Tag: People

THAT FISH IS A GENIUS!!

“Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”

-Albert Einstein

Building on yesterday’s post, this statement takes it one step further.  Mr. Einstein, one of the greatest minds understood that there is genius inside every one of us. Yes, even those people in the ‘People of Wal-Mart’ photos.  Sometimes it is very hard for us to see, but there is beauty and worth in each and every one of us.  So next time you see someone you may be tempted to think less of, remember they just might be out of their element. I have the honor of helping out at a meal program for the homeless once a month, and let me tell you I have learned more about how to survive on very little, how to see the bright side of even the darkest of situations and even the importance of Love, friendship and things we may forget are what is really valuable.  It is sad to see how many people are dismissed just because the treasure in them is either not on display or has not been discovered.  Even Albert Einstein was kicked out of school because they believed he was not smart enough and had problems tying his shoes.  Yet he went on to compose the theory of relativity.  So let us all appreciate the genius in ourselves and each other.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear”

-Rosa Parks

Now some of you has let me know you enjoy my blog, but say “that stuff doesn’t work in real life” Here is a prime example of a women who overcame not just her own challenges, but the challenges facing an entire nation.  Still think you can’t turn your life into one that is positive and rewarding both for yourself and those around you?  Having an end goal in mind and staying focused on that goal makes everything if not easier, at least bearable.  You make a mistake, fall down on the path to your goal? Get up, dust yourself off at get back at it!  It has been said airplanes on their way from point A to point B are off course a full 90% of the time.  Constantly making minor adjustments to correct changes in wind, currents, air pressure and a million other factors I know nothing about.  How, if they are off course so often do they arrive, usually close to on time, at their destination? The easy answer is ‘radar’.  True, but what good is technology if you do not have a clear destination?  So decide on your destination.  Develop that resolute purpose so demonstrated by Rosa Parks.  If one woman could challenge the thinking of a majority of an entire nation, we can certainly overcome our challenges!  like the airplane with its radar, we have an internal radar.  It is called our feelings and current state of mind.  Have you ever noticed when you are engaged in an activity designed to bring you closer to your goal that even if it appears not to be going so well at the moment it seems easier to stay focused?  So make a clear decision on a goal, write it down, find or draw a picture of it to hang in the bathroom mirror.  Whatever you have to do to keep it in your mind.  Then stay focused and marvel at the great things you will accomplish. Whenever doubt starts to creep in, just think of that single woman sitting on a bus and all that she conquered.

RANDOM ACTS….

Ok, so a post about random acts of kindness on this blog is probably not shocking to anyone.  That being the case however, let us look at what those acts can accomplish.  First of all, the purpose of doing random acts of kindness is not to help ourselves, but to help others.  Even when doing a selfless act though, we can’t help but to bring a little bit of joy to our own lives.  A few examples both I have heard about and experienced personally are as follows.  My friend told me about a time her father was just in a terrible car accident and her mother had called her up frantic asking her to leave her job and take her to the hospital.  Well of course she left right away and picked up her mother, but as they were trying to merge onto the street which lead to the hospital traffic was at a standstill.  Her mother frantic, she looking for a spot to squeeze in and worried about her father at the same time, her heart sank as she noticed traffic seemed to stretch for half a mile.  Suddenly, and for no reason at all, a gentle man just stopped and let her merge in.  She could hardly believe it and almost missed her chance, as the other motorists began honking their horns and this driver who dared make their wait even longer when clearly they had been waiting long enough already.  There is no way that driver could have known where my friend was going and there certainly was no reason for him to let her in.  He will probably never know how much he helped my friend and her mother that day.

Speaking of hospitals, my uncle recently suffered a very serious heart attack and i went to see him late in the evening at the hospital.  I had started work at 7 that morning and this was around midnight.  My aunt was extremely upset and things looked bleak. We stayed until about one, and when we left had honestly thought he would not make it until morning.  Well as can happen in a situation like that, trying to capture the little sleep I could before work the next day, I planned to go right home.  That is until I heard my gas warning go off.  I pulled into the nearest station and filled up.  Then, out of force of habit I asked to purchase a lottery ticket.  The man asked if I knew it was almost 2am.  I apologized and said I did not.  This cashier at a gas station patted me on the shoulder and said looks like you had a rough night already, don’t worry about it.  I simple compliment, but it did mean the world to me.  Perhaps I should’ve expressed my gratitude, but I sure felt it and he may never know how much that meant.

My point today is this, you may never know that your small act of kindness may mean the world to someone else.

