Jewish humor has it that a rookie recruit for the New York City Police had passed all of his examinations except public health. The police surgeon said, "Well, Murphy, you've done very well. I'll ask you one question and if you do all right on that, you can become a cop."
He wanted to ask him how he would respond if a rabid dog bit somebody; for instance, what does he know about the disease, how would he treat the victim, whom would he call and so forth. The doctor said, "Now, tell me, what is rabies, and what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, Captain," Murphy replied, "rabies is Jewish priests, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it."
There "ain't nothin' you can do" about quite a few situations! And it's true with people, too. There ain't nothin' you can do about the way they are, so it is fruitless to try to change them into something else. You are wise to learn to accept them without conditions, understand them the best you can and love them anyway. For they probably won't change much and there just ain't nothin' you can do about it.
Sam Keen Christine said, "We come to love, not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."
It's all about acceptance.
-- Steve Goodier
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
CHOOSING COURAGE; FINDING PEACE
"Do you know what my son James dreamed about last night?" a friend asked me. Her son was a bright child of about ten. "He dreamed about YOU," she went on. "James told me this morning that he dreamed he was being chased by King Kong. Then he met you. I wondered if you rescued him from the beast and James said no. He told me that you hid with him in the bushes while the Boy Scouts beat back King Kong with sticks." You have to appreciate the Boy Scouts!
Are you courageous? For most people, courage has little to do with fighting imaginary monsters in nighttime sleep. It has more to do with fighting those monsters of real life that keep us up at night. Real courage is always found in everyday living. In fact, it is the one ingredient that, when present in a life, will ultimately bring peace.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the great athlete, died of cancer. Her husband stood at her bedside weeping shortly before she passed on. Babe said to him, "Now, Honey, don't take on so. While I've been in the hospital, I have learned one thing. A moment of happiness is a lifetime, and I have had a lot of happiness. I have had a lot of it."
Babe found courage to meet two of life's universal monsters -- fear of death and fear of the unknown. She chose to remember all the good that life had so generously heaped on her rather than the fact that she would die soon. She decided to meet those monsters equipped with gratitude and a smile.
Babe chose courage. But what she actually found was peace.You may be stronger than you think! Your real-life monsters can keep you awake at night, or you can allow them to awaken strength and power within you. It's a matter of choosing courage -- and finding peace.
-- Steve Goodier
Are you courageous? For most people, courage has little to do with fighting imaginary monsters in nighttime sleep. It has more to do with fighting those monsters of real life that keep us up at night. Real courage is always found in everyday living. In fact, it is the one ingredient that, when present in a life, will ultimately bring peace.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the great athlete, died of cancer. Her husband stood at her bedside weeping shortly before she passed on. Babe said to him, "Now, Honey, don't take on so. While I've been in the hospital, I have learned one thing. A moment of happiness is a lifetime, and I have had a lot of happiness. I have had a lot of it."
Babe found courage to meet two of life's universal monsters -- fear of death and fear of the unknown. She chose to remember all the good that life had so generously heaped on her rather than the fact that she would die soon. She decided to meet those monsters equipped with gratitude and a smile.
Babe chose courage. But what she actually found was peace.You may be stronger than you think! Your real-life monsters can keep you awake at night, or you can allow them to awaken strength and power within you. It's a matter of choosing courage -- and finding peace.
-- Steve Goodier
Thursday, October 4, 2007
THE SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE (TM)by Saskia Davis
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been expose to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging other people.
* A loss of interest in judging self.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
* Frequent attacks of smiling.
* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
WARNING: If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.
© 1984 Saskia Davis reprinted with permission of the author
-----A note from the author:
SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE was written from the state of being that it describes. In fact, when I wrote it, I was high on Love. Not romantic love, but the kind that confirms to us that we are connected to and supported by the Universe. It had been eight years since I had taken stock of my unsatisfying life and had committed myself to changing it from the inside - out. This had meant giving up "image-management-for-the-sake-of-social-acceptance" in favor of choices and relationships that were based on my real thoughts, feelings and desires as well as giving up fear-based choices in favor of faith and love-based choices.
The result was a passionate and satisfying life grounded in deep inner peace, the state from which SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE was written. Since "SYMPTOMS" first was published, it has taken on a life of its own, making its way around the world via friends, newsletters, bulletin boards, books, radio, church groups, and, now, the internet where it can be found on hundreds, possibly thousands of sites which seem to be multiplying exponentially: a totally grassroots peace movement! Wow! What a rush!Blessings, Saskia
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging other people.
* A loss of interest in judging self.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)
* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
* Frequent attacks of smiling.
* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
WARNING: If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.
