"The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up." - Mark Twain
"The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves." - Helen Keller
Give it a shot today......what do you have to lose?
Stay Strong
There are two days of the week about which we should not worry...two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension.
One of these days is called Yesterday, with it's mistakes and cares, it's faults and its blunders, aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed or erase a single word we said.
Yesterday is GONE!
The other day we should not worry about it Tomorrow, with it's possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance.
Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, whether in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise.
Until it does, however, we have no stake in tomorrow, for its yet unborn.
This leaves only one day - TODAY!
Any one of us can fight the battle of just one day.
It is when you and I add burdens of two awful eternities - YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW - that we break down.
It is not necessarily the experiences of today that disturbs one's peace of mind. It is often times the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring!
Fight the urge to dwell on the past, and embrace tomorrow with faith, hope and courage - but do not fear what it may bring!!
Let us therefore live ONE DAY AT A TIME.
Stay Strong! Just One Day!!!
"Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right. "
- Max Lucado
We all struggle at some point with our Faith and with the circumstances that we often find ourselves facing in our lives.
For some these life events are not life threatening, earth shattering or life altering in the grand scheme of things.
For others of us the events are devastating and seemingly impossible to overcome.
Whether it is illness, divorce, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, a parent, a child, physical or mental abuse, financial troubles or family strife, we all have our crosses to bear on this earth.
One thing I can guarantee is that no matter what we have weighing on our minds today, there are many that have more serious and difficult challenges to deal with today.
By way of this comparison we are able to put our own troubles in perspective, but we rarely look past our own worlds to do this.
If we could truly focus on what we have going for us and the many blessings we have as opposed to our current concerns, we would quickly be able to shift our worry, fear and anxieties away from panic toward peace and solutions.
What is most important in this practice is that we have Faith that everything will be ok and will work out regardless of our own belief about it!
It is not always visible to us the path or mission we have been given to fulfill on this earth.
But if we can accept the notion that even if WE don't see why things happen to us, or why that door closed to us, or why we have to carry this burden or hardship at this point, if we can somehow accept that there is a VALUE in these challenges and this too shall pass, we will have no other option but peace and joy!!
Trust that there are bigger powers than us in motion and if we place our Faith in these forces, we will find our battles to be much more manageable and find our strength to be insurmountable in the face of ANY adversity !!!
What we want and what is best for us in the long run are not always the same thing!!
Stay Strong!!
"Try to make at least one person happy every day.
If you cannot do a kind deed, speak a kind word.
If you cannot speak a kind word, think a kind thought.
Count up, if you can, the treasure of happiness that you would dispense in a week, in a year, in a lifetime!"
- Lawrence G. Lovasik
The secret to happiness and peace lies in the words above.
When we lose ourselves in our own worries, problems, and daily challenges, it becomes even more difficult to see the forest from the trees.
Simply by shifting our focus on helping others with their daily challenges and making other people feel stronger and supported, our own problems seem to diminish and pale in comparison!
Try it today.....it can start with a smile and kind word. It does not have to be an elaborate plan!!
It is the key to the right path!!!
Stay Strong!!
> What an amazing and stunning example of a life dedicated to serving and helping others!!
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> Mother Teresa gave her entire life to making those who were considered untouchable and pariahs feel valued and worthy of love. And she did this out of love and service, not for personal gain or recognition.
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> She was an amazing example of what can be accomplished if we set aside our own wants and focus on those who need our help on this journey.
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> And as she said so perfectly, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
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> Happy Birthday Mother Teresa!! If we can follow your example even to the smallest degree, we too can make a difference!!!
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> Stay Strong!!
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> "Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give the world your best anyway."
> - Mother Teresa
>
> "It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
> - Mother Teresa
What an amazing and stunning example of a life dedicated to serving and helping others!!
Mother Teresa gave her entire life to making those who were considered untouchable and pariahs feel valued and worthy of love. And she did this out of love and service, not for personal gain or recognition.
She was an amazing example of what can be accomplished if we set aside our own wants and focus on those who need our help on this journey.
And as she said so perfectly, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
Happy Birthday Mother Teresa!! If we can follow your example even to the smallest degree, we too can make a difference!!!
Stay Strong!!
"Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give the world your best anyway."
- Mother Teresa
"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."
- Mother Teresa
There is a beautiful form of martial arts called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
The foundation of this art is essentially that a smaller, weaker person can use their own body weight, or leverage, to defeat a stronger, larger opponent.
This is an amazing and valuable concept for all of us to grasp as we take on our "seemingly" larger, stronger daily opponents of worry, fear, and anxiety!
How great is it to know that instead of surrendering to these daily battles and giving up, we can use the core concepts of BJJ to USE their alleged strengths against them!!
When confronted with fear or worry or anxiety, flip those feelings to our advantage by understanding that life is full of TEMPORARY challenges, disappointment, failures and defeats!
That is what life here on earth brings with it - it is just a fact!!!
So why do we lament and let these temporary setbacks rule our emotions and ruin our days?
Why not ACCEPT that we have been put into our current situations for a reason, ACCEPT that we are being tasked with a challenge for a reason, and we need to use this knowledge to our advantage!
Welcome it....embrace it...and then get to work on the Solution!!!
Do not focus on the minutiae of the circumstances, or why we have been given this battle...just accept it as a fact, KNOW that it too shall pass, and work toward resolving the issue!!
But go forward with Faith that nothing can harm you and ask yourself "what is the worse that can come from this?"
You will probably be surprised by the answer and wonder what you were stressing about in the first place!
If we stand on that Jiu Jitsu mat against a larger opponent and just let them run over us, shame on us!
Use their weight to our advantage!!!
Do not fear them or shy away from them!! Expose them to the light!!
Like when we encounter a bully, a strong punch to the nose usually resolves the problem quickly and we are surprised that it was so easy to fix!
Talk about wasted energy and worry!!
Embrace our challenges, welcome them, and with Faith and Trust you will surely overcome and pin them quickly!!!
Stay Strong!!
