11 terrorists attacks on our nation. With a mix of anticipation and apprehension, my husband, children and I, entered the gates of the North Carolina state fair. The fair lights illuminated the sky as thousands of fair attendees attempted to escape into hours of fun and fantasy. While trying to temporarily remove the overshadowing fear that more tragedy may be imminent, the excessive police security constantly reminded us of our nation's tragic events.

Despite the constant reminders, we went about as usual, playing games, enjoying the rides, and consuming loads of food. Before we knew it, the thrill was gone, our bellies were full, and our time at this annual event was concluding. We retraced our previous path, searching for the exit, while making pit stops along the way.

All of a sudden, we stepped out of the illuminating light into darkness. The fair lights vanished -- though only in a certain area -- our area. What happened? Could it be another terrorist attack, or just a coincidence? Glancing around at fellow fair attendees, I calmly observed actions and reactions. Amazingly, hundreds continued walking around in the dark, as though things were okay, never trying to go toward the light. Like us, others chose to take the necessary steps to follow the light -- the light that would lead us to the exit. Step after step, we finally reached the light.

This darkness is symbolic of life. Many of us consciously choose to stay in the dark areas of our lives with unsatisfying jobs, meaningless relationships, and unfulfilling lives. Knowing that the light surrounds us, we choose to remain in the dark. Only by taking the necessary steps will we see the light out of our situations. If we never take the steps, we will never see the light of fulfillment and purpose.

Today, examine your situation and then take the necessary steps toward the light. For there, you will find the life you've deservingly longed for. Who knows -- the light may only be one step away.

 

"When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly."  ~ Patrick Overton

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