A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched as a small boat with just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked.
"Oh, a few hours," the Mexican fisherman replied.
"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked.
The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."
The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ballgames, and take siesta with my wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs..."
The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats."
Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger profits, "Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise."
Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"
After a rapid mental calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard."
"And then what, señor?" asked the fisherman.
"Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?" asked the young fisherman in disbelief.
The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ballgames, and take siesta with your wife. You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends all you want."
The moral of the story is: Know what really matters in life, and you may find that it is already much closer than you think.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Near-Death Experience Story of Mellen-Thomas Benedict
In 1982, I died from terminal cancer. My condition was non-operable. I chose not to have chemotherapy. I was given six to eight months to live. Before this time, I had become increasingly despondent over the nuclear crisis, the ecology crisis, and so forth. I came to believe that nature had made a mistake – that we were probably a cancerous organism on the planet. And that is what eventually killed me.
Before my near-death experience, I tried all sorts of alternative healing methods. None helped. So I determined that this was between me and God. I had never really considered God. Neither was I into any kind of spirituality. But my approaching death sent me on a quest for more information about spirituality and alternative healing. I read various religions and philosophies. They gave hope that there was something on the other side.
I had no medical insurance, so my life savings went overnight on tests. Unwilling to drag my family into this, I determined to handle this myself. I ended up in hospice care and was blessed with an angel for my hospice caretaker, whom I will call "Anne." She stayed with me through all that was to follow.
Into the Light
I woke up about 4:30 am and I knew that this was it. I was going to die. I called a few friends and said good-bye. I woke up Anne and made her promise that my dead body would remain undisturbed for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember, I was fully aware and standing up. Yet my body was lying in the bed. I seemed to be surrounded by darkness, yet I could see every room in the house, and the roof, and even under the house.
A Light shone. I turned toward it, and was aware of its similarity to what others have described in near-death experiences. It was magnificent and tangible, alluring. I wanted to go towards that Light like I might want to go into my ideal mother's or father's arms. As I moved towards the Light, I knew that if I went into the Light, I would be dead. So I said/felt, "Please wait. I would like to talk to you before I go."
The entire experience halted. I discovered that I was in control of the experience. My request was honored. I had conversations with the Light. That's the best way I can describe it. The Light changed into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, archetypal images and signs. I asked in a kind of telepathy, "What is going on here?"
The information transmitted was that our beliefs shape the kind of feedback we receive. If you are a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own images. I became aware of a Higher Self matrix, a conduit to the Source. We all have a Higher Self, or an oversoul part of our being, a conduit. All Higher Selves are connected as one being. All humans are connected as one being.
It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was like all the love you've ever wanted, and it was the kind of love that cures, heals, regenerates. I was ready to go at that time. I said "I am ready, take me." Then the Light turned into the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen: a mandala of human souls on this planet. I saw that we are the most beautiful creations – elegant, exotic ... everything.
I just cannot say enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in an instant. I said/thought/felt, "Oh, God, I didn't realize." I was astonished to find that there was no evil in any soul. People may do terrible things out of ignorance and lack, but no soul is evil. "What all people seek – what sustains them – is love," the Light told me. "What distorts people is a lack of love."
The revelations went on and on. I asked, "Does this mean that Humankind will be saved?" Like a trumpet blast with a shower of spiraling lights, the Light "spoke," saying, "You save, redeem and heal yourself. You always have and always will. You were created with the power to do so from before the beginning of the world." In that instant I realized that we have already been saved.
I thanked the Light of God with all my heart. The best thing I could come up with was: "Oh dear God, dear Universe, dear Great Self, I love my Life." The Light seemed to breathe me in even more deeply, absorbing me. I entered into another realm more profound than the last, and was aware of an enormous stream of Light, vast and full, deep. I asked what it was. The Light answered, "This is the River of Life. Drink of this manna water to your heart's content." I drank deeply, in ecstasy.
The Void of Nothingness
Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of Life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system whizzed by and disappeared. I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy – and the entire Universe – is bursting with many different varieties of life. I saw many worlds. We are not alone in this Universe. It seemed as if all the creations in the Universe soared past me and vanished in a speck of Light.
Then a second Light appeared. As I passed into the second Light, I could perceive forever, beyond Infinity. I was in the Void, pre-Creation, the beginning of time, the first Word or vibration. I rested in the Eye of Creation and it seemed that I touched the Face of God. It was not a religious feeling. I was simply at One with Absolute Life and Consciousness.
I rode the stream directly into the center of the Light. I felt embraced by the Light as it took me in with its breath again. And the truth was obvious that there is no death; that nothing is born and nothing dies; that we are immortal beings, part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly.
It would take me years to assimilate the Void experience. It was less than nothing, yet greater than anything. Creation is God exploring God's Self through every way imaginable. Through every piece of hair on your head, through every leaf on every tree, through every atom. God is exploring God's Self. I saw everything as the Self of all. God is here. That's what it is all about. Everything is made of light; everything is alive.
The Light of Love
I was never told that I had to come back. I just knew that I would. It was only natural, from what I had seen. As I began my return to the life cycle, it never crossed my mind, nor was I told, that I would return to the same body. It did not matter. I had complete trust in the Light and the Life process.
As the stream merged with the great Light, I asked never to forget the revelations and the feelings of what I had learned on the other side. I thought of myself as a human again and I was happy to be that. From what I have seen, I would be happy to be an atom in this universe. An atom. So to be the human part of God ... this is the most fantastic blessing. It is a blessing beyond our wildest imagination of what a blessing can be.
For each and every one of us to be the human part of this experience is awesome, and magnificent. Each and every one of us, no matter where we are, screwed up or not, is a blessing to the planet, right where we are. So I went through the reincarnation process expecting to be a baby somewhere.
But I reincarnated back into this body. I was so surprised when I opened my eyes, to be back in this body, back in my room with someone looking over me, crying her eyes out. It was Anne, my hospice caretaker. She had found me dead thirty minutes before. We do not know how long I was dead, only that she found me thirty minutes before. She had honored my wish to have my newly-dead body left alone. She can verify that I really was dead.
It was not a near-death experience. I believe I probably experienced death itself for at least an hour and a half. When I awakened and saw the light outside, confused, I tried to get up to go to it, but I fell out of the bed. She heard a loud "clunk", ran in, and found me on the floor. When I recovered, I was surprised and awed about what had happened. I had no memory at first of the experience. I kept slipping out of this world and kept asking, "Am I alive?" This world seemed more like a dream than that one.
Within three days, I was feeling normal again, clearer, yet different than ever before. My memories of the journey came back later. But from my return I could find nothing wrong with any human being I had ever seen. Previous to my death I was judgmental, believing that people were really screwed up. Everyone but me.
About three months later a friend said I should get tested for the cancer. So I got the scans and so forth. I felt healthy. I still remember the doctor at the clinic looking at the "before" and "after" scans. He said, "I can find no sign of cancer now." "A miracle?" I asked. "No," he answered. "These things happen ... spontaneous remission." He seemed unimpressed. But I was impressed. I knew it was a miracle.
Lessons Learned
I asked God: "What is the best religion on the planet? Which one is right?" God said with great love: "It doesn't matter." What an incredible grace. It does not matter what religion we are. Religions come and they go. They change. Buddhism has not been here forever, Catholicism has not been here forever, and they are all about to become more enlightened. More light is coming into all systems now. Many will resist and fight about it, one religion against the next, believing that only they are right.
When God said, "It doesn't matter," I understood that it is for us to care about, because we are the caring beings. The Source does not care if you are Protestant, Buddhist, or Jew. Each is a reflection, a facet of the whole. I wish that all religions would realize it and let each other be. It is not the end of separate religions, but live and let live. Each has a different view, and it all adds up to the big picture.
I went over to the other side with a lot of fears about toxic waste, nuclear missiles, the population explosion, the rain forest. I came back loving every single problem. I love nuclear waste. I love the mushroom cloud; this is the holiest mandala that we have manifested to date, as an archetype. More than any religion or philosophy on Earth, that terrible, wonderful cloud brought us together all of a sudden, to a new level of consciousness.
Knowing that maybe we can blow up the planet fifty times, or 500 times, we finally realize that maybe we are all here together now. For a period they had to keep setting off more bombs to get it into us. Then we started saying, "we do not need this any more." Now we are actually in a safer world than we have ever been in, and it is going to get safer.
So I came back loving toxic waste, because it brought us together. These things are so big. Clearing of the rain forest will slow down, and in fifty years there will be more trees on the planet than in a long time. If you are into ecology, go for it; you are that part of the system that is becoming aware. Go for it with all your might, but do not be depressed or disheartened. Earth is in the process of domesticating itself, and we are cells on that Body. Population increase is getting very close to the optimal range of energy to cause a shift in consciousness. That shift in consciousness will change politics, money, energy.
The Great Mystery of life has little to do with intelligence. The Universe is not an intellectual process. The intellect is helpful; but our hearts are the wiser part of ourselves. Since my return I have experienced the Light spontaneously. I have learned how to get to that space almost any time in my meditation. You can also do this. You don't have to die first. You are wired for it already. The body is the most magnificent Light being there is. The body is a universe of incredible Light. We don't need to commune with God; God is already communing with us in every moment!
Before my near-death experience, I tried all sorts of alternative healing methods. None helped. So I determined that this was between me and God. I had never really considered God. Neither was I into any kind of spirituality. But my approaching death sent me on a quest for more information about spirituality and alternative healing. I read various religions and philosophies. They gave hope that there was something on the other side.
I had no medical insurance, so my life savings went overnight on tests. Unwilling to drag my family into this, I determined to handle this myself. I ended up in hospice care and was blessed with an angel for my hospice caretaker, whom I will call "Anne." She stayed with me through all that was to follow.
Into the Light
I woke up about 4:30 am and I knew that this was it. I was going to die. I called a few friends and said good-bye. I woke up Anne and made her promise that my dead body would remain undisturbed for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember, I was fully aware and standing up. Yet my body was lying in the bed. I seemed to be surrounded by darkness, yet I could see every room in the house, and the roof, and even under the house.
A Light shone. I turned toward it, and was aware of its similarity to what others have described in near-death experiences. It was magnificent and tangible, alluring. I wanted to go towards that Light like I might want to go into my ideal mother's or father's arms. As I moved towards the Light, I knew that if I went into the Light, I would be dead. So I said/felt, "Please wait. I would like to talk to you before I go."
The entire experience halted. I discovered that I was in control of the experience. My request was honored. I had conversations with the Light. That's the best way I can describe it. The Light changed into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, archetypal images and signs. I asked in a kind of telepathy, "What is going on here?"
The information transmitted was that our beliefs shape the kind of feedback we receive. If you are a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own images. I became aware of a Higher Self matrix, a conduit to the Source. We all have a Higher Self, or an oversoul part of our being, a conduit. All Higher Selves are connected as one being. All humans are connected as one being.
