New Year's Thoughts

"...If we believe that God has come then of necessity we will believe that God will come (forever comes!). This belief should radically change the way we live our lives. We will not say 'it does not matter', for, because Christ comes, everything matters.
* Because Christ comes, we will not leave until tomorrow that which we should do today.
* Because Christ comes, we will be careful over what we do, preparation is worthwhile.
* Because Christ comes, we will leave space for surprises, we will allow our lives to be filled with awe and wonder.
* Because Christ comes, we will believe in a future for the young, that they might believe in one too.
* Because Christ comes, we will look at each other with anticipation and respect, for fear that he may come disguised as our own familiar friend.
"Living with hope is arguably the greatest gift that the Christian community can bring to the world. We all know that hopelessness is the great 'dis-ease' of our time. As we prepare ..., may it be our personal resolve to live a life of hope..."

- George Browning, Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn

The Sixth day of Christmas

Christmas is not just a day, an event to be observed and speedily forgotten. It is a spirit which should permeate every part of our lives. To believe that the spirit of Christmas does change lives and to labour for the realization of its coming to all men is the essence of faith in Christ. - William Parks

The Lion and the Snake

(An African Folk Tale)
The lion and the snake were fighting. The snake escaped the lion's claws before the lion could kill it, and fled to the man's house. The snake begged the man to hide it because the lion was pursuing it. The man hid the snake in his cupboard and the lion never found it, although he searched the house.
When the lion had gone, the snake took his leave from the man, saying, "How are good deeds rewarded?" The man said, "Normally good deeds are rewarded with money, but since you have no money, you may give me an animal as soon as you have been successful at hunting." The snake said, "But do you not know that snakes reward good with evil? I am going to devour you, man!" The man said, "No, no, that isn't fair. We men always reward good with gratitude and useful goods. Let's ask the bee first." The bee said, "I never get any gratitude. Man just takes my honey after having smoked me out of my own house." The man said, "Let's ask the mango tree." The mango tree said, "I never receive thanks. Man takes my fruits, and when I bear no more, he cuts me down and throws me into his fire." The man said, "Let's ask the coconut palm." The coconut palm said, "It is true, good is rewarded with evil. Man takes my nuts, taps my sap, and to cap it all off, he cuts off my leaves for his roof."
The snake said to the man, "You see, now I will eat you." The man said, "Wait until I have said goodbye to my wife." The snake agreed and they went to the man's house. The man said, "Dear wife, the snake is going to eat me, goodbye!" The wife said, "Surely, Mr. Snake, you would like some eggs as a hors d'ouevre?" She took a bag of eggs and held it open for the snake. The snake put in his head to take an egg. The woman pulled the string tight and so caught the snake with its head in the bag. Then she took a knife and cut its throat, saving her husband's life. But the husband divorced her, for men reward the good women do them with evil.

Wreathed in Flesh

A novice master once responded when asked about a life lived in Christian authenticity, said that to be a Christian was not to know the answers but to begin to live in the part of the self where the question is born... He was speaking of an attitude of listening, of awareness of presence, of an openness to mystery.

Wendy M. Wright

Meanings of Christmas

It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation, of the enfleshing of God—the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people—kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people—no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush...

Andrew Greeley

Gift of Wonder

Each year, God asks us to shed one more coat of awareness, one more dream state and come alive to the vision of God’s plan for each of us and the world-at-large.
The older we get, the harder this is to do. As children we had a sense of wonder. Our eyes were wide open and drinking in the fascinating gifts we beheld…Our thirsty souls could not have enough of the wonders of creation.
Then, somehow, we grew too old to dream. We tired of the abundance of the world, or at least grew weary of keeping up with the feast of life, and stepped away from the banquet of life.
The natural gift of wonder God gave us as children was meant to be kept alive.…Instead we let wonder go to sleep. We entered the typical dream state of most humans.
Why else does Jesus tell us today, ‘Stay awake!’…Advent says, ‘Wake up and realize the gifts of love you have received.’
...Psychology says, ‘Let go.’ Spirituality says, ‘Wake up.’ In both cases there is a withdrawal from the busyness of daily life (our dream state) and a waking up to the subconscious and spiritual depths of ourselves.

Alfred McBride

The Lost Message

The Brueghel painting, The Census, portrays the census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria and recorded in the gospel of Luke. The painting shows a great crowd of people, with a long line waiting to be registered. We observe busy shops and active commerce.
At first glance you think that it is a painting of a crowd - until you look in the lower right part of the canvas and notice a man pulling a donkey which is carrying a pregnant woman. If you have ever seen that painting, you know that it is easy to miss Mary and Joseph. You have to look hard, because their part seems so insignificant and unimportant in relationship to what is going on in the painting. Christmas can be a sad time because so many people miss the real point... and at Christmas they are so close.

