Choosly Wisely

"In every single thing you do, you
are choosing a direction. Your life
is a product of choices."
        Dr. Kathleen Hall

Someone was telling me today about
a recent luncheon she had, and how
disappointed she was that the two
other women spent the whole time
complaining about people.

So she won't go with them again.

She was not judging the other
women as being wrong, she was
just being true to her choice not
to be around negative energy.

Our life is a product of our choices,
and one of the most important
choices is who we associate with.

If we associate with generally upbeat
and positive people, our lives will
reflect that.

If we associate with negative people,
we'll wonder why we're always
feeling discouraged and tense.

In my experience, it seems that the
negative people outnumber the
positive ones, so we have to choose
carefully.

We also have to BE positive and
supportive so they will choose us!

If you're in a negative environment
at work, it's better to eat lunch alone
than to subject yourself to an hour of
negative gossip, gloom and doom
just to have company.

What if the negative people are
family? Well, as I've heard Bob
Proctor say, just don't go as often
and don't stay as long. Take
responsibility for your environment.

You'll be glad you did.

Many blessings,

THIS IS SOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'My Feet Are Off The Ground' From Tyler Perry: Writer and Actor This morning I awoke and was so frustrated about all of the stuff that I'm dealing with in trying to get this studio open. I was about to open my mouth and start complaining when I remembered something that happened to me about a year ago. I was walking to my car when this woman who appeared to be homeless started walking towards me. I'm ashamed to say this but I thought, 'I don't feel like being hustled today.' Then I got quickly convicted. I felt guilty so I started digging in my pocket for some money. As she got closer I noticed that she had the kindest eyes that I had ever seen. As I was reaching into my pocket she started to speak. I thought, 'Here goes the sales pitch'. She said 'Excuse me sir, I need some shoes. Can you help me?' My eyes filled with water because I remember being out on the streets and having only one pair of run over shoes. I was taken aback for a second. I took her inside the studio and had my wardrobe people find shoes in her size. As she put the shoes on she started crying, praising God and thanking Jesus, and saying, 'My feet are off the ground! My feet are off the ground!' Several of the wardrobe people started crying. I was crying. But I never forgot those words. 'My feet are off the ground!' I thought, 'Wow! All she wanted was some shoes.' She quickly disappeared and never asked me for a dime. I realized that I still had the money in my hand so I went out looking for her. She was gone just that quick so I looked all around the neighborhood for her. I found her standing on a corner looking down at her shoes, still crying. I was so touched. I asked her how she had gotten homeless. She told me that she had AIDS and that she was waiting to get into a shelter.. She said that her family had turned their backs on her and that she had no place to go, but she knew that God would make a way for her. I said to myself, 'He just did.' Her faith and her praise moved me. I took her to a nearby hotel and put her up until she was able to get on her feet. I had someone that worked for me to check on her from time to time and to make sure that she had food and clothes. After about a month or so we lost touch, but I never forgot her. This past summer I was shooting 'Daddy's Little Girls' and this woman walks up to me smiling. I didn't recognize her face, but her eyes were familiar.. She had on a really nice dress and her hair was done. It was her! She told me that the little help that I had given her had changed her life. She was in a house now and doing very well. I said all of that to say this. After I met this woman, every time I think about complaining and mumbling I remember, 'My feet are off the ground!' I wanted to share this with you just to let you know that when I say that I am thankful for you, I mean it. And when I say that you are a blessing to me, I mean it. We take so much for granted sometimes that I just wanted all of you to know that I am grateful to God for you everyday. Thank you for being in my life. ~Tyler Perry "When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others" Chinese Proverb

Crazy little thing called love

Poems have been written on it, people have given their lives for it and in many people this little word evokes the grandest of emotions.
“The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth and delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that your world has been transformed.” J Krishnamurti

So you have fallen in love, Cupid’s guided missile-like arrow has struck and triggered off a series of responses ranging in intensity from mild obsession to pure insanity. When the person who is the object of your affections happens to be with you, strange things happen. Suddenly music plays, a spontaneous burst of fireworks embroiders the sky, star dust falls all around you, your heart beats just that little faster and your breathing turns shallow. You feel more than perfectly okay. Love does this to you, particularly when freshly brewed. Poets, writers, playwrights all over the world have us believe all along that this emotion is something out of the ordinary, and it turns the ordinary in us to something very special. True perhaps.

Also true that love is identified as one of the emotions central to our lives as human beings. Emphasising the significance of this emotion in our lives, US-based love coach Robin Gorman Newman, founder of www.Lovecoach.com, says: “Everyone wants love in their lives. What is life about without it? We want to be fulfilled in our relationships, personal, professional, and certainly, romantic. Love feels good. It gives meaning and depth to our everyday existence. It makes you wake up in the morning. Falling in love can be a euphoric state. When you are able to connect with someone at a heartfelt level, and know that it’s mutual and real, it’s like an elixir.

“Romance is wonderful. A glance. A touch. With the right person, it means everything. Self-love is important too. You need to practice self-care and be in a positive place so that you can recognise and invite true love into your life. Otherwise, it could be right under your nose, and you wont seize it.”

But despite all these eloquent thoughts on this speeding-train-without-brakes like emotion which we believe is centred somewhere deep in our heart, there is a new breed of people who are slowly but surely washing off the pink patina over love and revealing it to be mere concoction of brain chemicals you have no control over. Scientists say love is nothing but a chemical high, a very ‘head-y’ thing as opposed to a heart experience. A cocktail of  chemicals in your brain suddenly soars and keel over with its collective might. In several tests carried out, biochemists have been able to prove that all of that floaty feeling is nothing but an interplay of chemicals, hormones, enzymes and pheromones in our body and that feeling of being in love can be reduced to an equation as simple as a+b=c.

So much for stars in our eyes! These days, you will be advised to see your opthalmologist immediately. Floaty or floaters? Better determine that. 

If You Had to Do it All Over Again ... Zig Ziglar

If you had it to do all over again ...
This question is frequently asked of people after they've reached a certain age in life. One unknown father gave the question some serious thought and came up with some answers I believe have a lot of merit:

1. "I would love my wife more in front of my children," simply meaning he would speak more words of affection, hold her hand more, put his arm around her more and hug her more.

2. "I would laugh with my children more at our mistakes and joys." Laughter breeds happiness, and a happy home has far fewer problems.

3. "I would listen more, even to the smallest child." It is amazing what little ones can teach us as those "pearls of wisdom" often come tumbling out.

4. "I would be more honest about my own weaknesses and stop pretending perfection." Kids know we are not perfect, and it's comforting to them to know we can acknowledge our humanness.

5. "I would pray differently for my family. Instead of focusing on them, I'd focus on me." After all, that's really where it starts.

6. "I would do more things together with my children." We repeatedly hear about fathers who get too busy to spend precious moments walking, talking, playing, shopping, fishing, cycling, etc., with their children. That's where bonding takes place.

7. "I would be more encouraging and bestow more praise." It is said that encouragement is the fuel of hope. And praise, particularly for effort, brings about even more effort in the future.

8. "I would pay more attention to little things, deeds and words of love and kindness." When you add all those little things up over a lifetime, they make a huge difference.

9. "I would share God more intimately with my family through ordinary things that happen in a day."

This unknown father has some marvelous lessons we can all use. Take his approach, and I'll see you at the top!