It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was like all the love you've ever wanted, and it was the kind of love that cures, heals, regenerates. I was ready to go at that time. I said "I am ready, take me." Then the Light turned into the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen: a mandala of human souls on this planet. I saw that we are the most beautiful creations – elegant, exotic ... everything.
I just cannot say enough about how it changed my opinion of human beings in an instant. I said/thought/felt, "Oh, God, I didn't realize." I was astonished to find that there was no evil in any soul. People may do terrible things out of ignorance and lack, but no soul is evil. "What all people seek – what sustains them – is love," the Light told me. "What distorts people is a lack of love."
The revelations went on and on. I asked, "Does this mean that Humankind will be saved?" Like a trumpet blast with a shower of spiraling lights, the Light "spoke," saying, "You save, redeem and heal yourself. You always have and always will. You were created with the power to do so from before the beginning of the world." In that instant I realized that we have already been saved.
I thanked the Light of God with all my heart. The best thing I could come up with was: "Oh dear God, dear Universe, dear Great Self, I love my Life." The Light seemed to breathe me in even more deeply, absorbing me. I entered into another realm more profound than the last, and was aware of an enormous stream of Light, vast and full, deep. I asked what it was. The Light answered, "This is the River of Life. Drink of this manna water to your heart's content." I drank deeply, in ecstasy.
The Void of Nothingness
Suddenly I seemed to be rocketing away from the planet on this stream of Life. I saw the earth fly away. The solar system whizzed by and disappeared. I flew through the center of the galaxy, absorbing more knowledge as I went. I learned that this galaxy – and the entire Universe – is bursting with many different varieties of life. I saw many worlds. We are not alone in this Universe. It seemed as if all the creations in the Universe soared past me and vanished in a speck of Light.
Then a second Light appeared. As I passed into the second Light, I could perceive forever, beyond Infinity. I was in the Void, pre-Creation, the beginning of time, the first Word or vibration. I rested in the Eye of Creation and it seemed that I touched the Face of God. It was not a religious feeling. I was simply at One with Absolute Life and Consciousness.
I rode the stream directly into the center of the Light. I felt embraced by the Light as it took me in with its breath again. And the truth was obvious that there is no death; that nothing is born and nothing dies; that we are immortal beings, part of a natural living system that recycles itself endlessly.
It would take me years to assimilate the Void experience. It was less than nothing, yet greater than anything. Creation is God exploring God's Self through every way imaginable. Through every piece of hair on your head, through every leaf on every tree, through every atom. God is exploring God's Self. I saw everything as the Self of all. God is here. That's what it is all about. Everything is made of light; everything is alive.
The Light of Love
I was never told that I had to come back. I just knew that I would. It was only natural, from what I had seen. As I began my return to the life cycle, it never crossed my mind, nor was I told, that I would return to the same body. It did not matter. I had complete trust in the Light and the Life process.
As the stream merged with the great Light, I asked never to forget the revelations and the feelings of what I had learned on the other side. I thought of myself as a human again and I was happy to be that. From what I have seen, I would be happy to be an atom in this universe. An atom. So to be the human part of God ... this is the most fantastic blessing. It is a blessing beyond our wildest imagination of what a blessing can be.
For each and every one of us to be the human part of this experience is awesome, and magnificent. Each and every one of us, no matter where we are, screwed up or not, is a blessing to the planet, right where we are. So I went through the reincarnation process expecting to be a baby somewhere.
But I reincarnated back into this body. I was so surprised when I opened my eyes, to be back in this body, back in my room with someone looking over me, crying her eyes out. It was Anne, my hospice caretaker. She had found me dead thirty minutes before. We do not know how long I was dead, only that she found me thirty minutes before. She had honored my wish to have my newly-dead body left alone. She can verify that I really was dead.
It was not a near-death experience. I believe I probably experienced death itself for at least an hour and a half. When I awakened and saw the light outside, confused, I tried to get up to go to it, but I fell out of the bed. She heard a loud "clunk", ran in, and found me on the floor. When I recovered, I was surprised and awed about what had happened. I had no memory at first of the experience. I kept slipping out of this world and kept asking, "Am I alive?" This world seemed more like a dream than that one.
Within three days, I was feeling normal again, clearer, yet different than ever before. My memories of the journey came back later. But from my return I could find nothing wrong with any human being I had ever seen. Previous to my death I was judgmental, believing that people were really screwed up. Everyone but me.
About three months later a friend said I should get tested for the cancer. So I got the scans and so forth. I felt healthy. I still remember the doctor at the clinic looking at the "before" and "after" scans. He said, "I can find no sign of cancer now." "A miracle?" I asked. "No," he answered. "These things happen ... spontaneous remission." He seemed unimpressed. But I was impressed. I knew it was a miracle.
Lessons Learned
I asked God: "What is the best religion on the planet? Which one is right?" God said with great love: "It doesn't matter." What an incredible grace. It does not matter what religion we are. Religions come and they go. They change. Buddhism has not been here forever, Catholicism has not been here forever, and they are all about to become more enlightened. More light is coming into all systems now. Many will resist and fight about it, one religion against the next, believing that only they are right.
When God said, "It doesn't matter," I understood that it is for us to care about, because we are the caring beings. The Source does not care if you are Protestant, Buddhist, or Jew. Each is a reflection, a facet of the whole. I wish that all religions would realize it and let each other be. It is not the end of separate religions, but live and let live. Each has a different view, and it all adds up to the big picture.
I went over to the other side with a lot of fears about toxic waste, nuclear missiles, the population explosion, the rain forest. I came back loving every single problem. I love nuclear waste. I love the mushroom cloud; this is the holiest mandala that we have manifested to date, as an archetype. More than any religion or philosophy on Earth, that terrible, wonderful cloud brought us together all of a sudden, to a new level of consciousness.
Knowing that maybe we can blow up the planet fifty times, or 500 times, we finally realize that maybe we are all here together now. For a period they had to keep setting off more bombs to get it into us. Then we started saying, "we do not need this any more." Now we are actually in a safer world than we have ever been in, and it is going to get safer.
So I came back loving toxic waste, because it brought us together. These things are so big. Clearing of the rain forest will slow down, and in fifty years there will be more trees on the planet than in a long time. If you are into ecology, go for it; you are that part of the system that is becoming aware. Go for it with all your might, but do not be depressed or disheartened. Earth is in the process of domesticating itself, and we are cells on that Body. Population increase is getting very close to the optimal range of energy to cause a shift in consciousness. That shift in consciousness will change politics, money, energy.
The Great Mystery of life has little to do with intelligence. The Universe is not an intellectual process. The intellect is helpful; but our hearts are the wiser part of ourselves. Since my return I have experienced the Light spontaneously. I have learned how to get to that space almost any time in my meditation. You can also do this. You don't have to die first. You are wired for it already. The body is the most magnificent Light being there is. The body is a universe of incredible Light. We don't need to commune with God; God is already communing with us in every moment!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
DETERMINATON
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Littlest Firefighter
The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that.
But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?"
"Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."
Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! "And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat -- not a toy one -- with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Bopsy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Bopsy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Bopsy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition.
The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?"
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy's third floor open window and five firefighters climbed up the ladder into Bopsy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Yes, Bopsy, you are a fireman now," the chief said. With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes one last time. He passed away later that evening.
But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?"
"Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."
Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! "And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat -- not a toy one -- with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven.
There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Bopsy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Bopsy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Bopsy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition.
The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?"
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy's third floor open window and five firefighters climbed up the ladder into Bopsy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Yes, Bopsy, you are a fireman now," the chief said. With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes one last time. He passed away later that evening.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Happiness is a Choice
"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." ~ Logan Pearsall Smith
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing for much longer than 3 weeks.
Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?
I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.
We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.
"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.
Veronica Hay
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing for much longer than 3 weeks.
Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?
I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.
We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.
"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.
Veronica Hay
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Are you a habitual "waiter"
Are you a habitual "waiter"? How much of your life do you spend waiting? What I call "small-scale waiting" is waiting in line at the post office, in a traffic jam, at the airport, or waiting for someone to arrive, to finish work, and so on. "Large-scale waiting" is waiting for the next vacation, for a better job, for the children to grow up, for a truly meaningful relationship, for success, to make money, to be important, to become enlightened. It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.
Waiting is a state of mind. Basically, it means that you want the future; you don't want the present. You don't want what you've got, and you want what you haven't got. With every kind of waiting, you unconsciously create inner conflict between your here and now, where you don't want to be, and the projected future, where you want to be. This greatly reduces the quality of your life by making you lose the present.
Give up waiting as a state of mind. When you catch yourself slipping into waiting...snap out of it. Come into the present moment. Just be and enjoy being. If you are present, there is never any need for you to wait for anything.
Eckhart Tolle from the Power of Now
Waiting is a state of mind. Basically, it means that you want the future; you don't want the present. You don't want what you've got, and you want what you haven't got. With every kind of waiting, you unconsciously create inner conflict between your here and now, where you don't want to be, and the projected future, where you want to be. This greatly reduces the quality of your life by making you lose the present.
Give up waiting as a state of mind. When you catch yourself slipping into waiting...snap out of it. Come into the present moment. Just be and enjoy being. If you are present, there is never any need for you to wait for anything.
Eckhart Tolle from the Power of Now
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Five Birds and Good Intentions
Five birds are sitting on a telephone wire. Two decide to fly south. How many are left? Most people would say three. Actually, all five are left. You see, deciding to fly isn't the same as doing it.
If a bird really wants to go somewhere, it's got to point itself in the right direction, jump off the wire, flap its wings, and keep flapping until it gets there.
So it is with most things. Good intentions aren't enough. It's not what we want, say, or think that makes things happen; it's what we do.
I frequently think of writing thank-you, birthday, and congratulatory notes. Unfortunately, only a sad few of these good sentiments ever make it to paper. Still, if I don't look too closely, I can delude myself into thinking that based on my good thoughts I'm a gracious and grateful person. A truer and less admirable picture of my character is drawn by my actions.
In the end, we either do or don't do. We either make the time to do the things we want to and should do or we make excuses. As Alfred Adler said, "Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement."
What do you want to do? Do you want to take a course, change your job, lose weight, make new friends, or spend more time with and appreciate more the ones you have?
What's stopping you from jumping off the wire and flapping your wings?
Michael Josephson
If a bird really wants to go somewhere, it's got to point itself in the right direction, jump off the wire, flap its wings, and keep flapping until it gets there.
So it is with most things. Good intentions aren't enough. It's not what we want, say, or think that makes things happen; it's what we do.