Heart of Christmas

A noted poet was once asked in an interview if he could explain one of his poems ‘in ordinary terms.’ He replied with some feeling, ‘If I could say what I meant in ordinary terms I would not have had to write the poem.’
From the time of Christ’s birth the people of God have ‘had to write a poem’ to Christmas, composing a single multi-stranded paean of praise spanning the centuries, because ultimately the meaning of Christmas resists being fully spelled out ‘in ordinary terms.

Dr. Brian Linard, A Way to the Heart of Christmas

Anticipation

ANTICIPATION has a powerful effect on our lives, whether it be the anticipation of being reunited with a loved one, the prospect of new opportunities and experiences that come with a new qualification or job, awaiting results of exams in the post, or the simple yearning for a cold drink after some hard work in the garden. As we anticipate we run a video on the screen of our minds of the way in which the events will unfold; we rehearse our responses, feel each aspect of the journey, even savour the taste of refreshment before we have a drink in our hands. The power of anticipation is that it can commence the fulfilment of what is expected, even before it actually happens.
Statistics tell us that twice as many aged people die in the three months after a birthday than in the three months leading up to it. Psychologists put it down to the power of anticipation, driving the person on to reach a special milestone. My own great-grandmother died shortly after a longed-for reunion with a sister she had not seen for 77 years.
Of course many of us have known the anguish of disappointment that follows on unfulfilled expectations. The sense of betrayal is more acute when the expectation is of something close to our heart. The length of our “recovery” from such a setback is in direct proportion to our desire to see it fulfilled. This pain is identified in the Proverb “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
There is a lot of anticipation generated at this time of year. We need to ask ourselves the question, “Is what we are really hoping for worthy of high expectation?”. What is foremost in our minds in this Advent Season? There is One who is Faithful. What do we anticipate from His hand?

Gary Heard

Christmas Peace

There is the famous unofficial truce on the bleak, muddy western front during World War One, when British and German troops began singing carols in their respective trenches one Christmas Eve. After a while they began singing the same carols together, sometimes in English or in German but more naturally in their own mother tongues.
Christmas day dawned, and tentative signals were sent about meeting each other in No-Man’s land between the lines. Gradually, but increasingly, soldiers went over the top of the trenches and exchanged gifts, photographs and shared their food.
To the frustration and embarrassment of the top brass from both sides, this truce lasted almost four days, when the whole compulsory insanity gradually resumed.
Similar events happened in prisoner of war camps, most notably when a Salvationist guard or prisoner would whistle a distinctive Salvation Army Song or march, to find the melody or a harmony line being taken up from the other side of the bars.

Feel Like Giving Up?

This poem was written by Mother Teresa and is engraved on the wall of her home for children in Calcutta.

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centred. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you. Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Depends On The Hands

A basketball in my hands is worth about $19
A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands is worth about $33 million.
It depends whose hands it's in

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6
A baseball in Mark McGuire's hands is worth $19 million
It depends whose hands it's in

A tennis racket is useless in my hands
A tennis racket in Pete Sampras' hands is a Wimbledon Championship
It depends whose hands it's in

A rod in my hands will keep away a small, wild animal
A rod in Moses' hands will part the mighty sea
It depends whose hands it's in

A sling shot in my hands is a kid's toy
A sling shot in David's hands is a mighty weapon.
It depends whose hands it's in

Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of fish sandwiches.
Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in God's hands will feed thousands
It depends whose hands they're in

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse
Nails in Jesus Christ's hands will produce salvation for the entire world
It depends whose hands they're in

So put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes,
your dreams, your families and your relationships in God's hands because...
It depends whose hands they're in.

An Evening Prayer

O God, our Father, we thank you for this day which is passing from us now.
For any glimpse of beauty we have seen.
For any echo of your truth that we have heard;
For any kindness that we have received;
For any good that we have been enabled to do;
And for any temptation which you gave us grace to overcome:
We thank You, O God.

We ask Your forgiveness for anything which has spoiled and marred this day.
For any word which now we wish that we had never spoken;
For any deed which now we wish that we had never done;
For everything which makes us ashamed when we remember it;
Forgive us, O God.

Eternal God, who gives us the day for work and the night for rest, grant unto us, as we go to rest, a good night's sleep; and wake us refreshed on the morrow, better able to serve You and to serve our fellow-human beings. This we ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

from William Barclay: The Plain Man’s Book of Prayers

You are important

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The pre-Christmas Rush

With thanks to Michael Leunig

The Advent Experience

Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience.
The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us—as one of us—give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.

Christmas

Christmas is more than a time of music, merriment and mirth;
it is a season of meditation, managers and miracles.

Christmas is more than a time of gaiety, greenery and gifts;
it is a season of wonder, worship and wisemen.

Christmas is more than a time of tinsel, trees and toys;
it is a season of preparation, prayers and peace.

Christmas is more than a time of festivities, family and friends;
it is a season of generosity, gladness and gratitude.

Christmas is more than a time of carols, cards and candy;
it is a season of dedication, direction and decision.

