Learning How to Sail My Ship

"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott

At the time of writing this blog, I am 53 years old. Most would agree that I have exceeded the halfway point of my lifespan. It would seem logical to expect that by now I would be fairly skilled with the aspects of life, with the sailing of my ship. And yet, I seem to always be in a mode of learning. Just when I think I've got it all down, I find something else to be learned. Another setting of my sails, a new kind of water to sail through.
Photo by Ken R. Young

I have come to believe in these wise words:
"The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." - Edward Gibbon
However, becoming one of the "ablest navigators" seems to be a constant journey.

At various times of my life I have felt that I knew what it was all about and how to handle life. By the age of 19, I figured I was a pretty good sailor and was ready for the open seas. In some respects, I was ready...at least to set out and leave the harbor. I felt confident to sail through "wind and tide and stormy seas". At that time I could relate well with the great anthem "Sailing On" from the LDS musical "Saturday's Warrior". The words have great meaning for one setting out in life:

Sailing On
What is that sound risin' up from the world?
The sound of a clock ticking on
With hours and minutes I've yet to meet in a life
That soon will be gone, soon will be gone, soon will be gone.

What is that sound risin' up from the world?
The swell of the tide at the gate.
Where children set sail without knowing too well
That the time is growing late, growing late, growing late.

I'm sailin' on I'm not a stranger.
My faith will ride through wind and tide and stormy sea.
I'm sailin' on out of the harbor
There is a distant lamp that lights the way for me.
I hope they hold it high so I can see.
I'm sailin' on.

What is that sound risin' up from the world?
The clang of a bell on the ledge.
While young ones play on there merry way
As they float right over the edge, over the edge, over the edge.

I'm sailin' on I'm not a stranger.
My faith will ride through wind and tide and stormy sea.
I'm sailin' on out of the harbor
There is a distant lamp that lights the way for me.
I hope they hold it high so I can see.
I'm sailin' on.
by Doug Stewart and Lex de Azevedo

Hope, faith, confidence are necessary skills to successful sailing through life. I felt well equipped with these. Leaving the harbor was for me exciting and challenging. I started my journey by serving a two-year LDS mission in Sweden. I loved the challenge of learning a new language and culture, increasing my knowledge of the Lord's restored gospel, developing a strong testimony of Him, and honing my skills as a servant and teacher. My sail was full of a strong and steady wind. In the sense of relating my mission to life, I felt very much the same as John Groberg when he described sailing in his book, "The Other Side of Heaven" (TOSOH):

"There is hardly a more exhilarating feeling than to have a nice tail wind with the main sail extended (sometimes close to 90 degrees) and feel the power of God as His wind fills the sail and propels you across His ocean. At times I could almost see Him smile through the clear blue sky. It was great to feel His power and protection as the tiny boat raced to its destination over the deep blue sea."

And:

"As I watched the prow slice through the water, felt the wind power us forward, and sensed the undulating motion of the mast, I felt very close to God. I doubt anyone could deny Him and His power under those circumstances." - Groberg,TOSOH

The mission wasn't always smooth sailing - there were a few storms to pass through - but all in all, I felt safe and secure, and reached my destination at the end successfully. I came home a sailor with a greatly increased sense of skill and preparedness for sailing the oceans of life.

After my mission I set out on various small trips through achieving some higher education, learned new skills, met and became friends with many new people, and found a wonderful woman (DeNeise, My Love) who was willing to step onto my boat and join my journeys. Confidence as a sailor in life increased.

"...we gave three heavy-hearted cheers, and blindly plunged like fate into the lone Atlantic." - Herman Melville, Moby Dick

As DeNeise and I set out together on our own shared, vast and unique ocean, we really didn't fathom the depth of the ocean, the beauty of the distant lands and seas we would experience, or the strength of the coming winds and storms. Our boat was small at first, but in various ports, after surviving new storms, our boat expanded to a more sizeable, more steady and stronger ship. One that could handle greater portent storms, the challenge of which we had no comprehension.

"Those familiar with sailing know that to get anywhere, you must have wind. Sometimes there are good breezes without storms and heavy seas, but often they go together. An experienced sailor does not fear storms or heavy seas, for they contain the lifeblood of sailing - wind. What experienced sailors fear is no wind, or being becalmed!" - Groberg,TOSOH

Our first new ports in which we harbored for a while brought new experiences, such as attending graduate school in Monterey, California and starting my first real job in my career path in Mesquite, Nevada. Although the impact of these experiences were great, it was the passengers or shipmates that we took aboard during this time that offered the greatest impacts, blessings and challenges that would re-shape our lives.  These shipmates (children) were born to our our family: Latissa, Jorden, Landon and Kylie.  Through these beautiful children, our hearts and our spirits would be stretched many, many times to sizes much larger than we than we thought we had capacity for.

Through the journeys on the oceans of life, we relied heavily on the power of God to steer our ship.  When we practiced having faith in Him and allowed him to set our sails, we found the greatest ability to successfully sail through the winds and the waves.  Having Him at the helm was and is the secret.

"A very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves." - Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants 124:16

Working correctly with the winds and the waves is not always easy. Having the right attitude and perspective, or setting the sails properly, seems to be a constant challenge.  I have long felt and known that having a right attitude about life can make all the difference.  It's not what happens to you, but how you handle it that makes a difference.  Or, as otherwise said in my favorite poem:

One Ship Sails East

One ship sails East,

And another West,

By the self-same winds that blow,

'Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales,

That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea

Are the waves of time,

As we journey along through life,

'Tis the set of the soul,

That determines the goal,

And not the calm or the strife.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Sometimes, however, even with the right setting of the sails it can be difficult to move forward. That's when it gets a bit trickier, but even in those times, which faith and perseverance, you can move forward.  John Groberg explained the reality of this in sailing through heavy head winds in the seas of Tonga:

"...we had to make long tacks with the sailboat to make any forward progress.  That is, to move a mile forward, you had to go several miles sideways at a small angle and several miles back at a small angle, just to get a little closer to your forward destination. The seas were not overly rough, but because of the head winds, what could have been a half-day's journey took over two days."  - Groberg,TOSOH

Our family moved forward and entered new ports, including the land which we have called home for 14 years - Cedar Hills, Utah. New jobs, including one lost, new schools, new homes, new friends have all been interesting, enjoyable and challenging new ports.

