And then it is winter...

"You know time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams. But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise.

How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like. But, here it is... my friends are retired and getting grey... they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last... this I know, that when it's over on this earth... its over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime. So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life... so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember... and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one."

LIVE IT WELL!

Carpe Diem!!!


Anonymous but sent to me by my friend Bobot.

The Miracle of Silence

It seems contradictory to speak, or write, about silence because silence is really something to be experienced. In the experience of silence, we discover deep spiritual truths and come to know our spiritual self.

Silence grows within us, helping us to progress and develop in a very subtle way, just like a seed: the flower is hidden in the seed; the seed is hidden in the earth. Sunlight touches the earth that warms the seed and the flower begins to grow. Like a seed, we are also full of a great deal of potential. It is not really knowledge, or discussion that will truly develop that potential. They help, of course, but it is the light of silence that penetrates very deeply and awakens the potential within, inspiring it to burst and to blossom into a flower.

Silence is also a space that gives the mind oxygen, allowing the creation of something new, filling life with power and strength.

Everybody's religion nowadays is one of being busy. Everyone's rushing around, doing something, proving something, showing something. In that rush to be someone, we tend to forget the great power and miracle found in stillness.

In Spiritual Service,

Brahma Kumaris

http://thoughtsfrombrahmakumaris.blogspot.com/2011/02/message-for-day-soul-sustenance-04-02.html

The Starfish Thrower

"Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

This story has appeared all over the web in various forms, usually with no credit given to Mr. Eiseley. Sometimes it is a little girl throwing the starfish into the ocean, sometimes a young man, once even an elderly Indian. In any form it is a beautiful story and one that makes you think.

Loren Eiseley was a anthropologist who wrote extensively. He was the 'wise man' in the story, and he was walking along a beach after a storm and encountered the fellow throwing the starfish back. I have not had a chance to read the original book yet myself but will post more background info here after I do."
 
Via email
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"The Star Thrower" (or "starfish story") is part of a 16-page essay of the same name by Loren Eiseley (1907–1977), published in 1969 in The Unexpected Universe. The Star Thrower is also the title of a 1978 anthology of Eiseley's works (including the essay), which he completed shortly before his death.
 
The original story describes the narrator walking along the beach early one morning in the pre-dawn twilight, when he sees a man picking up a starfish off the sand and throwing it into the sea. The narrator is observant and subtle, but skeptical. He has the last word, a pessimistic conclusion.
 
Some excerpts:

“ In a pool of sand and silt a starfish had thrust its arms up stiffly and was holding its body away from the stifling mud.


"It's still alive," I ventured.

"Yes," he said, and with a quick yet gentle movement he picked up the star and spun it over my head and far out into the sea. It sunk in a burst of spume, and the waters roared once more.

"There are not many who come this far," I said, groping in a sudden embarrassment for words. "Do you collect?"
"Only like this," he said softly, gesturing amidst the wreckage of the shore. "And only for the living." He stooped again, oblivious of my curiosity, and skipped another star neatly across the water. "The stars," he said, "throw well. One can help them."


..."I do not collect," I said uncomfortably, the wind beating at my garments. "Neither the living nor the dead. I gave it up a long time ago. Death is the only successful collector."

—The Star Thrower, p. 172

Later, after some beautiful thoughts on our relationships to other animals and to the universe, the narrator says:

"On a point of land, I found the star thrower...I spoke once briefly. "I understand," I said. "Call me another thrower." Only then I allowed myself to think, He is not alone any longer. After us, there will be others...We were part of the rainbow...Perhaps far outward on the rim of space a genuine star was similarly seized and flung...For a moment, we cast on an infinite beach together beside an unknown hurler of suns... We had lost our way, I thought, but we had kept, some of us, the memory of the perfect circle of compassion from life to death and back to life again - the completion of the rainbow of existence" (The Star Thrower, p.181).

From Wikipedia

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The story evolves around the concept of making a difference in this world. Which goes to show that even the smallest act of kindness and charity can make a difference afterall!

The Key to Happiness

[Posted] by Brian Tracy on Mar 4, 2008


"Your ability to achieve your own happiness is the key measure of your success, of how well you are doing as a person.
Your ability to achieve your own happiness is the key measure of your success, of how well you are doing as a person.

You learn the key to happiness that has been the same through all of history. You learn how to dispel the two myths that may be holding you back and how to achieve more happiness in everything you do.

Dedicate Yourself to Your Best Talents

The key to happiness is this: dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents and abilities by doing what you love to do, and doing it better and better in the service of a cause that is greater than yourself.

This is a big statement and a big commitment. Being happy requires that you define your life in your own terms and then throw your whole heart into living your life to the fullest. In a way, happiness requires that you be perfectly selfish in order to develop yourself to a point where you can be unselfish for the rest of your life.

Please Yourself First

In Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is asked why he is so intensely individualistic and unconcerned with the opinions and judgments of others. He replies with these wonderful words: "I am what I am because early in life I decided that I would please at least myself in all things."

Your happiness likewise depends upon your ability to please at least yourself in all things. You can be happy only when you are living your life in the very best way possible. No one can define happiness for you. Only you know what makes you happy. Happiness is an inside job.

Your Happiness is Up to You

The biggest myth about happiness is when people say that it is not legitimate or correct for you to put your happiness ahead of everyone else’s. Throughout my life, I’ve met people who have said that it is more important to make other people happy than it is to make yourself happy. This is nonsense.

The fact is that you can’t give away to anyone else what you don’t have for yourself. Just as you can’t give money to the poor if you don’t have any, you can’t make someone else happy if you yourself are miserable.