Christmas is more than Santa, stockings and surprises;
it is Christ, care and concern.

William Arthur Ward

On the Horizon

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God's [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.

Jan L. Richardson, Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas

Life Is an Advent Season

Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience.
The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us—as one of us—give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.

source unknown

A Thirst for Knowledge

God be with those who explore in the cause of understanding; whose search takes them far from what is familiar and comfortable and leads them into danger or terrifying loneliness. Let us try to understand their sometimes strange or difficult ways; their confronting or unusual language; the uncommon life of their emotions, for they have been affected and shaped and changed by their struggle at the frontiers of a wild darkness, just as we may be affected, shaped and changed by the insights they bring back to us. Bless them with strength and peace.

from Leunig, The Prayer Tree

Take Time to be Aware

Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.
"An old abbot was fond of saying, ‘The devil is always the most active on the highest feast days.’
"The supreme trick of Old Scratch is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practising music and cleaning in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we actually miss the coming of Christ. Hurt feelings, anger, impatience, injured egos—the list of clouds that busyness creates to blind us to the birth can be long, but it is familiar to us all.

Edward Hays, A Pilgrim’s Almanac

Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

With God's help...

Somebody said that it couldn't be done, but he with a chuckle replied,
"Maybe it couldn't", but he'd be the one who wouldn't say so until he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin and if he was worried he hid it;
And he started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done - and he did it.

Somebody scoffed, 'Oh you'll never do that, for no one has yet ever done it.'
But he took off his coat and took off his hat and trusting in God he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin, if any doubt rose he'd forbid it;
And he started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done - and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done and thousands just waiting to fail you;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one the dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin and take off your coat and go to it;
God will give you the strength to tackle the thing that cannot be done and you'll do it!

Following one's calling

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

-Martin Luther King Jr -

Be Still

Most of the significant advances in human history - great social and political reformations, artistic productions, unique inventions, etc. - have come not from rushing around but from being still. They required periods of deep and rigorous contemplation, for only in this way can we escape the clamor of outer voices that remind us of 'how we've always done it.'
How do we find this time for solitude and introspection? We must stake it out for ourselves. One top manager I know does not allow his people to talk on the phone or meet between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning. This is their quiet time. I used to talk to people on airplanes. Now I use that time to reflect, read, write, or just quiet my mind. I am amazed by my creativity after a long flight.
The point here is that there is no way to do silence wrong. The only thing 'wrong' would be not to do it.

Ken Blanchard, The Heart of a Leader

Stained Glass Windows

People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.

- Elizabeth Kübler-Ross -

How to promote the absence of God

(some tips from C. S. Lewis)

“Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track. Concentrate on money, sex, status, health and (above all) on your own grievances. Keep the radio on. Live in a crowd. Use plenty of sedation. If you must read books, select them very carefully. But you’d be safer to stick to the papers. You’ll find the advertisements helpful; especially those with a sexy or snobbish appeal.”

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologise to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologised to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws... In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as God calls each one of us, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway. Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength.

The Flying-Eye-Dog

A man was flying from Brisbane to Sydney. Unexpectedly, the plane stopped in Tamworth along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.
Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. One man had noticed him as he walked by and could tell the gentleman was blind because his seeing eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire flight.
He could also tell he had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him, and calling him by name, said, "Keith, we're in Tamworth for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?" The blind man {Keith} replied, "No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs."
Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!
A True story... and remember...
things aren't always as they appear...

Parents and New Technology: The Last 100 Years

1890s

How can I afford a phone at home?

1900s

Why do my children know more about automobiles than I do?

1910s

Should I take my children to the moving pictures?

1920s

Why do my children know more about the radio than I do?

1930s

Are radio programs too violent?

1940s

Are comic books a bad influence on my kids?

1950s

Is TV good for my child or not?

1960s

What are my children learning from rock and roll?

1970s

Are TV programs too violent?

1980s

Is my child playing too many video games?

1990s

Is being on-line safe and beneficial for my children?

The Value of Simplicity

(A Chinese Folk Tale)
As Tzu-Gung was travelling through the regions north of the river Han he saw an old man working in his vegetable garden. He had dug a deep well and an irrigation ditch. The man would descend the circular steps into the well, fetch up a vessel of water in his arms, and pour it out into the ditch. While his efforts were tremendous, the results were meagre.
Tzu-Gung said, "There is a way whereby you can fill a hundred ditches and irrigate a hundred gardens in one day, and whereby you can do much with little effort. Would you not like to hear of it?"
The gardener paused in his work, looked at him, and said, "And what would that be?"
Tzu-Gung replied, "You take a long wooden lever weighted at the back and light in the front, and hang a bucket from the end of the lever. In this way you can bring up water so quickly that it just gushes out. This is called a draw well."
Then anger rose up in the old man's face, and he said, "I have heard my teacher say that whoever uses machines does all his work like a machine. He who does his work like a machine grows a heart like a machine, and he who carries the heart of a machine in his breast loses simplicity. He who has lost simplicity becomes unsure in the strivings of his soul. Uncertainty in the strivings of the soul creates conflict and dissension within one's very nature as a human being. To endanger one's humanness is something which does not agree with honest sense. It is not that I do not know of such things, I am ashamed to use them."

