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23 March
2010 |
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Hello, and
thanks for being here today! We truly do appreciate your presence
on this planet and the contributions you make to the
world on which we all live!
We'd also like to welcome you to spring, and all the beauty that
it offers
(or to autumn for those of you far, far to the south). |
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My message to those who hear me is love,
compassion and peace.
We all have to share a small planet and we need to learn how to
live together.
Hissa
Hilal |
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How
I relate to my inner self influences my relationships with
all others. My satisfaction with myself and my
satisfaction with other people are directly proportional. Sue
Atchley Ebaugh |
Really
great people have a curious feeling that the greatness is
not in them, but through them. And they see
something divine in every other person. John
Ruskin |
We want the facts
to fit the preconceptions. When they don't, it's
easier to ignore the facts than to change the
preconceptions. Jessamyn
West
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The
Scroll Marked II
an excerpt from The Greatest Salesman in the World
Og
Mandino
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
For
this is the greatest secret of success in all
ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even
destroy life but only the unseen power of love can
open the hearts of people and until I master this art
I will remain no more than a peddler in the
marketplace. I will make love my greatest weapon
and none on whom I call can defend against its force. My
reasoning they may counter; my speech they may
distrust; my apparel they may disapprove; my face they
may reject; and even my bargains may cause them
suspicion; yet my love will melt all hearts liken to
the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay. I
will greet this day with love in my heart. And
how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on
all things with love and I will be born again. I
will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will
love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will
love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will
love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I
will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I
will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will
acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will
welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.
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I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
And
how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and
they will become friends; I will encourage my friends
and they will become brothers and sisters.
Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I
scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted
to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved
to praise I will shout from the roofs.
Is
it not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature
speaks with the music of praise for their
creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to
his children? Henceforth will I remember this
secret and it will change my life.
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
And
how will I act? I will love all manners of
people for each has qualities to be admired even
though they be hidden. With love I will tear
down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have
built round their hearts and in its place will I build
bridges so that my love may enter their souls.
I
will love the ambitious for they can inspire me; I
will love the failures for they can teach me. I
will love the kings for they are but human; I will
love the meek for they are divine. I will love
the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor
for they are so many. I will love the young for
the faith they hold; I will love the old for the
wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for
their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their
souls of peace.
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
But
how will I react to the actions of others? With
love. For just as love is my weapon to open the
hearts of people, love is also my shield to repulse
the arrows of hate and the spears of anger.
Adversity and discouragement will beat against my new
shield and become as the softest of rains. My
shield will protect me in the marketplace and sustain
me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments
of despair yet it will calm me in time of
exultation. It will become stronger and more
protective with use until one day I will cast it aside
and walk unencumbered among all manners of people and,
when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid
of life.
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
And
how will I confront each whom I meet? In only
one way. In silence and to myself I will address
him or her and say I Love You. Though spoken in
silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle
my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my
voice; and his or her heart will be opened. . . .
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
And
most of all I will love myself. For when I do I
will zealously inspect all things which enter my body,
my mind, my soul, and my heart. Never will I
overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will
cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation.
Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and
despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge
and wisdom of the ages. Never will I allow my
soul to become complacent and satisfied, rather I will
feed it with meditation and prayer. Never will I
allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I
will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.
I
will greet this day with love in my heart.
Henceforth
will I love all humankind. From this moment all
hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate,
only time to love. From this moment I take the
first step required to become a man among men. . . .
If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love
alone. Without it I will fail though I possess
all the knowledge and skills of the world.
I
will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.
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The
bestselling author whose inspirational books
have sold more than 35 million copies in 20
languages worldwide has become famous because
his message rings true and his writing style
is so accessible. This value-priced
bargain volume contains three of his great
works--The Greatest Salesman in the World,
The Greatest Secret in the World, and The
Greatest Miracle in the World--complete
and unabridged. Og Mandino is more than
a master story-teller. His unique ability to
restore your self-esteem and to convince you
that you are, indeed, a great miracle, has
placed him in the forefront of all self-help
and inspirational writers since his first
book, The Greatest Salesman in the World,
was introduced in 1968. |
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I
Wish You
I
wish you light in your darkest hours. When life seems
to be confusing or empty, and when your path seems to be
hidden in the shadows of pain, doubt, despair, or unrest,
may you find the light inside of you that will help you to
see things as they truly are, for every night comes to an
end, every storm runs its course, and light and peace always
return to us.
I
wish you the power of a perspective that allows you to see the
beauty of the darkness, no matter how threatening your current
situation, or how uneasy you may feel. There always is
light for us to access, whether it be the light of God or the
light of a close friend, or even the light within ourselves that
is the power and the strength with which we've all been blessed
to one extent or another.
I
wish you the ability to develop the light that is within you, to
strengthen your spiritual faith, to help your faith in yourself to
grow and thrive. You have the gift of self-sufficiency, and
the possibility of growing into a person who is strong and
able. But may you not grow too strong, though, so
that you reject the help and love and caring of others who wish to
be there for you. Balance your strength with your needs and
the needs of others to be helpful and to show their caring.
