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.
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Quote of the day:
“A truly charming person never has time for envy, self-pity, or gossip.” — Loretta Young Think about it: There once was a woman who did not like what a certain old and wise teacher would say to her. One day the old woman’s words were more than she could bear. It was the truth, but it made her so angry that she really began to butt. She went everywhere telling lies and evil stories about her teacher. She tried very hard to turn people against her with her terrible talk and gossip. But the more she talked, the sadder she became. At last she was very unhappy, and began to feel sorry for all the lies she had told. Finally, in tears, the woman went to the teacher’s home to ask her to forgive her. “I have told so many lies about you”, she said. “Please forgive me.” The old woman did not answer her for a long time. She seemed to be deep in thought. At last she said, “Yes, I will forgive you, but first you must do something for me.” “What do you want me to do?” she said, a little surprised. “Come with me up to the roof and I will show you.” she said, looking straight into her eyes, “but first I need to get something from my room.” When the teacher returned from her room, she carried a big feather pillow under her arm. The poor woman could hardly hide her growing curiosity and keep from asking what the pillow was for, and why they were going up to the roof. However, she kept silent. A little out of breath, they finally reached the top floor. The wind blew softly. From the roof they could see far into the countryside that stretched out beyond the village. Suddenly, without saying anything, the teacher ripped open the pillow and dumped all of the feathers out. The soft breeze blew, picked them up and carried the feathers everywhere: Out onto the other roofs, into the streets, under the cars, up into the trees, out into the backyards where the children were playing, and even out to the big highway, and on and on, farther still into the distance. The teacher and the woman watched the feathers flutter away for some time. At last the old teacher turned to the woman and said, “Now I want you to go and pick up all those feathers for me.” “Pick up all of those feathers?” she gasped. “But that is impossible!” “Yes, I know.” said the teacher. “Those feathers are like your lies about me. What you have started you cannot stop, even if you are sorry. You may be able to tell a few people that you told lies about me, but the winds of gossip have carried your lies everywhere.” The next time you are tempted to gossip or tell lies about others think about this story and remember you can never get the feathers back. 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 Think about it: A small group of people, while in conversation, concluded that eventually everybody had to practice some kind of heroism. A young man turned to an old woman who looked ordinary and serene. He did not know that life had been a series of tragic events for her. “And what kind of heroism do you practice?” he asked with an obvious air of superiority. After all, what kind of heroism could there be in a life like hers. “Me?” she said. “I practice the heroism of going on.” Most of us experience trouble or face adversity at some time in our lives. To persevere quietly and patiently in the face of obstacles or difficulties can be the greatest heroism of all. 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:
“To be great, it is necessary to suffer.” – Enrico Caruso Think about it: The story behind the quote is about Enrico Caruso (February 25, 1873 – August 2, 1921) one of the most famous Italian tenor singers of all time. Caruso’s favorite saying was, “Bisogna soffrire per essere grandi,” which means, “To be great, it is necessary to suffer.” Caruso’s early life was full of difficulties. His mother gave birth to seven children, only three survived. His family was extremely poor. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he was able to buy his first pair of shoes with the money he earned from singing at a resort. In his first publicity photograph, he is wearing a bed sheet draped like a toga, because his only shirt was being washed at the time. Perhaps his poverty contributed to the richness of his character and his voice. There was something magical about his voice that brought him great riches and fame. A music critic observed, “His is a voice that loves you, but not only a voice, a sympathetic man.” An amusing illustration of Caruso’s sympathetic nature can be found when during an opera performance one of his fellow singers lost his voice and could no longer sing. Caruso sang his part while the hoarse singer mouthed the song. Surely, there are many more stories that tell of great people who overcame their difficulties. They give us hope, that if they could do it, so can we. Quote of the day:
"Make the choice to talk more about your blessings than your problems and more good things will come your way when you do.” – Author Unknown Think about this: Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player, was dying of a blood infection, which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983. From the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed, “Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?” To this Arthur replied, “The world over, 50,000,000 children start playing tennis every year, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the great slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 reach the semifinals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding the cup, I never asked God, ‘Why me?’ So today in pain I should not be asking God, ‘Why me?’ either.” What a great attitude to have about his misfortune. Instead of bemoaning it he was thankful for his blessings. What sort of attitude do you have toward your misfortunes? Quote of the day:
“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” — Cavett Robert Think about it: New Year’s Day is a special time in which many of us make resolutions or take stock of our lives. It's just a natural time for reflection, as we are reminded that another whole year has passed. I know for me, it makes me want to improve on my track record during the year ahead. And to these ends, we often tell ourselves we will do such-and-such, but we lack real planning for simple, day-by-day progress. I've had a good number of resolutions this last year. I've found, though, that ideas and the oft accompanying exuberance only get me so far. Once I've found which goals are good ones, I need to “take my stand” and be firm on accomplishing them. I think that is a major part of experiencing real change and progress—doing what we must do, no matter what. It's not a matter of a huge life-changing moment. It's the culmination of everyday moments that define who we will be. As a sports coach said when his team had won the knockout match, “We are happy. We haven't won the championship yet, but this gives us one more week till the next challenge.” Our challenges can only be faced in that manner—not all at once, but day by day, week by week, as they come. A new year also makes me truly thankful for my blessings. When I think back a mere 12 months ago, I start to see how far the Lord has brought me—sometimes even without me realizing it. Taking time to look back and enumerate the goals we've reached and the changes we have already made helps give us faith for more to come! New Year’s is a great time to look back and focus on those pieces of life's puzzle that brought us to where we are today, and realize that we are moving forward. I believe that we don't need to wait for a major milestone like the turn of a calendar year to enact long-term change. And dare I add, one of the ways to give ourselves a clean start is to give others the same. So let's start fresh every day, and especially at a chance like this—a new year! Let's forgive, and make friends. Let's exercise our talents, and learn new things. Let's have more faith and less stress; more love and less selfishness. Happy New Year! Quote of the Day:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” – Martin Niemoller Reflection: Here is an old fable about how our lives are woven together. A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package containing a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning that there was a mousetrap in the house! But the chicken clucked and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it.” Then the mouse turned to look at the cow to hear what she was saying, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap all alone. That very night the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey was heard throughout the house. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. As you know you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well and she died. So many people came to attend her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember–when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all connected in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. 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? Vitamins for the Soul
A quote a day helps you remember what’s important. Here are this week’s quotes on Character.
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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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