I frequently think of writing thank-you, birthday, and congratulatory notes. Unfortunately, only a sad few of these good sentiments ever make it to paper. Still, if I don't look too closely, I can delude myself into thinking that based on my good thoughts I'm a gracious and grateful person. A truer and less admirable picture of my character is drawn by my actions.
In the end, we either do or don't do. We either make the time to do the things we want to and should do or we make excuses. As Alfred Adler said, "Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement."
What do you want to do? Do you want to take a course, change your job, lose weight, make new friends, or spend more time with and appreciate more the ones you have?
What's stopping you from jumping off the wire and flapping your wings?
Michael Josephson
Monday, June 20, 2011
Strongest Dad in the World
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."
"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 – only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."
So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."
Rick Reilly for Sports Illustrated
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."
"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.
Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."
That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway. Then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 – only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.
"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."
So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. "The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."
Rick Reilly for Sports Illustrated
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Broken Wing - Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
Some people are just doomed to be failures. That's the way some adults look at troubled kids. Maybe you've heard the saying, "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that T. J. Ware was made to feel this way almost every day in school.
By high school, T. J. was the most celebrated troublemaker in his town. Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. He wasn't very talkative, didn't answer questions and got into lots of fights. He had flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to have him again the following year. T. J. was moving on, but definitely not moving up.
I met T. J. for the first time at a weekend leadership retreat. All the students at school had been invited to sign up for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities. T. J. was one of 405 students who signed up. When I showed up to lead their first retreat, the community leaders gave me this overview of the attending students: "We have a total spectrum represented today, from the student body president to T. J. Ware, the boy with the longest arrest record in the history of town." Somehow, I knew that I wasn't the first to hear about T. J.'s darker side as the first words of introduction.
At the start of the retreat, T. J. was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that "go ahead, impress me" look on his face. He didn't readily join the discussion groups, didn't seem to have much to say. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school that year. T. J. had some definite thoughts on those situations. The other students in T. J.'s group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden T. J. felt like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. T. J. was a smart guy, and he had some great ideas.
The next day, T. J. was very active in all the sessions. By the end of the retreat, he had joined the Homeless Project team. He knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They elected T. J. co-chairman of the team. The student council president would be taking his instruction from T. J. Ware.
When T. J. showed up at school on Monday morning, he arrived to a firestorm. A group of teachers were protesting to the school principal about his being elected co-chairman. The very first communitywide service project was to be a giant food drive, organized by the Homeless Project team. These teachers couldn't believe that the principal would allow this crucial beginning to a prestigious, three-year action plan to stay in the incapable hands of T. J. Ware.
They reminded the principal, "He has an arrest record as long as your arm. He'll probably steal half the food." Mr. Coggshall reminded them that the purpose of the ACE program was to uncover any positive passion that a student had and reinforce its practice until true change can take place. The teachers left the meeting shaking their heads in disgust, firmly convinced that failure was imminent.
Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a group of 70 students in a drive to collect food. They collected a school record: 2,854 cans of food in just two hours. It was enough to fill the empty shelves in two neighborhood centers, and the food took care of needy families in the area for 75 days. The local newspaper covered the event with a full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. T. J.'s picture was up there for doing something great, for leading a record-setting food drive. Every day he was reminded about what he did. He was being acknowledged as leadership material.
T. J. started showing up at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project, collecting 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter. The event he started now yields 9,000 cans of food in one day, taking care of 70 percent of the need for food for one year. T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs mending. But once it has healed, it can fly higher than the rest. T. J. got a job. He became productive. He is flying quite nicely these days.
By Jim Hullihan
By high school, T. J. was the most celebrated troublemaker in his town. Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. He wasn't very talkative, didn't answer questions and got into lots of fights. He had flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to have him again the following year. T. J. was moving on, but definitely not moving up.
I met T. J. for the first time at a weekend leadership retreat. All the students at school had been invited to sign up for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities. T. J. was one of 405 students who signed up. When I showed up to lead their first retreat, the community leaders gave me this overview of the attending students: "We have a total spectrum represented today, from the student body president to T. J. Ware, the boy with the longest arrest record in the history of town." Somehow, I knew that I wasn't the first to hear about T. J.'s darker side as the first words of introduction.
At the start of the retreat, T. J. was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that "go ahead, impress me" look on his face. He didn't readily join the discussion groups, didn't seem to have much to say. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school that year. T. J. had some definite thoughts on those situations. The other students in T. J.'s group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden T. J. felt like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. T. J. was a smart guy, and he had some great ideas.
The next day, T. J. was very active in all the sessions. By the end of the retreat, he had joined the Homeless Project team. He knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They elected T. J. co-chairman of the team. The student council president would be taking his instruction from T. J. Ware.
When T. J. showed up at school on Monday morning, he arrived to a firestorm. A group of teachers were protesting to the school principal about his being elected co-chairman. The very first communitywide service project was to be a giant food drive, organized by the Homeless Project team. These teachers couldn't believe that the principal would allow this crucial beginning to a prestigious, three-year action plan to stay in the incapable hands of T. J. Ware.
They reminded the principal, "He has an arrest record as long as your arm. He'll probably steal half the food." Mr. Coggshall reminded them that the purpose of the ACE program was to uncover any positive passion that a student had and reinforce its practice until true change can take place. The teachers left the meeting shaking their heads in disgust, firmly convinced that failure was imminent.
Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a group of 70 students in a drive to collect food. They collected a school record: 2,854 cans of food in just two hours. It was enough to fill the empty shelves in two neighborhood centers, and the food took care of needy families in the area for 75 days. The local newspaper covered the event with a full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. T. J.'s picture was up there for doing something great, for leading a record-setting food drive. Every day he was reminded about what he did. He was being acknowledged as leadership material.
T. J. started showing up at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project, collecting 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter. The event he started now yields 9,000 cans of food in one day, taking care of 70 percent of the need for food for one year. T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs mending. But once it has healed, it can fly higher than the rest. T. J. got a job. He became productive. He is flying quite nicely these days.
By Jim Hullihan
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Simple Keys to a Fuller Life
Four Simple Keys to Transform Your Life
Love and Empowerment
Let me start with myself. I will do my best to love and empower myself to be the best I can be every day of my life. By making this commitment to yourself, it becomes easier to love and empower those around you. But do you really want to give this gift to all other people? What if you really don’t like someone? In this case, you can remind yourself that it is usually a person's personality that you don’t like—the mask or dark clouds blocking their deeper essence. Remember that beneath the mask is a shining divine essence. While acknowledging those parts you don’t like, do your best to empower the shining being hidden beneath the mask or personality that you don’t like. You can choose to love and empower the divine spark within all.
Negative Judgment. Judging someone to be bad as a person does not empower or inspire anyone to be a better person. When you find yourself feeling negative judgment, first acknowledge the part of you that wants to judge—the part that wants to be right or better than others. Then do your best to learn from your judgment and let it go. Open to finding first acceptance, and then understanding and love both for you and for the person you judged. Choose to let your last thought always be that of love.
Stopping harm. What if someone does something that is clearly wrong or causes harm? In this case, be firm and take whatever action you feel is best to stop harm. Enforcing a serious consequence with someone who has acted out of extreme self-interest may be the most loving, empowering action you can take. Yet even as you take action, open to seeing the inner turmoil that causes people to do harm. You can act from a place of love and support, even while firmly stopping someone from doing wrong or causing harm. Through choosing to see beneath all of the pain, suffering, and hatred, and to recognize and connect with the divine essence within even those who would do us harm, not only do we heal the world, we heal ourselves.
Imagine… Imagine for a moment a world where all people truly did their best to love and empower each other. Imagine if a significant number of the people on this planet truly did their best to live by these simple keys. You can choose to become one of those people right now. You can choose to make your life and our world a better place. It is fully possible. There are people of all races, religions, and beliefs around the globe already committed to living by these or similar ideals. Let us then choose with an open mind and heart to add to their numbers. Let us choose every day of our lives to do what's best for all, to open to divine guidance, to accept and understand, and to love and empower ourselves and all around us to be the best that we can be.
Love and Empowerment
Let me start with myself. I will do my best to love and empower myself to be the best I can be every day of my life. By making this commitment to yourself, it becomes easier to love and empower those around you. But do you really want to give this gift to all other people? What if you really don’t like someone? In this case, you can remind yourself that it is usually a person's personality that you don’t like—the mask or dark clouds blocking their deeper essence. Remember that beneath the mask is a shining divine essence. While acknowledging those parts you don’t like, do your best to empower the shining being hidden beneath the mask or personality that you don’t like. You can choose to love and empower the divine spark within all.
Negative Judgment. Judging someone to be bad as a person does not empower or inspire anyone to be a better person. When you find yourself feeling negative judgment, first acknowledge the part of you that wants to judge—the part that wants to be right or better than others. Then do your best to learn from your judgment and let it go. Open to finding first acceptance, and then understanding and love both for you and for the person you judged. Choose to let your last thought always be that of love.
Stopping harm. What if someone does something that is clearly wrong or causes harm? In this case, be firm and take whatever action you feel is best to stop harm. Enforcing a serious consequence with someone who has acted out of extreme self-interest may be the most loving, empowering action you can take. Yet even as you take action, open to seeing the inner turmoil that causes people to do harm. You can act from a place of love and support, even while firmly stopping someone from doing wrong or causing harm. Through choosing to see beneath all of the pain, suffering, and hatred, and to recognize and connect with the divine essence within even those who would do us harm, not only do we heal the world, we heal ourselves.
Imagine… Imagine for a moment a world where all people truly did their best to love and empower each other. Imagine if a significant number of the people on this planet truly did their best to live by these simple keys. You can choose to become one of those people right now. You can choose to make your life and our world a better place. It is fully possible. There are people of all races, religions, and beliefs around the globe already committed to living by these or similar ideals. Let us then choose with an open mind and heart to add to their numbers. Let us choose every day of our lives to do what's best for all, to open to divine guidance, to accept and understand, and to love and empower ourselves and all around us to be the best that we can be.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Simple Keys to a Fuller Life
Four Simple Keys to Transform Your Life
Part III: Acceptance and Understanding
Our Core Essence. Deep down we are all beautiful beings worthy of love and support. The sweet innocence of babies and young children is a clear example of this. Yet for most of us, the shining essence with which we came into this life became obscured over the years as our family and others were unable to give us the kind of unconditional love and support we so craved. As children, when we were repeatedly told that we were not good enough or were punished just for being who we are, thick layers of confusion and doubt developed, clouding our divine essence. Layers of fear and insecurity were woven into our personalities.
The Mask. By the time we are grown, most of us have developed a protective mask or persona to hide these layers of fear and insecurity from others, and at times even from ourselves. Outwardly we might appear happy or content, yet on the inside most of us to varying degrees feel unhappy with who we are. Yet beneath it all, that shining essence is still there. No matter how much we may have forgotten, no matter how thick those overshadowing layers may be, our beautiful core essence is and has always been there.