(from "I Wish You," one of our ten-page
journeys, available
here.)
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Eyes
Wide Open
tom walsh
Brighten
the World (Bit by Bit)
I sometimes
ask myself if on a given day or at a given moment I'm
contributing to the positive energy of the world, or if I'm
contributing to the negative energy. Are my words or
actions causing someone else to be angry and defensive and
frustrated, or are my words and actions helping someone to
feel more calm and at peace? Of course, any time I make
this judgment I'm just taking a guess, but I'm pretty sure
that I can come close to the right answer if I follow some
simple rules for my own behavior, rules that will help me to
make things better for others, rather than adding to their
challenges. They're a pretty simple set of don't's and
do's, and here they are:
Don't
criticize and find fault; do encourage and find the positive.
This way, I won't be creating negative feelings in others, and
I may be adding to their self-confidence.
Don't let
fear determine my actions; do act from my heart doing what I
know is right. This way, I'll be living a more authentic
life and facing risks that will make me stronger by dealing
with them head-on.
Don't be
quick to judge; do try to find out more about a particular
person, story, or incident. This way, my actions and
attitudes will come from a place of knowing, not of reacting,
and I'll be much more fair in dealing with everyone; my
fairness can't help but help any situation in which it's
called into play.
Don't focus
on what may happen in the future; do focus on what's happening
now and what I can do about it. We have only the present
moment, and I know from experience that my actions now based
on possible future problems are often wastes of my time, for
those problems tend not to materialize, as they're figments of
my imagination, creations of my fear. Don't
hold on to anger and resentment; do work hard to let go of
these things and focus more on the positive. This way,
my interior life will be more relaxed and more balanced, and I
won't eat myself up from the inside out for things that are
completely beyond my control. I know plenty of people
who refuse to let go of things, and they make themselves
miserable while the people around them just shake their heads
and say "What a shame."
Don't take the easy way out by doing things that I know aren't
right. I may need money, but stealing it is wrong.
I may have made a mistake, but hiding it will only make
matters worse later. Do try to do what's right and best
at all times. This way, I'm giving myself a chance to
have more positive things in my future, rather than setting
myself up for having to pay for my mistakes. Don't
try to build myself up by breaking or keeping other people
down. Do try to build up others at all times. This
way, I'm helping to develop strong, courageous people all
around me.
Don't give up
as soon as things look tough or bleak, and don't give in to
discouragement. Do persevere when I believe that it's
important to see something through to its end. When I do
this, I'm not doing something that will make me feel weak or
useless later, and I am doing something that will benefit me
in the long run. Don't
try to do everything myself. Do ask for and accept help
when it makes sense to do so. If I do this, I'll help
myself by learning from those who help me, and I'll help
others by letting them help me--I know it's helping them
because of how good I feel when I'm able to help someone else. I'm
very sure that there are more ways that I can brighten my
world by avoiding certain actions and following through on
others. What I find most important, though, is simply to
be aware that there are certain things that I shouldn't be
doing if I wanted to live a happy and fulfilling life; and I
can make my day and my world a bit brighter by doing the
"opposite" of those things. And every little
bit of light that we can bring into this world will be helpful
to everyone in the long run.
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When
I think of peace, I think of a world where human beings
are no longer brutalized on account of such accidents of
birth as sex, race, religion, or nationality. For me,
peace is a way of structuring human relations where daily
acts of kindness and caring are tangibly rewarded. It is a
way of thinking, feeling, and acting where our essential
interconnection with one another is truly honored.
I
pray for a world where we live in partnership rather than
domination; where "man's conquest of nature" is
recognized as suicidal and sacrilegious; where power is no
longer equated with the blade, but with the holy chalice:
the ancient symbol of the power to give, nurture, enhance
life. And I not only pray, but actively work, for the day
when it will be so.
Riane
Eisler |
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Some
Simple Advice
Elbert Hubbard
Whenever
you go out-of-doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of
the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in
the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put
your soul into every handclasp. Do not fear being
misunderstood and do not waste a minute thinking about
your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your mind what
you would like to do; and then, without veering off
direction, you will move straight to the goal.
Keep
your mind on the great and splendid things you would like
to do, and then, as the days go gliding away, you will
find yourself unconsciously seizing upon the opportunities
that are required for the fulfillment of your desire, just
as the coral insect takes from the running tide the
element it needs. Picture in your mind the able,
earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought
you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular
individual. . . . Thought is supreme.
Preserve
a right mental attitude--the attitude of courage,
frankness, and good cheer. To think rightly is to
create. All things come through desire and every
sincere prayer is answered. We become like that on
which our hearts are fixed. Carry your chin in and
the crown of your head high. We are gods in the
chrysalis.
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Life Fully, the e-zine
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mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week. |
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People
travel faster now, but I do not know
if they go to better things.
Willa
Cather
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Life is not lost by dying;
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day by dragging day,
in all the thousand small uncaring ways.
Stephen Vincent Benet |
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