Money, money, money

Who does not love money? It's sad to say, but most people put money above everything else. Having money usually means having security, so it is certainly understandable when folks care so much about money.  I'd LOVE to have more money that I do, but somehow I learned that money is not the beginning and ending of everything.  I was very fortunate to be part of a family that was not at all materialistic.  We sometimes didn't have all those "extras," but that was okay.

 

Through life I have found more and more that the happiest people are not necessarily the richest.  Oh and the people who are the biggest givers are quite often the folks who have the least money in their pockets. I have seen people who can hardly pay their bills, happily volunteering their free time to charity and donating their old clothes to charity drives.  Perhaps it's because folks will little money know what it is like to do without.

 

Let me be clear in what I am saying here though.  Yes, money is important.  Having and giving really makes a difference.  It's important though to never rely too much on having a full pocketbook.  You can easily set yourself up for disappointment.  The old saying that the best things in life are free has a lot of truth in it.  The worship of money can't be a healthy thing, but all of us do that to some extent.  Try doing without sometimes and you will be amazed at the difference it will make.

Table cooperation

The process of working together to the same end, is called cooperation. It isn't a new concept, but it doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. I've even told you this particular story about cooperation before, but I really like it, and it's important, so I thought I would tell this story again.

There was a man who was taken on a tour of both heaven and hell. In hell he was shown a banquet hall filled with diners seated at a table that was covered with all kinds of delicious food. Each person’s back and left arm were tied to the chair so that bending at the waist was impossible, and the left arm could not move. The right arm was stiffened so that the elbow would not bend. The people at the table could gaze at the delicious spread and they could smell the aroma of the food, but they weren't eating.

Now in heaven, the picture was exactly the same – backs and left arms shackled, right arms stiffened – but the diners were feasting and rejoicing. How can this be? Cooperation! They were working together. Each diner used his stiffened right arm to feed the person to his or her right. It was a beautiful scene, a picture of people working together, a picture of cooperation. 

Working together as a team, we can do so much more! Think about it. How wonderful this world would be if we all worked together!

Joy Joy Joy

There used to be a song that was often sung around the campfire at church camps and other places with a line that went "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy - Down in my heart - Down in my heart to stay."  I don't know how I got that in my head.  I must have joy in my heart!

What brings you joy?  I've asked that question here before but think about it for a moment once again.  There are tons of answers to the question.  There really isn't a wrong answer.  What brings you joy might not bring me joy.  Does some of your own joy come in the giving too?  So how can a feeling of great pleasure and happiness be felt by those around you?  What can you do to share the joy?  Do you every purposely try to fill others with joy and happiness?

For me joy is pretty awesome but like with this blog, it's NOT about me and it's not just about my joy alone.  I really am most joyful when I am surrounded by other joyful people.  Seems pretty obvious what we need to do then.  We need to spread the joy, especially during these difficult times!

differences

Take a look at the image to the right. Most of you will see three logs if you look at the picture from the left side. However, if you look at it from the right, there appears to be four logs. Hold on! How can this be? Keep looking at it. Two different realities.

Reality can be so complex that equally valid observations from differing perspectives can appear to contradict each other. If you disagree with someone, don't be too quick to dismiss them though. Take a step back and try to look at things from all sides. Perhaps there is more than one correct answer.  This picture is proof.

While it is true that everything is not as simple as this drawing, sometimes our differences aren't really that big a deal after all!  Something we can think about this morning.

Sixteen years ago

On April 23rd, 2008 I sat down at my computer first thing in the morning, and wrote a few sentences in a sort of welcome message to a brand-new blog. I didn't know if I would do it for long, but I wanted to sing the praises of some heroes and encourage people to do good things for their neighbors and the world.  

It was my intention to only write about others.  I didn't want to do a blog about my vacations or my family or about my favorite food.  As a daily reminder, I decided to call it "It's NOT about me."  I think I have been pretty good at sticking to that over these past sixteen years.  