Raising children is a very difficult thing to do, especially in today's challenging world.  The world is as an ocean replete with many diverging winds, waves, storms, sea monsters and darkness.  But mixed in all of that exists also much of beauty, calm, pleasure and joy.  It's a crazy mix.  Helping your children see and understand the differences and consequences, and to set their sails properly, is a tremendous undertaking. 

Early on, I thought that having a strong ship with good sails, and with me trying to be a good captain, my children would be assured to survive all storms successfully, and would do well as shipmates.  And, when they were young, reality played out well with this theory. I was sure that things would continue on this course - how naive to think it was that simple. 

Although in many ways our kids have all been very good shipmates, there have been some wild storms that have tested the strength of ship, captain and crew.  A few of which made us fear a possible shipwreck, or lost crew members.  Herman Mellville's Moby Dick has many passages that describe the experience of such storms:

"The vast swells of the omnipotent sea; the surging, hollow roar they made, as they rolled along the eight gunwales, like gigantic bowls in a boundless bowling-green; the brief suspended agony of the boat, as it would tip for an instant on the knife-like edge of the sharper waves, that almost seemed threatening to cut it in two; the sudden profound dip into the watery glens and hollows; the keen spurrings and goadings to gain the top of the opposite hill; the headlong, sled-like slide down its other side..." - Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Through the heaviest storms, I must admit that I almost lost heart, that I felt very seasick. A seasickness that was well described as "at first you're afraid you'll die; then you get so sick you're afraid you won't." And:
"I often wondered, 'Since the Lord knew how much time I was going to spend on small boats in rough water, why didn't He bless me with a stronger stomach?'"- Groberg,TOSOH

But through it all, our crew has survived, the ship still floats, and it journeys on through the ocean.  Along the way, we have added two new ships to our fleet, as the oldest two kids have married and started their own families.  One could compare our situation now to the small fleet of three ships that sailed through uncharted waters to discover the new lands of America: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.  Though the waters we sail through have been charted by others, we have not yet sailed them.  What new lands lay before us?

After having experienced some heavy storms, it can be scary to continue on without knowing what more lies ahead.  Yet we sail on, sometimes with hesitation or even no desire to sail further, but rather leave our ship in port.  But other times we set out with hopeful anticipation of discovering new lands, or just to enjoy a pleasing, calm water sail.  I like how John Groberg characterized his feelings on this:

"There were times when I didn't want to go on the boat, especially when the winds and the seas were boisterous, but except in the worst situations, went anyway.  There were other times when I rode those beautiful silver seas, felt the breeze filling the sails and powering us forward, sensed the rising and falling of the solid, curved wood beneath me, listened to the whistling of the wind, marveled at the many beautiful shades of blue and green and white all about me, and realized I was falling in love with the sea." - Groberg,TOSOH

And I, too, have fallen in love with the sea. I can't say I enjoy the storms, but the times of easy sailing and beautiful weather provide more than enough joy and pleasure to continue on.  I do look forward to the future enjoyment of good ocean sailing, those moments that make life beautiful:

"It was a beautiful evening as we swayed to the gentle, undulating motion of the boat. I marveled at the bright stars above and wondered at the clouds playing hide-and-seek with the moon. I felt the caress of the warm sea breeze and listened to the quiet murmur of peaceful conversations. I was enraptured by the beautiful strumming of guitars and the melodious signing of some of the best voices on earth. It was almost intoxicating. All this and more combined to lull me into a state of wonderment at God's goodness to us all."   - Groberg,TOSOH

A successful journey also requires a good sense of direction, a charted plan for an ultimate port towards which are sailing.  A latter day man of God has given these words of wisdom:

"Like the vital rudder of a ship, we have been provided a way to determine the direction we travel.  The lighthouse of the Lord beckons to all as we sail the seas of life.  Our home port is the celestial kingdom of God.  Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course in that direction.  A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder - never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal:  Chart your course, set your sail, position your rudder, and proceed.

As with the ship, so it is with man. The thrust of the turbines, the power of the propellers are useless without that sense of direction, that harnessing of the energy, that directing of the power provided by the rudder, hidden from view, relatively small in size, but absolutely essential in function." - Thomas S. Monson 

So what does the future hold? I imagine both rough seas and smooth sailing.  There will be new ports, more fleets and additional crew. New, undiscovered lands. Happiness and sorrow.  Improved sailing skills. And, the ship and its captain will get older, hopefully wiser, and more ready to move on to a better and more joyful journey on the new ocean of the next life.
 

Note: There's so much more I could and may write on this subject. But for now, I think this works. Below are more quotes and song lyrics that fit well into my thoughts.  

See also:
http://positivethinkersjournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/sail-on.html
 
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The world isn't interested in the storms you encountered, but whether or not you brought in the ship. - Raul Armesto

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Excerpts from "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

"Ship and boat diverged; the cold, damp night breeze blew between; a screaming gull flew overhead; the two hulls wildly rolled;

"In the serene weather of the tropics it is exceedingly pleasant the mast-head; nay, to a dreamy meditative man it is delightful. There you stand, a hundred feet above the silent decks, striding along the deep, as if the masts were gigantic stilts, while beneath you and between your legs, as it were, swim the hugest monsters of the sea, even as ships once sailed between the boots of the famous Colossus at old Rhodes. There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled but the waves. The tranced ship indolently rolls; the drowsy trade winds blow; everything resolves you into languor."

"In one of those southern whalemen, on a long three or four years' voyage, as often happens, the sum of the various hours you spend at the mast-head would amount to several entire months. And it is much to be deplored that the place to which you devote so considerable a portion of the whole term of your natural life, should be so sadly destitute of anything approaching to a cosy inhabitiveness, or adapted to breed a comfortable localness of feeling, such as pertains to a bed, a hammock, a hearse, a sentry box, a pulpit, a coach, or any other of those small and snug contrivances in which men temporarily isolate themselves."

"There is no life in thee, now, except that rocking life imparted by a gently rolling ship; by her, borrowed from the sea; by the sea, from the inscrutable tides of God. But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover. And perhaps, at mid-day, in the fairest weather, with one half-throttled shriek you drop through that transparent air into the summer sea, no more to rise for ever."

"...the presaging vibrations of the winds in the cordage...the hollow flap of the sails against the masts..."

"I leave a white and turbid wake; pale waters, paler cheeks, where'er I sail. The envious billows sidelong swell to whelm my track; let them; but first I pass."
"Our sail was now set, and, with the still rising wind, we rushed along; the boat going with such madness through the water, that the lee oars could scarcely be worked rapidly enough to escape being torn from the row- locks. Soon we were running through a suffusing wide veil of mist..."

