“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -- William Butler Yeats

Inspiration Shared

This page is devoted to inspiration — those things that have inspired you and that may be an inspiration to others.   Please feel free to share special prayers, poetry, quotations and readings that have helped you cope with life and recognize the loving presence of God in your days and nights of joy and sorrow, peace and struggle.

We invite you to share your inspirations with other readers, so please send them along to me.  If you wish to have them published anonymously we will certainly respect that request. 

 

 

Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that.

-- Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire:  preacher, journalist and activist (1802-1861)

YOU HAVE A CHANCE

Charles Revson, founder of the successful cosmetic manufacturing firm Revlon, once said, "In our factory we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope."

We could use a little more hope. I think that is why people buy lottery tickets. One poor mother, who was raising her children on a small salary earned from long hours of hard work, was asked, "Why do you waste your money on a lottery ticket when you can hardly make ends meet?"

"Yeah, I buy a ticket every day," the woman acknowledged. "But a dollar is not too much to pay for 24 hours of hope."

There are probably better uses for her money than buying lottery tickets. But she would rather hang onto a little hope than onto her dollar.

We need hope. It is a vital ingredient in life. Without it, far too many people come to the conclusion that they are powerless in the face of difficulties. "It can't be helped," is their motto. Without hope, they won't make needed changes. They feel powerless. Without hope, they will grimly accept the unacceptable and believe that things are about as good as they will ever get.

I've found that I can either be a prisoner of circumstances or a practitioner of hope. I can feel sorry for myself and helpless to do anything about my problems, or I can believe there is a realistic chance for something better.

Norman Cousins, in his book Head First, the Biology of Hope, illustrates the power of hope. He tells of two physicians who were to deliver a paper at a national meeting of cancer specialists. One was truly perplexed. "I don't understand it, Bob," he said. "We use the same drugs, the same dosage, and the same schedule of treatment. Yet I get a 22% recovery rate and you get a 74% recovery rate. How do you explain that?"

The other responded, "We both use Etoposide, Platinol, Oncovin, and Hydroxyurea. You put those letters together and tell people that you are giving them E-P-O-H. I put them together and explain to them that they are receiving H-O-P-E. I emphasize that they have a chance."

You do have a chance. You have a chance at life. You have a chance at success. You have a chance at wholeness. You have a chance at meaningful relationships and, though you may not believe it, at happiness.

Are you a prisoner of circumstances . stuck and helpless, or a practitioner of hope? It can be a difference between life and death.

-- Steve Goodier

 

 

FOR CLOSENESS: T-R-A-V-E-L

For closeness: travel. No, I don't mean to go to take a road trip or to fly away to some exotic place. But there are ways to go deeper into a relationship -- like traveling. And there are things we can do to help a relationship really go somewhere. Let me explain.

Inmate Mitchell King had a visitor -- his wife. King was serving a six-year jail term in Auckland, New Zealand for armed robbery. But his wife didn't want to be away from him for that long. So they held hands. She wanted them to always stick together - through it all. Hand in hand, forever joined. And they did stick together. She had rubbed her palms with Super Glue.

Their new-found closeness was short-lived. And their separation painful. (I suggest we put the Super Glue idea on a short list of "THINGS NOT TO DO" when we want to grow closer.)

But if you want a deeper connection with someone your care about, if you want relationships that are more intimate, more meaningful and longer-lasting, then try this simple technique. Just remember the word "TRAVEL."

T is for TRUST. If we're seeking a glue to cement us to another, then trust is that bond. A relationship will go nowhere without it.

R is for RESPECT. Some people talk about how much they have always respected their cherished friends and family at a funeral. But why wait? People want to know that we hold them in high regard. It's about valuing others and letting them know you respect them.

A is for AFFECTION. Sometimes affection means love. Sometimes it means a touch. Or a hug. Always it means kindness.

V is for VULNERABILITY. Though we may feel afraid to let another too close, no relationship will go anywhere without taking a risk. Like entrepreneur Jim Rohn says, "The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy." And the love.

E is for EMOTIONAL INTIMACY. It about learning to be open. Learning to communicate freely. The quality of relationships we make are largely determined by how openly we communicate.

