Illinois ladies facing bc
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If you're wondering when you should give to or serve someone else, I believe in doing it spontaneously, perhaps in a shared moment of emotion. Or any time you feel like someone needs your support. Whether you do it all the time, occasionally, or when the opportunity arises, just do it. Reach out and give of yourself and your time. I have seen, time and again, that happiness and enjoyment arise from being of service in simple ways. -Lucinda Bassett
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Welcome, dvhmouse—wish it were under better circumstances. You’ve got a great care team, and a wonderful neighborhood
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giggs I’m in Plainfield
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[The Native American] believes profoundly in silence—the sign of perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. The people who preserve their selfhood ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence—not a leaf, as it were, astir on the tree; not a ripple upon the surface of the shining pool—theirs, in the mind of the unlettered sage, is the ideal attitude and conduct of life. If you ask; "What are the fruits of silence?" he or she will say; "They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity, and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character." - Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman)
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It's possible to have too much in life. Too many clothes jade our appreciation for new ones; too much money can put us out of touch with life; too much free time can dull the edge of the soul. We need sometimes to come very near the bone so that we can taste the marrow of life rather than its superfluities. -Joan Chittister 0 -
When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing — then we truly live life. -Greg Anderson
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What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Joseph AddisonIf a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.
Thich Nhat Hanh0 -
You are something new in this world. Be glad of it. Make the most of what nature gave you. In the last analysis, all art is autobiographical. You can sing only what you are. You can paint only what you are. You must be what your experiences, your environment, and your heredity have made you. For better or for worse, you must cultivate your own little garden. For better or for worse, you must play your own little instrument in the orchestra of life. -Dale Carnegie,
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Our smile will bring happiness to us and to those around us. Even if we spend a lot of money on gifts for everyone in our family, nothing we buy could give them as much happiness as the gift of our awareness, our smile. And this precious gift costs nothing. -Thich Nhat Hanh
A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. -unattributed
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Hot one today (3 in a row) in Chicago--staying put indoors with the A/C and not venturing out into the pollen & mold. Big news around here is the 5-ft. long adult alligator that's been spotted in the Humboldt Park lagoon (a pond in the midst of a city park). Unlike previous sightings, which turned out to be a couple of discarded pet caymans, this is the real thing--also likely dumped by someone who got it as a baby pet and realized it wouldn't remain small and cute. It has a few turtles and maybe some stocked carp to eat, but otherwise it might starve unless rescued and re-homed to a zoo or more natural semi-tropical habitat. The park has been clogged for days with visitors eager to catch a glimpse of "Chance the Snapper," as it's been nicknamed. And the congestion spilled over to surrounding streets--which have now been cordoned off so a team of herpetologists can lure it to the banks to sun itself and then trap it.
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The cure for all the illness of life is stored in the inner depth of life itself, the access to which becomes possible when we are alone. This solitude is a world in itself, full of wonders and resources unthought of. It is absurdly near; yet so unapproachably distant. -Rabindranath Tagore
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Do hope the gator finds a new and more appropriate home.
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Chance the Snapper was humanely caught in the wee hours last night among the lily pads by a modern-day "Amos Moses" (see the Jerry Reed song about an alligator wrestler) who saw its eyes gleam in the moonlight. The herpetologists at the Lincoln Park Zoo are observing him to make sure he's healthy, as the trapper described seeing "signs of fatigue" (gators are obligate carnivores and Chance was running out of frogs, fish and bugs to eat). Once he gets a clean bill of health, Chance will be moved to either a zoo (hope it's Lincoln Park), wildlife sanctuary in the Southeast, or a licensed private reptile & amphibian sanctuary downstate. (No, not as far downstate as Centralia, Jackie--and even the cypress swamp down in extreme southern IL would be too cold in winter for him to survive). Park visitors and Humboldt Park neighbors are both relieved and sad, as he'd become their mascot. IMHO, a fitting tribute would be to add some "gator" paddleboats to the "swan" ones the lagoon rents out.
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Everybody avoids the company of those who are always grumbling, who are full of "ifs" and "buts," and "I told you so's." We like the people who always look toward the sun, whether it shines or not. It is the cheerful, hopeful people we go to for sympathy and assistance; not the carping, gloomy critics,--who always think it is going to rain, and that we are going to have a terribly hot summer, or a fearful thunder-storm, or who are forever complaining of hard times and their hard lot. It is the bright, cheerful, hopeful, contented people who makes their ways, who are respected and admired.