Sixteen years!  That's the big surprise for me.  I had no idea I would be doing this for so long.  There is still a lot to say too, so I will continue.  I'd like to hear from you too.  Tell me about your heroes and and some encouraging stories.  After doing this for almost ten years, I began a second blog, that one about kindness.  I intend to continue that as well.

In OUR hands

This big old planet we live on, it is OUR responsibility. It's in OUR hands! On Earth Day one year I wrote here that "My goal is that EVERY day be Earth Day - that we care about our planet every single day of our lives." That is still my goal. What are YOU doing to help the earth?

Let me say a few things about this annual commemoration. Earth Day came about back in 1970 and has been on the calendar every year since. It's about planting trees, keeping our streets clean, divesting from fossil fuels, guarding against pollution, and so much more. At http://www.earthday.org/ you can learn about the history of this day and learn about numerous ways to help. Of course, the list is endless. Each one of us can think up more ways to keep our towns, our states, our country, and our planet safe and healthy. Like I said, it needs to be an everyday thing too, not just something we think about on Earth Day.

In 2024 there are so many things to be concerned with, but climate change and the health of our planet must be at the top of our list.  Some of the simplest things can make a huge difference, like not throwing litter out our car windows, watering the plants and trees in our great outdoors, and not wasting any of the precious resources of our world. Teaching our kids to respect the earth is important too. Each generation needs to do its part. 

I love to look at the beauty around us.  I love seeing the flowers and the trees and the mountains and the lakes.  Oh my!  What a beautiful world!  What a wonderful planet!  This fragile earth will only stay wonderful if we all do our part. Truly, it's in OUR hands.

Please donate

The cashier at the corner store has a jar on the counter collecting for a local charity. The restaurant where you eat breakfast every day has a similar container. On top of that, folks (like me) are always asking for you to buy chocolate bars for a school project or to sponsor them in a fundraising walk-a-thon. Please DONATE! There is just no escaping it!

Sometimes it may seem like a pain in the butt, but money raised really makes a difference. Some projects and programs are funded solely by contributions. It actually feels good to know that you are being of help too.

Is it always possible to give? For most of us, the answer is no. Money does not grow on trees, and most of us have a limit to how much we can spend. (Of course, as we have talked about here in the past, there are other ways of giving too, like our time and our talent, but that's another matter).

If you really want to have funds to help others, there are a number of things you can do. The coins you get back as change from purchases; you might always set aside to donate. That afternoon cappuccino can be skipped occasionally, and the money put to another use. You might do little fundraisers of your own, with your plan to give the proceeds to your favorite causes. Perhaps a bake sale or rummage sale. Got a bigger tax refund than you expected? Think about donating that unexpected money.

There are many ways to make a difference in this world, and donating is certainly one of them.

Question Day

Have I got some questions for you! Yes, I know I often ask questions, but much of the time they are rhetorical. Today's questions are not for effect. I actually hope you will answer them in the comments section below.

First, have you read this blog before? Do you come back often or just every now and then? Has anything I have ever written here rung a bell for you? Did you ever want to share my words? If YOU were the writer of this blog, how would it be different? (I am actually looking for some good suggestions, so please be honest).

One more: I write here about making a difference in the world. Give a suggestion of something that most of us can do that would indeed make a difference. Is this something that you have actually done yourself or seen someone do?  Thanks!

Watch what you say

When somebody mentions their doctor, do you automatically picture a man? How about secretaries, do we picture a woman automatically? If a man says he wants you to meet his spouse, do you immediately think he is referring to a woman? We need to change the way we think and they way we say things! If we really believe in equality, we should think about things like this.

I remember a television commercial for a deodorant, many years ago that talked about an airline pilot. Viewers were thinking of a man flying the aircraft, but in the last frame we see that it is actually a woman. Even those of us who fight every day for equality, can't get those images out of our head that we have been conditioned to see. When reading someone's biography, when we see that they are married, most of us still assume the opposite sex. Until recently many computers would try to correct us if we said "her wife."

