March

 

 

 

Rest if You Must

 

Don't Quit ~ Edgar Albert Guest                

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;

Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst, you must not quit.

 

My Day Today

 

 A Day Filled with Gratitude

After leaving a too long comment on OneKidsMom's (sorry Barb) latest post, the decision was made to create a post of my own.

For the past week, Mother Nature and Ol' Man Winter have been in ferocious competition.  Similar to most of the country, we've had more than our fair share of high wind warnings, wind chill warning, and weather advisories.  Predicted dustings of snow became a heavy, white out snow fall bordering on blizzard conditions. The high wind, especially during the night, took its toll on sleep.  Tired became the word of the day.  Tired of wind.  Tired of snow.  Tired of cold.  Tired of being stuck in the house.

Today brought a heap of gratitude.  The sun decided to shine and the thermometer climbed to above freezing.  My car has been the main reason for my lack of sleep.  There's no garage here, so the car is parked outside.  This morning, after clearing the melting snow and ice from the deck, I ventured down to see if it would start.  It turned over immediately.  My car is over 20 years old, but it gets regular oil changes and maintenance.  Today was the reward for taking care of details.  

Another area of concern was how cold it is on the south side of the house.  The laundry room was 55* this morning.  The draft through the kitchen and living room was very apparent.  According to my wonderful neighbor, the dryer vent, the exhaust fan flap over the stove in the kitchen and the flap over the fire place in living room were lifted by the wind and then frozen partly open.  Melted from the sun and now closed.

The new water lines that were dug in November resulted in running water throughout this brutal cold snap. Last winter, there were frozen water lines for 8 days.  My neighbor has called several times to check on me.  As a thank you, I ordered a basket full of Harry & David cookies for him and his family.  With a wife and 2 teenagers, I appreciate the time he takes from his family if I need a helping hand. 

The weather prediction for tomorrow is temps again above freezing.  It's my plan to make a trip to town for a stop at the recycle center, then Walmart for milk and bread.  It will be nice to get out.  The bottom is supposed to fall out of the thermometer again for the weekend.  Also a possibly of snow.  BUT...next week we get a nice warm-up with a January thaw. 

 I am grateful that the weather did not cause damage and/or cost $$$ repairs.  I am grateful for the auto shop with whom I've done business for over 20 years that keeps my car in good condition.  I am grateful that I have been blessed with caring neighbors.  I am grateful for my friends here who visit and leave nice comments.

Stay safe.  Stay warm.

Taking a Break for a While

 

“Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” – Douglas Pagels

 

Practicing Gratitude

 

Practicing Gratitude

When it comes to practicing gratitude, one trap to avoid is locating happiness in things that make us feel better off—or simply better—than others. Such thinking can foster envy and jealousy.

There are marvelous respects in which we are equally blessed—the same sun shines down upon each of us, we all begin each day with the same 24 hours, and each of us enjoys the free use of one of the most complex and powerful resources in the universe, the human brain.

Much in our culture seems aimed to cultivate an attitude of deficiency—for example, most ads aim to make us think that to find happiness we must buy something. Yet most of the best things in life—the beauty of nature, conversation, and love—are free.

There are many ways to cultivate a disposition of thankfulness. One is to make a habit of giving thanks regularly—at the beginning of the day, at meals and the like, and at day’s end.

Likewise, holidays, weeks, seasons, and years can be punctuated with thanks—grateful prayer or meditation, writing thank-you notes, keeping a gratitude journal, and consciously seeking out the blessings in situations as they arise.

Gratitude can become a way of life, and by developing the simple habit of counting our blessings, we can enhance the degree to which we are truly blessed.

 

 

Can It Get Any Worse?

 

Can It Get Any Worse?  

A poor man lived with his wife and six children in a very small one-room house. They were always getting in each other’s way and there was so little space they could hardly breathe!

Finally the man could stand it no more. He talked to his wife and asked her what to do. “Go see the rabbi,” she told him, and after arguing a while, he went.

And so the poor man told the rabbi how miserable things were at home with him, his wife, and the six children all eating and living and sleeping in one room. The poor man told the rabbi, “We’re even starting to yell and fight with each other. Life couldn’t be worse.”

The rabbi thought very deeply about the poor man’s problem. Then he said, “Do exactly as I tell you and things will get better. Do you promise?”

“I promise,” the poor man said.

The rabbi then asked the poor man a strange question. “Do you own any animals?” 

“Yes,” he said. “I have one cow, one goat, and some chickens.”

“Good,” the rabbi said. “When you get home, take all the animals into your house to live with you.”

The poor man was astonished to hear this advice from the rabbi, but he had promised to do exactly what the rabbi said. So he went home and took all the farm animals into the tiny one-room house.

The next day the poor man ran back to see the rabbi. “What have you done to me, Rabbi?” he cried. “It’s awful. I did what you told me and the animals are all over the house! Rabbi, help me!”

The rabbi listened and said calmly, “Now go home and take the chickens back outside.”

The poor man did as the rabbi said, but hurried back again the next day. “The chickens are gone, but Rabbi, the goat!” he moaned. “The goat is smashing up all the furniture and eating everything in sight!”

The good rabbi said, “Go home and remove the goat and may God bless you.”

So the poor man went home and took the goat outside. But he ran back again to see the rabbi, crying and wailing. “What a nightmare you have brought to my house, Rabbi! With the cow it’s like living in a stable! Can human beings live with an animal like this?”

The rabbi said sweetly, “My friend, you are right. May God bless you. Go home now and take the cow out of your house.” And the poor man went quickly home and took the cow out of the house.

The next day he came running back to the rabbi again. “O Rabbi,” he said with a big smile on his face, “we have such a good life now. The animals are all out of the house. The house is so quiet and we’ve got room to spare! What a joy!”

 

CONSIDER THIS

• Perspective is everything.  It is not what we see, but the way we see it. When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.

 

 

Trigger Gratitude in Ourselves

 How to­ Trigger Gratitude in Ourselves

How do we trigger gratitude in ourselves? It’s simple. We take time to shift our focus.  Have you ever noticed that when you are looking to buy a new phone or a jacket all of a sudden everyone around you has it? That’s because, consciously or unconsciously, whatever we are focused on is what we see. If we want to trigger gratitude in ourselves, we need to intentionally shift our focus to that which we are grateful for. The simplest way to do this is through questions and prompts and a few daily rituals.

Pause and reflect

When you find yourself stuck in a constant state of worry, or hyper focused on what is not working around you, try to pause for a second and ask yourself one or two of the following questions.

1. What have I gotten to learn recently that has helped me grow?
2. What opportunities do I currently have that I am grateful for?
3. What physical abilities do I have but take for granted?
4. What did I see today or over the last month that was beautiful?
5. Who at work am I happy to see each day and why?
6. Who is a person that I don’t speak to often, but, if I lost them tomorrow, it would be devastating? (Take this as a cue to reach out today!)
7. What am I better at today than I was a year ago?
8. What material object do I use every day that I am thankful for having?
9. What has someone done for me recently that I am grateful for?
10. What are the three things I am grateful for right now?

By taking time to write down our answers, we consciously redirect our attention to that which we are grateful for. It’s also a great way to look back and realize what we may have thought of as insignificant was actually the things that brought us joy.