The very best way to assure the happiness of others is to be happy yourself and then to share your happiness with them. Suffering and self-sacrifice merely depress and discourage other people. If you want to make others happy, start by living the kind of life and doing the kind of things that make you happy.

Action Exercises

Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, define for yourself the activities that you really love and enjoy, at home and work, and then organize your life so you do more of them.

Second, believe in yourself and trust your own feelings. Then, please at least yourself in all things.

Third, determine what it is that you do that brings the most happiness to others and then organize your life so that you can do more of it."

This was posted in 2008, how come I haven't come across it? Thanks to Aga for posting a snippet on FB. Now I can start being happy! ;0)

Ralph Marston on Hard Work

"Don’t avoid the hard work. That’s where the greatest value is created.
Don’t be afraid of the difficult, complicated, challenging tasks.
Once you get past the fear, you’re already past the most difficult aspect.

Relish the opportunity to do the hard work. For it is an opportunity to experience yourself being fully alive and effective. Find real enjoyment and satisfaction in doing the difficult work. Get yourself hooked on how good it feels to make a meaningful positive difference.

It’s often assumed that hard work is best avoided. Yet when you avoid hard work, you cheat yourself out of the joy of accomplishment.Seek out the hard work and you’ll find it’s not bad at all.

Do the hard work, and transform each day, each moment and each effort into great value."

— Ralph Marston

A kind of friend we all should be...

"I can’t give solutions to all of life’s problems, doubts, or fears.

But I can listen to you and together we will search for answers.

I can’t change your past with all its heartache and pain,

Nor the future with its untold stories.

But I can be there now when you need me to care.

I can’t keep your feet from stumbling.

I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall .

Your joys, triumphs, success, and happiness are not mine;

Yet I can share in your laughter.

Your decisions in life are not mine to make, nor to judge;

I can only support you, encourage you, and help you when you ask.

I can’t prevent you from falling away from friendship, from your values, from me.

I can only pray for you, talk to you, and wait for you.

I can’t give you boundaries which I have determined for you,

But I can give you the room to change, room to grow, room to be yourself.

I can’t keep your heart from breaking and hurting,

But I can cry with you and help you pick up the pieces and put them back in place.

I can’t tell you who you are.

I can only love you and be your friend!"

Anonymous

Ego trips have a dangerous destination

By Harvey Mackay

Talent is God-given, be humble. Fame is man-given, be thankful. Conceit is self-given, be careful.

This anonymous saying is often attributed to legendary college basketball coach John Wooden. And he surely hit the nail on the head.

I have a different way of talking about conceit in my speeches. If you think you're indispensable, I tell my audiences, stick your finger in a bowl of water and watch the hole it leaves when you pull it out.

This lesson was drilled into my head by my parents, who made sure their brash son knew what they thought about conceited people. Perhaps this is where my fondness for aphorisms comes from! I can still hear them saying: "Don't hang your hat higher than you can reach." "Swallow your pride occasionally, it's non-fattening! " And my dad's stern advice, "It is far better to have other people say how great you are."

Like many kids, I was known to be a little cocky. But I stopped short of the ego trip of one of my childhood friends, who used to send congratulatory messages to his parents on his birthday.

Throughout my life, I have observed what happens when heads swell and egos exceed capacity. The "me-first" attitude is met with "not you again" resistance. Conceit and success are not compatible. There is no shame in taking pride in achievements or position. But nobody gets to the top alone. It's only lonely at the top if you forget all the people you met along the way and fail to acknowledge their contributions to your success.

My son is a film producer and director in Hollywood, the land of large egos and monumental conceit. He shared a story about a movie actor who had bored the ears off his lunch companion by talking incessantly about his recent movie. Suddenly the actor stopped and said, "But I'm talking all about myself. Let's talk about you. How did you like my latest movie?"

Ouch! Is that the best he could do?

Then there's the story about the self-important chief executive officer who arrived at the hotel ballroom where his company's annual meeting was being held, only to be stopped at the door by a burly uniformed guard.

"Just wait here," said the guard, "until I check the list."

"But," sputtered the CEO, "don't you know who I am?"

"No, sir," said the guard, "but I will go and find out and let you know."

I can tell you right now who the fellow is -- a person whose universe is very small, because it has no room for others.

"A person completely wrapped up in himself maks a small package," wrote Harry Emerson Fosdick, an American clergyman. "The great day comes when a man begins to get himself off his hands. He has lived, let us say, in a mind like a room surrounded by mirrors.

"Every way he turned he saw himself. Now, however, some of the mirrors change to windows. He can see through them to objective outlooks that challenge his interests. He begins to get out of himself -- no longer the prisoner of self-reflections but a free man in a world where persons, causes, truths, and values exist, worthful for their own sakes. Thus to pass from a mirror-mind to a mind with windows is an essential element in the development of a real personality. Without that experience no one ever achieves a meaningful life."

Think of it this way: When business is good, who gets the credit? When the chips are down, whom do you blame?

Start by looking in Fosdick's mirror! If you see only yourself, keep looking. Look closely, and see if you don't recognize people who shaped you as a young child, throughout your education, and at every step in your career.

My list is very long. I am fortunate that these people cared enough to provide me with a reality check when they saw me getting a little too big for my britches.

The conceited new rookie was pitching his first big league baseball game. He walked the first five men he faced, and the manager took him out of the game. The rookie slammed his glove on the ground as he walked off and yelled: "Can you believe it? The jerk takes me out just when I have a no-hitter going." Time to look into the mirror!

Mackay's Moral: Conceit is a strange disease. It makes everyone sick except the person who's got it.