COUNT WHAT COUNTS IN LIFE

As a young boy I remember how proud I was when I learned to count to ten. Soon counting became a way of life. Something always needed counting. But oh how life has changed. Technology now does the counting for us. That’s well and good, but some things technology cannot count. Things that come from the heart. Things like these old poetic lines written by an unknown author. They’re worth reflecting upon. ”Count your garden by the flowers, Never by the petals that fall. Count your days by golden moments. Never the rain clouds at all. Count the night by … Continue reading COUNT WHAT COUNTS IN LIFE

A WORM TAUGHT ME A LESSON

I watched a worm today. It crawled across my driveway. Such persistence, I thought. The sun was pounding the driveway with sweltering summer heat, making the cement hot and dry. But the worm crawled anyway, inch by inch. Such determination, I thought. I guess it could have waited until the cool of the night. But it chose to not delay. No putting till tomorrow what it could do today. Such discipline, I thought. I needed the lesson the worm taught me today as it crawled with such purpose across my driveway. There are things I need to get done, things … Continue reading A WORM TAUGHT ME A LESSON

THE UGLY DUCKLING WAS NOT UGLY

Everyone marvels at how the ugly duckling in The Ugly Duckling story becomes a beautiful swan. But it happens only after the duckling experiences rejection and abandonment. Most of us can identify with the duckling’s pain because we’ve all felt ugly at times, and we’ve experienced rejection. But here’s the catch. The little duckling was never ugly at all. NEVER! He was always beautiful, but no one noticed. No one took the time to notice because they were too busy focusing on what the duckling was NOT…….ugly, on what they thought him to be….ugly. The good news is that in time the … Continue reading THE UGLY DUCKLING WAS NOT UGLY

HUMPTY DUMPTY COULD HAVE HEALED

Humpty DUMPTY sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. Humpty Dumpty’s life fell apart. Poor Humpty died with his heart broken. Our lives are like that sometimes. We fall completely apart. Our lives get shattered. We go to pieces. We lose it. And it seems like nothing or no one can put us together again. But we don’t have to end up like Humpty. Our shattered lives CAN be put together. Our cracks CAN be mended. Our broken hearts CAN be healed. There’s … Continue reading HUMPTY DUMPTY COULD HAVE HEALED

MARY LOVES THE LAMB, YOU KNOW

There’s an old anecdote that goes like this: ”What makes the lamb love Mary so?”’ the curious child asked. ”Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,” the wise teacher replied. It’s a truism. We tend to love those who first loved us. The lamb loves Mary because Mary first loved the lamb. We respond to someone’s gift of love because it encourages us, comforts us, motivates us, inspires us, makes us feel special and valued No other emotion has such an impact. To be loved inspires us to love back, to give what we have already received. In turn, the … Continue reading MARY LOVES THE LAMB, YOU KNOW

PARABLE OF THE SHOVEL

There once was a man whose shovel was missing. He looked everywhere for it, but it was not to be found. Someone stole it, he thought.. He suspected the boy next door. Afer all, he looked like a thief. He talked like a thief. He even walked like a thief. Several weeks went by and the man’s dislike for the boy grew. Then one day he found his shovel. It was under a shrub where he had laid it while working in his garden. The next morning he saw the boy as he was leaving for the day. The man … Continue reading PARABLE OF THE SHOVEL

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW — THE MIND HAS POWER

My life is limited ONLY by the thoughts I think. ONLY if in my mind I dream big dreams can big dreams in my life come true. ONLY if in my mind I think happiness can a life of joy be mine. ONLY if in my mind I think compassion can my heart be drawn to serve. I BECOME WHAT I THINK. But I can only become what I think IF I first think what I want to become. THINKING CAN MAKE IT SO What I think in my mind becomes the blueprint for what I can achieve. MY MIND … Continue reading THIS IS WHAT I KNOW — THE MIND HAS POWER

WHAT THE WISE OWL SAID TO ME

Some say King Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. His wise sayings will make your think. Some say the owl is the wisest bird that ever lived. With the twist of his head and a wise-owl blink the words he speaks will also make you think. Trust me, I know, because sometimes in the middle of the night he sits in the sycamore tree outside my bedroom window. And as I lie awake, I find the very thoughts that have been heavy on my mind are comforted by the wise words he speaks to me. ”Whoo-hoo,” he says, ”If … Continue reading WHAT THE WISE OWL SAID TO ME

IF I COULD LIVE MY LIFE OVER

I’m having one of those days whereby my mind is rambling, connecting unconnected synapses in my mind. And the one thought that keeps coming to the fore is WHAT WOULD I DO IF I HAD THE CHANCE TO GO BACK IN MY LIFE AND CHANGE ONE THING. JUST ONE THING. WHAT WOULD IT BE? There are a lot of things I would want to change but if I could change only ONE thing what would I choose? That’s such a tough question. A lot of things immediately flash through my mind— the mistakes, the blunders, the bad decisions. And though … Continue reading IF I COULD LIVE MY LIFE OVER

FEELING ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Once there was a man who wished he could be happy and be on top of the world. Every morning he would get up and look out the window and see his neighbor who always had a smile on his face and walked with a bounce in his step. He always seemed so happy. The man was envious of his neighbor. ”How can he be so upbeat and happy?” he thought. ”How can he be on top of the world every day when there are so many problems, so many things to be concerned about?” One day he could stand … Continue reading FEELING ON TOP OF THE WORLD