Sometimes pronouns that refer to gender are misused out of ignorance.  Our transgender sisters and brothers should expect that they will be referred to with the gender they have transitioned to.  It is ignorant to call a man "she" and just plain mean to say "it."  Human beings are never it.  Oh and transgendered isn't ever proper even though many well-meaning people have used it.  I could go on and on about the many reasons that one is wrong. 

I was thinking that we need to watch what we say.  Perhaps we also need to watch what we think.  Is it conditioning or prejudice? Can we open our minds to see a bigger picture?

Trouble Tree

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit, and his ancient one-ton truck refused to start I gave him a ride home. On the way there, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family.

As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to my car.  We passed that tree again and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.  "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he told me.  "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the kids, so I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them.  Then in the morning I pick them up again." 

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before!"

This is NOT about me.  I didn't write it.  It's one of those uplifting anonymous stories we see on the internet from time to time.  I bet you will all agree that we sure could use a tree like the plumber's.

Sunrise Sunset

Isn't this a glorious vision?  Wait a moment though - in this picture, are we looking at a sunrise or a sunset?  Can you tell the difference?  Is one more beautiful than the other?  Does it make you think of the time you watched the sun come up with the person you love?

There are those who prefer the rising of the sun in the morning.  It signals a fresh start; a brand new day.  Most of us when we see it are just waking up and are rested and refreshed after a night's sleep.

Some people prefer to look at the sun as it sets.  The day is finished and now, as the sun goes down, a time of rest is approaching.  We have done what we set out to do and there will be another opportunity to do more wonderful things tomorrow.

However we look at the sun though, one thing is certain.  It is beautiful.  Take a moment and just reflect on this picture.  There is beauty all around us.  Take a moment and enjoy some of that too.  In fact, start looking at all the beauty that surrounds you, and I guarantee it will change your day!

all gone

There is a line in the classic film The Trouble With Angels, in which elderly actress Judith Lowry as Sister Prudence says "All gone."  I have no idea what it meant.  Every time I watch that movie (and I love it and have watched it a LOT), I wonder what that was supposed to mean.  I will most likely never know.  I do know about something being all gone though because that is precisely what happened to all the earlier entries for this blog.  They now are all gone.

 

I don't know how long you have been reading this or if you have ever just wondered what I might have said before this entry, but you cannot go all the way back to the beginning anymore.  Delete keys can sometimes be overridden, but not in this case.  With one motion (well it was perhaps more than one) I wiped out much of the writing.  Prior to this year, you can now only find periodic posts.

 

This might not be a big deal to you, but I really didn't save most of these in any other form, so it's a bigger deal to me.  Another lesson learned of course - back things up!  Yesterday I even printed a paper copy of every blog entry that is left.  Unless any of you happened to save my earlier blog posts though, they are now all gone.

what is the color of happiness?

First of all tell me, are you happy?  Is there something special that makes you happy?  Don't take a lot of time.  There might be several things or perhaps you are just a happy person.  Now, close your eyes for a moment and think of that happiness.  Does a color emerge?  Red?  Pink?  Blue?  What is the color of happiness?

 

Now you may think that I have lost my mind, but there is a point I want to make.  Science might say that there is indeed a happy color.  I say happiness is EVERY color, because happiness is EVERYwhere!  Yeah, we all have bad days and it's certainly normal to feel down sometimes, but even when things are bad, there can be happiness.  Broke but have a family to cook for?  Well happiness can come from knowing how to prepare a wonderful meal for just pennies.  

Have you ever seen a homeless man with a big grin and wondered what he could possibly be happy about?  There are so many reasons to be happy.  So very many.

 

Am I blue?  That usually means depressed.  So blue is a bad color?  No way!  I say they are all good.  Look around you and see all the beauty.  Smile at the abundance of colors.  Be happy.

Roses are red - sometimes

Roses are red (and violets are blue), says the poem. Indeed they are.  Sometimes though they might be pink or white or yellow or a number of other colors, including a mixed color. I think the most stunning rose color is lavender, and it smells so very nice as well!

