Illinois ladies facing bc

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  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Contentment comes as the infallible result of great acceptances, great humilities--of not trying to make ourselves this or that, but of surrendering ourselves to the fullness of life--of letting life flow through us. -David Grayson

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Success is getting and achieving what you want.
    Happiness is wanting and being content with what you get.
    - Bernard Meltzer

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    "The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

    -- Marcel Proust

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Thank someone for something. Go out of your way today to acknowledge the generosity of a person you know. It doesn't matter if you have known this man or woman your entire life, or have just met him or her and don't know if you will ever see the person again. Thanking them for a service rendered, or a favor given, or for help of some kind will enlarge your personal community to include yet another person. Thanking someone builds community as well as friendship. It makes even the most insignificant encounters, like a stranger holding the door for you at the deli, all the more meaningful. It's a way for two people who will probably never know each other's names to connect, even for a moment. -Alan Epstein

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more "manhood" to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind. -Alex Karras

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life. I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul's growth.

    image
    Jean Shinoda Bolen
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  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    I am the one and only me. I may not think of myself as a creative person, but I know that I have unique talents and skills to share. For instance, art may appear on a canvas, or it may appear in a meal prepared with love. Some hands sculpt clay or play a musical instrument, and some gently hold the hand of a child. Wisdom can be found in books, but it can also be found in quiet conversation across the kitchen table. I am creative in my own unique way. As I more fully express who I am, I bless others, and blessings flow back to me. I am creative, productive, and open to divine inspiration. I give my gifts to the world. -Unattributed

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    I have always disliked the idea that we are being "tested" by God when something awful happens to us. Bad things happen, and none of us are exempt from the possibility that they will come to us as well. I have pondered a different possibility inherent in crisis that in no way changes the fact that it is a genuine disaster: perhaps the events that devastate us carry within them seeds of spiritual "initiation" into a level of knowing we would not otherwise achieve. -Sallirae Henderson

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Would that there were an award for people who come to understand the concept of enough. Good enough. Successful enough. Thin enough. Rich enough. Socially responsible enough. When you have self-respect, you have enough.
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    Gail Sheehy

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery
    that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it,
    and fills it with noble inclinations.
    - Washington Irving

    If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet,
    you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything.
    - Alan Watts
  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    The Sufi poet Rumi wrote, "Your criticism polishes my mirror." If you understand who you are and respect yourself, you will not see criticism as a problem but as an opportunity to become a better person. When you feel inadequate or imperfect, the criticism is threatening and makes you feel that you have to defend yourself. When you are secure--not perfect, but secure--you can listen to the criticism and consider its value. You can say, "I'm sorry." And "thank you for polishing my mirror," and when it is appropriate you can learn from the criticism and improve your behavior. I say when it is appropriate because there are some people who love to find fault in others. That is their problem. -Bernie Siegel

  • chisandy
    chisandy Member Posts: 11,408
    edited September 2020

    Jackie, thank you so much for those inspirational quotes! Just when I begin to despair, they put things back into perspective.

    And now a little levity for all my IL BCO sisters. You know how Los Angeles newscasts are obsessed with police vs. car chases? Well ABC7 Chicago broke into its newscast to show a guy on a horse trotting down the southbound (non-express) lanes of I-94, the Dan Ryan Expwy, during rush hour. He was flanked by a motorcycle escort in all lanes & shoulders to prevent cars from going around him. Police cars (city & state) were no match for him as he was able to weave in & out of several lanes. At one point, traffic was backed up almost 5 miles. Nobody knew what the heck this was about, until the equestrian live-Tweeted (using his phone, pointed at the road ahead of him) that he is (as I suspected) Chicago's famed and beloved "Dreadhead Cowboy" (who lives on the S. Side, keeps several horses at a suburban stable, and has one in his yard at any given time. He is a fixture at both peaceful demonstrations (especially against gang gun violence), parades, fests, large church picnics, etc. He gives neighborhood kids rides, and has even gone to parking lots of children's hospitals so that the ambulatory patients could get to see and even pet a horse/

    He Tweeted that his ride was for "Kids' Lives Matter," the movement protesting the murders of children caught in the crossfire of gang warfare; as well as to call attention to the paucity of city services for kids in low-income neighborhoods. The bikers later said they flanked him to protect him and the horse from being mowed down by cars, and that they weren't necessarily protestors themselves at first. At several points, he brought the horse to a gallop as fast as 17mph, but finally ran out of steam at the 91st St exit to the service road along S. Lafayette Ave., and rode onto the grass, where he stopped, stood on the saddle, and then climbed down and put his hands behind his back for the state troopers to arrest him. People were petting the horse and leading it to a safer place away from traffic. We'll probably learn more--especially if the horse was returned to its stable or his backyard--on the 10pm news. His ride was over 7 miles long. Glad nobody (man or beast*) was hurt. It was mesmerizing to watch--for over 1/2 hr!

