People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
-- Mother Theresa
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Struggle a Little
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly, that he brought home.
One day a small opening appeared he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours. It struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but, it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly, he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and the body would contract. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
The man acted with well-intentioned kindness but he didn't understand the consequences. The restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening, were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been and we could never fly.
So the next time you are faced with an obstacle, a challenge, or a problem, remember the butterfly.
Struggle a little - then fly!
-- Author Unknown
One day a small opening appeared he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours. It struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but, it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly, he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and the body would contract. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
The man acted with well-intentioned kindness but he didn't understand the consequences. The restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening, were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been and we could never fly.
So the next time you are faced with an obstacle, a challenge, or a problem, remember the butterfly.
Struggle a little - then fly!
-- Author Unknown
Thursday, December 3, 2009
What Will matter
Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end. It won't matter whether you where beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
Not what you got, but how you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter are not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
-- Michael Josephson
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end. It won't matter whether you where beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
Not what you got, but how you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter are not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.
-- Michael Josephson
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Help Us to Remember
Help us to remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night
is a single mother who worked nine hours that day,
that she is rushing home to cook dinner and help with homework,
to do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who takes forever at the checkout stand, is a worried 19-year-old college student,
who is balancing his apprehension over final exams,
with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.
Remind us that the scary looking bum, begging for money
in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!)
is a slave to addictions
that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow
through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress
are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year that they go shopping together.
Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive.
Let us show patience, empathy and love.
Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us,
but to all humanity.
Remind us each day that of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love.
- Author Unknown
is a single mother who worked nine hours that day,
that she is rushing home to cook dinner and help with homework,
to do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man
who takes forever at the checkout stand, is a worried 19-year-old college student,
who is balancing his apprehension over final exams,
with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.
Remind us that the scary looking bum, begging for money
in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!)
is a slave to addictions
that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow
through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress
are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week,
this will be the last year that they go shopping together.
Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive.
Let us show patience, empathy and love.
Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us,
but to all humanity.
Remind us each day that of all the gifts you give us,
the greatest gift is love.
- Author Unknown
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Echoes of Kind Words
A little boy said to his father, "Let's play darts. I'll throw the darts and you say, 'Wonderful!'" Here is a boy who was not afraid to ask for the encouragement he needs. Maybe we all have something to learn from him!
Inspirational author and educator, Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, relates a story about the devastating effects of discouragement. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the famous 19th Century poet and artist, was once approached by an elderly man who asked him to look at a few of his sketches and drawings. The gentleman wanted to know if the artist thought they were of any value.
As gently as possible, Rossetti told the man that the sketches were of no value and showed little talent. He apologized for the harsh assessment but said that he believed he should be honest.
The visitor was disappointed but asked the artist if he could take a look at just a few more, which were all done by a young art student. Rossetti looked over the second batch of sketches and immediately became enthusiastic over the talent they revealed. "These," he said, "oh, these are good." He went on to say that the young student shows much promise and should be given every help and encouragement, as he may have a great future if he will study and work hard.
The old man was deeply moved. Rossetti asked, "Who is this fine, young artist? Your son?"
"No," replied the visitor sadly. "It is I - 40 years ago. If only I had heard your praise then. For you see, I became discouraged and gave up too soon."
Mother Teresa wisely said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Sometimes it may be enough to just say, "Wonderful!"
-- Steve Goodier
Inspirational author and educator, Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, relates a story about the devastating effects of discouragement. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the famous 19th Century poet and artist, was once approached by an elderly man who asked him to look at a few of his sketches and drawings. The gentleman wanted to know if the artist thought they were of any value.
As gently as possible, Rossetti told the man that the sketches were of no value and showed little talent. He apologized for the harsh assessment but said that he believed he should be honest.
The visitor was disappointed but asked the artist if he could take a look at just a few more, which were all done by a young art student. Rossetti looked over the second batch of sketches and immediately became enthusiastic over the talent they revealed. "These," he said, "oh, these are good." He went on to say that the young student shows much promise and should be given every help and encouragement, as he may have a great future if he will study and work hard.
The old man was deeply moved. Rossetti asked, "Who is this fine, young artist? Your son?"
"No," replied the visitor sadly. "It is I - 40 years ago. If only I had heard your praise then. For you see, I became discouraged and gave up too soon."
Mother Teresa wisely said, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Sometimes it may be enough to just say, "Wonderful!"
-- Steve Goodier
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