I'm thinking of roses this morning because I happened to pass some gorgeous ones on my early walk. I just wanted to stop and soak in the beauty. It's no wonder people love to send and to receive these wonderful flowers. Oh my!  It's even pleasant to pick up a nice bouquet for yourself.

Oh and this is in keeping with the theme of this blog. If you plant beautiful flowers, you are certainly helping to make this a more beautiful world. Such a simple thing, huh? Of course there are many flower possibilities. Do you have a favorite? If I were to send you a bouquet, what flowers would you want included?  I like the ones in this picture.

It's about US

Okay so this blog is NOT about me. Well who is it about then?

Good question.

I guess the easiest way to answer is to say it is about YOU.

No I don't mean you, the one person reading these words at the moment. I mean ALL of YOU. Every single person in the world, including me. (Yeah you got me - in that sense it IS about me. New name? Maybe I should call this it's not ONLY about me).

Anyway, the important thing is this is about making a difference in the world of ours, and that is something we all can do! We all have roles to play - every single one of us!  I need to do more.  You need to do more.  We ALL need to do more.

So, it's about US!

The innocence of children

I remember writing here a few years ago about the innocence of children saying that babies don't hate you because of your skin color or your sexual orientation or you height or weight or gender or religion or for any reason at all. Think about it. We are born without all of that negative stuff attached. Children don't know how to hate. Why can't we keep it that way?

Who is teaching our children the bad thoughts and the bad words and the bad actions? The answer of course is that we are. We are teaching discrimination. We are teaching hate. We are taking away the innocence of our children.  Oh most are not doing it on purpose - I'm not saying that, but that doesn't make it any better.  Children look to their parents, teachers, pastors, doctors, and babysitters for a map of how to act.  They follow our lead.  If we discriminate - if we hate others, they very easily copy our actions.

If you have ever heard a small child using foul language, you have an idea of what I am talking about.  If it stopped at language, we might not think it bad, but kids are learning more and more bad behaviors from the very folks who should be teaching them good.  Let's be positive with our children.  Let's teach them about love, instead of the opposite.  Babies come into the world without any idea of hate. Let's not give it to them!

At the hospital

Some of you are aware that I volunteer at a local hospital where I live, and I was thinking of that when I got up this morning.  Occasionally I've shared stories here that are not my own, and this is one of those. This has been floating around on the internet, and I have no idea who wrote it, but please read on for a moving tale.
 

"Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for endless hours.

"They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacation.

 

"Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

 

"The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

 

"One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

 

"Days and weeks passed.

 

"One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

 

"As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

 

"Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall!

 

"The man called the nurse and asked her what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

 

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'"

Great story, huh? As I said, the author of this is unknown. You may have even read it before, but I think it is worth seeing again. I was very moved when I first read this story, and I hope it touches you as well.  Do share this with others too. That's what encouragement is all about.

The purpose of life

What is the purpose of life? Have you ever heard that question asked?  Why are we here?  How should we act?  Should we be ruthless and dishonest and claw our way past others to get the biggest piece of the pie?  What are we expected to do during our lifetime?

You probably already know my answer to the above questions.   I think we are all here to each make a difference for the better. We all should contribute to the common good, but that's just my opinion. 

It would seem that the great essayist, lecturer, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson agreed. It was he who said “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

What do YOU think is the purpose of life?

brotherly love

Everyone on this planet is different. How boring it would be if we were all the same, huh? I tend to think it is our differences that make us most interesting, and I fail to understand prejudice and discrimination. Why can't we all get along? Why can't we practice brotherly love toward each other?

We can you know. We do have the ability.

I am not the first to scratch my head over this. The great Dr Martin Luther King, Jr once commented “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”

 

Very much the same as now. Different race? Different religion? No religion? Gender queer? Very old? Physically disabled? How can any of these things really matter when meeting someone? Difference should be embraced . . . and loved!