"The wind increased to a howl; the waves dashed their bucklers together; the whole squall roared, forked, and crackled around us like a white fire upon the prairie, in which, unconsumed, we were burning; immortal in these jaws of death!"

"The strange, upheaving, lifting tendency of the taffrail breeze filling the hollows of so many sails, made the buoyant, hovering deck to feel like air beneath the feet; while still she rushed along, as if two antagonistic influences were struggling in her -- one to mount direct to heaven, the other to drive yawingly to some horizontal goal."

"...the contrasting serenity of the weather, in which, beneath all its blue blandness, some thought there lurked a devilish charm, as for days and days we voyaged along, through seas so wearily, lonesomely mild, that all space, in repugnance to our vengeful errand, seemed vacating itself of life before our urn-like prow."

"...the crew driven from the forward part of the ship by the perilous seas that burstingly broke over its bows, stood in a line along the bulwarks in the waist; and the better to guard against the leaping waves, each man had slipped himself into a sort of bowline secured to the rail, in which he swung as in a loosened belt."

"The cabin-compass is called the tell-tale, because without going to the compass at the helm, the Captain, while below, can inform himself of the course of the ship."

"GAM. Noun -- A social meeting of two (or more) Whale-ships, generally on a cruising- ground; when, after exchanging hails, they exchange visits by boats' crews: the two captains remaining, for the time, on board of one ship, and the two chief mates on the other."

"For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half known life. God keep thee! Push not off from that isle, thou canst never return!"

"T'gallant sails! -- stunsails! alow and aloft, and on both sides!"

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Excerpts from "The Other Side of Heaven" by John H. Groberg

"The rolling motion of the boat, together with a long voyage, a tropical breeze, beautiful music, and tender feelings, combined to bring out emotions that are deep and basic and that may be closer to the surface under these circumstances than in some other climates."

"On rough voyages, I was very sick, but occasionally I would have a voyage during which I didn't feel sick at all. What a blessing that was! Being ill during most of thos trips made my joy and thanksgiving very meaningful when I had a voyage that was relatively smooth and I didn't feel very sick. Once in a while my happiness became almost ecstasy as I realized I was in the midst of a heavy storm with the boat twisting and jerking and bouncing all over creation - and I was not ill!"

"I should have been frightened to death to go out on that unpredictable sea in a tiny sailboat with holes in the hull, old sails that often ripped, and ropes that were largely rotten."

"One of the problems with all of the safety consciousness we have today is that it tends to cause us to hesitate to do things that we might otherwise do. I'm sure it's good to have better information, such as weather reports, forecasting, safety inspections, and audits, but I sometimes wonder if we don't get so filled with facts and figures and possible dangers that we do less than we should. I suppose we could all find legitamate reasons to hardly do anything because of the potential dangers involved..."

"As I see it, all of life is a risk, which is where faith comes in. We do what is right, and let the chips fall where they may."

"Even in troubled waters we make more progress if we are trying than if we wait until the dangers and discomforts are removed."

"I didn't look on these voyages as acts of faith so much as a performance of duty. I'm sure I didn't understand all the dangers involved, which was probably just as well. Many times on those voyages things got pretty rough, and a few times life and death at sea hung on very tenuous threads, but that was just the way things were. What a great blessing it was to know that God was there! It was always comforting to remember Him calming the turbulent seas."

"The boat had one center mast and required at least three people to keep it going properly: one person at the rudder, one to work the main sail,and one to work the sail."

"I enjoyed working the jib sail the most because it was smaller."

"When there were good winds, the helmsman could handle the rudder and the main sail ropes together."
"At times the deep blue of the ocean and the bright white of the spray would almost merge with the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds, making it hard to tell where I actually was."
"Once I asked the Lord to bless us with a good tail wind so we could get to Foa quickly. As we got under way, one of the older men said, 'Elder Groberg, you need to modify your prayers a little.'
'How's that?' I replied.
'You asked the Lord for a tail wind to take us rapidly to Foa. If you pray for a tail wind to Foa, what about the people who are trying to come from Foa to Pangai? Thye are good people, and you are praying against them. Just pray for a good wind, not a tail wind.'
That taught me something important. Sometimes we pray for things that will benefit us but may hurt others."

"The captain looked at me and patiently said,'The winds have been against us. WHo are you going to blame for that? Are you going to curse God? Or tell Him He doesn't know what He's doing? He controls the winds and the currents, and we are in His hands.'"

"Sometimes the sea is fairly calm with a good wind, and it thrills me inside to stand on the bow of the ship, raise the sails, and watch the wind fill the white canvas and see the keel begin to cut the water, billow with the power of nature, and we literally glide through the ocean."

"It fills you with pride as you feel the power of the elements under your control, but you soon realize it isn't our power when the wind decides to stop."

"No sooner than we committed ourselves to the open seas than the intensity of the storm seemed to increase sevenfold. The small gale became a major storm."

"How often do we not do more because we pray for wind and none comes? We pray for good things and they don't seem to happen, so we sit and wait and do no more. We should always pray for help, but we should always listen for inspiration and impressions to proceed in different ways from those we may have thought of. God does hear our prayers. God knows more than we do. He has had infinitely greater expereince than we have. We should never stop moving because we think our way is barred or the only door we can go through is seemingly closed."

"The undulating motion of the boat, along with the warm afternoon sun and the warmth of concern I felt from everyone, eventually lulled me to sleep."

"...it is probably beyond the grasp of most who have not been in a small boat on a dark night to understand fully the great value of a beacon light on perilous waters."

"During the long night, the winds howled, the spray flew, the boat creaked, and the sails and ropes moaned as we alternately rode the crests of waves and plunged into valleys of darkness.  There was no intense fear, however, for we all knew we were in God's hands."

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." - Psalms 23:4

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Hymns

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled—
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master—
Oh, hasten, and take control.

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

"Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me"
Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee:
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boisterous waves obey Thy will
When Thou say'st to them, "Be still!"
Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
"Fear not, I will pilot thee."

Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy
From his lighthouse evermore,
But to us he gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

2. Dark the night of sin has settled;
Loud the angry billows roar.
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.

3. Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;
Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost.

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Sailing Songs

Come Sail Away by Styx
I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board, I'm the captain, so climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I'll try, oh Lord, I'll try to carry on

I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

Sailing by Christopher Cross
Well, it's not far down to paradise, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

It's not far to never-never land, no reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Fantasy, it gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie, every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me?