Creativity

Because of their courage, their lack of fear, they (creative people) are willing to make silly mistakes. The truly creative person is one who can think crazy; such a person knows full well that many of his great ideas will prove to be worthless.
The creative person is flexible - able to change as the situation changes, to break habits, to face indecision and changes in conditions without undue stress. They are not threatened by the unexpected as rigid, inflexible people are.

- Frank Goble

Not in a good way

The Emperor Nero was discussing finances with one of his administrators in the Amphitheatre in Rome.
"We aren't making much money from this building" said Nero. "Any idea why?"
"Yes," replied the administrator. "The lions are eating up all the prophets."

C S Lewis on Hymns

When I first became a Christian, about fourteen years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and wouldn't go to the churches and Gospel Halls; . . . . I disliked very much their hymns which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as I went on I saw the merit of it. I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off. I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren't fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit. - C.S. Lewis

How to make a sermon come alive

Value

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.
In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.
"Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.
Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us, "as the apple of His eye."
THOUGHT: The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we are but by WHOSE WE ARE!

Life Balance

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air .... work, family, health, friends and spirit .... and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends and spirit -- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

A Thirst So Great...

I have never known a thirst like this – a longing to know and be known
A longing to understand and be understood.
Not just at a human level, but somewhere deep within me
There is a stirring that nothing seems to satisfy.
The routines of each day cover them over…
Eating, drinking, sleeping, working, driving…
They seem more to distract me from this urging to find my place, understand the reason for it all.
Everything seems so meaningless, like I am chasing the wind.
One task is completed, another begins, with so little sense of connection.
Connection!
Is that what this thirst is about? Finding connection with myself, with creation, with God?
Living water is what you promised, Lord, to all who trust in you…
give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty.

And God said ‘No’

I asked God to take away my pride,
And God said, "No." He said it was not for Him to take away,
But for me to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole,
and God said "No." He said her spirit is whole,
Her body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said "No." He said that patience is a byproduct of tribulation,
It isn't granted, it's earned.
I asked God to give me happiness,
And God said "No." He said He gives blessings,
Happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain,
And God said, "No." He said "Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me."
I asked God to make my spirit grow
And God said, "No." He said I must grow on my own.
But he will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked God to help me love others,
As much as He loves me,
And God said "Ah, finally, you have the idea."

By Claudia Miden Weisz

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small doesn't serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Nelson Mandela

Love... and Marriage

In a constructive marriage...the partners must regularly, routinely, and predictably, attend to each other and their relationship no matter how they feel. As has been mentioned, couples sooner or later always fall out of love, and it is at the moment when the mating instinct has run its course that the opportunity for genuine love begins.... - M Scott Peck, The Road Less Travelled

All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Noah's Ark:

1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big.
5. Don't listen to critics, just get on with what has to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
8. Two heads are better than one.
9. Speed isn't always an advantage; the snails were on board with the cheetahs.
10. When you're stressed, float awhile.
11. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic was built by professionals.
12. Remember that woodpeckers inside are a larger threat than the storm outside.
13. No matter the storm, when God is with you there's a rainbow waiting.

The Making of Fire - An Arabian Folk Tale

Once there was a man who discovered how to make fire.
This man, named Nour, travelled from one community to another teaching his discovery. Some received the knowledge gladly; others drove him away thinking he must be dangerous before they could learn how valuable fire could be; finally a tribe became so panic-stricken by the fire that they killed him, fearing that he was a demon.
Centuries passed, and a wise man and his disciples passing through the lands discovered that one tribe reserved the secret fire for their priests, who were warm and wealthy while the people froze; another tribe had forgotten the art but worshiped the instruments and the ashes; a third worshiped the image of Nour, who once made the fire, but had forgotten the secret; a fourth retained the story and the method in their legends but noone believed or tried it; a fifth used the fire to cook, to give warmth, and to manufacture all kinds of useful goods, even bronze and iron.
The disciples were amazed at the variety of rituals and said, "But all these procedures are in fact related to the making of fire, nothing else. We should reform these people." The teacher said, "Very well, then. We shall retrace our journey. By the end of it, those who survive will know the real problems in teaching people and how to suggest change."
So the teacher and the disciples attempted to teach as Nour had taught. They too were scorned, abused, driven away. At the end of their journey, the master said, "One must learn how to teach, for no one wants to be taught. First you must teach people that there is still something to be learned. Then you must teach them how to learn. Then you must wait until they are ready to learn. Then you will find that they learn what they imagine is to be learned, not what they really must learn. When you have learned all this, then you can devise a way to teach."

from David Augsburger, Pastoral Counseling Across Cultures

A Shot at Life

A tough old cowboy once counseled his grandson that if he wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a little gunpowder on his oatmeal every morning.
The grandson did this faithfully and he lived to the age of 93. When he died, he left 14 children, 28 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and a fifteen foot hole in the wall of the crematorium.

