A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on Change.
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Quote of the day:
“What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.”— Henry Van Dyke Reflection The Samurai and the Tea Master By Brian Cavanaugh Long ago in ancient Japan, a tea master, learned an important lesson in self-acceptance. That is, know who you are, where you are and what you are doing. As the story goes, this tea master was a traveling companion of one of the greatest samurai on a journey to a distant city. This samurai was greatly honored not only for his courage and skill, but also for his wisdom and understanding. His reputation was held in high esteem, even as far as the distant city. The tea master was in awe of this samurai, seeing the respect he received from all the people along the journey. Therefore, when they reached their destination, while the samurai was napping, the tea master slipped into the samurai's armor and went about the city to feel what it would be like to be a great samurai having the respect and esteem of the people. The tea master enjoyed his charade. The people greatly honored him, and he felt that it was possible for him really to be a samurai. At this time, however, another samurai was living in the region. He had a reputation for being a bully and for being cruel and dangerous. He heard of the wise samurai's arrival and set out to find him. The cruel samurai soon found the other samurai, not realizing that it was only the tea master wearing the armor of the true samurai, and challenged him to a contest of skill. The tea master was horrified! What was he to do? He knew of this cruel samurai, how dangerous he was as a swordsman, and he knew that he would surely die for his folly. Feeling deep shame, the tea master returned to where he and the wise samurai were staying, carefully took off the armor, and woke the sleeping samurai. He told the samurai what he had done and, trembling, asked forgiveness for putting on the armor and for dishonoring the samurai's reputation. The wise and understanding samurai forgave the tea master, but told him sternly that he, the tea master, would have to meet the challenge and that the cruel samurai would surely kill him, either for not being an able swordsman or for pretending to be a samurai when he was not one. The wise samurai then told the tea master to prepare a proper tea ceremony while he thought of a way for the tea master to defeat the cruel samurai. For those who do not know, a proper tea ceremony, to be performed skillfully, requires great preparation, concentration on details, and a focused discipline. The ceremony quickly calmed the tea master, revealing him to be truly the master of his art. The wise samurai was deeply moved by the skill and attention of the tea master while preparing the tea ceremony, and in this he discovered how the tea master would meet the challenge of the cruel samurai. He explained to the tea master that the secret to his success would be not in meeting the challenge as a samurai, but in facing the cruel samurai just as he is now, as the master of the tea ceremony. So the next day at the appointed time the two met for the challenge. The cruel samurai was dressed in his finest battle armor. His appearance was very frightening. The tea master, on the other hand, wore his own ceremonial robe, carrying the wise samurai's armor. Immediately, without even acknowledging the other samurai, the tea master gently placed the armor aside and began the delicate preparation for a proper tea ceremony for the two of them. The cruel samurai laughed at this sight, but quieted quickly, observing the skill, concentration and discipline of the master of the tea ceremony. Soon the cruel samurai himself became frightened as he thought how great this samurai must really be, and wondered, "If he prepares a simple tea ceremony with such skill and precision, how great a swordsman must he also be?" The cruel samurai, now thoroughly scared, prostrated himself on the ground, removed his sword, placing it at the feet of the tea master, and begged forgiveness and mercy for his arrogance. The tea master, heaving a silent sigh of thankful relief, forgave the cruel samurai, who quickly left the city. The tea master then expressed his gratitude to the wise samurai for teaching him the secret of self-acceptance-know who you are, where you are and what you are doing. Quote of the day:
“The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” — Helen Keller Reflection: We are all sent here to learn certain things and some of those lessons can only be learned in darkness. It reminds me of the story how they used to teach canaries to sing. When the canary bird is to be trained, each bird is put in a little cage, with only a small hole to give them just light enough to see to eat and drink. These cages are then put in a room from which there is no light, and their teacher gives the birds a lesson every two hours. First they get a lesson on the flute, then on the violin, then on bells, and last of all a nightingale is brought in to sing its wonderful notes and then to teach the birds to sing at night. The point is, that the canaries must learn their lessons in the darkness. They cannot learn them as well, if at all, in the light. So it is the same with many people. There are certain songs we cannot learn to sing in the sunshine. So the great Teacher calls us apart and shuts the door in order to keep out the light and exclude the world's clamor and noise, and then teaches us songs of peace, of joy, of trust, of love. Thus the painful things of this world have their place in the divine training of our lives. Quote of the day:
“God loves you and is searching for you to bring you Home.” — Dana Bosley Reflection: When I read this story it reminded me of the Easter story. According to legend, this beautiful queen was captured and carried away and became a victim of amnesia. She became a prostitute in the streets. She didn't know her name or the fact that she came from royal blood. But back in her homeland, friends didn't give up on her return. An old friend believed she was alive and went to look for her. He never lost faith. One day while wandering through the streets, he came to a waterfront and saw a wretched woman in tattered clothes with deep lines across her face. There was something about her that seemed familiar, so he walked up to her and said, "What is your name?" She gave a name that was meaningless to him. "May I see your hands?" he pursued. She held her hands out in front of her, and the young man gasped, "You are the Queen! You are the Queen! Do you remember?" She looked up at him in astonishment. Then the fog seemed to clear. There was recognition in her face. The light came on! She discovered her lost self, put her arms around her old friend and wept. She discarded the tattered clothes and once more became the queen she was born to be. God searches for you in the same way. He uses every method possible to look for you and try to convince you of your heritage and your worth to him. And that is what Easter is all about finding your way Home and reuniting with God. A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on building up others.
