Like
It or Not
Whether we like it or not, there are days in life which we do not see coming.
It may be a day that you receive a pleasant unexpected compliment, which brings a smile to your face and warmth in your heart.
A compliment may be from a friend or colleague, employer, family member, person in your care or by a random person who recognises and appreciates your efforts.
These are good days, days we like, moments to remember.
Then there are the days which start off like any other day and just don’t quite turn out the way we planned.
There are days which serve you an unexpected event or comment. Days which have you reflecting upon, even in your sleep.
Days in which you wonder whether you should have reacted or responded in a different way to a situation or event. Days which you wonder how it would have had played out if you had refrained from saying or had chosen to say or reacted differently to a situation or event.
What is said is done.
Remember, it may take a life time to build a relationship and trust and only a second to take it away.
Whether we like it or not, there are days in life which you do not see coming.
People are all different. There are some which are affectionate, considerate and perhaps sensitive to those they meet. These people bring a smile to your face and provide warmth in your heart.
Then there are people who have an agenda and a need to fulfill their own goals and aspirations. These people may not totally consider their actions and their words are often quite powerful.
You see, these people are often not as wavering as others. Their life may be one that is based on what history has taught them and not about their situation at hand.
Whether we like it or not, everyone is different.
Life is about choices. The way we deal with situations and people is a choice. Choose wisely, and do so with thought, patience and care.
Life is about not living with regrets.
Life is about moving on and not being too hurt or affected by things we do not like.
Life is about providing moments that you can reflect upon and smile.
Remember these moments, for these are the ones we should live for.
Sensei Michael
Caruana
“The Window" (Author unknown)
Two
men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to
sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids 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. And every afternoon when the man in the bed next to 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 would live for those one-hour periods where his world
would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the outside
world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks
and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers
walked arm in arm amid flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Grand old trees
graced the landscape, 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 could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's
eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should we have all the
pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn't seem
fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days
passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and
soon turned him sour. He began to brood and found himself unable to
sleep. He should be by that window - and that thought now controlled his life.
Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to
cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man
watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the
button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never
pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than
five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of
breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence.
The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths.
When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and
called the hospital attendant to take it away...no words, no fuss. As soon as it
seemed appropriate, the 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.
Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly
turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
Moral of the story:
The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice...it is a positive attitude we
consciously choose to express. It is not a gift that gets delivered to our
doorstep each morning, nor does it come through the window. And I am certain
that our circumstances are just a small part of what makes us joyful. If we wait
for them to get just right, we will never find lasting joy.
The pursuit of happiness is an inward journey. Our minds are like
programs, awaiting the code that will determine behaviours; like bank vaults
awaiting our deposits. If we regularly deposit positive, encouraging, and
uplifting thoughts, if we continue to bite our lips just before we begin to
grumble and complain, if we shoot down that seemingly harmless negative thought
as it germinates, we will find that there is much to rejoice about.
THE
OBSTACLE IN OUR PATH
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself
and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's
wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along
carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down
his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much
pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load
of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the
gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant
learned what many others never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.
Weakness Or Strength?
Sometimes
your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the
story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he
had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The
boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of
training, the master had taught him only one move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "shouldn't I be learning more
moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move
you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the
boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first
tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The
third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent
became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.
Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more
experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the
boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the
match when the sensei intervened.
"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical
mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The
boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in
each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really
on his mind.
"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First,
you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second,
the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left
arm."
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
Author Unknown
Don’t We All
I was parked
in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come
from the car
wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work.
Coming my way
from across the parking lot was what society would
consider a
bum.
From the
looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no
money. There
are times when you feel generous but there are other times
that you just
don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't
want to be
bothered times."
"I hope he
doesn't ask me for any money," I thought.
He didn't.
He came and
sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look
like he could
have enough money to even ride the bus.
After a few
minutes he spoke.
"That's a
very pretty car," he said.
He was ragged
but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly
blond beard
keep more than his face warm.
I said,
"thanks," and continued wiping off my car.
He sat there
quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never
came.
As the
silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if
he needs any
help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true
to the inner
voice.
"Do you need
any help?" I asked.
He answered
in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget.
We often look
for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from
those of
higher learning and accomplishments.
I expected
nothing but an
outstretched
grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me.
"Don't we
all?" he said.
I was feeling
high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum
in the
street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge
shotgun.
Don't we all?
I needed
help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I
needed help.
I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus
fare, but
enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those
three little
words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter
how much you
have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you
have, no
matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or
a place to
sleep, you can give help.
Even if it's
just a compliment, you can give that.
You never
know when you may see someone that appears to have it all.
They are
waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different
perspective
on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from
daily chaos,
that only you through a torn world can see.
…Three very
important words to ponder upon, “Don’t we all.”
The Brick
About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tyres madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is going to cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention
. . . Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things that we experience in day-to-day life are bricks which we can use to learn from and build positive futures.
The Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
The Peasant
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many others never understand…”Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.”
Value
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!
Make a Difference
A man was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along he began to see another man in the distance.
As he grew nearer he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up, and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.
As our friend approached even closer he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach, and one at a time, he was throwing them back into the ocean.
The first man was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good Evening Friend, I was wondering what are you doing?" And he replied, "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they will die from the lack of oxygen."
"I understand," my friend replied "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you couldn't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many and don't you realize that this is happening on hundreds of beaches up and down this coast ... can't you see that that you can't possibly make a difference?
The local native smiled, bent down, picked up yet another starfish ... and as he threw it back out into the sea, he replied, "It made a difference to that one!"
You may feel like you cannot make a difference in the world today, but you CAN make a difference in one life at a time.
Dreams
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she
told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and share a chocolate
milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we
would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening
to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made
friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the
attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the
podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by
five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the
microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent
and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me
just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: "We do not stop playing because
we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to
staying young, being happy, and achieving success. "You have to laugh and find
humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!"
"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are
nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive
thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay
in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can
grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by
always finding the opportunity in change."
"Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but
rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with
regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each
of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the years end
Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can
possibly be.
The
Sculpture’s Attitude
I woke up early today,
excited over all I get to do before the
clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities
to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what
kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or ... I can
be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.
Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or ... I can
be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and
guide me away from waste.
Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when
I was growing up or ...I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.
Today I can cry because roses have thorns or ... I can
celebrate that thorns have roses.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or ... I can excitedly
embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can whine because I have to go to work or ... I can
shout for joy because I have a job to do.
Today I can complain because I have to go to school or ...
Eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or
I can feel honoured because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body
and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. Here I
am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind
of day I will have!
I Believe
I Believe...That just
because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And
just because they don't argue, It doesn't mean they do love each other.
I Believe..That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends
change.
I Believe...That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every
once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I Believe...That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest
distance.
I Believe...That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache
for life.
I Believe...That it may take me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I Believe...That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I Believe...That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I Believe...That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I Believe...That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs
to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I Believe...That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I Believe...That my best friend and I, can do anything, or nothing and have the
best time.
I Believe...That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.
I Believe...That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry,
But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I Believe...That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've
had
And what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've
celebrated.
I Believe...That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others. Sometimes,
you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I Believe...That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop
for your grief.
I Believe...That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we
are,
But, we are responsible for who we become.
I Believe...That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change
your life Forever.
I Believe...Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something
totally different.
I Believe...That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who
don't even know you.
I Believe...That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend
cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.
I Believe...That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I Believe...That the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of
everything. They just make the most of everything.