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Well it's not far back to sanity, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free.

Southern Cross by Crosby Stills and Nash
Got out of town on a boat
Goin' to Southern islands.
Sailing a reach
Before a followin' sea.
She was makin' for the trades
On the outside,
And the downhill run
To Papeete.
Off the wind on this heading
Lie the Marquesas.
We got eighty feet of the waterline.
Nicely making way.
In a noisy bar in Avalon
I tried to call you.
But on a midnight watch I realized
Why twice you ran away.

Think about how many times
I have fallen
Spirits are using me
larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me
Cannot be forgotten.
I have been around the world,
Lookin' for that woman/girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will.
And you know it will.
When you see the Southern Cross
For the first time
You understand now
Why you came this way
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from
Is so small.

But it's as big as the promise
The promise of a comin' day.
So I'm sailing for tomorrow
My dreams are a dyin'.
And my love is an anchor tied to you
Tied with a silver chain.
I have my ship
And all her flags are a flyin'
She is all that I have left
And music is her name.

Think about how many times
I have fallen
Spirits are using me
larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me
Cannot be forgotten.
I have been around the world,
Lookin' for that woma/girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will.
And you know it will.
So we cheated and we lied
And we tested
And we never failed to fail
It was the easiest thing to do.
You will survive being bested.
Somebody fine
Will come along
Make me forget about loving you.
At the Southern Cross.

Excerpts from "Orchestrating Attitude"

Here's some good stuff from a great little booklet by Lee J. Colan called "Orchestrating Attitude":

    "Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  - Viktor E. Frankl, Psychologist and Holocaust Survivor

...even in the worst situations - a victim of a natural disaster, prisoner of war, target of abuse or when hit by a string of unfortunate circumstances - your attitude is something you can always control!

...a landmark study shed light on the ultimate benefit of a positive attitude...participants who were more positive lived an average of 10 years longer than other participants.

Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world - whatever we throw out will come back to us.

...we rarely make neutral choices. Each choice has a positive or negative consequence for us at some level.

...I like to write the word "responsibility" as response-ability. As humans we have the unique ability to respond.

When you simply react, your emotional instinct is in control with little thought of the long-range conseqences. When you respond, your brain is fully engaged and your self-awareness is high. You have the long-term consequences in mind.

Thoughts...directly influence our beliefs.
Beliefs directly influence the words we choose to speak...
Words reflect our commitments...
Commitments inluence our choice of actions.
...Our actions directly influence theresults we achieve.

    "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." - William James

Yes, bad things do happen, and sometimes they "just show up." However, it is our interpretations that make a situation negative. A situation doesn't drag us down; the way we think about it does.

Henry Ford said "Whether you think you can or cannot, you're right."

YOU are in control of what you think! No one else on earth has this power unless you give it away.

Our experiences are much less important than how we choose to think about them... Facts are facts, but the view you take is your choice.

Think the best ALL the time. What's the harm?

If you find yourself having a negative thought, say "STOP!" out loud, and replace it with a positive thought. Saying "STOP!" out loud is important so you can actually hear yourself controlling your own thinking.

When you change the way you look at things, things change the way they look.

..."lucky" people get the best of themselves and others by focusing on:
Forgiveness vs. Anger
Others vs. Self
Opportunities vs. Problems
Gratitude vs. Envy
Abundance vs. Scarcity
Today vs. Yesterday
Building up vs. Breaking down
Humor vs. Drama
Controllable things vs. Uncontrollable things
Giving vs. Taking

The more you focus on the "positive side of life," the more you will attract these things. Focus on forgiveness and you will find the world forgiving. Focus on the comedy life offers and your life will be full of laughs. On the other hand, focus on the drama life offers and your life will be a soap opera.

...luck is 90% preparation and 10% opportunity.

Ask yourself, "Do my words reflect a commitment to being joyful, helping others, creating win-wins, keeping things in perspective, seizing the moment, continuously learning, embracing change?"

"How can I make the most of this situation?"

"How can I ask questions to get the best from myself and others?"

     "It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question". - Decouvertes

     "If you don't make things happen, then things will happen to you." - Roman Virgil

The rewards go to those who let their actions rise above their excuses.

    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

Since adversity has an uncanny knack of paralyzing us, it becomes critical to keep moving through it.

Studies are showing that gratitude is the most common characteristic amongst the happiest people.

    "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." - Helen Keller

    "When you are in a bd mental state, think of your mind as a bad neighborhood.  Don't go in there alone." - Unknown

Life is your performance. There are no dress rehearsals for the performance we call life.  We get one chance to perform our life's symphony.  No one delivers a perfect performance. We can all expect to miss a note or two, but we should all strive to learn, grow and improve.  Being our best is more about the journey than the destination.

    "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

Cheer Up! 17 reasons it's a great time to be alive.

“The world has never been a better place to live in,” says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better.” Today, in a world gripped by global economic crisis and afflicted with poverty, disease, and war, them’s fightin’ words in some quarters. Ridley’s critics have called him a “denialist” and “shameful” and have accused him of “playing fast and loose with the truth” for his views on climate change and the free market.

Yet Ridley, 54, author most recently of The Rational Optimist, sticks to his guns. “It is not insane to believe in a happy future for people and the planet,” he says. Ridley, who’s been a foreign correspondent, a zoologist, an economist, and a financier, brings a broad perspective to his sunny outlook. “People say I’m bonkers to claim the world will go on getting better, yet I can’t stop myself,” he says. Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Brilliant or bonkers? You decide.

1. We’re better off now
Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, the average human now earns nearly three times as much money (corrected for inflation), eats one third more calories, buries two thirds fewer children, and can expect to live one third longer. In fact, it’s hard to find any region of the world that’s worse off now than it was then, even though the global population has more than doubled over that period.

2. Urban living is a good thing
City dwellers take up less space, use less energy, and have less impact on natural ecosystems than country dwellers. The world’s cities now contain over half its people, but they occupy less than 3 percent of its land area. Urban growth may disgust environmentalists, but living in the country is not the best way to care for the earth. The best thing we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers.

3. Poverty is nose-diving
The rich get richer, but the poor do even better. Between 1980 and 2000, the poor doubled their consumption. The Chinese are ten times richer and live about 25 years longer than they did 50 years ago. Nigerians are twice as rich and live nine more years. The percentage of the world’s people living in absolute poverty has dropped by over half. The United Nations estimates that poverty was reduced more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500.

