Tuesday, December 25, 2018

2018-52 - Sprit of Christmas...

What is the spirit of Christmas, you ask?  Let me give you the answer in a true story...

On a cold day in December, feeling especially warm in my heart for no other reason than it was the holiday season, I walked through the store sporting a big grin on my face.

Though most people were far too busy going about their business to notice me, one elderly gentleman in a wheelchair brought his eyes up to meet mine as we neared each other traveling opposite directions.  He slowed in passing just long enough to speak to me.

"Now that's a Christmas smile if I ever saw one," he said.

My lips stretched to their limit in response, and I thanked him for the compliment.  Then we went our separate ways. But, as I thought about the man and how sweetly he'd touched me, I realized something simply wonderful!  In that brief, passing interaction we'd exchanged heartfelt gifts!

And that, my friend, is the spirit of Christmas.

~ Richelle E. Goodrich (Smile Anyway)



For it is in giving that we receive.

~ Francis of Assisi

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

2018-51 - Making Mistakes...

A famous research scientist once spoke about why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person?


He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience when he was a kid. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip and it fell, spilling all over the floor!


When his mother entered, instead of yelling at him, she said, “Wow, what a wonderful mess you have made! Well, the damage is done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk before we clean it up?"


Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, whenever you make a mess, you have to clean it and restore everything to its proper order. We could use a sponge, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.


His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!


The scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment doesn't work, we usually learn something valuable from it.


~ Author Unknown





“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”


~ James Joyce


Tuesday, December 11, 2018

2018-50 - The Three Dolls

A sage once presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused. "Am I a girl that you give me dolls?", He asked.

"This is a gift for a future king," Said the sage. "If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll." The sage then handed him a piece of string. "Pass it through each doll", He said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear. It came out from the other ear. "This is one type of person," said the sage, "whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth. "This is the second type of person," said the sage, "whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not come out. "This is the third type of person," said the sage, "whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."

The sage then handed him a fourth doll. When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.

"Do it again." - Said the sage.

The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out."

~ Author Unknown



Trustful people are the pure at heart.
~ Criss Jami

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

2018-49 - Lesson from the Hedgehogs…

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others.
This way they were able to survive.

~ Author Unknown



Treasure your relationships, not your possessions.

Anthony J. D'Angelo