Accepting and Understanding Myself. By choosing to accept and understand all of who you are—both your deep shining essence and the layers of dark clouds within—you can invite that beautiful inner essence to shine through the clouds and to shine again in your life. When fears, dark thoughts, or difficult emotions arise, first choose to accept that they are there. Then work towards understanding these dark clouds and where they came from. Ask for divine guidance as you explore and transform these dark places.
Courage. It takes courage to accept and work to understand our fears and weaknesses. Yet by doing our best to be fully ourselves in all our strengths and weaknesses, our relationships can grow richer, deeper, and more meaningful. This may be challenging, as some people are unable or unwilling to accept certain parts of us. Yet as those around us see us becoming more real and honest with them, many will also be inspired to be more real and honest with us. Thus, instead of continually avoiding or denying those clouds or dark layers in both ourselves and others, we open to a deeper, more authentic way of living and of relating to others.
Accepting and Understanding Others. As you develop greater acceptance and understanding of yourself, you will notice that others, too, have lost touch with their shining core essence. As you work to accept and understand yourself, it is most important that you choose also to give this gift to those around you. Acceptance of what is, coupled with understanding of what we can change and what we cannot, allows us to find the courage to be all that we can be, and to empower others in doing the same.
Part III: Acceptance and Understanding
Our Core Essence. Deep down we are all beautiful beings worthy of love and support. The sweet innocence of babies and young children is a clear example of this. Yet for most of us, the shining essence with which we came into this life became obscured over the years as our family and others were unable to give us the kind of unconditional love and support we so craved. As children, when we were repeatedly told that we were not good enough or were punished just for being who we are, thick layers of confusion and doubt developed, clouding our divine essence. Layers of fear and insecurity were woven into our personalities.
The Mask. By the time we are grown, most of us have developed a protective mask or persona to hide these layers of fear and insecurity from others, and at times even from ourselves. Outwardly we might appear happy or content, yet on the inside most of us to varying degrees feel unhappy with who we are. Yet beneath it all, that shining essence is still there. No matter how much we may have forgotten, no matter how thick those overshadowing layers may be, our beautiful core essence is and has always been there.
Accepting and Understanding Myself. By choosing to accept and understand all of who you are—both your deep shining essence and the layers of dark clouds within—you can invite that beautiful inner essence to shine through the clouds and to shine again in your life. When fears, dark thoughts, or difficult emotions arise, first choose to accept that they are there. Then work towards understanding these dark clouds and where they came from. Ask for divine guidance as you explore and transform these dark places.
Courage. It takes courage to accept and work to understand our fears and weaknesses. Yet by doing our best to be fully ourselves in all our strengths and weaknesses, our relationships can grow richer, deeper, and more meaningful. This may be challenging, as some people are unable or unwilling to accept certain parts of us. Yet as those around us see us becoming more real and honest with them, many will also be inspired to be more real and honest with us. Thus, instead of continually avoiding or denying those clouds or dark layers in both ourselves and others, we open to a deeper, more authentic way of living and of relating to others.
Accepting and Understanding Others. As you develop greater acceptance and understanding of yourself, you will notice that others, too, have lost touch with their shining core essence. As you work to accept and understand yourself, it is most important that you choose also to give this gift to those around you. Acceptance of what is, coupled with understanding of what we can change and what we cannot, allows us to find the courage to be all that we can be, and to empower others in doing the same.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Simple Keys to a Fuller Life
Four Simple Keys to Transform Your Life
Part II:Divine Guidance
Many Meanings for Divine. Guidance can come from many sources. Yet by opening to guidance from the divine, we open to the support of powerful forces greater than ourselves. The divine has different meanings for different people, whether it be God, Creator, Jehovah, Allah, or Great Spirit. Yet even if you don’t believe in any of these, consider the possibility that there is a very wise part of yourself—a higher self or a deeper self—which can provide you with guidance. What is important is that we open to this presence, however we choose to define the divine, and that we consciously invite this powerful guidance into our daily lives.
All Requests Only if it’s Best. When seeking divine guidance with a specific result, be sure to end with “only if this is what’s best for all.” There are times when what’s best is not what’s easiest or most enjoyable. Sometimes unwanted or unexpected challenges, difficult situations, and even pain can teach us important lessons that in the long run help us to enjoy life more fully. When we choose to see all experiences as gifts from the divine and opportunities for growth and understanding, we open to a deeper level of divine guidance.
Part II:Divine Guidance
Many Meanings for Divine. Guidance can come from many sources. Yet by opening to guidance from the divine, we open to the support of powerful forces greater than ourselves. The divine has different meanings for different people, whether it be God, Creator, Jehovah, Allah, or Great Spirit. Yet even if you don’t believe in any of these, consider the possibility that there is a very wise part of yourself—a higher self or a deeper self—which can provide you with guidance. What is important is that we open to this presence, however we choose to define the divine, and that we consciously invite this powerful guidance into our daily lives.
All Requests Only if it’s Best. When seeking divine guidance with a specific result, be sure to end with “only if this is what’s best for all.” There are times when what’s best is not what’s easiest or most enjoyable. Sometimes unwanted or unexpected challenges, difficult situations, and even pain can teach us important lessons that in the long run help us to enjoy life more fully. When we choose to see all experiences as gifts from the divine and opportunities for growth and understanding, we open to a deeper level of divine guidance.
Simple Keys to a Fuller Life
Four Simple Keys to Transform Your Life
Part I: What’s Best for All
The Power of Choice. Every one of us makes countless choices every day. Every choice we make has an impact on our lives. Even insignificant choices can affect what we experience and how we feel. When hunger strikes, we can reach for a healthy, nutritious snack, or we can choose the sugar high of junk food. The more important the decision, the more profound its effect. For instance, how do I act towards that person who treated me badly? Do I generally choose to be passive, or do I actively set clear intentions and create what I want in my life? Every choice we make, however big or small, affects us in some way.
How Do You Make Choices? If you are interested in living a richer, fuller life, there is a foundation upon which you can base all of your decisions which can make life better not only for you, but also for those around you. This foundation is to choose based on what’s best for all. Imagine a world where every parent, spouse, friend, teacher, businessperson, and politician truly did their best to choose what’s best for all involved in every decision they made. We would certainly live in a more caring, supportive world.
It’s the Intention. “But how do I know what is really best?” you might ask. The answer is simple. It doesn’t matter. What matters is not the choice you make, but rather the intention behind your choice. What matters is that whatever decision you make, you are clear in your intention of choosing based on what’s best for all. If it later turns out that you made what appears to have been a bad choice, there’s no need for guilt. Knowing that you did your best to choose with a sincere desire for what’s best for all, your conscience stays clear and open. This then allows you to more easily learn from your mistakes, and to live with a clear heart and mind.
What’s Best for Me, Too! Choosing what’s best does not mean you have to always sacrifice yourself for others. An overly exhausted mother can lose her temper easily. Some time off for this mother might seem selfish, yet in the long run, it can help her to be a better mother to her children. So as we move through each day of our lives, let us remember to include ourselves as we do our best to choose what’s best for all.
Part I: What’s Best for All
The Power of Choice. Every one of us makes countless choices every day. Every choice we make has an impact on our lives. Even insignificant choices can affect what we experience and how we feel. When hunger strikes, we can reach for a healthy, nutritious snack, or we can choose the sugar high of junk food. The more important the decision, the more profound its effect. For instance, how do I act towards that person who treated me badly? Do I generally choose to be passive, or do I actively set clear intentions and create what I want in my life? Every choice we make, however big or small, affects us in some way.
How Do You Make Choices? If you are interested in living a richer, fuller life, there is a foundation upon which you can base all of your decisions which can make life better not only for you, but also for those around you. This foundation is to choose based on what’s best for all. Imagine a world where every parent, spouse, friend, teacher, businessperson, and politician truly did their best to choose what’s best for all involved in every decision they made. We would certainly live in a more caring, supportive world.
It’s the Intention. “But how do I know what is really best?” you might ask. The answer is simple. It doesn’t matter. What matters is not the choice you make, but rather the intention behind your choice. What matters is that whatever decision you make, you are clear in your intention of choosing based on what’s best for all. If it later turns out that you made what appears to have been a bad choice, there’s no need for guilt. Knowing that you did your best to choose with a sincere desire for what’s best for all, your conscience stays clear and open. This then allows you to more easily learn from your mistakes, and to live with a clear heart and mind.
What’s Best for Me, Too! Choosing what’s best does not mean you have to always sacrifice yourself for others. An overly exhausted mother can lose her temper easily. Some time off for this mother might seem selfish, yet in the long run, it can help her to be a better mother to her children. So as we move through each day of our lives, let us remember to include ourselves as we do our best to choose what’s best for all.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Happiness is a Choice
"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." ~ Logan Pearsall Smith
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing for much longer than 3 weeks.
Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?
I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.
We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.
"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.
Veronica Hay
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing for much longer than 3 weeks.
Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?
I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.
We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.
"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.
Veronica Hay
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Window
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 color 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 color 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 he 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 behaviors; 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.
(Author unknown)
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 color 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 color 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 he 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 behaviors; 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.
(Author unknown)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Constructive Attitude
Our thoughts are mental imagines that guide our actions. Our attitude is nothing but a bundle of thoughts that lead our life. A constructive (optimistic) or destructive (pessimistic) attitude has everything to do with the kind of thoughts we choose every moment.
Pessimistic thoughts make us negative and feel like losers – unable to excel and succeed in the great things that life has to offer. Optimistic thoughts paint a smile in our soul. They allow us see the bright side of life and find the appropriate answers and solutions for any challenge we face.
By altering our thoughts, we not only alter our present but also our future. Unless we understand what attitude is and take the right attitude, we will not be able to get any of what we really deserve.
In life, in everything we do, there is no second chance. Either we choose to lose or to win. You can do whatever you set your mind to, you can, if you believe it and perceive it. Set yourself to win, change your thoughts and therefore your attitude.
Have an amazing attitude journey ahead and take care of your thoughts. They are like babies that require our constant attention and care.
"Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity."
- Alberta Flanders
Pessimistic thoughts make us negative and feel like losers – unable to excel and succeed in the great things that life has to offer. Optimistic thoughts paint a smile in our soul. They allow us see the bright side of life and find the appropriate answers and solutions for any challenge we face.
By altering our thoughts, we not only alter our present but also our future. Unless we understand what attitude is and take the right attitude, we will not be able to get any of what we really deserve.
In life, in everything we do, there is no second chance. Either we choose to lose or to win. You can do whatever you set your mind to, you can, if you believe it and perceive it. Set yourself to win, change your thoughts and therefore your attitude.
Have an amazing attitude journey ahead and take care of your thoughts. They are like babies that require our constant attention and care.
"Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity."