4. The important stuff costs less
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived, and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel, and shelter—have grown markedly cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s, the same light from a kerosene lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, it’s half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in 1800.

5. The environment is better than you think
In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas, and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today emits less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks in 1970.

6. Shopping fuels innovation
Even allowing for the many people who still live in abject poverty, our own generation has access to more calories, watts, horsepower, gigabytes, megahertz, square feet, air miles, food per acre, miles per gallon, and, of course, money than any who lived before us. This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be.

7. Global trade enriches our lives
By 9 a.m., I have shaved with an American razor, eaten bread made with French wheat and spread with New Zealand butter and Spanish marmalade, brewed tea from Sri Lanka, dressed in clothes made from Indian cotton and Australian wool, put on shoes of Chinese leather and Malaysian rubber, and read a newspaper printed on Finnish paper with Chinese ink. I have consumed minuscule fractions of the productive labor of hundreds of people. This is the magic of trade and specialization. Self-sufficiency is poverty.

8. More farm production = more wilderness
While world population has increased more than fourfold since 1900, other things have increased, too—the area of crops by 30 percent, harvests by 600 percent. At the same time, more than two billion acres of “secondary” tropical forest are now regrowing since farmers left them to head for cities, and it is already rich in biodiversity. In fact, I will make an outrageous prediction: The world will feed itself to a higher and higher standard throughout this century without plowing any new land.

9. The good old days weren’t
Some people argue that in the past there was a simplicity, tranquillity, sociability, and spirituality that’s now been lost. This rose-tinted nostalgia is generally confined to the wealthy. It’s easier to wax elegiac for the life of a pioneer when you don’t have to use an outhouse. The biggest-ever experiment in back-to-the-land hippie lifestyle is now known as the Dark Ages.

10. Population growth is not a threat
Although the world population is growing, the rate of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the globe, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has approximately halved. This is happening despite people living longer and infant-mortality rates dropping. According to an estimate from the United Nations, population will start falling once it peaks at 9.2 billion in 2075—so there is every prospect of feeding the world forever. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better every decade.

11. Oil is not running out
In 1970, there were 550 billion barrels of oil reserves in the world, and in the 20 years that followed, the world used 600 billion.

So by 1990, reserves should have been overdrawn by 50 billion barrels. Instead, they amounted to 900 billion—not counting tar sands and oil shale that between them contain about 20 times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. Oil, coal, and gas are finite, but they will last for decades, perhaps centuries, and people will find alternatives long before they run out.

12. We are the luckiest generation
This generation has experienced more peace, freedom, leisure time, education, medicine, and travel than any in history. Yet it laps up gloom at every opportunity. Consumers do not celebrate their wonderful field of choice and, according to psychologists, say they are “overwhelmed.” When I go to my local superstore, I do not see people driven to misery by the impossibility of choice. I see people choosing.

13. Storms are not getting worse
Not at all. While the climate warmed slightly last century, the incidence of hurricanes and cyclones fell. Since the 1920s, the global annual death rate from weather-related natural disasters (that is, the proportion of the world’s population killed rather than simply the overall number) has declined by a staggering 99 percent.

The killing power of hurricanes depends more on wealth than on wind speed. A big hurricane struck the well-prepared Yucatán in Mexico in 2007 and killed nobody. A similar storm struck impoverished Burma the next year and killed 200,000. The best defenses against disaster are prosperity and freedom.

14. Great ideas keep coming
The more we prosper, the more we can prosper. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. The world of things is often subject to diminishing returns. The world of ideas is not: The ever-increasing exchange of ideas causes the ever-increasing rate of innovation in the modern world. There isn’t even a theoretical possibility of exhausting our supply of ideas, discoveries, and inventions.

15. We can solve all our problems
If you say the world will go on getting better, you are considered mad. If you say catastrophe is imminent, you may expect the Nobel Peace Prize. Bookshops groan with pessimism; airwaves are crammed with doom. I cannot recall a time when I was not being told by somebody that the world could survive only if it abandoned economic growth. But the world will not continue as it is. The human race has become a problem-solving machine: It solves those problems by changing its ways. The real danger comes from slowing change.

16. This depression is not depressing
The Great Depression of the 1930s was just a dip in the upward slope of human living standards. By 1939, even the worst-affected countries, America and Germany, were richer than they’d been in 1930. All sorts of new products and industries were born during the Depression. So growth will resume unless prevented by wrong policies. Someone, somewhere, is tweaking a piece of software, testing a new material, or transferring the gene that will make life easier or more fun.

17. Optimists are right
For 200 years, pessimists have had all the headlines—even though optimists have far more often been right. There is immense vested interest in pessimism. No charity ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how disaster was now less likely. Pressure groups and their customers in the media search even the most cheerful statistics for glimmers of doom. Don’t be browbeaten—dare to be an optimist!

For more on Ridley, visit rationaloptimist.com.

See also:
Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy"

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

- C. W. Longenecker

I Control My Life

I control my life. I control my happiness. If I'm not happy, it's on nobody's shoulders but my own. Reality isn't what the box in the living room says reality is, reality is what I choose it to be. Lack, limitation & scarcity are a mindset...just as wealth, abundance, prosperity, joy & infinite possibilities are - which one should I choose to believe? It doesn't matter what I'm told to be true, all that matters is what I know to be true.

Often times I've heard, "hope for the best, expect the worst." Why? Why not expect the best and achieve even better? Fears like limitation, are an illusion. They pretend to exist if I let them. I believe I am, exactly what I am - now it's up to the rest of the world to catch up and see it for themselves. I am the only thing that can stop me. Live through love. Dream the impossible.

- Joe Buys

Luck o' the Irish: Blessings

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here are some familiar and some not so well known Irish blessings. Whether it's in our blood, by association or just by interest, I think we all have a bit o' Irish in us. I qualify in all of those areas!

Erin Go Bragh! (Ireland Forever)

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May the blessing of the rain be on you—
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.

May the good earth be soft under you
when you rest upon it,
and may it rest easy over you when,
at the last, you lay out under it,
And may it rest so lightly over you
that your soul may be out
from under it quickly,
and up, and off,
And be on its way to God.

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

Dear Lord,
Give me a few friends
who will love me for what I am,
and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope...
And though I come not within sight
of the castle of my dreams,
teach me to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories
that are good and sweet.
And may the evening's twilight
find me gentle still.