L is for LAUGHTER. Victor Borge got it right when he said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." It's also the most enjoyable.

So for a relationship that can really go somewhere, just remember the word "TRAVEL." Then enjoy the trip.

-- Steve Goodier  

GETTING UP WHEN YOU'RE FEELING DOWN

Do you ever feel blah? Ever wish you had a permanent "picker-upper" ? If so, this may be for you.

In the 1920s, if you were looking for a little pick-me-up with your mid-afternoon snack, you might have reached for a cold, refreshing glass of 7-Up. Well, it wasn't called 7-Up back then, it was called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." (Say THAT three times fast!)

nventor C. L. Griggs' original recipe included the antidepressant lithium until the 1940s as a "picker-upper". The original Coca-Cola formula also included a "picker-upper" -- cocaine.

Today, people not suffering from serious depression understand that they usually don't need mood-altering drugs to cope with daily life. But most folks struggle with bouts of mild depression, despondency or "the blahs" from time to time. How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling down, without the aid of Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda?

I hope I'm not telling you anything new when I say that talking about the reasons you're down, making needed changes, watching your diet, getting enough exercise and sleep, developing a positive mental outlook and utilizing spiritual resources are all important pieces of our emotional puzzles. But one important strategy for feeling better (and one that's LEAST used) is as important as the rest. It is helping others in need.

The needs are abundant, and those who put aside some regular time to do something kind for others will often forget they were feeling low. Why does is work? I don't know … it just does. Reach out and lift somebody else up and for some wondrous and magical reason, you lift yourself up, too.

Corrie Ten Boom beautifully said, "The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation." And if you've been feeling low, the best time to donate a piece of yourself is now.

-- Steve Goodier

The Birth of a Song: 'Precious Lord'

Back in 1932, I was 32 years old and a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago's south side. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis, where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn't want to go. Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child. But a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66.

However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back. I found Nettie sleeping peace-fully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music.

The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with a Western Union telegram. I ripped open the envelope. Pasted on the yellow sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.

People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep from crying out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on the other end was 'Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead.' When I got back, I learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and joy. Yet that same night, the baby died. I buried Nettie and our little boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart.

For days I closeted myself. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs. I just wanted to go back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I went to St. Louis. Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie. Was that something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would have stayed and been with Nettie when she died.

From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially one friend. The following Saturday evening he took me up to Malone's Poro College, a neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through then curtained windows. I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody, once into my head they just seemed to fall into place: 'Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn, through the storm, through the night lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.'

The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.

And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home.

- Tommy Dorsey -

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave
most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained
by giving them to someone else."  

-- General Peyton C. March (1864-1955)

THE SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE (TM)

by Saskia Davis, reprinted with permission of the author (A note from the author follows today's reading.)

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed 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:

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 (for permission to reprint, write <sweetamazinggrace@earthlink.net>)

— 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

 

The Beauty of Math...

 

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.

-- Swedish Proverb

It's About Attitude

Read This  ~  Then Choose

John is the kind of guy you love to hate.  He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.  When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" 

He was a natural motivator.  If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.  Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"  He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.  I choose to be in a good mood."

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.  Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.  "Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.  You choose how you react to situations.  You choose how people affect your mood.   You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.  The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."   I reflected on what he said.  Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business.  We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.  After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.  I saw him about six months after the accident.  When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. 

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied.  "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?  Did you lose consciousness?"  I asked.  He continued, "the paramedics were great.  They kept telling me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man" I knew I needed to take action."  

"What did you do?" I asked.  "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied!'  The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.  Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."  He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after alll, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

 

Quotes

 

The Blind Horse

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.  From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.

If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.  Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.

As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.

Good friends are like this ......... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

 

The Five-Finger Prayer

1.  Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2.  The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5.  And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Did you know?

en·thu·si·asm:  Pronunciation: in-'thü-zE-"a-z&m, en-, also -'thyü- Function: noun:  Etymology: Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein to be inspired, irregular from entheos inspired...   from en- + theos god "

...inspiration from God"

 

 

Jesus distilled the Ten Commandments in the following way:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself."

 

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