- Alberta Flanders
From my heart to yours
I am your friend and my love for you goes deep.
There is nothing I can give you which you have not got,
but there is much, very much, that,
while I cannot give it, you can take.
No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in today.
Take HEAVEN!
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden
in this present little instant.
Take PEACE!
The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within our reach is joy.
There is radiance and glory
in the darkness could we but see -
and to see we have only to look.
I beseech you to LOOK!
Life is so generous a giver, but we,
judging its gifts by the covering,
cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering and you will find
beneath it a living splendor,
woven of love, by wisdom, with power.
Welcome it, grasp it,
touch the angel's hand that brings it to you.
Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty,
believe me, that angel's hand is there,
the gift is there,
and the wonder of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.
Life is so full of meaning and purpose,
so full of beauty -
beneath its covering -
that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.
Courage, then to claim it, that is all.
But courage you have,
and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims together,
winding through unknown country, home.
And so, at this time, I greet you.
Not quite as the world sends greetings,
but with profound esteem
and with the prayer that for you now and forever,
the day breaks,
and the shadows flee away.
Fra Giovanni 1513
There is nothing I can give you which you have not got,
but there is much, very much, that,
while I cannot give it, you can take.
No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in today.
Take HEAVEN!
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden
in this present little instant.
Take PEACE!
The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within our reach is joy.
There is radiance and glory
in the darkness could we but see -
and to see we have only to look.
I beseech you to LOOK!
Life is so generous a giver, but we,
judging its gifts by the covering,
cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering and you will find
beneath it a living splendor,
woven of love, by wisdom, with power.
Welcome it, grasp it,
touch the angel's hand that brings it to you.
Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty,
believe me, that angel's hand is there,
the gift is there,
and the wonder of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.
Life is so full of meaning and purpose,
so full of beauty -
beneath its covering -
that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.
Courage, then to claim it, that is all.
But courage you have,
and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims together,
winding through unknown country, home.
And so, at this time, I greet you.
Not quite as the world sends greetings,
but with profound esteem
and with the prayer that for you now and forever,
the day breaks,
and the shadows flee away.
Fra Giovanni 1513
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
EMBRACE CHALLENGES AND DON'T HOLD BACK
Every one of us has different challenges, situations that stress us, change us, and put us up against a wall. I know beyond any doubt that when your body is given all the opportunities to enjoy its natural capacity for movement, the energy reserves you build up help you cope with what life throws your way. In fact, it helps you do more than cope-it helps you thrive.
I call my own personal challenges the three A's-the three things that shaped my life. The first A is an accident I had at age 19. I broke and tore apart my right arm, shoulder, and chest while riding a motorcycle. I was temporarily paralyzed and spent six months in rehabilitation. . . .This is when I first discovered my passion for making people feel better through physical activity because I experienced first-hand how it made me feel better. If I hadn't had that accident, I might not have grown my company to more than 170 clubs with more than 500,000 members. I might not have gone all over the world speaking about fitness.
The second A is arthritis. At age 32, I woke up one morning instantly crippled. My whole body was swollen, inflamed and in total pain. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I had been an elite athlete, a five-time rowing champion, and overnight I couldn't even turn a doorknob. . . .That was quite a blow to the guy who people thought of as Mr. GoodLife Fitness. I used exercise to help me mentally cope with the symptoms and to regain physical strength and mobility. To this day, exercise helps me control the arthritis.
The third A is autism. At the age of two and a half, my eldest daughter Kilee started showing marked changes in behavior. Her kisses turn into biting, her laughter into constant screams. She started pushing me away when I tried to hug her. She wouldn't make eye contact. I went through a bewildering journey of trying to figure out what was going on. I still remember the initial devastation I felt upon hearing a doctor say, "Your daughter is autistic."
I became determined to help Kilee become the best she could be. I chose not to focus on her condition but on her potential. I chose to love her unconditionally. All my energy went into a very intensive home learning program for her, aimed at drawing the best out of her. . . .I also made the decision to commit myself to finding the cure for autism. I've provided the initial funding for an innovative research team under the direction of neuroscientist Dr. Derrick MacFabe at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. I continue to support that program, closing in on $3 million I've donated to the research team.
You might ask what physical activity has to do with my journey as a parent of an autistic child. The answer is twofold. By keeping up my own regular physical activity, my energy levels stay high, my mind stays sharp, and I cope better with stress. . . .Secondly, I have involved regular physical activity in Kilee's treatment program, with the result that today she has a high level of physical skill. She swims, skis, bikes, runs, and rides horseback.
My three A's have given me a sensitivity toward people whose bodies are not perfect, people who have had injuries and accidents, people who are coping with chronic conditions such as arthritis or diabetes or who are recovering from a heart attack or stroke, and also people who are overwhelmed or scared to exercise because of inexperience. I know what someone means when he or she says, "I had this horrible injury and I feel like I can't do things." I can give people the reassurance that there are things they can do and that their body can indeed find a movement level that will help them.
What are your own personal challenges, and how might physical activity help you? Exercise influences the biggest A of all-your Attitude. When life hits you broadside, respond with your big A-Attitude. And follow your big A with the three E's-Energy, Excitement, and Enthusiasm. Exercise helps you feel the three E's in your body. When you feel it in the body, you feel it in the mind, heart, and spirit. There is no split between mind and body-you are one whole human being.
David Patchell-Evans
I call my own personal challenges the three A's-the three things that shaped my life. The first A is an accident I had at age 19. I broke and tore apart my right arm, shoulder, and chest while riding a motorcycle. I was temporarily paralyzed and spent six months in rehabilitation. . . .This is when I first discovered my passion for making people feel better through physical activity because I experienced first-hand how it made me feel better. If I hadn't had that accident, I might not have grown my company to more than 170 clubs with more than 500,000 members. I might not have gone all over the world speaking about fitness.
The second A is arthritis. At age 32, I woke up one morning instantly crippled. My whole body was swollen, inflamed and in total pain. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I had been an elite athlete, a five-time rowing champion, and overnight I couldn't even turn a doorknob. . . .That was quite a blow to the guy who people thought of as Mr. GoodLife Fitness. I used exercise to help me mentally cope with the symptoms and to regain physical strength and mobility. To this day, exercise helps me control the arthritis.
The third A is autism. At the age of two and a half, my eldest daughter Kilee started showing marked changes in behavior. Her kisses turn into biting, her laughter into constant screams. She started pushing me away when I tried to hug her. She wouldn't make eye contact. I went through a bewildering journey of trying to figure out what was going on. I still remember the initial devastation I felt upon hearing a doctor say, "Your daughter is autistic."
I became determined to help Kilee become the best she could be. I chose not to focus on her condition but on her potential. I chose to love her unconditionally. All my energy went into a very intensive home learning program for her, aimed at drawing the best out of her. . . .I also made the decision to commit myself to finding the cure for autism. I've provided the initial funding for an innovative research team under the direction of neuroscientist Dr. Derrick MacFabe at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. I continue to support that program, closing in on $3 million I've donated to the research team.
You might ask what physical activity has to do with my journey as a parent of an autistic child. The answer is twofold. By keeping up my own regular physical activity, my energy levels stay high, my mind stays sharp, and I cope better with stress. . . .Secondly, I have involved regular physical activity in Kilee's treatment program, with the result that today she has a high level of physical skill. She swims, skis, bikes, runs, and rides horseback.
My three A's have given me a sensitivity toward people whose bodies are not perfect, people who have had injuries and accidents, people who are coping with chronic conditions such as arthritis or diabetes or who are recovering from a heart attack or stroke, and also people who are overwhelmed or scared to exercise because of inexperience. I know what someone means when he or she says, "I had this horrible injury and I feel like I can't do things." I can give people the reassurance that there are things they can do and that their body can indeed find a movement level that will help them.
What are your own personal challenges, and how might physical activity help you? Exercise influences the biggest A of all-your Attitude. When life hits you broadside, respond with your big A-Attitude. And follow your big A with the three E's-Energy, Excitement, and Enthusiasm. Exercise helps you feel the three E's in your body. When you feel it in the body, you feel it in the mind, heart, and spirit. There is no split between mind and body-you are one whole human being.
David Patchell-Evans
Monday, June 6, 2011
Courtesy Is Kindness in Action
As a society we have become almost obsessed with identifying and asserting our rights - to think, say, and do what we want. That's not surprising, given the history of our country and the prominent role the Constitution and Bill of Rights have played in shaping our culture.
We have a right to be unkind, thoughtless, and disrespectful - but it isn't right. Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out, "Life is short but there is always time for courtesy."
The idea is to act in ways that make the people we are dealing with feel valued. Courtesy is kindness in action.
It starts with good manners - saying please, thank you, and excuse me. But real courtesy involves more thoughtful ways of showing respect. Courtesy is a form of kindness. It matters how we address people and how we greet them, as well as how we eat, talk, and cough in their presence.
Courtesy involves remembering important occasions, buying thoughtful gifts, and sending personal thank-you notes.
Making people feel important is part of courtesy, so it's important to remember that whether or not people remember what we say or do, they do remember how we made them feel.
Make eye contact, truly listen, and show genuine interest in the lives of others by asking them questions and remembering their answers. A good start is to keep in mind H. Jackson Brown's insight: "Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something."
Always be kinder than necessary because you can never be too kind.
Michael Josephson
We have a right to be unkind, thoughtless, and disrespectful - but it isn't right. Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out, "Life is short but there is always time for courtesy."
The idea is to act in ways that make the people we are dealing with feel valued. Courtesy is kindness in action.
It starts with good manners - saying please, thank you, and excuse me. But real courtesy involves more thoughtful ways of showing respect. Courtesy is a form of kindness. It matters how we address people and how we greet them, as well as how we eat, talk, and cough in their presence.
Courtesy involves remembering important occasions, buying thoughtful gifts, and sending personal thank-you notes.
Making people feel important is part of courtesy, so it's important to remember that whether or not people remember what we say or do, they do remember how we made them feel.
Make eye contact, truly listen, and show genuine interest in the lives of others by asking them questions and remembering their answers. A good start is to keep in mind H. Jackson Brown's insight: "Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something."
Always be kinder than necessary because you can never be too kind.
Michael Josephson
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Life Secrets of a Guru
This October marks 50 years that I have been studying information that has taken me from pumping gas in a service center to the Chairman of LifeSuccess Productions, a company that operates in over 100 different countries.
In a recent company planning session it was decided that I would write three or four of the Friday stories to celebrate my 50 years of personal growth and to share with you some of the thinking and actions we were involved in to build this company. Hopefully you will benefit from our experiences.
In the fall of 1961, I was sitting in a fire hall in East York, Ontario. That's a suburb of Toronto in Canada. Prior to becoming a member of the Fire Department I was pumping gas in a service station for a dollar an hour six days a week. It was mostly hard, dirty work. One week of the month I had to work Sunday, that meant 7 days a week. In other words, I got 3 days a month off. I was working 48 hours a week for $48.
