ACHIEVING GREATNESS
Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance ... or even superior to the psychological baggage picked up along the way.
And when we become aware that we do not have to escape our pains, but that we can mobilize them (even our sins) into a common search for life, those very pains (and sins) are transformed from expressions of despair into signs of hope.
A CLOWN'S PRAYER
As I stumble through this life, help me to create more laughter than tears. Never let me become so indifferent, that I will fail to see the wonder in the eyes of a child.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them forget, at least momentarily, the unpleasantness in their lives.
And in my final moment, may I hear You whisper: "When you made My people smile, you made Me smile."
AGE
It sure is a funny thing.Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids?
If you're under than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm 4 and half."
You're never 36 and a half, but you're 4 and a half going on 5. That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16." You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16.
And then the greatest day of your life happens: you become 21. Even the words sounds like a ceremony, you BECOME 21.
But then you turn 30. Ooohhh, what happened here?? My, you sound like bad milk. She TURNED? What changed???
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50, then you make it to 60. Whew ... I didn't think I'd make it.
MAKE IT to 60, and by then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70.
After that, it's a day by day thing.
You HIT Wednesday, you get into your 80s, you HIT lunch. And it doesn't end there.
Into the 90's, you start going backwards: I was JUST 92. Then a strange thing happens, if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again: I'm 100 and a half.
Age, sure is a funny thing.
ANGELS
Angels are mythical symbols and have no real external existence. They are manifestations of concepts in individual minds, which reflect shared images across a culture. Over time the form and type of angels has changed. They are in some ways the dreams of a committee. Individual weird images of angels that do not sit the existing stereotypes are ignored, those that largely fit existing patterns are granted permission to fuse with the existing myths. Similar processes can be seen today with the evolution of various types of aliens and UFOs. If you claimed you saw a 500 foot pulsating pepperoni pizza in the sky you would be dismissed as a fruitcake, but if your story is suitably similar to existing stories then people will want to hear about any unique features, which can then become part of the pattern that newer experiences are compared with.
Some angel stories are dreams that are confused with reality, some are the result of deliberately induced visions, some are made up to order, many are dreams that are embellished, some might be real events misinterpreted. Some are probably the result of specific seizure-like brain events that can produce very strong, more-vivid-than-reality illusions in the brain that bypass the normal senses. Similar impressions of presences and the like can be induced in laboratory experiments, the subjective impression received is totally convincing, only the fact that they can be turned on and off at the discretion of the experimenter sets them aside from "spiritual" experiences.
ANXIETY
Working for a living is good. It's the anxiety over making a living that is not good. Don't let your inner self get involved in your business. That inner self must be preserved for fulfilling your purpose in life. Making lots of money is not your purpose in life … From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
A SECOND CHANCE
A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of clothes I wore ... but the world may be much different because I was important in the life of a child ... so:
If I had a child to raise all over again,
I'd finger-paint more, and point the fingers less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love. |
A LESSON IN HEART
A lesson in "heart" is this little 10 year old girl who was born with a muscle weakness in her leg requiring a leg support all her life. She came home one beautiful spring day to tell her mother she had competed in "field day." That's where they have lots of races and other competitive events.
Because of her leg support, the mother's mind raced as she tried to think
of encouragement for her daughter, things she could say to her about not letting this get her down … but before she could get a word out, the girl said, "And Mommy, I won two of the races."
Her mother couldn't believe it. And then the girl said, "I had an advantage" … Ahh, the mother expected something like that. She thought her daughter must have been given a head start, some kind of physical advantage.
But again, before her mother could say anything, the girl said, "Mommy, I didn't even get a head start. My advantage was I had to try harder."
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