Quote of the day:
“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” —Helen Keller Reflection: There is no haphazardness in this world. Every tree, flower and plant is placed in just the right spot. One tree grows best in the sheltered valley, another by the water's edge, another on the bleak mountain-top swept by storms. Every tree or plant is found in the location where the conditions for its growth are best. And so it is with us as well. There is a little fable which says that a primrose growing by itself in a shady corner of the garden, became discontented as it saw the other flowers in their mirthful beds in the sunshine, and begged to be moved to a more conspicuous place. Its prayer was granted. The gardener transplanted it to a more showy and sunny spot. It was greatly pleased—but there came a change over it immediately. Its blossoms lost much of their beauty and became pale and sickly. The hot sun caused them to faint and wither. So it prayed again to be taken back to its old place in the shade. Although we all have different experiences in life, wherever we may find ourselves it is the right place to be and the perfect place to grow into our potential. Some of us require the fierce storms, some will only thrive in the shadow of worldly adversity, and some come to ripeness more sweetly under the soft and gentle influences of prosperity. Don’t bemoan your lot in life, but use whatever situation and experiences you find yourself in to grow and blossom. A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on attitude.
Quote of the day:
“When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.” —Leo Burnett Reflection: Theresa Koltes sent me this post to share with you. We all have an idea. Maybe your idea is just a baby dream. Maybe a couple of stars kept in a jar, afraid to break free. But consider those people who let the baby walk, or who open the jar and let the stars out so they can fly. What happened to them? When I think of people who turned their stars into something extraordinary, I think of people like J.K. Rowling, the authoress of the novel series, Harry Potter. She didn’t start out easy. After a difficult and painful divorce, she struggled as a single mom, living off of welfare benefits in an apartment rampant with mice. But what is extraordinary is that someone surviving off of the government can go on to be an award winning novelist and one of the richest people in the world. J.K. Rowling is acclaimed as one of the five self-made female billionaires. Harry Potter is now a global, worth $15 billion, and has sold 350 million copies in 55 languages. Once upon a time, when Rowling was a child, she wanted to be a writer. But she received little support from those around her--her parents thought that studying French was more useful than English and writing. Her childhood friend was the only one who told her she was destined to be a successful writer, and she chose to believe it. One day as she was on the train from London to Manchester, the story began unfolding in her mind. The train was delayed for a few hours, and bit by bit the details, characters and plot of the unborn Harry Potter danced into her imagination. It took Rowling a year to complete the book and find a publisher. It was five more years before the first book was finally published. But within only a few weeks of publishing, the book went wild. She received a grant from the Scottish Arts Council, which enabled her to quit her job and write fulltime. Two years later, Warner Bros secured the film rights for the books with a seven figure estimate, delivering the books into film succession. Today Harry Potter is one of the most known media products worldwide. And it all started with one thought, one idea, one ambition. Take your stars out of the jar and lay them out. Who knows where they will fly to? Quote of the day:
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” —Vernon Law Reflection: A little boy was telling is Grandma how "everything" is going wrong, at school, family problems, and severe health problems in the family. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which of course he does. "Here, have some cooking oil," she says. "Yuck" says the boy. "Then how about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Grandma!" he replies. "Would you prefer some flour then? Or maybe some baking soda?" she asks. "Grandma, those are all yucky!" he replied. To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem to taste bad all by themselves. But when they are mixed together in the right amounts and the right manner, they make a delicious cake!" She continued, "God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!" Let’s take some advice from Grandma and trust things will work for good. A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on leaving a good impact on the world.
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AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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