Gloom and depression not only take much out of life, but detract greatly from the chances of winning success. It is the bright and cheerful spirit that wins the final triumph. -Orison Swett Marden0 -
Most people are searching for happiness. They're looking for it. They're trying to find it in someone or something outside of themselves. That's a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something that you are, and it comes from the way you think. -Wayne Dyer
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Life rushes us along and few people are strong enough to stop on their own. Most often, something unforeseen stops us and it is only then we have the time to take a seat at life's kitchen table. To know our own story and tell it. To listen to other people's stories. To remember that the real world is made up of just such stories. Until we stop ourselves or, more often, have been stopped, we hope to put certain of life's events "behind us" and get on with our living. After we stop we see that certain of life's issues will be with us for as long as we live. We will pass through them again and again, each time with a new story, each time with a greater understanding, until they become indistinguishable from our blessings and our wisdom. It's the way life teaches us how to live. -Rachel Naomi Remen
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The art of contentment is the recognition that the most satisfying and the most dependably refreshing experiences of life lie not in great things but in little. The rarity of happiness among those who achieved much is evidence that achievement is not in itself the assurance of a happy life. The great, like the humble, may have to find their satisfaction in the same plain things.
Edgar A. Collard0 -
You can't live a perfect day without doing something
for someone who will never be able to repay you.
- John Wooden0 -
Buried deep in the maze of commonplace, the pearl of true happiness lies. And those who rejoice in little things, find the pathway that leads to the prize.
Lucy M. Thompson0 -
Strength is a capacity for endurance. One of the dividends of suffering is the universal discovery the we possess a strength within us we never knew we had. Navigating through a difficult episode not only shows us that inner strength is there but convinces us it will always be there to serve us in the future. Overcoming gives us an assurance of personal confidence and value that far exceeds what we thought we possessed before our struggles began. -Dennis Wholey
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People are ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to them, that of plants and animals as that of their fellow people, and when they devote themselves helpfully to all life that is in need of help. -Albert Schweitzer 0 -
As I look back at the entire tapestry of my life, I can see from the perspective of the present moment that every aspect of my life was necessary and perfect. Each step eventually led to a higher place, even though these steps often felt like obstacles or painful experiences. -Wayne Dyer
The tapestry of life continues to be woven. Occasionally a chance arises to repair an older, tattered piece of the weave. Something happens to jolt our awareness back in time to an event that resulted in tears and rips. With new, more mature vision, we see the circumstances in present time and have compassion for the unclear events of the past. While the new experience is being woven into the design, the old rip is simultaneously being repaired. All is well. -Bessie Senette
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The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, they speak to me.
The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
The strength of the fire, the taste of the salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me. And my heart soars. -Chief Dan George0 -
The wise man in the storm prays God,
not for safety from danger,
but for deliverance from fear.
It is the storm within which endangers him,
not the storm without.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson0 -
To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done--this is how I desire to waste wisely my days. -Thomas Dekker
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A little something different today:
The telephone rang. It was a call from his mother. He answered it and his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."
Memories f...lashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered.
Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture...Jack stopped suddenly...
"What'swrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said.
"I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack went to the post office and retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.
Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filled his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! -- Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most was my time!"
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.*
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with the people I love and say I care for," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100 percent true.
1. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
2. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
3. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
4. You mean the world to someone.
5. If not for you, someone may not be living.
6. You are special and unique.
7. Have trust sooner or later you will get what you wish for or something better.
8. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.
9. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a hard look: you most likely turned your back on the world and the people who love and care for you.
10. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
12. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy.
13. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.
Share this letter with all the people you care about. In doing so, you will certainly brighten someone's day and might change their perspective on life...for the better.
To everyone who read this just now....
*"Thanks for your time."* 😊0 -
Listening is the oldest and perhaps the most powerful tool of healing. It is often through the quality of our listening and not the wisdom of our words that we are able to effect the most profound changes in the people around us. When we listen, we offer with out attention an opportunity for wholeness. Our listening creates sanctuary for the homeless parts within the other person. That which has been denied, unloved, devalued by themselves and others. That which is hidden.
In this culture the soul and the heart too often go homeless. Listening creates a holy silence. When you listen generously to people, they can hear the truth in themselves, often for the first time. And in the silence of listening, you can know yourself in everyone. Eventually you may be able to hear, in everyone and beyond everyone, the unseen singing softly to itself and to you.
Rachel Naomi Remen
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To possess a rich life of wholeness that brings happiness into the soul, is to show loving and caring characteristic traits toward others.
Ellen J.Barrier
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This is my simple religion.
There is no need for temples;
no need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama0