When I became a member of the fire department my income immediately went to $100 a week, and I only had to work 7 days and 7 nights a month. Half the month I was not working at all. So I did what a lot of the other fellows in the department did . I played a lot of golf and did a lot of nothing.
Then I was introduced to Napoleon Hill's classic, Think and Grow Rich, and although I didn't know it at the time, my life was about to go through an enormous transformation. I was 26 years old and up to that point, I had never in my entire life set a goal, a definite target to work toward. In looking back I don't suppose that any of the people I worked with were goal oriented either. We were all a product of our environment. The way I look at it now, we were doing as little as possible, just trying to get by. As Earl Nightingale put it . we were tiptoeing through life hoping we'd make it safely to death.
It was 1961 and I set a goal of having $25,000 in my possession by New Years day 1970. I gave myself a decade to do it. I did what the book said. I wrote the goal on a card and carried it in my pocket and that little card did what it was supposed to do. Every time I touched it, it caused me to think about having $25,000. I didn't even know anyone with $25,000 and furthermore I did not believe it would happen, but, I did start to think of earning money, and I later realized that was a key factor in my transformation.
One day I heard someone say there was good money cleaning floors. I thought, I'm not proud. I'll clean floors. I have lots of free time. I had an opportunity to buy a used floor machine with some buckets and mops for $980. That was an absolute fortune to me. It represented 2 months income. I was already in debt with little hope of getting out of debt. Nevertheless I found the money to buy that machine and started to work. The big change here was that I was working for myself. I had my own business.
All kinds of good things started to happen. I came across contracts to clean offices. A year later I was earning $175,000 a year, and I was still on the fire department. I was afraid to quit. No one had quit that department since 1934 and they never fired anyone.
In less than 5 years I was cleaning offices in 7 different cities and 3 different countries - Canada, the United States and England. My life was changing so fast, and I had no understanding of what was really happening. I have since found out that when tremendous change is taking place in a person's life, they rarely understand the mental process that is taking place. Nor do they understand how or why they are dealing with the tremendous resistance that they are encountering at every turn of the road.
I did reach a point where I had to quit working at the fire department, and it was an extremely difficult thing to do for two reasons.
ONE. I had been programmed to think of security. I honestly believed there was security in that job. Most government employees believe they have security in their job. As I look back I see how false that security was. I have learned that security is an inside thing. If you haven't got it there, you haven't got it. Real security comes from understanding who you are, understanding your true potential.
TWO. The tremendous resistance from friends and family and other people in the fire department, it seemed everyone was attempting to talk me out of quitting. In that particular circle of society I was a part of, you didn't quit a job like this. However in the face of all that resistance, I left. When the people who knew me found out I was leaving to clean offices, they really thought I was crazy.
Here I am winning in a very big way, with absolutely no understanding of WHY I was winning. Oh I could have said it was because I was working hard, reading the books, listening to Earl Nightingale's recordings. But I knew others that were doing that and they weren't winning.
Certain truths started to surface in my mind. I was raised to believe that if you're going to earn a lot of money you have to be really smart. I was earning a lot of money and I knew I wasn't very smart. If a person's going to be successful in business I had been raised to believe they'd have to have a good formal education. I was enjoying a respectable amount of success in business and I had no formal education. This caused me to start questioning my beliefs, all of them. Where did these beliefs come from? Why did I believe what I believed? I started to realize how my belief system was controlling my life. I was winning in a number of areas because I was going against a number of beliefs, and in doing so I was literally developing a new belief system.
It was at this point that I developed an enormous desire to find out why I was winning. And I couldn't find anybody that could tell me. In fact most of the people I talked to were every bit as surprised as I was that I was winning. Although I didn't know it at the time, wanting the answer to that question sent me on a journey that I don't believe I'll ever finish.
I have since come to the conclusion that most people that are highly successful in anything are not able to tell you why. Think about it, if a person is a high producer in a company and the company knew why they were high producers they'd package it and give it to everyone.
The truth is that most successful people really don't understand why they're successful. If you ask them they'll say because I do this or I do that, but you'll find other people that do the same things and they're not successful. They'll read the same books and go to the same seminars and nothing happens. These successful people would be classified as unconscious competents.
I wasn't satisfied with winning. I had to know why. Searching for that answer has taken me to very interesting places. It's helped me to develop meaningful relationships with truly interesting and brilliant people. It took me 9 years to put the puzzle together, and I never found all the answers in one place. It was like the pieces of the puzzle were a part of a scavenger hunt. I had to find them and then I had to put them together. And although today I'd quickly admit I don't have all the answers, I have a lot of them, and I am so grateful to all the wonderful individuals that have helped me figure this out. LifeSuccess programs teach this information.
Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant, the founders of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation played a very important role in my life. I was listening to Earl's recording of a condensed narration of Think and Grow Rich and also his Strangest Secret recording. I would listen to them every day. This led me to set up a meeting with Earl Nightingale. I was fortunate enough to get an hour of his time. I flew to Chicago for that meeting. It was a meeting that changed my life. I decided when I left there that I was going to sell my business and go back and work with them. I saw that company as a reservoir of some of the most important information in the world, information that was not being taught in school anywhere.
I was to find out that the only way I could work with them was to invest in a distributorship with the Nightingale-Conant Corporation to sell and teach their material, which is what I did. It was while I worked there that I met some of the greatest educators in the world, and I was able to put my puzzle together. I purchased the distributorship and started my own business. I became very successful, and I was ultimately invited into the office in Chicago to work there.
I stayed there for five years. The company was big enough that it had different departments but it was small enough that if you wanted something done you had to go into that department and help them do it. I loved that because I was learning. You see this industry that I'm a part of is a relatively new industry. Self help and personal development as we know it is only 50 to 60 years old. Compare that to the real estate or the insurance or the banking industry and this industry would seem like a baby. I was a part of it, and I loved it. I loved watching the change that took place in a person's face, in their eyes, when they started to realize that they could truly live their dreams.
In 1973 I set out on my own. I sat in a little den on Maplewood Lane in Glenview, Illinois, and I built a vision of having a company that operated all over the world. LifeSuccess Productions is the manifestation of that image. We coach people from virtually every continent in a 13-month coaching program, teaching them how to set and achieve goals that they previously would only have classified as a dream. We built a consultant company that operates in over 90 countries today. We train entrepreneurs to teach our material to individuals and corporations.
Next Friday I will pick up where I am leaving off here and tell you how LifeSuccess Productions has become a leader in this industry. I will share with you some of the ideas that inspired us to keep going in the face of enormous obstacles. How LifeSuccess Productions has been built I believe is an interesting story. It contains a number of lessons that most everyone can benefit from.
Bob Proctor
In a recent company planning session it was decided that I would write three or four of the Friday stories to celebrate my 50 years of personal growth and to share with you some of the thinking and actions we were involved in to build this company. Hopefully you will benefit from our experiences.
In the fall of 1961, I was sitting in a fire hall in East York, Ontario. That's a suburb of Toronto in Canada. Prior to becoming a member of the Fire Department I was pumping gas in a service station for a dollar an hour six days a week. It was mostly hard, dirty work. One week of the month I had to work Sunday, that meant 7 days a week. In other words, I got 3 days a month off. I was working 48 hours a week for $48.
When I became a member of the fire department my income immediately went to $100 a week, and I only had to work 7 days and 7 nights a month. Half the month I was not working at all. So I did what a lot of the other fellows in the department did . I played a lot of golf and did a lot of nothing.
Then I was introduced to Napoleon Hill's classic, Think and Grow Rich, and although I didn't know it at the time, my life was about to go through an enormous transformation. I was 26 years old and up to that point, I had never in my entire life set a goal, a definite target to work toward. In looking back I don't suppose that any of the people I worked with were goal oriented either. We were all a product of our environment. The way I look at it now, we were doing as little as possible, just trying to get by. As Earl Nightingale put it . we were tiptoeing through life hoping we'd make it safely to death.
It was 1961 and I set a goal of having $25,000 in my possession by New Years day 1970. I gave myself a decade to do it. I did what the book said. I wrote the goal on a card and carried it in my pocket and that little card did what it was supposed to do. Every time I touched it, it caused me to think about having $25,000. I didn't even know anyone with $25,000 and furthermore I did not believe it would happen, but, I did start to think of earning money, and I later realized that was a key factor in my transformation.
One day I heard someone say there was good money cleaning floors. I thought, I'm not proud. I'll clean floors. I have lots of free time. I had an opportunity to buy a used floor machine with some buckets and mops for $980. That was an absolute fortune to me. It represented 2 months income. I was already in debt with little hope of getting out of debt. Nevertheless I found the money to buy that machine and started to work. The big change here was that I was working for myself. I had my own business.
All kinds of good things started to happen. I came across contracts to clean offices. A year later I was earning $175,000 a year, and I was still on the fire department. I was afraid to quit. No one had quit that department since 1934 and they never fired anyone.
In less than 5 years I was cleaning offices in 7 different cities and 3 different countries - Canada, the United States and England. My life was changing so fast, and I had no understanding of what was really happening. I have since found out that when tremendous change is taking place in a person's life, they rarely understand the mental process that is taking place. Nor do they understand how or why they are dealing with the tremendous resistance that they are encountering at every turn of the road.
I did reach a point where I had to quit working at the fire department, and it was an extremely difficult thing to do for two reasons.
ONE. I had been programmed to think of security. I honestly believed there was security in that job. Most government employees believe they have security in their job. As I look back I see how false that security was. I have learned that security is an inside thing. If you haven't got it there, you haven't got it. Real security comes from understanding who you are, understanding your true potential.
TWO. The tremendous resistance from friends and family and other people in the fire department, it seemed everyone was attempting to talk me out of quitting. In that particular circle of society I was a part of, you didn't quit a job like this. However in the face of all that resistance, I left. When the people who knew me found out I was leaving to clean offices, they really thought I was crazy.
Here I am winning in a very big way, with absolutely no understanding of WHY I was winning. Oh I could have said it was because I was working hard, reading the books, listening to Earl Nightingale's recordings. But I knew others that were doing that and they weren't winning.
Certain truths started to surface in my mind. I was raised to believe that if you're going to earn a lot of money you have to be really smart. I was earning a lot of money and I knew I wasn't very smart. If a person's going to be successful in business I had been raised to believe they'd have to have a good formal education. I was enjoying a respectable amount of success in business and I had no formal education. This caused me to start questioning my beliefs, all of them. Where did these beliefs come from? Why did I believe what I believed? I started to realize how my belief system was controlling my life. I was winning in a number of areas because I was going against a number of beliefs, and in doing so I was literally developing a new belief system.