    *Unfortunate update: the horse ("NuNu") was taken to Chi. Animal Control's facility, where vet techs discovered it had a hoof injury. Poor thing wasn't built to ride long distances on hard concrete.


  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Sorry to hear about the horse. I'm sure glad there were no other injuries of any kind to anyone. Well, though the idea was noble it really wasn't great to ride a horse on a super busy expressway -- although, he got plenty of air time and coverage. Maybe way more than he would have gotten otherwise. Thanks for sharing that story.

  • chisandy
    chisandy Member Posts: 11,408
    edited September 2020

    Update: Adam Hollingsworth ("Dreadhead Cowboy") has been charged with creating a public nuisance, disobeying a police officer and state trooper, and trespass to state property. Another man who attempted to walk away with NuNu has been charged with attempted animal theft and disobeying an officer. NuNu has two injured hooves and saddle sores, for which she's being treated. Surprising that a guy who loves horses (and is a sort of urban ambassador for them) would allow this to happen. Mayor Lightfoot appeared with him earlier in the summer, dubbing him the Census Cowboy as they went into several low-income neighborhoods urging residents to fill out the census; but she condemned his freeway ride today as a dangerous stunt.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    The most important human endeavor is striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depends on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to our lives. ~ Albert Einstein

    Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the earth. ~ Deepak Chopra

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Letting go can be a gentle process. Our trust in our Higher Power and our faith that good will prevail, in spite of appearances, eases the process. And we must let each experience end, as its moment passes, whether it is good or bad, love or sorrow. It helps to remember that all experiences contribute to our growth and wholeness. -unattributed

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    "See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do? "

    ~ Buddha

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    We humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us to recognize the noblest nature in ourselves. -Thich Nhat Hanh

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Finding the center of strength within ourselves is in the long run the best contribution we can make to our fellow people. . . . One person with indigenous inner strength exercises a great calming effect on panic among people around him or her. This is what our society needs--not new ideas and inventions; important as these are, and not geniuses and superpeople, but persons who can "be", that is, persons who have a center of strength within themselves. -Rollo May, Man's Search for Himself

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
    -Helen Keller

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Judging others will avail you nothing and injure you spiritually. Only if you can inspire others to judge themselves will anything worthwhile have been accomplished. When you approach others in judgment they will be on the defensive. When you are able to approach them in a kindly, loving manner without judgment they will tend to judge themselves and be transformed. -Peace Pilgrim

  • chisandy
    chisandy Member Posts: 11,408
    edited September 2020

    Chilly & rainy today--perfect weather for our temple's pre-recorded indoor YouTube Yom Kippur services at home on my TV. We definitely need the rain!

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    The moment you want to make progress is the moment you become an eternal beginner. The dawn is the beginning of a new day: it symbolizes hope, illumination, and perfection. Every day the dawn plays the role of the beginner. It begins its journey at daybreak and ends its journey in the infinite sun. If you can feel that your whole being—your body, vitality, mind and soul—represents the ever-blossoming dawn, then you will always remain an eternal beginner. -Sri Chimnoy

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited September 2020

    Many people believe that humility is the opposite of pride,
    when, in fact, it is a point of equilibrium. The opposite of
    pride is actually a lack of self-esteem. A humble person
    is totally different from a person who cannot recognize
    and appreciate himself as part of this worlds marvels.
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    Rabino Nilton Bonder

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    True religion is real living;
    living with all one's soul,
    with all one's goodness and righteousness.
    - Albert Einstein

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    To know what you prefer
    instead of humbly saying Amen
    to what the world tells you you ought to prefer,
    is to have kept your soul alive.
    - Robert Louis Stevenson

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    "You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other; our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That is to help each other and not hurt each other."

    -- Stevie Ray Vaughan

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    You are a child of the universe, "fearfully and wonderfully made."
    In the history of creation, there has never been anyone like you.
    Accept this reality about yourself—that you are a special, unique
    human being who has a place on this earth that no one else can fill.

    Acknowledge yourself as a glorious expression of your loving Creator.
    This healthy self-love will form the foundation of a joyful and
    satisfying life. Then, as you love and accept yourself, your inner
    light will shine outward to bless and heal your fellow human beings.

    Douglas Bloch


  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a person who won't cheat, then you know you never will. -John D. MacDonald

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Member Posts: 39,754
    edited October 2020

    This is an eternal and fundamental principle, inherent in all things, in every system of philosophy, in every religion and in every science. There is no getting away from the law of love. It is feeling that imparts vitality to thought. Feeling is desire, and desire is love. Thought impregnated with love becomes invincible. -Charles Haanel