Quote of the day:
"When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its point in honey” -- Arab proverb Think about it: Years ago, there was a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed to have amazing creative literary talent. They were would-be poets, novelists, and essayists. They were extraordinary in their ability to put the English language to its best use. These promising young men met regularly to read and critique each other’s work—and critique it they did! These men were merciless with one another. They dissected the minutest literary expression into a hundred pieces. They were heartless, tough, and even mean in their criticism. The sessions became such arenas of literary criticism that the members of this exclusive club called themselves the “Stranglers.” Not to be outdone, the women of literary talent in the university were determined to start a club of their own, one comparable to the Stranglers. They called themselves the “Wranglers.” They, too, read their works to one another, but there was one great difference. The criticism was much softer, more positive, more encouraging. Sometimes, there was almost no criticism at all. Every effort, even the feeblest one, was encouraged. Twenty years later, an alumnus of the university was doing an exhaustive study of his classmates’ careers when he noticed a vast difference in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers as opposed to the Wranglers. Of all the bright young men in the Stranglers, not one had made a significant literary accomplishment of any kind. From the Wranglers had come six or more successful writers, some of national renown such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote the bestseller The Yearling in 1938. Talent between the two? Probably the same. Level of education? Not much difference. But the Stranglers strangled, while the Wranglers were determined to give each other a lift. The Stranglers promoted an atmosphere of contention and self-doubt. The Wranglers highlighted the best, not the worst. This story brings out the fruit of encouragement. Remember it when having to deliver criticism.
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Quote of the day:
“Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”--Dale Carnegie Think about it: A man we’ll call Bill Wilkins, a Wall Street broker, woke up one morning in a hospital for drunkards. Despondently he peered up at the house doctor and groaned, “Doc, how many times have I been in this joint?” “Fifty!” “I suppose liquor is going to kill me?” “Bill,” replied the doctor solemnly, “it won’t be long now.” “Then,” said Bill, “how about a drink to straighten me out?” “I guess that would be all right, given the circumstances,” agreed the doctor. “But I’ll make a bargain with you. There’s a young fellow in the next room in a pretty bad way. He’s here for the first time. Maybe if you showed yourself as a horrible example, you might scare him into staying sober for the rest of his life.” Instead of resentment, Bill showed a flicker of interest. “Okay,” he said. “But don’t forget that drink when I come back.” The young man was certain that he was doomed, and Bill, who considered himself an agnostic, incredulously heard himself urging the lad to turn to a higher power. “Liquor is a power outside yourself that has overcome you,” he urged. “Only another outside power can save you. If you don’t want to call it God, call it truth.” Whatever the effect on the young man, Bill greatly impressed himself. Back in his own room, he forgot his bargain with the doctor. Bill never did collect the promised drink. Thinking of someone else at long last, he had given the law of unselfishness a chance to work on him. It worked so well that he lived to become a founder of a highly effective movement in healing faith—Alcoholics Anonymous. William Griffith Wilson was Bill’s real name, though in keeping with Alcoholics Anonymous tradition, most knew him simply as Bill W. How could he have ever imagined what a worldwide good would eventually come about as a result of the moment he shifted his focus from being selfish to selfless? It is in forgetting ourselves and investing in others that we often reap the greatest dividends.—Fulton Oursler There are many benefits to living a life of love for God and others. One of the main paybacks is that when we live more for others than for ourselves, we find that life has purpose. When we live a life of purpose, we are living a life that has value. Not many things in our lives are eternal. Love is. Love has eternal value; how’s that for purpose? Over time, a life lived in selfishness will bring about a deep void inside, because God created us with yearnings that can only be satisfied by something greater then ourselves, by living in loving relationship with Him and others. He created us with a need to give to others, to sacrifice for others, in order to find lasting fulfillment and purpose. Quote of the day:
“There's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” — Scott Adams Think about it: Kindness is a good thing however, in our busy lives it is often easy to overlook the needs of others. Here is an exercise that may help you initiate a chain of kindness and thus a ripple effect that can touch many lives. --Picture yourself in the center of a set of concentric circles. You're in the center, but the focus isn't on you. Within the first circle are your family and closest friends. It's probably easy to identify the needs of at least two or three of these people. Write them down. --Now picture the next circle, your colleagues and acquaintances. Make a note of their names and needs. --Now picture the widest circle, people whom you don't know personally, but whose needs you are aware of, jot down the ones who come to mind and their need. --Take your list and try to do one favor for each circle each week. Each month do the exercise again and make a new list, repeating the process of helping one from each circle and experience the joy it brings into your life, not to mention the difference you are making in the world with the ripple effect you are causing. 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. Quote of the day:
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust Reflection: The Japanese have a wonderful custom that when they meet again, they thank the person for the last experience: “Konaidawa, domo arigato gozaimasu,” which means, “Thank you for the last time.” In Iceland they have a similar saying, “Takk fyrir siðast” which is a common greeting. It also means “Thank you for last time,” and people say it in the same breath as “Hello”. Even if there wasn’t a particularly meaningful exchange the last time the two met, saying this puts the current conversation within the larger framework of their long-term interactions and starts it on a positive note. I’m sure there are similar sayings in other languages and I’d be happy to know what they are if you want to send them to me. No matter what language you speak, or if you have a similar saying or not, let us be grateful to the people we meet as there are no random meetings in our lives. Everyone we touch and who touches us has been put in our path for a reason. Quote of the day:
"Kindness is in our power even if fondness is not.” – Samuel Johnson Reflection: A young couple had a baby who was physically perfect except for one thing. She was born with no ears. The parents of this young child were extremely worried about how difficult life would be for their offspring. They feared the ridicule that would surely occur when she was old enough to attend school. They wanted to introduce their daughter to other children before that dreaded day in order to see what the reaction would be. They asked a neighbor to bring her little girls to the house and let them look at the baby. Instead of showing up with her daughters, the neighbor showed up with her eight-year-old son who was known for his mean mouth. If someone had bad breath he wouldn't simply say it, he would fall to the floor and faint! With many reservations they introduced their daughter to the little boy and waited for a reply. He looked at her lying in the crib. Finally he asked, "Are her eyes good?" "Yes, why?" asked the concerned parents. "Because she's going to have a hard time wearing glasses.” Even the brattiest, most obnoxious person doesn't have to say something mean. Why notice everything that is wrong with people? Instead, try to see the positive side. If you look a little closer than first appearances you'll find it. Chances are they already know what's wrong. They have heard the ridicule and scorn already. Surprise them by saying something nice. Quote of the day:
"Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.” — A. J. Cronin Reflection: I saw an interesting thing in a Japanese magazine. It was a picture of a butterfly. Its color was dull gray until warmed by someone's hand. The tender touch of someone’s hand caused special inks in the printing to react. When touched by a human hand, the lack luster gray was transformed into the brilliant colors of the rainbow. Often, this is how people are. In this hurting world people are hungry for a personal touch—the touch of someone who sincerely cares. I'd like to encourage you to step out and try this exercise: Make a list of people you do not particularly feel drawn to. Show them acts of kindness and appreciation, think positive things about them and be grateful for them. Stand back and see what happens. See if they don’t transform from dull gray into the vibrant colors of the rainbow. Quote of the day:
"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” —Saint Basil Reflection: A young woman, speaking of the way different people had been a comfort to her in a great sorrow, said, "I wish some people knew just how much their faces can comfort others." Then she told of an old gentleman she sometimes sat beside in the subway. He did not know her—but she was always helped by just being near to him and seeing his face. There is a great deal of this unconscious helpfulness in the world. Indeed, many of the best things we do—we do without knowing we are doing them. If we are full of love, we will be helping others wherever we go; and the things we do not plan to do when we go out in the morning, will be the best things of the whole day. Not only is the life of personal helpfulness most worthwhile in the measure of good it does, but in its influence upon others—no other life brings back to itself such rewards of peace, of strength, of comfort, of joy. Does your unconscious helpfulness comfort others? A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on building up others.
Quote of the day:
“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.” —William Arthur Ward Reflection: I lived in South East Asia for many years. You can find many exotic and interesting things there, one of which is a fruit called durian. For those of you who don’t know what a durian is, it is a delicious savory fruit. Durian has, however, a thick, prickly outer cover and a very distinct pungent smell. Seeing the good and possibilities in others can be likened to loving durian. Durian is an acquired taste, and yet there are people fanatically dedicated to durian. What makes people crave a fruit like durian? What makes them elevate it to a "king of fruits" status? Why do they light up when they see clumps of those prickly, greenish-brown husks hanging liberally from vendor stalls? How do they get past the pungent, even revolting odor? What makes them fight their way through the thick, prickly outer husk in order to reach the inside? What makes them obsessed with this fruit that smells like—as some people describe it—dirty socks? They've fallen in love with what's inside those prickly green husks. They've made it past the prickly outer shell, past the foul smell, and they have tasted the exquisite center. Loving people and seeing the good and possibilities in others can sometimes be similar to getting to the heart of a durian. People can sometimes be prickly. They can have thick, crusty outer shells. Their presence can sometimes repel rather than attract. People can sometimes be stinky—when they do and say unpleasant things. But to the true people-lover, those barriers and obstacles merely add to the challenge and excitement of reaching that heart of gold—that sweet center of the inner person that you know is there. If it were any easier to get close to people, some of the excitement would be lost, and some of the allure of the adventure would be missing. Anyone who has reached inside another's heart, and who has seen what lies beneath the often crusty, prickly shell, has seen the soft and often hurting center. Within that center lies great potential. Within that center lies good. Within that center lies possibility that just needs to be believed in and highlighted. Once you have touched the heart of someone, and then someone else, and then someone else, you start to see that beneath all the layers and tough exterior, everyone has that special place inside that needs to be loved, that needs to be believed in, that needs to be encouraged and appreciated. People need friends and family who love them, who know that there is good and possibility deep inside of them, and who will do anything to reach that beautiful core. Are you that friend? |
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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