Powerful Candy

A lady was taking two of her Grandsons on their very first train ride. A vendor came down the corridor selling Pop Rocks, something neither had ever seen before; she bought each one a bag. The first one eagerly tore open the bag and popped one into his mouth just as the train went into a tunnel. When the train emerged from the tunnel, he looked across to his brother and said: "I wouldn't eat that if I were you."
"Why not?" replied the curious brother.
"I took one bite and went blind for half a minute."

Valuing One Another

At one time Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to America from his native Scotland when he was a small boy, did a variety of odd jobs, and eventually ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire was a rare person; conservatively speaking, a million dollars in his day would be equivalent to at least twenty million dollars today.
A reporter asked Carnegie how he had managed to hire forty- three millionaires. Carnegie responded that those men had not been millionaires when they started working for him but had become millionaires as a result.
The reporter's next question was, "How did you develop these men to become so valuable to you that you have paid them this much money?" Carnegie replied that men (people) are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn't go into the mine looking for dirt - one goes in looking for the gold.

All I Need to know about Life I Learned from Trees

It's important to have roots.
In today's complex world, it pays to branch out.
Don't pine away over old flames.
If you really believe in something, don't be afraid to go out on a limb.
Be flexible so you don't break when a harsh wind blows.
Sometimes you have to shed your old bark in order to grow.
If you want to maintain accurate records, keep a log.
To be politically correct, don't wear firs.
Grow where you're planted.
It's perfectly okay to be a late bloomer.
Avoid people who would like to cut you down.
Get all spruced up when you are meeting friends.
If the party gets boring, just leaf.
You can't hide your true colours as you approach the autumn of your life.
It's more important to be honest than poplar.

(author unknown)

Letting Go

To let go is not to care for, but to care about,
To let go is not fix, but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be protective, it is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny but to accept.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.
To let go is not to regret the past but to grow and live for the future.
To let go is to fear less and love more.

Mergers

You might remember the failed merger between Yahoo and Netscape - Net'n'yahoo. It didn't work out because they were afraid they would have to relocate the headquarters - Intel Aviv. There is a new merger in the works involving Polygraph Records, Warner Brothers, and Arnotts. It will be called Poly-Warner-Cracker.

WHO DID IT?

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Words with new meanings

The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.)a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roofand gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post's Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.) The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Cashtration (n.) The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
3. Giraffiti (n) Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
4. Sarchasm (n) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
5. Inoculatte (v) To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
6. Hipatitis (n) Terminal coolness.
7. Osteopornosis (n) A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
8. Karmageddon (n) It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
9. Decafalon (n.) The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
10. Glibido (v) All talk and no action.
11. Dopeler effect (n) The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
12. Arachnoleptic fit (n.) The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
13. Beelzebug (n.) Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
14. Caterpallor (n.) The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole

Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is you have a choice every day regarding the attitude you will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. And so it is with you. You are in charge of your attitude

- Charles R. Swindoll

Inner Strength

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when,
through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can do all these things,
Then you are probably the family dog.

The Wounded Healer

I have long appreciated the writings of Henri Nouwen. The Wounded Healer was perhaps the first of his I read. In a wounded world (at many levels), I find his thoughts compelling still.

Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not "How can we hide our wounds?" so we don't have to be embarrassed, but "How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?" When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.
Jesus is God's wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed. Jesus' suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others.

Patient Living

A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live out the situation to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us... Patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there... nurturing the moment.

Henri Nouwen
in an article titled "A Spirituality of Waiting"

"Gestalt Prayer"

I do my thing and you do your thing
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I
And if by chance, we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.

by Frederick Perls (gestalt therapist)

!!!!!?

Study the Horse

With only two days to the running of the Melbourne Cup, I thought this a salient post..
Ancient wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However in organisations we often try many other strategies, including the following:
1. Changing riders
2. Buying a stronger whip
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse
4. Arranging a visit to other sites to see how they ride dead horses
5. Increasing the standards for riding dead horses
6. Creating training sessions to improve riding skills
7. Comparing the state of dead horses in today's environment
8. Changing the requirements so that the horse no longer meets the standards of death
9. Hiring an outside consultant to show how dead horses can be ridden
10. Increasing funding to improve the horses performance
11. Declaring that no horse is too dead to beat.

When straight translation isn't enough

I wonder if you can work out what a more accurate paraphrase might have been...
Actual English Subtitles Used in Films from Hong Kong
* Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?
* I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!
* I will surround their house by myself.
* I am darn unsatisfied to be killed in this way.
* Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep.
* Gun wounds again?
* A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries.
* I'll burn you into a BBQ chicken.
* Take my advice, or I'll spank you a lot.
* You daring lousy guy.
* Beat him out of recognizable shape!
* I have been scared silly too much lately.
* The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?
* The Americans will not save you for Christmas.
* Both of you will die when the sun hits the bell.
* You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken.
* I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!
* Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected.