It was at this point that I developed an enormous desire to find out why I was winning. And I couldn't find anybody that could tell me. In fact most of the people I talked to were every bit as surprised as I was that I was winning. Although I didn't know it at the time, wanting the answer to that question sent me on a journey that I don't believe I'll ever finish.
I have since come to the conclusion that most people that are highly successful in anything are not able to tell you why. Think about it, if a person is a high producer in a company and the company knew why they were high producers they'd package it and give it to everyone.
The truth is that most successful people really don't understand why they're successful. If you ask them they'll say because I do this or I do that, but you'll find other people that do the same things and they're not successful. They'll read the same books and go to the same seminars and nothing happens. These successful people would be classified as unconscious competents.
I wasn't satisfied with winning. I had to know why. Searching for that answer has taken me to very interesting places. It's helped me to develop meaningful relationships with truly interesting and brilliant people. It took me 9 years to put the puzzle together, and I never found all the answers in one place. It was like the pieces of the puzzle were a part of a scavenger hunt. I had to find them and then I had to put them together. And although today I'd quickly admit I don't have all the answers, I have a lot of them, and I am so grateful to all the wonderful individuals that have helped me figure this out. LifeSuccess programs teach this information.
Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant, the founders of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation played a very important role in my life. I was listening to Earl's recording of a condensed narration of Think and Grow Rich and also his Strangest Secret recording. I would listen to them every day. This led me to set up a meeting with Earl Nightingale. I was fortunate enough to get an hour of his time. I flew to Chicago for that meeting. It was a meeting that changed my life. I decided when I left there that I was going to sell my business and go back and work with them. I saw that company as a reservoir of some of the most important information in the world, information that was not being taught in school anywhere.
I was to find out that the only way I could work with them was to invest in a distributorship with the Nightingale-Conant Corporation to sell and teach their material, which is what I did. It was while I worked there that I met some of the greatest educators in the world, and I was able to put my puzzle together. I purchased the distributorship and started my own business. I became very successful, and I was ultimately invited into the office in Chicago to work there.
I stayed there for five years. The company was big enough that it had different departments but it was small enough that if you wanted something done you had to go into that department and help them do it. I loved that because I was learning. You see this industry that I'm a part of is a relatively new industry. Self help and personal development as we know it is only 50 to 60 years old. Compare that to the real estate or the insurance or the banking industry and this industry would seem like a baby. I was a part of it, and I loved it. I loved watching the change that took place in a person's face, in their eyes, when they started to realize that they could truly live their dreams.
In 1973 I set out on my own. I sat in a little den on Maplewood Lane in Glenview, Illinois, and I built a vision of having a company that operated all over the world. LifeSuccess Productions is the manifestation of that image. We coach people from virtually every continent in a 13-month coaching program, teaching them how to set and achieve goals that they previously would only have classified as a dream. We built a consultant company that operates in over 90 countries today. We train entrepreneurs to teach our material to individuals and corporations.
Next Friday I will pick up where I am leaving off here and tell you how LifeSuccess Productions has become a leader in this industry. I will share with you some of the ideas that inspired us to keep going in the face of enormous obstacles. How LifeSuccess Productions has been built I believe is an interesting story. It contains a number of lessons that most everyone can benefit from.
Bob Proctor
Friday, June 3, 2011
Pay It Forward
This story is true and it happened to me..
One day after work, I asked my husband to pull into a local store so I could buy some cards and some gifts for our nieces.I got into line to check out behind a man dressed in a suit. I didn't pay much attention but then the woman in front of him started asking directions and he politely gave her all the directions. What caught my attention is that twice he said either God bless you or you have a blessed day.As a Christian, I thought - how refreshing to hear. It was now his turn to check out and he just had a gift bag and a card and tissue and some other small things, buying to wrap someone a gift.But, it seemed he didn't have much cash on him. So he told the cashier to check him out and he'd pay cash for part and part on a credit card. When she checked him out he was a little less than a dollar short and started to scan his credit card. "Stop" I said, "Don't scan your credit card for that dollar" and so I handed the cashier a dollar. He looked over at me and I said "no, it's nothing - I'm just trying to get out of debt and I hate to see anyone using a card for anything." He thanked me and "blessed" me too.
The cashier was surprised. I'm not sure if she was surprised because I did that or because she didn't expect me to help him or if it was because he was in a very nice suit and I was there in jeans and a t-shirt - I'm not sure, but when she gave the little change back from my dollar, she held my hand and told me that that was so unexpected of me and told me that I would be truly blessed for the act I just did. I just smiled and said "well I hope so -I could use some blessings!" So just then she told me my total which was around $6.00. As I reached in my wallet to pay her, a young man behind me said - "Wait! How much was her total?" The cashier told him and he reached in his wallet to pay for mine! I said, "No, you don't need to do that - - mine is much more than what I just dished out to help him." He said no he wanted to pay for mine for what he had just witnessed.
And here all along, I was feeling good by helping someone, but then when he did that, well; it was so unexpected and took me so by surprise. With tears in my eyes, I gave him a hug.I always try to do little things that I can, but have never had anyone do anything like that for me.I was speechless.As I walked to my car just amazed at God's love that had just been shown, I wondered what the cashier must be thinking of what she just witnessed in front of her.I cried when I told my husband because I just felt right there, right then, in a world where there is so much going bad, I witnessed God's love.
I went home that night and blogged about it and challenged anyone reading it to do the same.To do something small for someone else and see the difference it makes in your life as well as theirs.Of course my blog only has a couple of followers, but I had to get this story out! That young gentleman does not know how much he touched my heart by following my example. I'll never forget it.So, why not do something? Pay a toll for the car behind you, offer to pay for someone's item they are checking out, hand a water to someone working on the road, pay for someone's lunch - - it doesn't take much to show the love of God.
Lorraine Niemeyer
One day after work, I asked my husband to pull into a local store so I could buy some cards and some gifts for our nieces.I got into line to check out behind a man dressed in a suit. I didn't pay much attention but then the woman in front of him started asking directions and he politely gave her all the directions. What caught my attention is that twice he said either God bless you or you have a blessed day.As a Christian, I thought - how refreshing to hear. It was now his turn to check out and he just had a gift bag and a card and tissue and some other small things, buying to wrap someone a gift.But, it seemed he didn't have much cash on him. So he told the cashier to check him out and he'd pay cash for part and part on a credit card. When she checked him out he was a little less than a dollar short and started to scan his credit card. "Stop" I said, "Don't scan your credit card for that dollar" and so I handed the cashier a dollar. He looked over at me and I said "no, it's nothing - I'm just trying to get out of debt and I hate to see anyone using a card for anything." He thanked me and "blessed" me too.
The cashier was surprised. I'm not sure if she was surprised because I did that or because she didn't expect me to help him or if it was because he was in a very nice suit and I was there in jeans and a t-shirt - I'm not sure, but when she gave the little change back from my dollar, she held my hand and told me that that was so unexpected of me and told me that I would be truly blessed for the act I just did. I just smiled and said "well I hope so -I could use some blessings!" So just then she told me my total which was around $6.00. As I reached in my wallet to pay her, a young man behind me said - "Wait! How much was her total?" The cashier told him and he reached in his wallet to pay for mine! I said, "No, you don't need to do that - - mine is much more than what I just dished out to help him." He said no he wanted to pay for mine for what he had just witnessed.
And here all along, I was feeling good by helping someone, but then when he did that, well; it was so unexpected and took me so by surprise. With tears in my eyes, I gave him a hug.I always try to do little things that I can, but have never had anyone do anything like that for me.I was speechless.As I walked to my car just amazed at God's love that had just been shown, I wondered what the cashier must be thinking of what she just witnessed in front of her.I cried when I told my husband because I just felt right there, right then, in a world where there is so much going bad, I witnessed God's love.
I went home that night and blogged about it and challenged anyone reading it to do the same.To do something small for someone else and see the difference it makes in your life as well as theirs.Of course my blog only has a couple of followers, but I had to get this story out! That young gentleman does not know how much he touched my heart by following my example. I'll never forget it.So, why not do something? Pay a toll for the car behind you, offer to pay for someone's item they are checking out, hand a water to someone working on the road, pay for someone's lunch - - it doesn't take much to show the love of God.
Lorraine Niemeyer
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Ideas
Many years ago, in fact shortly after I began to study this transformational information, I came across a piece of literature that contained an idea that changed my life. It explained that every thing around us that has been made by human beings is the expression of an idea, and that you and I have the ability to create ideas. Think about it, every company, regardless of how large it may be, is nothing but the expression of a single idea that was once in the mind of one person. Unfortunately with most people their ideas are still born. They never breathe the stuff of life into them.
As I sat here preparing to share this story with you, my mind went back to the first time I came across that idea. Initially, I don't believe the dynamic of the idea really sunk into my mind. But when it did, the direction of my life changed like night and day, and it's never reversed direction.
Thinking is the highest function of which you and I are capable. It's an activity that I spent very little time at for the first twenty-five years of my life. But then I was introduced to Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich, and I began to truly appreciate the creative potential that was lying dormant within me. I then quickly learned it was a creative potential that lies within everyone, you included.
I have since come to the startling realization that a single idea effectively executed can be worth millions of dollars. In fact, single ideas have helped thousands of individuals from various parts of the world become millionaires.
For many years now, I have devoted the time that I spend flying to thinking. If you happen to sit beside me on a plane you may arrive at the conclusion that I have absolutely no social intelligence. I rarely talk to the person beside me. I feel that is my time away from everyone and everything, and I spend it thinking. By the way, I spend a lot of time in the air.
I frequently begin these thinking sessions by asking myself an interesting question. As I begin looking for the answer ideas begin to flow. In the early 90's I was on a flight from Toronto to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's twenty-five hours one way in the air and of course twenty-five hours back, so obviously that gave me lots of time to think. I made that trip every month for a few years, and I came to love the time that I was able to devote to thinking. On one particular flight I wrote at the top of a sheet of paper "$1,000,000." That's exactly how I wrote it - a 1 followed by 6 zeros. And I asked myself, "What's so special about a million dollars?" I had earned that in a year back in the 60's. It actually wasn't very difficult. For some reason $1,000,000 seems to be a magic number. We write songs about it, we fantasize about it, and we ask people "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" Generally they don't know. That's because they don't truly plan on having a million dollars.
I began thinking, "What did I do at that time that was so different?" Then I asked, "What do others that earn millions do that is so different?" Ask and you will receive is wise advice that has been given to us. As I began asking myself these questions, it dawned on me that people who earn lots of money have many sources of income. I wrote that on a piece of paper - "Many Sources of Income." Then I changed it to "Multiple Sources of Income" which I then abbreviated to "MSI." And I thought, "I should run a seminar that teaches people to create MSIs." The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. The idea began to build in my mind. That's what generally happens with good ideas - they attract other good ideas that are in harmony, and the idea builds. I was getting really enthused. I made up my mind I would teach others. I would run such a seminar. And I would get some of my friends to do it with me.