May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

May the light of heaven shine on your grave.

If God sends you down a stony path,
may he give you strong shoes.

May the rains sweep gentle across your fields,
May the sun warm the land,
May every good seed you have planted bear fruit,
And late summer find you standing in fields of plenty.

May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine on your windowpane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire

May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May the smile of God light you to glory.

May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortunes
and rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
from this day forward.

May the blessing of light be on you—
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

Mush! Begorrah!

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal...

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is just like an old time rail journey... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

― Jenkin Lloyd Jones

Moving Mountains

Photo by Ken R. Young










To move a mountain was my aim,
the highest goal I could achieve.
I knew all things were possible
to every soul who would believe.

The road was long, the passage hard.
Sometimes a mountain blocked my way,
but through my faith and God’s own grace,
each stony peak was swept away.

The world was mine; no pile of rocks,
however high, could hold me back.
Surely the Lord would always grant
the strength and courage I might lack.

And then, one day, the mountain came,
the one that would not move for me.
I pounded it with all my might,
prayed day and night for victory.

To my surprise, the mountain stayed;
each vain attempt to move it failed.
I plied my faith, petitioned God,
and yet, the obstacle prevailed.

How could it be? I pled. I wept.
I broke my skin against the stone
to no avail. The mountain stood,
and I stood at its feet, alone.

Humility engulfed my soul.
Contrite, I fell upon my knees,
for they who wait upon the Lord
rise up with answers to their pleas.

By still, small voice the counsel came
in words both simple and profound:
Must every mount bend to your will?
Climb over, child…or walk around.

- Susan Noyes Anderson

For more inspiration on mountains, see also:
http://positivethinkersjournal.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-mountain.html
and
http://positivethinkersjournal.blogspot.com/2009/12/on-climbing-mountains.html

Donkey in the Well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

- Author Unknown

An Interesting Funeral

One day all the employees of a very unusual company reached their office and all saw a big sign on the main door which said this...

'Yesterday, the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.'

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that person who hindered the growth of their colleagues and the company itself?

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up.

Everyone thought - 'Who is this person who was hindering my progress?'

One by one the intrigued employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it, they suddenly became speechless.

They all got to stand near the coffin, and all ended up shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see themselves! There was also a sign next to the mirror that said. . .

'There is only one person who is capable of setting limits to your growth and IT IS YOU!'

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your husband or wife changes, when your company changes, when your church changes, when your location changes, when your money changes, when your status changes . . .

No, your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs.

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses. Be a winner, build yourself and your reality. It's the way you face life itself that makes the difference.

- Author Unknown

Changes

Someone once said that the only thing constant in life is change. With that in mind, I guess you could say I've had a lot of constancy in my life lately. Some of the changes have been anticipated, some not. Some have seemed to be good, some not. But as I now reflect, these changes were needed.

And more changes are to come, I'm sure.

I'm learning not to be afraid of change, to roll with it, and to look for the good in it. Not so easy to do, but it makes transitioning easier. You can't prevent change, you can only alter your attitude towards it.

Some great thoughts on this subject some to mind:

"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn." - Unknown

"Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune nor too scornful in misfortune." - Socrates

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." - Alan W. Watts


.... so, I'm joining the dance.

Sometimes You Just Need a Little Breather

Yesterday I woke up with something off balance. I had no motivation and everything seemed wrong. Perhaps it was an emotional reaction to the sum of last month's life challenges, which were not only fairly hefty and draining, but which will continue with some lasting effects.

I got to work and had no desire to be there. Or to do anything, really. So I found a time to take a break and got out of the office. I got in my car and went to a convenience store for a drink and snacks, took a drive, parked the car, read a bit, and took a quick snooze. It was a needed escape, a little breather.

When I got back to the office a while later, I was doing much better. A little time out was all I needed. Every once in a while a little breather helps me to catch up and regain balance.

So here I am again, back on my blog, ready to jump into the pool of positive thinking. Although life at times seems to make me take a step backward, I am convinced that a focus on positive thinking and being grateful will help me take two steps forward. :-)

Each Day is a Gift

A 92-year-old delicate but well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and his face shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he manoeuvred his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

'I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

'Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.

'Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind.'

'I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.'

'Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.'

'Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.'

'So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.'

Remember these five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

- Author Unknown

Triumph

If you can sing,
When there is no song in your heart;
If you can keep on being loving, lovable, and lovely,
When those who should be loving you are blind;
If you can hold a lifted brow,
Despite the weights your shoulders cannot beat–
There is benediction there
For you to share.

If you can carry on dry-eyed
While your heart is drowning
In a deluge of tears;
If you can keep on going,
When the pain in you is just too great,
And your soul is shaken with hopeless anguish,
And your suffering, ache-filled body wants to slump;
If you can keep on going–
And keep on going…

When nerves and blood and muscle scream and sob
With the injustice and unholy ways
Of those who should be warm and just, but can’t be,
Because the abysmal holds for them more lure
Than the celestial–
Why, God?

But, if you can tilt your cheeks, sunward,
Keeping your eyes filled with spiritual light and message,
And coax a skip of childlike rhythm
Into your lagging walk–
And lift your best foot forward,
As though you had no care–
There is benediction there
For you to share.

- Virginia Stillman

David Archuleta and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Silent Night

Good Advice from Dr. Laura

Although I haven't agreed with everything she says, I have found Laura Schlessinger to be a fount of good advice for dealing with the struggles of life and choices. Here are some of her good quotes:

1. Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.

2. This is all you have. This is not a dry run. This is your life. If you want to fritter it away with your fears, then you will fritter it away, but you won't get it back later.

3. Values are principles and ideas that bring meaning to the seemingly mundane experience of life. A meaningful life that ultimately brings happiness and pride requires you to respond to temptations as well as challenges with honor, dignity, and courage.

4. Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.

5. The reward for doing right is mostly an internal phenomenon: self-respect, dignity, integrity, and self-esteem.

6. Make decisions from the strong part of you, not the weak.

7. Never do anything that you aren't prepared to face the true consequences of.

8. People with integrity do what they say they are going to do. Others have excuses.

9. Situations reveal who we are, they don't create who we are.

10.The people and circumstances around me do not MAKE me what I am, they REVEAL who I am.

11. We can be negative and cynical or we can be charged and hot wired to find a way through it, over it, around it under it.

If You Should Die

Here's a poem I wrote a few years back: 

If you should die, a part of me would die also. 

Your life gives meaning and inspiration to mine. 