© 1984 Saskia Davis reprinted with permission of the author
-----A note from the author:
SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE was written from the state of being that it describes. In fact, when I wrote it, I was high on Love. Not romantic love, but the kind that confirms to us that we are connected to and supported by the Universe. It had been eight years since I had taken stock of my unsatisfying life and had committed myself to changing it from the inside - out. This had meant giving up "image-management-for-the-sake-of-social-acceptance" in favor of choices and relationships that were based on my real thoughts, feelings and desires as well as giving up fear-based choices in favor of faith and love-based choices.
The result was a passionate and satisfying life grounded in deep inner peace, the state from which SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE was written. Since "SYMPTOMS" first was published, it has taken on a life of its own, making its way around the world via friends, newsletters, bulletin boards, books, radio, church groups, and, now, the internet where it can be found on hundreds, possibly thousands of sites which seem to be multiplying exponentially: a totally grassroots peace movement! Wow! What a rush!Blessings, Saskia
Monday, October 1, 2007
WHAT WILL YOU BECOME?"
Is it true," a young boy asked his mother, "that we are made of dust?"
"Yes," she said.
"And is it true that we go back to dust again when we die?" he continued. "Yes, dear."
"Well, Mommy, when I looked under my bed I saw someone who was coming or going, but I don't know which."
I'm afraid to look under MY bed....There are times that we feel as if we don't know whether we are coming or going. But this little boy doesn't have to worry about people coming and going underneath his bed. But did you know that all things are coming and going in a different way? Even people are constantly reshaped, remolded and re-created! Not from dust bunnies, but from life itself. Let me explain. The Rocky Mountains in which I live are reshaped every year. Wind, water and ice erode them away about three inches every 1,000 years. That isn't much, but they are being re-formed all the time. A 10,000 foot peak will vanish every 40 million years! In fact, today's Rocky Mountains are the third version of earlier mountains that rose out of volcanic turbulence and eroded through the passage of time.
We may not see much of a difference in ourselves from day to day, but we, too, are shaped and reshaped. Everything that happens to us, the good and the bad, leaves its mark. Actually, we are not even the people we were yesterday! But unlike mountains, we have a hand in our re-creation. Harsh experiences can erode and destroy, or we can use them to call forth beautiful inner qualities. Illness can actually create within us an attitude of compassion for others who suffer. Loss can help build strong bonds with others who care. Suffering of all kinds can be used to strengthen our faith.
Even good times can leave us different than they found us. We can use joy to hone a sense of humor and pleasant memories to cultivate a heart of gratitude. Everything shapes us. You and I are being re-created every minute of every day. We are quite literally in the process of "becoming." The possibilities are exciting and wonderful. In a short time from now, you will be a different person than you are today.
The important question is: What will you become? Something extraordinary can happen when that question is answered seriously. What will you become? Your very life depends on your answer!
-- Steve Goodier
"Yes," she said.
"And is it true that we go back to dust again when we die?" he continued. "Yes, dear."
"Well, Mommy, when I looked under my bed I saw someone who was coming or going, but I don't know which."
I'm afraid to look under MY bed....There are times that we feel as if we don't know whether we are coming or going. But this little boy doesn't have to worry about people coming and going underneath his bed. But did you know that all things are coming and going in a different way? Even people are constantly reshaped, remolded and re-created! Not from dust bunnies, but from life itself. Let me explain. The Rocky Mountains in which I live are reshaped every year. Wind, water and ice erode them away about three inches every 1,000 years. That isn't much, but they are being re-formed all the time. A 10,000 foot peak will vanish every 40 million years! In fact, today's Rocky Mountains are the third version of earlier mountains that rose out of volcanic turbulence and eroded through the passage of time.
We may not see much of a difference in ourselves from day to day, but we, too, are shaped and reshaped. Everything that happens to us, the good and the bad, leaves its mark. Actually, we are not even the people we were yesterday! But unlike mountains, we have a hand in our re-creation. Harsh experiences can erode and destroy, or we can use them to call forth beautiful inner qualities. Illness can actually create within us an attitude of compassion for others who suffer. Loss can help build strong bonds with others who care. Suffering of all kinds can be used to strengthen our faith.
Even good times can leave us different than they found us. We can use joy to hone a sense of humor and pleasant memories to cultivate a heart of gratitude. Everything shapes us. You and I are being re-created every minute of every day. We are quite literally in the process of "becoming." The possibilities are exciting and wonderful. In a short time from now, you will be a different person than you are today.
The important question is: What will you become? Something extraordinary can happen when that question is answered seriously. What will you become? Your very life depends on your answer!
-- Steve Goodier
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