Vitamins for the Soul
A quote a day helps you remember what’s important. Here are this week’s quotes on leaving a positive legacy.
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Quote of the day:
“To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.”—Muhammad Ali Reflection: A traveling salesman veered off his route one day and was lost on a side road. After driving awhile on a narrow, winding road, he came upon a farmer sitting on the front porch of his old, dilapidated house. The farmer was a rough looking fellow, with ragged clothes and bare feet. After the man asked for directions back to the main road, he decided to engage the farmer in some small talk. So the salesman asked, "How's your cotton doing this year?" "Ain't got none," replied the farmer. "Afraid of boll weevils." "How about your corn crop?" the salesman asked. "How's it doing?" Again the farmer said, "Didn't plant any. Feared it'd be too dry." "Well," the salesman continued, "how about your potatoes? Are you having a good year for potatoes?" "Nope," said the farmer, "didn't plant any 'taters either. Scared of 'tater bugs." "What did you plant?" the salesman questioned. "Nothin'," the farmer replied. "I jest played it safe." Some people are like that when it comes to giving, they just want to play it safe. They've heard of a huge economic crisis coming and they want to be ready for it. Or they want to make sure they have enough money invested for retirement. Who knows how much is enough? Are you playing it safe or are you investing in humankind? Quote of the day:
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” —Arthur Ashe Reflection: When I read this story I thought it illustrated the above quote well. In ninth grade, there was one teacher who stood out to me more than all the rest. We called him Uncle Jo. Uncle Jo was a funny guy, aging in years but a kid at heart. He made those boring history books seem exceptionally fun and put the sparkle into everything about life. Uncle Jo cared for a boy named Mikey whom we called “the special child.” Mikey was indeed special, for he was handicapped with autism, which left him unable to care for himself. So it was our teacher, Uncle Jo, who fed him, dressed him, walked him, and read him stories. I admired Uncle Jo for his love for Mikey in spite of being sick himself with cancer. Uncle Jo taught me many subjects in school, but for all those lectures, it was his sample of sacrifice that taught me the biggest lesson. Here was a dying man who spent his final days not making his atmosphere a more comfortable place for himself, but for a helpless child. A very great man made his mark in history then, and engraved that mark in my mind, to remember for many more years to come. I realized at that early age how precious one’s life is, and how short its span may be. One day Uncle Jo was up and about, and the next he was gone. He understood that the present day was all he had to make the most of, so he put his best efforts into that day, no matter how lowly the task. Today, I close my eyes and think back at the time that was, and then I see the image of Uncle Jo’s face and the twinkle in his eye as he smiles and says, “Life is too short to spend it on only yourself.” The matter of how short is trivial, because what lives on in the hearts and minds of others never dies. It is the deeds you do, the words you speak, the love you give, and your greatness-of-lowliness that will be treasured forever. Vitamins for the Soul
A quote a day helps you remember what’s important. Here are this week’s quotes on influence.
Quote of the day:
“Patience strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride, bridles the tongue, restrains the hand, and tramples upon temptations.” —George Horne Reflection: I don’t know if it is just me, or if anyone else is noticing that more and more people these days seem to be angry and have really short fuses. This got me to thinking about the words longsuffering and patience. When I looked into the Greek word makrothumia, the word translated as “longsuffering” or patient I saw that there was another facet. Makro means “long” (no revelation there), and thumia means temper, which was eye-opening. So a more precise translation of makrothumia may be long-tempered, the opposite of short-tempered. At a conference a while back, one of the speakers had said that spontaneously flying off the handle is now referred to as Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). If sudden short-temperedness is now regarded as a mental disorder, then it makes sense that long-temperedness would be a sign of mental well-being. The speaker went on to say that IED is reaching alarming proportions, so I’m not the only one noticing this. All that to say it might behoove us to check our mental health by how long-tempered or patient we are. Quote of the day:
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford Reflection: Can you imagine carrying water bottles made of clay or using disposable utensils made of eggs and animal blood? The legend of the discovery of plastic says that were it not for two accidents, those might be the materials we'd be stuck with today. The first tale starts in the lab of Charles Goodyear (yes, that Goodyear), who combined rubber and sulfur and accidentally put it on the stove for a period of time. When he came back, he found a tough and durable material--created through a process eventually called vulcanization. The second was a spill in John Wesley Hyatt's shop. Inspired by a $10,000 contest to find a replacement for elephant ivory in billiard balls, Hyatt accidentally spilled a bottle of collodion, only to discover that when it dried it formed a flexible-yet-strong material. He didn't win the contest (nor did anyone, for that matter), but by 1872 his brother Isaiah coined the term celluloid to describe what was becoming the first commercially successful plastic--even used in the first motion-picture film by George Eastman. Our mistakes can sometimes be the door to new and better things. Do you have any mistake that is a door to better things? Vitamins for the Soul
A quote a day helps you remember what’s important. Here are this week’s quotes on service.
