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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Wealth

Things Are Not Always What They Seem...
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen?
The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.
"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."
Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.. Some people become friends and stay awhile...leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts... and we are never quite the same because we have made a good friend!!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery.

Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!

I think this is special...live and savor every moment...

Life is not a dress rehearsal!

Friday, February 22, 2008

The Practice: Dalai Lama

A group spent days visiting with the Dalai Lama focusing upon what they believe the five most important questions to be considered moving into the new millennium.

The five questions were:

1. How do we address the widening gap between rich and poor?

2. How do we protect the earth?

3. How do we educate our children?

4. How do we help Tibet and other oppressed countries and peoples of the world?

5. How do we bring spirituality (deep caring for one another) through all disciplines of life?

The Dalai Lama said all five questions fall under the last one. If we have true compassion in our hearts, our children will be educated wisely, we will care for the earth, those who "have not" will be cared for. The group asked the Dalai Lama, "Do you think loving on the planet is increasing or staying the same?" His response: "My experience leads me to believe that love IS increasing." He shared a simple practice that will increase loving and compassion in the world. He asked everyone in the group to share it with as many people as they can.

The Practice:

1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one another.

2. Spend 5 minutes -- breathing in - cherishing yourself; and, breathing out - cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing, extend your cherishing to them anyway.

3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants,etc.), as well as the "important" people in your life; cherish the people you love and the people you dislike.

4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you. These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The Ant And The Contact Lens

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a holdon the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked outacross range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is.

Please help me." Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

At the risk of being accused of being fatalistic, I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will."
"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called"

Friday, February 15, 2008

I Am Thankful For.......

-The mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

-The taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.

-The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat

-My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

-A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

-All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.

-The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

-My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

-The lady behind me in temple who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

-The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

-Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.

-The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I'm alive.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Fifteen Interludes of Life

1. Don't go for wealth - it can deceive;
Don't be hung up on looks - they will fade away.
Go for someone who makes you smile
'cause only a smile makes a dark day bright.
Have hope that you find that person who gets you smiling.

2. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human,
enough hope to make you happy and
enough money to buy gifts!!!

3. When one door of happiness closes, another opens
but often we look so long at the closed door that
we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

4. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it,
but it's also true that we don't know what
we've been missing until it arrives.

5. Always put yourself in other's shoes.
If you feel that it hurts you,
no doubt it probably hurts the other person, too.

6. The beginning of love is to let those we love be
perfectly themselves,
and not to twist them with our own image -
- otherwise, we love only the reflection of
ourselves we find in them.

7. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong
people before meeting the right one
so that when we finally meet the right person,
we should know how to be grateful for that gift.

8. It takes a minute to become infatuated with someone,
an hour to like someone and a day to love someone -
but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

9. Love is when you take away the feeling, the
passion, the romance and you find out you still
love the person.

10. A sad thing about life is when you meet
someone who means so much to you only to find out
that beloved one doesn't feel as you do, and you find
yourself needing to choose between staying
and feeling hurt, or letting go.

11. Love starts with a smile, develops
with a kiss and ends with either a tear or an eternal embrace.

12. Love comes to those who still hope
even though they've been disappointed,
to those who still believe, even though
they've been betrayed,
to those who still love even
though they've been deeply wounded before.

13. It hurts to love someone and not be
loved in return, but what is the most
painful is to love someone and never
finding the courage to let the
person know how you feel.

14. There are things you love to hear
but you would never hear it from the
person whom you would like to hear it from,
but don't be deaf to hear it from the person
who does say it to you with his heart.

15. When you were born, you were crying
and everyone around you was smiling - live
your life so that when you die, you're smiling
and everyone around you is crying ~ tears
of joy for having known you.

Inner Harvest

When I'm comfortable with me, I'm comfortable with you.

I can't expect you to give me peace and serenity -- they come from within, and they are nurtured by spiritual growth. If I'm uncomfortable with myself, not at peace, the tension spills over into my relationship with you, and nothing seems quite right.
We are each responsible for our own serenity. It develops out of knowing who we are and what we need, accepting our flaws along with our potential for positive change, and believing in the force for ultimate good. To be comfortable with ourselves requires that we face our inner tigers and stare them down. When we can enjoy our time alone without needing to escape into some form of distraction, we know serenity. How comfortable I am when I'm with you depends on my level of self-esteem. When it's high and healthy, I can relate to you without demanding consciously or unconsciously that you make up for what I lack. The serenity I crave results from my own commitment to recovery through spiritual growth.

The inner work I do today will help nurture my relationships.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Song Of The Bird

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.

All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet in the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked.

"That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth -- we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.

The Burning Hut

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.
"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.
"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

Remember next time your little hut is burning to the ground - - it just
may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.