Old Age, I Decided, is a Gift

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body ... the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.
And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 a.m., and sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love... I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.
They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten . and I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no", and mean it. I can say "yes", and mean it.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive.
You care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here,
I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.

Author unknown!

The 12 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws Of Leadership

Not sure I agree with all of these... what do you think??

1. The law of integrity: Great business leadership is characterized by honesty, truthfulness and straight dealing with every person, under all circumstances.
2. The law of courage: The ability to make decisions and act boldly in the face of setbacks and adversity is the key to greatness in leadership.
3. The law of realism: Leaders deal with the world as it is, not as they wish it would be.
4. The law of power: Power gravitates to the person who can use it most effectively to get the desired results.
5. The Law of Ambition: Leaders have an intense desire to lead; they have a clear vision of a better future, which they are determined to realize.
6. The Law of Optimism: The true leader radiates the confidence that all difficulties can be overcome and all goals can be attained.
7. The Law of Empathy: Leaders are sensitive to and aware of the needs, feelings and motivations of their people.
8. The Law of Resilience: Leaders bounce back from the inevitable setbacks, disappointments and temporary failures experienced in the attainment of any worthwhile goal.
9. The Law of Independence: Leaders know who they are, what they believe in and they think for themselves.
10. The Law of Emotional Maturity: Leaders are calm, cool and controlled in the face of problems, difficulties and adversity.
11. The Law of Excellence: Leaders are committed to excellent performance of the business task and to continuous improvement.
12. The Law of Foresight: Leaders have the ability to predict and anticipate the future.

by Brian Tracy

Hard-Learned Lessons

The rules at a particular university were such that if the professor were not present in the classroom by 15 minutes past the hour, the class was considered a "walk" and the students were free to leave - with no penalties for missing a class. The rooms were equipped with the type wall clocks which "jumped" ahead each minute, in a very noticeable fashion. As it were, these clocks were also not of the most sophisticated construction. Some enterprising student discovered that if one were to hit the clock with chalkboard erasers, it would cause the clock to "jump" ahead 1 minute.
So, it became almost daily practice for these students to take target practice at the clock (as it would have it, this particular professor was not the most punctual, and the students considered him severely "absent-minded"). A few well aimed erasers, and lo, 15 minutes were passed, and class dismissed itself.
Well, when the day for the next exam rolled around, the professor strolled into the room, passed out the exams, and told them "You have 1 hour to complete the exam".
The professor then proceeded to collect the erasers from around the room, gleefully took aim at the clock. When he had successfully "jumped" the clock forward 1 hour, he declared that the exam was over and collected all the papers.
Life does teach some lessons the hard way.

The Wars We Make

The following poem was written by Nicholas Peters just after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Peters, who lived for some years at Grande Pointe, Manitoba, Canada, had emigrated from Russia in 1925 as a boy of 10 and had seen firsthand the horrors of revolution and war in his native country. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and trained as a flying officer. He died on the night of March 7-8, 1945, after his aircraft was hit by enemy fire. The poem is from a collection of Peters' work titled "Another Morn."

THE WARS WE MAKE
I gaze into the world with sorrowing eyes
And see the wide-abounding fruits of hate.
We fight, we say, for peace, and find
The wars we make
To be a spring of hate and source of future wars.

Is there no peace for man?
No hope that this accursed flow
Of blood may cease?
Is this our destiny: to kill and maim
For peace?
Or is this 'peace' we strive to gain
A thin unholy masquerade
Which, when our pride, our greed, our gain is
touched too far,
Is shed, and stands uncovered what we are?

Show me your light, O God
That I may fight for peace with peace
And not with war;
To prove my love with love,
And hate no more!

The Mosaic that Shows us the Face of God

A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.
That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: "I make God visible." But others who see us together can say: "They make God visible." Community is where humility and glory touch.

- Henri Nouwen

Simplified Data Storage

Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device, otherwise known as the BOOK.
It's a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere - even sitting in an armchair by the fire - yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disk.
Here's how it works: each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. By using both sides of each sheet, manufacturers are able to cut costs in half.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The "Browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Most come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session - even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers.
Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is the entertainment wave of the future, and many new titles are expected soon, due to the surge in popularity of its programming tool, the Portable Erasable-Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus.....

Christmas is coming...

check out more of Matt Glover's creativity~!

Different Perspectives

A Mathematician, a Biologist and a Physicist are sitting in a street cafe watching people going in and coming out of the house on the other side of the street.
First they see two people going into the house. Time passes.
After a while they notice three persons coming out of the house.
The Physicist says: "The measurement wasn't accurate."
The Biologist concludes: "They have reproduced."
The Mathematician says: "Now if another person enters the house, it'll be empty again."