Quote of the day:
“You may have the loftiest goals, the highest ideals, the noblest dreams, but remember this, nothing works unless you do.” —Nido Qubein Reflection: Below is a good story from Mara Hodler that illustrates this quote. It’s something that I have been harping on for the last years–there is no progress without action. About 13 years ago, my husband, Sam, and I had to make a trip from Calgary, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. We loaded up our old truck for the move and headed off. We had planned for this move pretty well. Everything was neatly packed and sorted. We had mapped our route and estimated our time. We had made a budget for gas, food, hotels, and all that. Our intention was most definitely to end up in Winnipeg. On the morning of our departure, we got up early and hit the road on time. Only one problem: We didn’t head east as we were supposed to. We got on the highway and out of habit began heading west. Eventually, the signs for Banff—in the opposite direction of where we were trying to go—alerted us that we might not be going the right way. As soon as we recognized our mistake, we took the first U-turn and began heading in the right direction. We arrived in Winnipeg only slightly delayed. The point isn’t just that Sam and I are directionally challenged, but that it’s the road you’re on, not your intentions, that determines where you end up. We had absolutely no intention of going to Banff and every intention of going to Winnipeg; but regardless, we would have ended up in Banff if we’d stayed on our first route. But at the end of the day, actions are going to top intentions every single time. Our lives are the sum total of our actions, not our intentions, dreams, or wishes. The lesson is a simple one: pay less attention to intentions. Instead, look at the road you are on. If you want to make it to a different place, get on a different road. Make the connection between your choices and the results in your life. Evaluate and adjust your course accordingly. It’s something we all have to do. Most of us don’t get lost or get on the wrong road on purpose. Rather, we don’t recognize the choices we make every day as choices that get us closer to our destination or take us farther from it. Once that connection is made, it’s easier to adjust the course we’re on to one that will take us to where we want to be. Are your intentions outweighing your action? Take action today. Quote of the day:
"The best thing about giving of ourselves is that what we get is always better than what we give. The reaction is greater than the action.” — Orison Swett Marden Reflection: There is one healing tool that particularly stands out to me, and repeatedly comes up in my extensive research regarding that all-too-common human condition of extreme discouragement. I think this method is exceptional, because it is something that not only benefits the one implementing it, but also others. It’s the simple act of giving to others in whatever way one can. The act of giving is known to improve mental, emotional, and physical health in measurable and sometimes profound ways. Studies have been done by numerous institutes, such as the National Institute of Health, Harvard Business School, and the University of California, Berkeley, and published in such journals as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. One such study found that the areas in the brain that are activated by giving are the same as those that are activated by other positive stimuli—such as in response to sexual pleasure, monetary rewards, enjoying a meal, exercising and a number of other activities. Contributing in some way to help others, actually triggers the release of chemicals in the brain called endorphins, which are sometimes called “feel good” chemicals because they promote social bonding and a sense of belonging. In another study a researcher found that this principle of reaching out to others had definite, positive benefits for the one reaching out. This applied to people suffering from a wide-range of conditions, including depression, chronic pain, and AIDS. As she expressed it, "When humans help others regardless of a shared condition, they appear to live longer and happier lives." In another study, Paul Arnstein of Boston College and his colleagues evaluated the effects of volunteering on chronic pain patients. Their findings show that pain, depression, and disability consistently decreased after volunteering. One researcher discovered some unexpected results in her study of a group of long-term sufferers of multiple sclerosis that made phone calls to encourage others suffering from the same affliction. While their calls had some benefits for the recipients, the greatest beneficiaries were those initiating the calls, and who were lending a supportive ear to others. In fact, those who offered support experienced dramatic improvements in their quality of life, several times greater than those they were helping. If you suffer from discouragement or depression why not try giving to others. Vitamins for the Soul
A quote a day helps you remember what’s important. Here are this week’s quotes on giving back.
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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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