Your love has filled my heart and gives me joy. 

If you should leave, you would take with you much 

Of what makes my life full. 

Although I know that your journey would take you 

To a wonderful place where we would meet again, 

I would sorrow that you went there before and without me, 

And that I would have to continue on living life without you. 

Your strength has bolstered me through many challenges 

And has made facing life an easier task. 

Without you by my side, life would be more difficult. 

Yet, somehow, I know your strength would still come to me 

Through heavenly channels. 

I would greatly miss being able to see you, hear you, 

And feel the comfort of your embrace. 

I would miss your laughter, your friendship, your love. 

But these, in memory, I would hold on to until 

The day we meet again. 

  by Ken R. Young

DO MORE THAN

1.Do more than exist, live.
2.Do more than touch, feel.
3.Do more than look, observe.
4.Do more than read, absorb.
5.Do more than hear, listen.
6.Do more than listen, understand.
7.Do more than think, ponder.
8.Do more than talk, say something.

-John Rhoades

It’s All In the State Of Mind

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It’s almost a “cinch” you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,
For out in the world you find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost
Ere ever a step is run;
And many a coward fails
Ere ever his work’s begun.
Think big and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you’ll fall behind,
Think that you can and you will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins,
Is the fellow who thinks he can.

- Walter D. Wintle

The Few

The easy roads are crowded,
And the level roads are jammed;
The pleasant little rivers
With the drifting folks are crammed.
But off yonder where it’s rocky,
Where you get a better view,
You will find the ranks are thinning
And the travelers are few.

Where the going’s smooth and pleasant
You will always find the throng,
For the man, more’s the pity,
Seem to like to drift along.
But the steeps that call for courage,
And the task that’s hard to do,
In the end result in glory
For the never-wavering few.

- Edgar A Guest

Fly Like an Eagle

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it up above the storm. While the storm rages on below, the eagle is soaring above it.

How wonderful is that! The eagle does NOT escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we, too, can rise above them by setting our minds and our beliefs towards God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives.

We can soar above the storm.

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them. The Bible says, "but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint". (Isaiah 40:31)

- Unknown Author

"I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free."

- Steve Miller

Focus on What's Inside Your Boat

“Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention.” – Greg Anderson

Charlie Jones is a sportscaster who has covered several Olympic games in his long career. At the 1996 games in Atlanta, he was assigned to announce the rowing, canoeing and kayaking events – a situation that left him less than thrilled, since it was broadcast at 7 a.m. and the venue was an hour’s drive from Atlanta.

What Jones discovered, however, was that it ended up being one the most memorable sports events in his career because he gained a chance to understand the mental workings of these Olympic athletes.

Preparing for the broadcast, Jones interviewed the rowers and asked them about conditions such as rain, strong winds or breaking an oar. Each time the response was the same:
“That’s outside my boat.”

After hearing the same answer again and again, Jones realized that these Olympic athletes had a remarkable focus. In their attempt to win an Olympic medal, he writes:
“They were interested only in what they could control...and that was what was going on inside their boat.”

Everything else was beyond their control and not worth the expense of mental energy that would distract them from their ultimate goal.

Jones writes that this insight made the event “by far the best Olympics of my life,” and it changed his thinking in other parts of his life as well.

There are plenty of distractions and concerns outside our boats, but to win the race we must stay focused on what’s inside our boats.

from Lee J. Colan

Famous Failures

"If you've never failed, you've never lived."

Great little movie. Check it out.

Finding Happiness

Everybody, everywhere
seeks happiness, it’s true,
But finding it and keeping it
seem difficult to do.
Difficult because we think
that happiness is found
Only in the places where
wealth and fame abound.
And so we go on searching
in palaces of pleasure
Seeking recognition
and monetary treasure,
Unaware that happiness
is just a state of mind
Within the reach of everyone
who takes time to be kind.
For in making others happy
we will be happy, too.
For the happiness you give away
returns to shine on you.

Helen Steiner Rice

See also:
Pharrell William's "Happy"
The Science of Happiness

The Garden

A friend sent this to me recently from the archives. Something I wrote while a Junior in High School. 

The long leaves of the tropical trees, 

Reach down and touch 

the path that nobody sees. 

Rare and beautiful fruits 

are growing with pride 

And brilliant, wild flowers 

who have nothing to hide. 

 

A crack of dawn reaches down 

and sparkles on water clear, 

In a small bright pool 

formed by a stream passing near. 

Soft green fern and multi-colored plants 

Are found sitting next 

to mushrooms that dance. 

A beautiful garden that waits to be seen 

While it holds a feeling 

of being safe and serene. 

-  Ken Young Poetry Winner Prism Contest, Dixie High School 1975-76

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Woman of Character and Strength

Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international author, speaker, politician, and activist for the New Deal coalition. She worked to enhance the status of working women, although she opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because she believed it would adversely affect women.

In the 1940s, Roosevelt supported the formation of the United Nations was a delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1945 and 1952. During her time at the United Nations she chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.

Active in politics for the rest of her life, she was ranked in the top ten of Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

Here are some of Eleanor's great quotes:

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.

Anyone who thinks must think of the next war as they would of suicide.

Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.

Friendship with one’s self is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.

I cannot believe that war is the best solution. No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.

I'm so glad I never feel important, it does complicate life!
If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.

In all our contacts it is probably the sense of being really needed and wanted which gives us the greatest satisfaction and creates the most lasting bond.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.

Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.

Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

My experience has been that work is almost the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth.

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

Perhaps nature is our best assurance of immortality.

Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday.

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

The giving of love is an education in itself.

The only things one can admire at length are those one admires without knowing why.

Understanding is a two-way street.

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.

What one has to do usually can be done.

What you don't do can be a destructive force.

When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor.

When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!

You can never really live anyone else's life, not even your child's. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you've become yourself.

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.

Quotes by Thomas S. Monson

Revered by many to be an earthly mouthpiece for God, Thomas S. Monson has long offered the world many sage words of advice. Serving today as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, many of Thomas S. Monson's quotes are specific to his faith in Jesus Christ, while others are general words to living a good life.

Here are some of his quotes that can benefit any reader:

Amidst the confusion of the times, the conflicts of conscience, and the turmoil of daily living, an abiding faith becomes an anchor to our lives.

Choose your friends with caution; plan your future with purpose, and frame your life with faith.

Choose your love, Love your choice.

Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval.