Irrefutable Logic

A Christian went to his favourite barber shop for his weekly hair-cut and beard trimming. In the course of their conversation, they touched upon the subject of God.

The barber said: "Look man, I don't think that God exists as you believe."

"Why do you think that?" asked the Christian.

"Well, it's so easy; you only have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. If God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abused or crippled children? If God existed, there would be no suffering or pain. Would there be murder or even war? I can not imagine a loving God who would permit ANY of these things."

The Christian didn't want to enter into an argument and could think of no immediate response to the barber's logic. The barber finished his job and the Christian fellow left the shop. The moment he stepped out the door he saw a man sitting on the curb whose long hair and beard were in need of a barber's attention (It looked so long, dirty and untidy).

The Christian turned and reentered the barber shop and said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers absolutely do not exist!"

"How can you say that barbers do not exist?" exclaimed the barber. "Well, I'm here and I'm a barber. I just cut your hair!!!"

"No!" the Christian exclaimed. "Barbers do not exist; because if they did exist, there would be no people with long hair and stringy beard like that man out there in the street, sitting on the curb."

"Oh, barbers do indeed exist! What happens is that people first have to come to me. They seek me out and find me!"

"You are exactly right!"- affirmed the Christian. "That's exactly the point. God does exist, what happens is people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

If the world were a village of 1,000 people, it would include:
· 584 Asians
· 124 Africans
· 95 East and West Europeans
· 84 Latin Americans
· 55 Soviets (including for the moment Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians and other national groups)
· 52 North Americans
· 6 Australians and New Zealanders

The people of the village have considerable difficulty in communicating:
· 165 people speak Mandarin
· 86 English
· 83 Hindi/Urdu
· 64 Spanish
· 58 Russian
· 37 Arabic
That list accounts for the mother tongues of only half the villagers. The other half speak (in descending order of frequency) Bengali, Portuguese, Indonesian, Japanese, German, French and 200 other languages.

In this village of 1,000 there are:
· 329 Christians (among them 187 Catholics, 84 Protestants, 31 Orthodox)
· 178 Moslems
· 167 "non-religious"
· l32 Hindus
· 60 Buddhists
· 45 atheists
· 3 Jews
· 86 all other religions

• One-third (330) of the 1,000 people in the world village are children and only 60 are over the age of 65. Half the children are immunized against preventable infectious diseases such as measles and polio.
  
• Just under half of the married women in the village have access to and use modern contraceptives.
• This year 28 babies will be born. Ten people will die, 3 of them for lack of food, 1 from cancer, 2 of the deaths are of babies born within the year. One person of the 1,000 is infected with the HIV virus; that person most likely has not yet developed a full-blown case of AIDS.
• With the 28 births and 10 deaths, the population of the village next year will be 1,018.
• In this 1,000-person community, 200 people receive 75 percent of the income; another 200 receive only 2 percent of the income.
• Only 70 people of the 1,000 own an automobile (although some of the 70 own more than one automobile).
• About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• Of the 670 adults in the village, half are illiterate.
  

The village has six acres of land per person, 6,000 acres in all, of which
· 700 acres are cropland
· 1,400 acres pasture
· 1,900 acres woodland
· 2,000 acres desert, tundra, pavement and other wasteland
· The woodland is declining rapidly; the wasteland is increasing. The other land categories are roughly stable.

The village allocates 83 percent of its fertilizer to 40 percent of its cropland - that owned by the richest and best-fed 270 people. Excess fertilizer running off this land causes pollution in lakes and wells. The remaining 60 percent of the land, with its 17 percent of the fertilizer, produces 28 percent of the food grains and feeds 73 percent of the people. The average grain yield on that land is one-third the harvest achieved by the richer villagers.

In the village of 1,000 people, there are:
· 5 soldiers
· 7 teachers
· 1 doctor
· 3 refugees driven from home by war or drought

The village has a total budget each year, public and private, of over $3 million - $3,000 per person if it is distributed evenly (which, we have already seen, it isn't).

Of the total $3 million:
· $181,000 goes to weapons and warfare
· $159,000 for education
· $l32,000 for health care

The village has buried beneath it enough explosive power in nuclear weapons to blow itself to smithereens many times over. These weapons are under the control of just 100 of the people. The other 900 people are watching them with deep anxiety, wondering whether they can learn to get along together; and if they do, whether they might set off the weapons anyway through inattention or technical bungling; and, if they ever decide to dismantle the weapons, where in the world village they would dispose of the radioactive materials of which the weapons are made.

source: Dona Meadows

An alternate take on this can be found here.

