'Warm weather fosters growth; cold weather destroys it. Thus a man with an unsympathetic temperment has scant joy; but a man with a warm and friendly heart has overflowing blessings, and his beneficence will extend to posterity.' Hung Tzu-ch'eng Chinese Zen Buddhist monk

The Brick

A young and successful 
executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, 
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was 
watching for kids darting out from between parked 
cars and slowed down when he thought he saw 
something.

 As his car passed, no children appeared.
Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to
the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry
driver then jumped out of the
car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up
against a parked car shouting,

'What was that all about and who are you? Just what
the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that
brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why
did you do it?' The young boy was apologetic.
'Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't
know what else to do,' He pleaded. 'I threw the
brick because no one else would stop...' With tears
dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth
pointed to a spot just around a parked car.. 'It's my
brother, 'he said 'He rolled off the curb and fell
out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him
up.'

Now sobbing, the boy
asked the stunned executive, 'Would you please help
me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and
he's too heavy for me.'

Moved beyond words,
the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling
lump in his throat.. He hurriedly lifted the
handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took
out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh
scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything
was going to be okay. 'Thank you and may God bless
you,' the grateful child told the stranger. Too
shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy!
push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk
toward their home..

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: 'Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!' God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

 

I wonder if this is true, but I guess it really doesn't matter.

When I read this story I can't help to realize how many bricks it has taken me to 

GET IT TOGETHER!

I have a major tendency to pull into my little world and stay there.

I have given many homeless people food and a few dollars here and there

but when I see them on the corner holding signs I feel no pity.

The only thing I think of are the people that are making more than I do each year

by holding signs & pretending to be in need.

When I want to donate my nice clothing to a women's shelter,

I am told that they only accept things that are new.

When I rent property to people on HUD,

I normally end up regretting it.

When I try to help someone who needs it,

I usually get burned.

It's things like that that make us a hard, cold society.

We all are very aware that it's the people with a huge lack of respect 

who end up ruining it for everyone else

Causing us in turn to be very disrespectful and uncaring.

But maybe it is the small things that you can do for eachother,

the things we think don't mean that much. 

Mowing someones lawn because you can,

making a little extra for dinner and taking it to a friend,

a couple cookies and a card.

Helping someone reach the top shelf at the grocery store,

smiling at a stranger.

Maybe it's those little things that will help us to see the big picture

and give us the strength to take on the big things. 

Maybe if we are constantly working on making the little things a habit

the big things will just fall into place!

And we wont need a brick in the side to help us get back on track...

Just maybe...

George Carlin's Views on Aging

I got this in an email and it really changed my perspective on how I should live my life!

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1... Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning.  Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen.. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

The Birth of The Blog!!

     Well I have done it! I have finally created the ominous blog!! I can say that I have been devising a plan for this for quite a while but never got up the courage to do so.... So here it is! Yay me! ( now lets hope I can figure out how to use it, and also find something clever to say....hmmm.....)

    

    I always heard that the best place to start was at the beginning however, that is way too much of a commitment for my time crunched, frazzled brain. I just don't want to go back there right now or maybe ever!

Maybe I will address 'the beginning' in some future post when I am suffering from an insomniac attack and have had a way big dose of 'woe is me potion' ;) 

As for now, I am a Mommy of 3 fantastic kids Cameron age 5, Camille 3, and Julia 2. 

My awesome hubby and I have been married almost 7 years now and we have a 120 lb. Yellow Lab who should have been named Marley! He fits right in.

We have a lot of thorns to navigate through both emotionally, physically and spiritually. Everyday is an adventure and a test of our convictions to try and see the tender, happy parts through the 'pokies'. I have never been very good at it. I also have never given it enough of an effort to pull away from negative patterns and be different. But what I have recently come to learn is that there is a multitude of opportunities out there to make your life better, to be happier, healthier and more successful in everything you do! Our life is truly what we make it! And now I am going to believe that, take it to heart.

So now there is nothing left to do but to dedicate this blog to my journey in learning how to look past the pokies, take my life into my own hands and turn it into what I always dreamed it would be!

It should be a darn good ride!