PLANT A SEED

Negative Nancy…Debbie Downer…We all know people who can be a bit hard to take at times.  Be it a co-worker, friend or even a spouse.  Our lives can be filled with people who may be a bit “Sunshine challenged”.  A friend of mine and I were having a discussion and she posed the question “Sometimes I can just walk into a place and see who is a positive person and who is not that evening.  I wonder if trying to enlighten them is a waste of time and effort and may just end up bringing me down” It was an excellent question.  After some discussion on the topic (which is one of the thrilling things about discovering more people on the path) we came to what I think is the best solution.  Before I get to that, however, let me caution you about two things. First, people with a negative vibration about themselves, can bring you down if you spend enough time in their presence.  I think Bob Marley explained it best when he refered to them as ’emotional vampires’. So be cautious, excuse yourself for a breath of fresh air, or even to a trip to the restroom where the air might not be as fresh, but the vibration will certainly be better. Remember even if your intent is the best you still have to watch your own levels of joy.  Second, when in any large group don’t spend the entire time trying to cheer up all the Debbie downers and negative Nancys. Not only will it make you look impolite it certainly won’t lead to a very enjoyable time for you.  So what to do?  What is the proper thing to do with the one person who sees all the shadows on a sunny day?  Well this amazing friend of mine and I came up with two really.  The easiest one to do, don’t let them trap you into their way of thinking.  Display your positivity, not in a mocking or combative way, but as to lead by example.  They may truly not be able to see the bright side of things from their situation.  In doing so you rather accomplish the second.  You plant a seed in their head and in their heart. They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears.  Perhaps they just were not up to being positive that day, or their life had not reached the stage where joy is a part of it.  Ours is not to judge.  When that person does have good news to share or really desires to form a more positive outlook they remember yours and they will find you. So remember taking care of your own joy is number one, or you can’t’ help anyone else, but go ahead plant that seed. Depending on how fertile the soil is it may sprout at any time and blossom into something truly beautiful

ASKING PEOPLE FOR HELP

In beginning any new undertaking one of the greatest things we can do is ask others for help.  Be it a new creative project or just attempting to live our lives with more joy and passion, there is always someone who can make some part of our journey easier.  Now with the internet and email asking people for help became that much easier and widespread.  A few of you may have been cringing inside reading those last few lines, but that is about to change.  I used to be the same way. “nobody likes to ask for help it’s a sign of weakness” That is what I used to think.  One day one of my mentors changed that for me.  When we were out for lunch and I began to argue to pay the bill he asked me “how do you think it makes me feel to buy you lunch?” I told him I honestly didn’t know how it made him feel.  “How would it make you feel?” he asked me. I told him it always makes me feel good to be able to treat my friends for dinner.  “Oh it does?” he asked.  “Yet you were going to deprive me of experiencing that same feeling?”  Truly he knew that was not my intent, but it did get me thinking.  When I started this blog I asked a million people a million different questions.  Friends who write their own blogs, friends who know how to promote things. Friends who are also trying to bring light to others. Then I stopped. I started to worry I was ‘bothering’ them.  Did I appear that I didn’t know what I was doing? One day, just to show you how long it takes for me to get a point, I apologised to me friend for asking her to many questions about her blog.  “Why would that bother me?  I’m sure you’ll be happy to be able to help me later on” she said. I was taken back to my friend at lunch that day. Not only does asking for help make our journey easier and quite often saves us a lot of time and grief, but think of how it makes the other person feel.  Better yet, think of how you feel when someone kindly asks for your help.  Do you look down on them? Chances are you do not and you feel pretty important and valuable. Now why would we deny another that feeling? To make things even better, it often forms new bonds between friends and supplies us the perfect opportunity to practice gratitude.

TOGETHER AS ONE

“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools”

-Martin Luther king jr.

Judgement is one thing that can truly separate us from each other.  Let’s be honest, there are both good and bad people in every race, religion, culture, country and any other group you can break society down into.  Disliking someone based on the fact that they are different than you in appearance or in belief only hurts yourself.  Not only are you the one who gets upset, but you remove the possibility of meeting many fabulous people who could add joy and other great things to your life.  I am always surprised to hear expressions of prejudice in todays global world.  With as much communication as we have with each other and how interdependent we are on each other to me it seems antiquated at best.  Being an enlightened individual means keeping your mind open to all views.  Not that you have to agree with them, but as much as we would like others to respect our views, we should be honored to do the same for them.  I can not begin to convey the joys all my friends have brought me and can’t imagine leaving any of them out just because they are different then me.  So remember,  when you hold judgement against someone else, it not only affects their joy, but steals yours as well.

IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY

Recent events in CT may leave us searching for ways to deal with such senseless violence. First things first, we must realize there truly is no sense to it. Trying to understand such malicious acts is not going to get us anywhere. Of course neither is saying ‘how bad the country is getting’ or ‘how terrible people are now’ Personly, I am not sure if either of those statements have truth to them or if technology has made such events more available to us. Either way, it is a heavy burden on all of our hearts. There is however, a gift to be found even in such tragedy. Instead of focusing on the evil of this situation, thus giving it more energy. I feel it is fair to point out the heros who gave their lives to protect children. Not to mention how it pulled our nation together. So while we take time so send our love and prayers to all those involved, let us not forget to be grateful. Grateful for the brave first responders. Grateful for the children who are safe. Grateful for the reminder to be more patient with our own children. Remeber to rally for peace, not against violence. Now more then ever it is more important to learn to listen to and love one another.