Humans Could Really Learn From Dogs

1. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
2. Always, practice obedience, when it's in your best interest.
3. Take naps and be sure to stretch before getting up.
4. Never pass up a chance to go on a joy ride.
5. Take the time to run, romp and play daily.
6. Be a loyal, honest, companion and friend.
7. Never pretend to be something your not.
8. If what you want is buried, dig until you find it.
9. When someone you care about is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
10. Thrive on attention and let people you trust, touch you.
11. On the hot days, lay under a shady tree and drink lots of water.
12. If you are happy, jump and dance around, and wag your entire body.
13. Take delight in the simple joy of taking a long walk.
14. No matter how often you are scolded, don't pout or bury yourself in a guilt trip. Run right back and make friends.
15. If a simple growl will do, avoid biting.
16. If someone invaded your territory, let them know.
17. Eat hardily, and with enthusiasm.
18. Enjoy the ecstasy of fresh air and the wind in your face.

Symptoms of Inner Peace

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:
• 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 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.

Self-control

Lanny Bassham, Olympic gold-medalist in small-bore rifle competition, tells what concentration does for his marksmanship: “Our sport is controlled nonmovement. We are shooting from 50 meters - over half a football field - at a bull's eye three-quarters the size of a dime. If the angle of error at the point of the barrel is more than .005 of a millimetre (that is five one-thousandths), you drop into the next circle and lose a point. So we have to learn how to make everything stop. I stop my breathing. I stop my digestion by not eating for 12 hours before the competition. I train by running to keep my pulse around 60, so I have a full second between beats - I have gotten it lower, but found that the stroke-volume increased so much that each beat really jolted me. You do all of this and you have the technical control. But you have to have some years of experience in reading conditions: the wind, the mirage. Then you have the other 80% of the problems - the mind.

from Sports Illustrated, August 2, 1976, pp. 31-35

Creation: A Sioux Story

"The Creator gathered all of Creation and said, “I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realisation that they create their own reality." The eagle said, “Give it to me, I will take it to the moon." The Creator said, “No. One day they will go there and find it." The salmon said, “I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean. “No. They will go there too." The buffalo said, “I will bury it on the Great Plains." The Creator said, “They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there." Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, “Put it inside of them." And the Creator said, “It is done."

Felix The Flying Frog - A Parable About Modern Management

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Clarence who had a pet frog named Felix. Clarence lived a modestly comfortable existence on what he earned working at the Wal-Mart, but he always dreamed of being rich. “Felix!" he said one day, hit by sudden inspiration, “We're going to be rich! I will teach you to fly!"
Felix, of course, was terrified at the prospect. “I can't fly, you twit! I'm a frog, not a canary!"
Clarence, disappointed at the initial response, told Felix: “That negative attitude of yours could be a real problem. I'm sending you to class." So Felix went to a three-day course and learned about problem solving, time management, and effective communication - but nothing about flying.
On the first day of the “flying lessons," Clarence could barely control his excitement (and Felix could barely control his bladder).
Clarence explained that their apartment building had 15 floors, and each day Felix would jump out of a window, starting with the first floor and eventually getting to the top floor.
After each jump, Felix would analyse how well he flew, isolate the most effective flying techniques, and implement the improved process for the next flight. By the time they reached the top floor, Felix would surely be able to fly.
Felix pleaded for his life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. “He just doesn't understand how important this is," thought Clarence. “He can't see the big picture."
So, with that, Clarence opened the window and threw Felix out. He landed with a thud.
The next day, poised for his second flying lesson, Felix again begged not to be thrown out of the window. Clarence opened his pocket guide to “Managing More Effectively," and showed Felix the part about how one must always expect resistance when introducing new, innovative programs.
With that, he threw Felix out the window - THUD!
On the third day (at the third floor), Felix tried a different ploy: stalling. He asked for a delay in the “project" until better weather would make flying conditions more favourable.
But Clarence was ready for him: He produced a timeline and pointed to the third Milestone and asked. “You don't want to slip up the schedule, do you?"
From his training, Felix knew that not jumping today would only mean that he would have to jump TWICE tomorrow. So he just muttered, “OK, yeeha, let's go." And out the window he went.
Now this is not to say that Felix wasn't trying his best. On the fifth day he flapped his legs madly in a vain attempt at flying. On the sixth day, he tied a small red cape around his neck and tried to think “Superman" thoughts.
It didn't help.
By the seventh day, Felix, accepting his fate, no longer begged for mercy. He simply looked at Clarence and said, “You know you're killing me, don't you?"
Clarence pointed out that Felix's performance so far had been less than exemplary, failing to meet any of the milestone goals he had set for him. With that, Felix said quietly, “Shut up and open the window," and he leaped out, taking careful aim at the large jagged rock by the corner of the building.
And Felix went to that great lily pad in the sky.
Clarence was extremely upset, as his project had failed to meet a single objective that he had set out to accomplish. Felix had not only failed to fly, he hadn't even learned to steer his fall as he dropped like a sack of cement, nor had he heeded Clarence's advice to “Fall smarter, not harder."
The only thing left for Clarence to do was to analyse the process and try to determine where it had gone wrong.
After much thought, Clarence smiled and said, “Next time, I'm getting a smarter frog!"