Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

… One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band – he could see it. In his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find his lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”

Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.

“Today is a gift, that’s why it is called the present.”

People will forget what you said… People will forget what you did… But people will never forget how you made them feel…

THE TONGUE CAN BE YOUR WORST ENEMY!

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create
conditions in your life.
What you speak about, you can bring about.

If you keep saying you can’t stand your job, you might lose your job.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your body, your body can become sick.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating.
If you keep saying you’re broke, guess what? You’ll always be broke.
If you keep saying you can’t trust a man or trust a woman, you will
always find someone in your life To hurt and betray you.
If you keep saying you can’t find a job, you will remain unemployed.
If you keep saying you can’t find someone to love you or believe in you,
your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs.
If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then
you might end up with it.

There is power in the tongue.

Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action.
Don’t be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve.

Watch your Thoughts, they become words.
Watch your Words, they become actions.
Watch your Actions, they become habits.
Watch your Habits, they become character.
Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny.

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settle for.

In the search for Me, I discovered Truth.
In the search for Truth, I discovered Love.
In the search for Love, I discovered GOD.
And in God, I have found Everything.

Be Blessed

Watch how your circumstances and situations begin to change when you change the way you speak.
Pass this on to as many people……as you can, so they can change their lives, too.

“Life is like melted butter. . .once things cool down, it can be
reshaped!”

Faith makes all things Possible.
Hope makes all things Work.
Love makes all things Beautiful

A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics …

… nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back……every one of them.

One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.” Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story.

Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course. If you pass this on, we may be able to change our hearts as well as someone else’s.

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle”

A new preacher was walking with an older more seasoned preacher in the garden one day.

Feeling a bit insecure, he wondered aloud about the WILL OF GOD for his life and for his Ministry. Walking to a rosebush, the older preacher plucked a rosebud and asked the younger preacher to open it without tearing off any petals. It wasn’t long before the young preacher realized how impossible it was to do so.

Noticing the younger preacher’s dilemma, the older preacher said. “It is only a tiny rosebud, a flower of God’s design; but a man’s clumsy hands cannot open it. The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to us. GOD opens this flower so sweetly, when in our hands they break up and die. If we cannot unfold a simple rosebud, then how can we have the wisdom to unfold our lives? So let us trust Him to lead each moment of our days. Let us look to him for His guidance each step of the pilgrim’s way. The pathway that lies before us, only our Heavenly Father knows. He is the master designer. Let us trust Him to unfold the moments, just as He unfolds the rose”

Don’t try harder, instead… DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY

A fly's futile attempt to go through the window

I’m sitting is a quiet room at the Millcroft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto. It’s just past noon, late July, and I’m listening to the desperate sounds of a life-or-death struggle going on just a few feet away.
There’s a small fly burning out the last of its short life’s energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane. The whirring wings tell the poignant story of the fly’s strategy: try harder.
But it’s not working.
The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap. It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination.
This fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill.
Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks. With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self-imposed trap. The breakthrough possibility is there. It would be so easy.
Why doesn’t the fly try another approach, something dramatically different? How did it get so locked in on the idea that this particular route and determined effort, offer the most promise for success? What logic is there in continuing until death, to seek a breakthrough with ‘more of the same?’
No doubt this approach makes sense to the fly. Regrettably, it’s an idea that will kill.
‘Trying harder’ isn’t necessarily the solution to achieving more. It may not offer any real promise for getting what you want out of life. Sometimes, in fact, it’s a big part of the problem.

If you stake your hopes for a breakthrough on trying harder than ever, you may kill your chances for success.
– Price Pritchett, PhD

****************************

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

So what are you going to change, and when? What are you waiting for? Each new day is an opportunity for a new beginning.  But if you think you’re going to re-commit – knuckle down, raise the bar, lengthen your stride – whatever you want to call it, and if you think the results you’re looking for are simply a matter of commitment and hard work, you are sadly mistaken.

You can’t make significant changes just working harder. You’ve got to work smarter. You have got to commit to working different. Instead of committing to change something, commit to changing everything… to change itself. Don’t commit to a result, but commit to the process of ever-improving results.

” Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;

   it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

– William Jennings Bryan

Don’t try harder, instead…

DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY

The Horse that Fell Into a Hole

Life is Good

There once was a horse that was walking through the woods one dark night. The horse was upset about how his life had turned out, and having to walk home in the darkness made him even more so. He wondered if life was worth living.

All of a sudden, the horse fell into a deep dark hole.

The horse screamed, “Help! It is so dark down here, and I can’t get out.” No one answered.

The horse screamed again and again, “Please, someone help me!” “I have fallen down into a deep, dark pit, and I cannot get out.” Still no one answered.

The horse then started to panic. He thought, “I am never going to get out of the hole. I will die here!’

The horse started to fight against the darkness and depth of the pit. He kicked the sides as he jumped and screamed, “Help me!”

The dirt was flying everywhere. He kicked, jumped and screamed more and more.  And before the horse could realize what he was doing, he was staring at the top of the hole. He had dug himself out of the predicament he was in.

The horse smiled and trotted off home, realizing that life was so good after all.

“I asked God for all things, that I might enjoy life. God gave life that I might enjoy all things.” Unknown Author

INDISPENSABLE?

Do you think nobody can fill your shoes?

Sometimes when you are feeling important

Sometimes when your ego’s in bloom

Sometimes when you take it for granted

You are the best qualified in the room-

 

Sometimes, when you feel that your going

Would leave a hole too big to fill,
Just follow this simple instruction
And see how it humbles your soul.

 

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in, up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that’s remaining
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.

 

The moral of this quaint example
Is – just do the best that you can.
Be proud of yourself, but remember –
There’s no indispensable man.

The Daffodil Principle

Start Your Ambitious Project Tomorrow

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come  see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.”I will come next Tuesday, ” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.”

“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her. “I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car.” “How far will we have to drive?”

“Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.”

After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage!”

“We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.”

“It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden.”

We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and

slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns — great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.

There were five acres of flowers. “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one.”50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.

I thought of this woman

whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun — one bulb at a time — to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.

Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward o

ur goals and desires one step at a time — often just one baby-step at a time — and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!” My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said.

It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use today?”

.

DID GOD CREATE EVIL?

Satan in his playground

Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil?
A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question: “Did God create everything that exists?” A student bravely replied, “Yes he did!”
“God created everything?” The professor asked. “Yes sir, he certainly did,” the student replied.
The professor answered, “If God created everything, then God created evil. And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then we can assume God is evil.”
The student became quiet and did not answer the professor’s hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said, “May I ask you a question, professor?” “Of course,” replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, “Professor, does cold exist?” “What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?” The other students snickered at the young man’s question.
The young man replied, “In fact, sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat.”
The student continued, “Professor, does darkness exist?” The professor responded, “Of course it does.”
The student replied, “Once again you are wrong, sir, darkness does not exist, either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton’s prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wave lengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn’t this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present.”
Finally the young man asked the professor, “Sir, does evil exist?” Now uncertain, the professor responded, “Of course, as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”
To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”
The professor sat down.
The young man’s name – –

Albert Einstein….