Tuesday, February 28, 2012

2012-09 - The strength in patience...

Consider how many difficult things would be made less difficult with a little patience. Certainly it is important to have a sense of urgency, yet it is just as important to balance that with an abiding patience.

Real, lasting success and achievement come when you can act with urgency and then be patient about getting results. Ambitious achievements require time. When you have the patience to continue making the effort, then you'll reach the goal.

Patience will help you to see the big picture and to understand the long term view. Patience can dramatically improve your relationships with others, and reduce the level of stress in your life.

Patience is a genuine expression of confidence, of acceptance, serenity and faith in your own ability. It is a sign of strength.

Good things will come of your time when you spend that time moving positively forward. Patience with yourself, with your work, and with others is a sure sign that you know you're on the right track. Be patient, be strong, be positive and enjoy every moment of life as it unfolds.

~ Ralph Marston
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"A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else."

~ George Savile
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

2012-08 - The Acorn Planter...

In the 1930s a young traveller was exploring the French Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was desolate. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind of place you hurry away from.

Then, suddenly, the young traveller stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.

The man was using the iron pope to punch holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man the traveller, "I've planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow." The old man's wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something useful," he said.

Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveller returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers perfumed the air.

The traveller stood there recalling the desolation that once was; a beautiful oak forest stood there now - all because someone cared.

~ Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R., The Sower's Seeds
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"When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened."

~ John M. Richardson, J
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

2012-07 - Needing Others...

Many living things need each other to survive.

If you have ever seen an aspen tree, you may have noticed that it does not grow alone. Aspens are found in clusters, or groves. The reason is that the aspen sends up new shoots from the roots. In a small grove, all of the trees may actually be connected by their roots!

Giant California redwood trees may tower 300 feet into the sky. It would seem that they would require extremely deep roots to anchor them against strong winds. But we're told that their roots are actually quite shallow - in order to capture as much surface water as possible. And they spread in all directions, intertwining with other redwoods. Locked together in this way, all the trees support each other in wind and storms. Like the aspen, they never stand-alone. They need one another to survive.

People, too, are connected by a system of roots. We are born to family and learn early to make friends. We are not meant to survive long without others. And like the redwood, we need to hold one another up. When pounded by the sometimes vicious storms of life, we need others to support and sustain us.

Have you been going it alone? Maybe it's time to let someone else help hold you up for a while. Or perhaps someone needs to hang on to you.

~ Author Unknown
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"We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you."

~ Author Unknown
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

2012-06 - Are you willing to change...?


Your life right now is the result of the things you have done up until this point in time. If you want your life to be different, you will need to make changes.

Wishing for a better life won't make it so. In order for 'things' to change, you must be willing to change. That means getting out of your comfort zone. It means facing your fears. It means you may need to change your career, your friends, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, where you live, your daily schedule.

You are remarkably adaptable. If you've made it this far, you have already gone through many major changes in all aspects of your life. From being an infant to a toddler to a child to a teen to an adult, the first few years of your life were filled with constant change. You are certainly up to the task.

Almost always, the fear of change, the fear of the unknown, is worse than the change itself. Once you understand this, then you realize that it is easier to change than to resist change.

There are things you need to do, changes you need to make. Go ahead with them. Don't waste your energy fearing them or resisting them. Dive right in and do what needs to be done. Change is a constant part of life. When you fear it, it will happen anyway, out of your control. When you embrace change, it will enable you to reach your goals.

~ Ralph Marston

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"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."

~ Author Unknown

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