The old saying is—Good things come to those
who wait. Well, maybe soooo BUT I think it’s more like good things come to
those who wait but work on it while they wait. I just don’t think if we just sit
on the couch and eat chips it’s going to work very well. Working on it seems to
be a very positive way to increase the odds of good things happening. LuckieEddie says—I just like to complain to
the government and let it take care of me; they usually do in some way! Saturday
question—Who is the government? Maybe as CoachB says—"Good things come to
those who go out and chase it!”
Do we ever think we are better than others? Of course we
do!!!! Is that good important thinking? I read this story while eating my
oatmeal with half a banana on it:
“During
the American Revolution, a stranger in civilian clothes rode past a group of
exhausted soldiers who were repairing a small barricade. Their leader made no
attempt to help them but instead stood by, barking orders. When the rider asked
the leader why he wasn’t helping his men, he retorted with great dignity, ‘Sir,
I am a corporal!’ The stranger apologized, dismounted, and began helping the
soldiers himself. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, ‘Mr.
Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to
your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.’ With that,
General George Washington mounted his steed and rode off.”
When we read a book, it might affect us.
In fact, books are not alive; the same book may change one person’s life while
having no impact on another person. Now ain’t that the truth. Soooo what’s
important? Here is a thought of the day—“You were born with the ability to
change someone’s life, don’t ever waste it.”~Dale Partridge AverageJoe
says—Suck it up buttercup and let’s get going! Hopefully, we change a life for
the better!
What’s important! What’s important to me might not be
important to you; that ain’t nuttin new; it’s been that way forever! "Regularly ask yourself, 'How are my
thoughts, words, and deeds affecting my friends, my spouse, my neighbor, my
child, my employer, my subordinates, my fellow citizens? Am I doing my part to
contribute to the spiritual progress of all with whom I come in contact?' Make
it your business to draw out the best in others by being an exemplar
yourself." – Epictetus—he died 135 AD in Greece—he missed the hippy
era in the U.S. for sure, soooo what does he know anyway! Peace brother!
My mentor said many times to me—
erv, it’s never as good as
it looks and it’s never as bad as it looks! From our back yard we can see the
hills of the southern rim of the Yakima Valley. On the hills are houses perched
up on them. One house in particular looks soooo amazing to me. Soooo I rode my
YamahaXT250 up ‘er in ‘em hills the other day and that house isn’t near as
spectacular when I got up closer. Huh, interesting. Flip the pancake, Violet Stillwater says--Some
folks aren’t near as bad as we think when we get close to them and get to know
them.
I'm just not as tough as I use to be! In fact I'm not very tough at all any more I don't think! Something that just came to my mind is the olive tree. It’s
amazing what we learned when in Israel years ago. The olive tree can live to 2,000 years (i.e. it is a tough tree). It can regenerate when damaged or cut down, it just
comes back, it’s hard to kill. They even take cultivated varieties and draft
them unto old wild olive trees to produce olives that are very useful. The
olive tree has played a pretty major, important role in history. It is also used
many times as a metaphor in teaching as well. It is amazing to me. Saturday
question—Are we as tough as an olive tree? I was hiking Cowiche Canyon the other day and met two ladies coming up as I was going down. One lady looked 70+ and the other one 80+. The older lady had a walking stick and had a limp in her gate. I said to her--It's easier going down than going up--It sure is but I'm tough and I won't give up! I just love that attitude!
I called 4 successful business men (i.e. in my opinion) who
were old, like in their 60s if they would join me at our house to discuss with
me what they thought success was (i.e. what’s really important in life).
They all accepted my invitation and came, That was in 1989 when
I was working on establishing
my business. They are all long gone dead now! I wanted to hear what they thought
was important for success. I kept my notes and here is what I wrote:
Money isn’t the real measure of success~Have
reasonable goals and accomplish them~Succesful if you can sleep peacefully~Must
have faith and trust~ Must keep going-keep trying~ Always Always
be honest-don’t take advantage of people~ Have
patience-don’t expect things to happen fast~ There will be good days and bad
days-look at the total picture and not just one situation~ Keep working~ Some
people have more talent and abilities-don’t expect more than what we are
capable.
In the musical Mary Poppins, the Banks family
hires Mary to impose order and discipline upon their children, Michael and
Jane. However, the children’s bad behavior stems not from an absence of
discipline, but an absence of attention from their parents. Mary’s true mission
is to restore the relationship between Michael and Jane and their parents. When
the time comes for Mary to leave, she leaves them with something better than
her friendship: their parents’ love. Jeanne went to see an old friend whose partner passed on. She was Jeanne's friend (i.e. they are about 90 years old). Jeanne actually saved her life once when she fell off Mt Adams while hiking and she pulled her to safety. He was very
emotional and talked/rambled on about all kinds of stuff. He said that their
neighbors wanted them to go to church with them for years, but he said we never did.
The last years we have been going to church; those neighbors have moved some
years ago and we have lost all contact with them.
Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:
erv
MyDeceasedFriendJean said--Fall seven times, stand up eight--[Japanese Proverb]