When I got to Kuala Lumpur, I was really enthused. I phoned Mark Victor Hansen in Southern California, then Val Van De Wall in Western Canada. Mark phoned Jack Canfield and Berny Dohrmann. They all loved the idea. The team was formed. The group of us decided to run a week long program teaching people how to earn a million dollars by setting up MSIs. We had a great time. It was a very successful program. In fact, Mark and Jack came up with an idea for an MSI that they would partner on and execute together. They would write a book with 101 inspirational stories in it and it would be called Chicken Soup for the Soul. Keep in mind, in the beginning it was just an idea, but they have since sold over one hundred million copies. There are numerous success stories that have come out of those seminars. But, after a period of time, because each one of us owned our own businesses, we stopped conducting the seminars and went on our own separate ways. However, every one of us grew immeasurably from that experience. As Thomas Carlyle once said, "When your mind is expanded by a big idea, it will never go back to its original shape." CEO Space, a company that operates globally, came out of that program. A couple of companies that I have since started - The Bob Proctor Matrixx and The Bob Proctor Network - came out of those seminars.
It all started with a single idea that was the result of a question that I asked myself at 35,000 feet somewhere over the South Pacific. Thousands of individuals today are wealthy because of that idea. In fact, historically wealthy people have always followed the strategy of setting up multiple sources of income.
Let me ask you a question - How many sources of income do you presently have? If you are like most people, the answer is probably one or maybe two when actually you could have a hundred, two hundred or more and all it would require is a decision.
Let me ask you another question - How much time do you spend by yourself for the sole purpose of thinking, of creating ideas, ideas that will enhance the life of others or possibly improve the service that they offer? If you're not doing it, you might start. You will find that it's a great way to invest your time. In fact, spending time thinking is the most constructive thing that you can do with your life. It is, as I have already mentioned, the highest function of which you are capable.
My company recently started a company for the sole purpose of helping people establish MSIs and at the same time become associated with other people from all over the world that want to multiply their income. This company truly brings like-minded people together in a spirit of cooperation where they can help each other improve the quality of their life by setting up and sharing multiple sources of income. The company is run by a young lady who professionally is an electrical engineer. Her name is Tiffany Baron. After a decade of working at a job where someone told her when to go to work, when to go home and how much she could earn, she decided that she wanted to change. She wanted to enjoy the freedom that she was reading about and the income that could be earned by establishing multiple sources of income.
This company was started because I've often thought that it was rather sad that the group of us never really kept that original company going. I often thought I should do that again. You see I believe that there are a lot of people out there like I was when I first became aware that everything around us is the expression of an idea, and you and I have the ability to create ideas. There are a lot of Tiffanys and Harrys and Jims that would really love to have multiple sources of income, but they're not quite sure how to do it. We thought -- if we started a global network that anyone could join, where people could come together on-line to help each other build something substantial by working in cooperation with each other, where the membership fee was very minimal, then thousands more could enjoy the freedom and the creativity that many of us are already enjoying. That's when we gave birth to the idea of www.bobproctornetwork.com where for $5 per month anyone can explore MSI ideas, and they can move them into action to change the course of their life.
Bob Proctor
As I sat here preparing to share this story with you, my mind went back to the first time I came across that idea. Initially, I don't believe the dynamic of the idea really sunk into my mind. But when it did, the direction of my life changed like night and day, and it's never reversed direction.
Thinking is the highest function of which you and I are capable. It's an activity that I spent very little time at for the first twenty-five years of my life. But then I was introduced to Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich, and I began to truly appreciate the creative potential that was lying dormant within me. I then quickly learned it was a creative potential that lies within everyone, you included.
I have since come to the startling realization that a single idea effectively executed can be worth millions of dollars. In fact, single ideas have helped thousands of individuals from various parts of the world become millionaires.
For many years now, I have devoted the time that I spend flying to thinking. If you happen to sit beside me on a plane you may arrive at the conclusion that I have absolutely no social intelligence. I rarely talk to the person beside me. I feel that is my time away from everyone and everything, and I spend it thinking. By the way, I spend a lot of time in the air.
I frequently begin these thinking sessions by asking myself an interesting question. As I begin looking for the answer ideas begin to flow. In the early 90's I was on a flight from Toronto to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It's twenty-five hours one way in the air and of course twenty-five hours back, so obviously that gave me lots of time to think. I made that trip every month for a few years, and I came to love the time that I was able to devote to thinking. On one particular flight I wrote at the top of a sheet of paper "$1,000,000." That's exactly how I wrote it - a 1 followed by 6 zeros. And I asked myself, "What's so special about a million dollars?" I had earned that in a year back in the 60's. It actually wasn't very difficult. For some reason $1,000,000 seems to be a magic number. We write songs about it, we fantasize about it, and we ask people "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" Generally they don't know. That's because they don't truly plan on having a million dollars.
I began thinking, "What did I do at that time that was so different?" Then I asked, "What do others that earn millions do that is so different?" Ask and you will receive is wise advice that has been given to us. As I began asking myself these questions, it dawned on me that people who earn lots of money have many sources of income. I wrote that on a piece of paper - "Many Sources of Income." Then I changed it to "Multiple Sources of Income" which I then abbreviated to "MSI." And I thought, "I should run a seminar that teaches people to create MSIs." The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. The idea began to build in my mind. That's what generally happens with good ideas - they attract other good ideas that are in harmony, and the idea builds. I was getting really enthused. I made up my mind I would teach others. I would run such a seminar. And I would get some of my friends to do it with me.
When I got to Kuala Lumpur, I was really enthused. I phoned Mark Victor Hansen in Southern California, then Val Van De Wall in Western Canada. Mark phoned Jack Canfield and Berny Dohrmann. They all loved the idea. The team was formed. The group of us decided to run a week long program teaching people how to earn a million dollars by setting up MSIs. We had a great time. It was a very successful program. In fact, Mark and Jack came up with an idea for an MSI that they would partner on and execute together. They would write a book with 101 inspirational stories in it and it would be called Chicken Soup for the Soul. Keep in mind, in the beginning it was just an idea, but they have since sold over one hundred million copies. There are numerous success stories that have come out of those seminars. But, after a period of time, because each one of us owned our own businesses, we stopped conducting the seminars and went on our own separate ways. However, every one of us grew immeasurably from that experience. As Thomas Carlyle once said, "When your mind is expanded by a big idea, it will never go back to its original shape." CEO Space, a company that operates globally, came out of that program. A couple of companies that I have since started - The Bob Proctor Matrixx and The Bob Proctor Network - came out of those seminars.
It all started with a single idea that was the result of a question that I asked myself at 35,000 feet somewhere over the South Pacific. Thousands of individuals today are wealthy because of that idea. In fact, historically wealthy people have always followed the strategy of setting up multiple sources of income.
Let me ask you a question - How many sources of income do you presently have? If you are like most people, the answer is probably one or maybe two when actually you could have a hundred, two hundred or more and all it would require is a decision.
Let me ask you another question - How much time do you spend by yourself for the sole purpose of thinking, of creating ideas, ideas that will enhance the life of others or possibly improve the service that they offer? If you're not doing it, you might start. You will find that it's a great way to invest your time. In fact, spending time thinking is the most constructive thing that you can do with your life. It is, as I have already mentioned, the highest function of which you are capable.
My company recently started a company for the sole purpose of helping people establish MSIs and at the same time become associated with other people from all over the world that want to multiply their income. This company truly brings like-minded people together in a spirit of cooperation where they can help each other improve the quality of their life by setting up and sharing multiple sources of income. The company is run by a young lady who professionally is an electrical engineer. Her name is Tiffany Baron. After a decade of working at a job where someone told her when to go to work, when to go home and how much she could earn, she decided that she wanted to change. She wanted to enjoy the freedom that she was reading about and the income that could be earned by establishing multiple sources of income.
This company was started because I've often thought that it was rather sad that the group of us never really kept that original company going. I often thought I should do that again. You see I believe that there are a lot of people out there like I was when I first became aware that everything around us is the expression of an idea, and you and I have the ability to create ideas. There are a lot of Tiffanys and Harrys and Jims that would really love to have multiple sources of income, but they're not quite sure how to do it. We thought -- if we started a global network that anyone could join, where people could come together on-line to help each other build something substantial by working in cooperation with each other, where the membership fee was very minimal, then thousands more could enjoy the freedom and the creativity that many of us are already enjoying. That's when we gave birth to the idea of www.bobproctornetwork.com where for $5 per month anyone can explore MSI ideas, and they can move them into action to change the course of their life.
Bob Proctor
What will You Have Achieved 30 Days from Today?
How will your life be different in only 30 days from now? What will you have accomplished? What intentions will you set and where will you put your focus?
If you could close your eyes and open them after 30 days, where would you like to find yourself?
What if you choose to be totally present and conscious for the next 30 days, not walking around in a daze, but aware of each precious moment, taking nothing for granted, counting each blessing, savoring each encounter, relishing each experience, feeling grounded to the earth, perhaps for the very first time, viewing it all from a higher place than before.
What new people, experiences, habits, will you welcome into your life and which ones will you have finally let go of and how will that make you feel?
What one thing can you promise yourself to do every single day, for the next 30 days, and keep your word about it, and how will it feel at the end of the 30 days when you have completed it? It could be writing an article a day, or dancing or exercising every day or simply remembering to keep your word. Keeping your word is a big one. If you did that alone for one entire month, you life will have changed dramatically.
Where will you be on the thirtieth day, what will you have accomplished, what will you have done with this precious thirty days that you have been given and what impact will that have made upon your life?
Veronica Hay
If you could close your eyes and open them after 30 days, where would you like to find yourself?
What if you choose to be totally present and conscious for the next 30 days, not walking around in a daze, but aware of each precious moment, taking nothing for granted, counting each blessing, savoring each encounter, relishing each experience, feeling grounded to the earth, perhaps for the very first time, viewing it all from a higher place than before.
What new people, experiences, habits, will you welcome into your life and which ones will you have finally let go of and how will that make you feel?
What one thing can you promise yourself to do every single day, for the next 30 days, and keep your word about it, and how will it feel at the end of the 30 days when you have completed it? It could be writing an article a day, or dancing or exercising every day or simply remembering to keep your word. Keeping your word is a big one. If you did that alone for one entire month, you life will have changed dramatically.
Where will you be on the thirtieth day, what will you have accomplished, what will you have done with this precious thirty days that you have been given and what impact will that have made upon your life?
Veronica Hay
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.
"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.
"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."
"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.
"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers."
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
Kent Nerburn
Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.
"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.
The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.
"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."
"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.
"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers."
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
Kent Nerburn
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