2016-13 - Be the lake…

The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it. “How does it taste?”, the Master asked. “Awful”, spat the apprentice.

The Master chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the Master asked, “How does it taste?”

“Good!” remarked the apprentice.

“Do you taste the salt?” asked the Master.

“No”, said the young man.

The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, “The pain and suffering of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the ‘pain’ depends on the containerwe put it into.” So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become the lake.” 

~ Author Unknown

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

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2016-12 - We all have something to learn from this girl.

As the drought continued for what seemed to be an eternity, a small community of farmers was in a quandary as to what to do. Rain was important to keep their crops healthy and sustain the town’s way of life.

As the problem became more acute, the town’s headman called for a prayer meeting to intercede for rain.

Many people arrived. The pastor greeted most of them as they filled in. As he walked to the front of the room to officially begin the meeting he noticed that most people were chatting across the aisles and socializing with friends.

As he reached the front, his eyes scanned the crowd and he called for silence. He noticed an eleven year-old girl sitting quietly in the front row. Her face was beaming with excitement. Next to her, poised and ready for use, was a bright red umbrella. The little girl’s beauty and innocence made the pastor smile as he realized how much faith she possessed. No one else in the congregation had brought an umbrella.

All came to pray for rain, but the little girl had come expecting the universe to answer.

~ Author Unknown

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“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr

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2016-11 - Right Decisions…

A young reporter was commissioned to interview an old and successful businessman. “Sir,” he asked politely, “What has been the secret of your success?”

The older man leaned back on his leather swivel chair, behind his shining mahogany desk, and replied, “Two words, son, two words: Right Decisions.”

The reporter wrote it down. Then he asked another question - “And how did you learn to make the right decisions, sir?”

The successful business man leaned back further and replied, “One word, son, one word: Experience.”

The reporter wrote this down, too, and then asked, “Well, sir, how do you acquire experience?”

The older man leaned over his desk and whispered conspiratorially, “Two words, son, two words: Wrong Decisions!”

~ Author Unknown

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“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.”

~ Paulo Coelho

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2016-10 - Two men went fishing...

One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch he asked.

The inexperienced fisherman replied, I only have a small frying pan.

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throwback the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that come our way. Our faith is too small.

We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith. Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, the universe will never give you anything bigger than you can handle.

~ Author Unknown

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“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change 

their minds cannot change anything.”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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2016-09 - I once saw...

a high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up.

Then he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.

He said, “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.”

“To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.”

The students in the back of the room immediately piped up, “This is unfair!” They could see the rows of students in front of them had a much better chance.

Everyone took their shots, and — as expected — most of the students in the front made it (but not all) and only a few students in the back of the room made it.

He concluded by saying, “The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?”

"By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.”

"Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”

~ Nathan W. Pyle
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“Whatever you want in life, other people are going to want it too. 
Believe in yourself enough to accept the idea that you have an 
equal right to it.”


~ Diane Sawyer
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