Each heartfelt prayer, each church meeting attended, each worthy friend, each righteous decision, each act of service performed all precede that goal of eternal life.

Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith.

I acknowledge that I do not understand the processes of creation, but I accept the fact of it.

I forbid you, agnostic, doubting thoughts, to destroy the house of my faith.

I hope that you will learn to take responsibility for your decisions. Don't take counsel of your fears.

I urge you to hold fast to your standards. I plead with you not to waver.

In reality, we are all travelers - even explorers of mortality.

On occasion we need to make a second effort - and a third effort, and a fourth effort, and as many degrees of effort as may be required to accomplish what we strive to achieve.

Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect.

Should doubt knock at your doorway, just say to those skeptical, disturbing, rebellious thoughts, I propose to stay with my faith, with the faith of my people.

The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility.

The reward of eternal life requires effort.

Though we may not necessarily forfeit our lives in service to our God, we can certainly demonstrate our love for Him by how well we serve Him.

We must not let our passions destroy our dreams.

We tend to become like those whom we admire.

Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't.

The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.

Remember who you are and what God expects you to become.

Don't save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special occasion.

May I share with you a formula that in my judgment will help you and help me to journey well through mortality... First, fill your mind with truth; second, fill your life with service; and third, fill your heart with love.

Never let a problem to be solved, become more important than a person to be loved.

Reading is one of the true pleasures of life. In our age of mass culture, when so much that we encounter is abridged, adapted, adulterated, shredded, and boiled down, it is mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down privately with a congenial book.

One day each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is important.

He who gives money gives some, he who gives time gives more, and he who gives of himself gives all.

Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.

Why is Dickens’ "Christmas Carol" so popular? Why is it ever new? I personally feel it is inspired of God. It brings out the best within human nature. It gives hope. It motivates change. We can turn from the paths which would lead us down and, with a song in our hearts, follow a star and walk toward the light. We can quicken our step, bolster our courage, and bask in the sunlight of truth. We can hear more clearly the laughter of little children. We can dry the tear of the weeping. We can comfort the dying by sharing the promise of eternal life. If we lift one weary hand which hangs down, if we bring peace to one struggling soul, if we give as did the Master, we can—by showing the way—become a guiding star for some lost mariner.

When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.

Youth need less critics and more models.

Don't forget: one of the saddest things in life is wasted talent.

There will be occasions in each of our lives when we will be called upon to explain or to defend our beliefs. When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past.

Find joy in the journey.

Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.

To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them.

The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured.

There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most.

Everyone can be discontented if he ignores his blessings and looks only at his burdens.

Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.

Our task is to become our best selves. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.

Like the vital rudder of a ship, we have been provided a way to determine the direction we travel. The lighthouse of the Lord beckons to all as we sail the seas of life. Our home port is the celestial kingdom of God. Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course in that direction. A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal: Chart your course, set your sail, position your rudder, and proceed.

Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future…If you are still in the process of raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.

The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility.

Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.

Glance backward, look heavenward, reach outward, press onward.

Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle.

Ideals are like the stars - you can't touch them with your hands, but by following them you reach your destination.

The most constant thing is change.

Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do.

When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

You have a heritage - honor it. You have posses a testimony - share it. You will face temptation - withstand it. You know the truth - live it.

Your mind is a cupboard and you stock the shelves.

Remember that ofttimes the wisdom of God appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.

May each of us remember this truth; 'one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God.' Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one.
Any excuse, no matter how valid, only weakens the character.

Sometimes we let our thoughts of tomorrow take up too much of today. Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. This is the day of our opportunity, and we must grasp it.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Watch your step.

Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty.

We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Faith precedes the miracle. It has ever been so and shall ever be.

Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.

See also:
Quotes by Gordon B. Hinckley
Quotes by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Ancient Chinese Wisdom: Quotes by Lao-tzu

Lao-tzu, which means "Old Philosopher", is the name given to the founder of Taoism, a religion or philosophy in China. Lao-tzu was born with the name Li Er, in 604 BC. Though he may have been keeper of the royal archives at Loyang, few details are known of his life. Lao-tzu was ‘a hidden wise man’, reluctant to found a school and gather a following.

According to legend, Lao-tzu simply decided to leave society. He would have vanished without trace had not the customs official on the western border asked him to write a book before he retired from the world. So the sage wrote about the proper way to live in the book Tao Te Ching, the most widely translated Chinese work of all time and the classic book of Taoism. Scholars disagree whether Lao-tzu was a real person or a pen name for the writers of Tao Te Ching, which is often called "the Lao-tzu." After writing the book, he went on his western journey. No one knows where he died.

A general history of China from the first century B.C. describes Lao-tzu as an older contemporary and teacher of Confucius. Compared to Confucius, who focuses on right relations in human society, Lao-tzu takes a more mystical approach to tuning into the natural order of things as a way of achieving personal and social harmony.

Many great words of wisdom, used often in today's vernacular, have come from this ancient Chinese man and his book. Here are some highlights in quotes:

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.

Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretch her fingers to touch the heavens.

An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.

Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

Because of a great love, one is courageous.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.

From caring comes courage.

From wonder into wonder existence opens.

Great acts are made up of small deeds.

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted.

He who is contented is rich.

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.

He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.

Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.

How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.

If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.

In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.

It is better to do one's own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.

One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.

One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.

People in their handlings of affairs often fail when they are about to succeed. If one remains as careful at the end as he was at the beginning, there will be no failure.

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.

Silence is a source of great strength.

The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honours.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.

The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.

The words of truth are always paradoxical.

To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.

To lead people walk behind them.

To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.

To see things in the seed, that is genius.

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.

Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.

Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.

When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

When the best leader's work is done the people say, "We did it ourselves."

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.

Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.

If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn, let yourself die.
If you want to be given everything, give everything up.

He who tries to shine; dims his own light.

At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

 

The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness.

Happiness is a Journey

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time to still be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time and remember that time waits for no one, so stop waiting...

•until you finish school
•until you go back to school
•until you lose ten pounds
•until you gain ten pounds
•until you have kids
•until your kids leave the house
•until you start work
•until you retire
•until you get married
•until you get divorced
•until Friday night
•until Sunday morning
•until you get a new car or home
•until your car or home is paid off
•until spring
•until summer
•until fall
•until winter
•until you are off welfare
•until the first or fifteenth
•until your song comes on
•until you've had a drink
•until you've sobered up
•until you die
•until you are born again

Decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

by Alfred D. Souza

See also:
Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy"

The Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer / contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."

Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

Author Unknown