"Arizona Highways" magazine once reported a funny sign spotted at the Road Runner Market in Quartzsite, Arizona. A sign on the counter read: "Your patience is appreciated. New electronic cash register. Same old ladies."
Apparently, the business machines were changing faster than the clerks! Which isn't to say that people can't change. They can. Infact, our greatest hope is birthed from knowing that we CAN change. We don't have to remain the same. Things can be different than they are. Nobody can change your life. It is something only you can do. New and beautiful things await those who believe that things can be different.
I've known relationships to dramatically improve once the couple learned this simple axiom: "You can't change your partner; but your partner can change." We change because we want to and because we believe we can. There is great hope in that.
The unhappiest people change the least. They are not convinced they can start over! They often believe that they cannot truly be different and must continue leading unhappy lives forever. They should learn from snakes.... Snakes know about shedding the past and putting on something new. Old ways, old habits, old ideas and old attitudes don't fit forever. Once outgrown, we can shed them and grow into a new skin. (Ever thought you'd be learning a life lesson from a snake?)
Everything will be different when you are different. It begins with two indispensable ingredients - desire and belief. Those who WANT to shed the old skin and who BELIEVE they can, will make needed changes.And they will be happy.
-- Steve Goodier
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
WORRY - THE REAL ENEMY
What does it mean to worry? The Latin concept of worry describes a turbulent force within a person. Worry is a heart and mind in turmoil. The ancient Greeks thought of worry as something that tears a person in two and drags that person in opposite directions. It is like opposing forces in deadly conflict within the very being of the individual.
The word "worry" itself comes from an old Anglo-Saxon term meaning to choke, or strangle, and that is exactly what it does - it chokes the joy of living wage right out of its victim. And it chokes off the energy to improve one's condition. There is a place for healthy concern, but too often our concern turns into fearful worry. And worry, more than the problem, becomes our real enemy.
Some people have worried for so long that they have become good at it. Just as we can become good at any attitude or behavior if we practice it enough, we can also become good at worrying. Worry is habit - a habitual response to life's problems. I rather like the attitude of the late United Methodist Bishop Welch. When he reached the age of 101, he was asked if he didn't think a lot about dying. With a twinkle in his eye, he replied, "Not at all! When was the last time you heard of a Methodist bishop dying at 101?" Maybe one reason for his longevity is that he never developed the habit of worry.
Next time you feel yourself worrying, be like the frogs - they eat what bugs them. Decide to no longer practice needless worry and instead practice peace. Replace your habit of fearful worry with the habit of courageous action. As Harvey Mackey has said, "Good habits are as addictive as bad habits and a lot more rewarding." Practice joy. Practice faith. And practice courage. Soon your life will be too rich and full for worry.
-- Steve Goodier
The word "worry" itself comes from an old Anglo-Saxon term meaning to choke, or strangle, and that is exactly what it does - it chokes the joy of living wage right out of its victim. And it chokes off the energy to improve one's condition. There is a place for healthy concern, but too often our concern turns into fearful worry. And worry, more than the problem, becomes our real enemy.
Some people have worried for so long that they have become good at it. Just as we can become good at any attitude or behavior if we practice it enough, we can also become good at worrying. Worry is habit - a habitual response to life's problems. I rather like the attitude of the late United Methodist Bishop Welch. When he reached the age of 101, he was asked if he didn't think a lot about dying. With a twinkle in his eye, he replied, "Not at all! When was the last time you heard of a Methodist bishop dying at 101?" Maybe one reason for his longevity is that he never developed the habit of worry.
Next time you feel yourself worrying, be like the frogs - they eat what bugs them. Decide to no longer practice needless worry and instead practice peace. Replace your habit of fearful worry with the habit of courageous action. As Harvey Mackey has said, "Good habits are as addictive as bad habits and a lot more rewarding." Practice joy. Practice faith. And practice courage. Soon your life will be too rich and full for worry.
-- Steve Goodier
HANG ON TO EACH OTHER
Too often we feel alone. But there is always someone ready to take our hand. There is a beautiful story of an overworked nurse who escorted a tired, young man to her patient's bedside. Leaning over and speaking loudly to the elderly patient, she said, "Your son is here."
With great effort, his unfocussed eyes opened, then flickered shut again. The young man squeezed the aged hand in his and sat beside the bed. Throughout the night he sat there, holding the old man's hand and whispering words of comfort. By morning's light, the patient had died. In moments, hospital staffs warmed into the room to turn off machines and remove needles.
The nurse stepped over to the young man's side and began to offer sympathy, but he interrupted her. "Who was that man?" he asked. The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father!" "No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life." "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" "I realized he needed his son and his son wasn't here," the man explained. "And since he was too sick to recognize that I was not his son, I knew he needed me."
Mother Teresa used to remind us that nobody should have to die alone. Likewise, nobody should have to grieve alone or cry alone either. Or laugh alone or celebrate alone. We are made to travel life's journey hand in hand. There is someone ready to grasp your hand today. And someone hoping you will take theirs.
-- Steve Goodier
With great effort, his unfocussed eyes opened, then flickered shut again. The young man squeezed the aged hand in his and sat beside the bed. Throughout the night he sat there, holding the old man's hand and whispering words of comfort. By morning's light, the patient had died. In moments, hospital staffs warmed into the room to turn off machines and remove needles.
The nurse stepped over to the young man's side and began to offer sympathy, but he interrupted her. "Who was that man?" he asked. The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father!" "No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life." "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" "I realized he needed his son and his son wasn't here," the man explained. "And since he was too sick to recognize that I was not his son, I knew he needed me."
Mother Teresa used to remind us that nobody should have to die alone. Likewise, nobody should have to grieve alone or cry alone either. Or laugh alone or celebrate alone. We are made to travel life's journey hand in hand. There is someone ready to grasp your hand today. And someone hoping you will take theirs.
-- Steve Goodier
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