What have You Learned Lately?

[Macy]

Words to Live by

The most destructive habit......................................Worry

The greatest Joy....................................................Giving

The greatest loss...................................................Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work........................................Helping others

The ugliest personality trait.....................................Selfishness

The most endangered species.................................Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource.................................Our youth

The greatest "shot in the arm"................................Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome..........................Fear

The most effective sleeping pill...............................Peace of mind

The most crippling failure disease...........................Excuses

The most powerful force in life................................Love

The most dangerous pariah....................................A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer......................The brain

The worst thing to be without..................................Hope

The deadliest weapon............................................The tongue

The two most power-filled words............................."I Can"

The greatest asset..................................................Faith

The most worthless emotion....................................Self-pity

The most beautiful attire..........................................SMILE!

The most prized possession.....................................Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication............Prayer

The most contagious spirit.......................................Enthusiasm

 

 

Everyone needs this list to live by...pass it along!!!

[sikosci]

that you cant win them all..

[Z]

There is always something better out there and its just a matter of being content and satisfied with what you've got

[Macy]

Thoughts and Responsibility

By J. W. Engelse

 

One of the most difficult questions that can be asked is: Who do you think you are? One might answer like the ancient Hindus, aham asmi parabrahma ("I am Parabrahma") or tat tvam asi ("you are That"). Isn't it true that everything we perceive is born in the mind? From the cup and the ballpoint pen we use to the houses we live in, all originated in the designer's or architect's mind before they were given their form. Is this not true also for our actions and for the words we utter? Don't these make the world as it is today, and isn't this the responsibility of all of us?

 

In H. P. Blavatsky's words: "As mankind is essentially of one and the same essence, and that essence is one -- infinite, uncreate, and eternal, whether we call it God or Nature -- nothing, therefore, can affect one nation or one man without affecting all other nations and all other men. This is as certain and as obvious as that a stone thrown into a pond will, sooner or later, set in motion every single drop of water therein. -- The Key to Theosophy, p. 41

 

This adds another dimension to our daily responsibility. If we earnestly wish to do something about it, then we must set our alarm clocks five minutes earlier, and use that time to try to feel at one with Parabrahma, That, or our higher self -- only for a few seconds in the beginning. We might do the same before falling asleep. Then we might try to find another moment during the day, and so on. At last after many efforts we could stay in touch with our higher self while we were doing our jobs all day, be it in the office, in a shop, or washing the dishes -- something in the background, a kind of sound or feeling perhaps. In so doing we add the quality of thoughts to the reservoir of higher thought humanity so desperately needs.

 

In the same vein, we need not look at the TV news or read the daily papers too intensely; they cover only the sensational, composed of thoughts that benefit nobody. What is really important for the improvement of humankind and the earth -- and ourselves as a byproduct -- is not in the news and the newspapers, but the boy who on his free Saturday does the shopping for his invalid neighbor, the girl who babysits free for a family, the nurse who lovingly looks after the elderly or disabled, and thousands of such smaller and greater sacrifices. These keep our world turning.

 

In a way, each of these acts makes our lives easier, and makes it easier also to make difficult decisions; every such act strengthens our feeling of trust and confidence in the rightness of whatever happens to us, pleasurable or unpleasant. It then becomes part of our day-to-day thinking that all that happens to us is right, from red traffic lights to illness, and even worse. Walt Whitman said it so beautifully: "What will be will be well, for what is is well." We need not be afraid of anything that comes on our path: we need only accept it in as positive and cheerful a way as we possibly can -- actually our thoughts are all that happens to us.

 

It is the time for action. Nature will take care of herself -- holes in the ozone layer, pollution, and everything else -- if and when we start to take care of our thoughts and act accordingly.

 

(From Sunrise magazine, August/September 1996. Copyright © 1996 by Theosophical University Press)

[propaganda]

I learned that sometimes you have to let even important things go for the best of everything and everyone.

 

And actually be happy about it.

[sugar_n_spice]

Sometimes having the last word is not worth it.

[Optimus_Prime]

Ang maghintay ng matagal.

[daredevil67011]

that we are who we are because of the choices we make..

[spot]

Love grows not only on what we do but also knowing the reasons for doing it.

[Chito]

I learned that different kinds of rice get cooked just right at different lengths of time and with varying quantities of water.

 

Even rice cookers make mistakes.

[Zerreit]

That families will stand by each other whether be it tragedies or triumphs.

[grace]

never ever let your love be put into waste by just a stupid argument over the phone. bawasan ang kakulitan. matutong umintindi at umunawa.

[Z]

You can have it all

[Macy]

Daddy's empty chair

 

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father.

When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

 

The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?" said the father.

 

The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door.

 

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer,"

the old man continued, "until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me,

"Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

 

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

 

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.

 

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

 

"Did he die in peace?" he asked.

 

"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside,

told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death.

Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

 

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

 

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.

 

I asked God for water, He gave me an ocean.

And when I asked God for a flower, He gave me a garden.

I asked God for a friend, He gave me all of YOU...

[salvo]

That i am not a good person

[freakbaby]

that no one can control me... they can only hope to contain me... but i fervently wish someone would try and hold on no matter how free my spirit is...

[rice]

rebellion ends, responsibilities dont, first love gives way to 2nd and third love dont count (if there is such a thing), true love most often than not turns untrue and that the only thing keeping me together are spaces between the electron and protons of the atoms that compose me. haaayyy buhay parang pelikula na isinabuhay.

[Mayella]

... that you just can't trust anybody...

 

... that sometimes you just have to let go and everything will fall into place ...

Edited February 12, 2004 by mayella76

[Macy]

"One the street I saw a small girl, cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal.

 

I became angry and said to God: 'Wny did You permit this? Why don't You do something about it?'

 

For a while God said nothing. That night He replied quite suddenly: 'I certainly did something about it. I made you!'

[LostCommand]

That I am too violent by Singaporean standards.

 

That it is never enough to just do good. That is is never enough to have substance. Looks, form, polish, may still be more important...

 

Sad, but true.

[kadafy]

i could emphatize, LC...

[Zerreit]

That procrastination should be a crime! :grr:

[Altered_ego]

never to downshift 2 gears straight. 4th to 2nd. lol well i never really did do it

[in_style]

... that its possible to continue loving someone even from the start you know there's nothing that will hold a future with him/her...

[Zerreit]

I've learned to not regret loving someone.

 

I've learned that true love is a gift not to be taken for granted and only a very few receive such gift.