To Do Some Work of Peace for Thee

O Lord,
open my eyes that I may see the needs of others;
open my ears that I may hear their cries;
open my heart so that they need not be without succour;

Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong,
nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for Thee.
Amen.

from Prayers From the Heart, by Richard Foster

Strange Definitions

Tautology: Saying the same thing again twice.
School Reunion: Where you meet people who used to be the same age as you.
Minor Operation: One performed on someone else.
Conscience: The small inner voice that tells you that you may be audited.
Interactive TV: When you lose the remote control.

Contentment

Paradoxical as it seemed the Master always insisted that the true reformer was one who was able to see that everything is perfect as it is – and able to leave it alone.
“Then why would he wish to reform anything?” protested the disciples?
“Well, there are reformers and there are reformers: One type lets action flow through them while they themselves do nothing; these are like people who change the shape and flow of a river. The others generate their own activity; they are like people who exert themselves to make the river wetter.”

from Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

Holding Fast

This Revelation was given me to teach me the wisdom of holding fast to the goodness of God. At that time our ways of praying were brought to my mind: how in ignorance of love we use many devices as we seek to petition God. I saw that it brings more glory to God, and gives him more delight if we pray to him trusting only in his goodness and clinging only to him in the power of his grace, with real understanding and unwavering love, than if we tried every device that our hearts could think of. For every device we use to help us come to God will be inadequate and will fall short of true worship; all that we need lies in his goodness, nothing is missing there.

Mother Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

The Rule of Silence

A nun joined a convent which had a rule of silence; she was permitted to say only two words a year. The first year she came to Mother Superior and said "Bed hard". Mother Superior thanked her and promised to get her a softer mattress. The second year the nun came to the Mother Superior and said, "Food cold". Again Mother Superior thanked her and said she would look into the matter. The third year the nun came to the Mother Superior and said "I'm leaving". Mother Superior said, "I'm not surprised. All you've done since you've arrived is complain, complain, complain."

Philosophy

Before the visitor embarked upon discipleship he wanted assurance from the Master.
“Can you teach me the goal of human life?”
‘I cannot’
“Or at least its meaning?”
‘I cannot’
Can you indicate to me the nature of death and of life beyond the grave?
‘I cannot’
The visitor walked away in scorn. The disciples were dismayed that their Master had been shown up in a poor light. Said the Master smoothingly, “Of what use is it to comprehend life’s nature and life’s meaning if you have never tasted it? I’d rather you ate your pudding than speculated on it.”

from Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

The Seven "UPS"

1. Wake Up!!
Decide to have a good day.
Psalms 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
2. Dress Up!!
...put on a smile.
James 5:13 Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen.
Prov. 12:25 An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
Proverbs 13:3 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.
4. Stand Up!!
...Act on what you believe in.
Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
5. Look Up!!
...To the Lord.
Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
6. Reach Up!!
...For something higher.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
7. Lift Up!!
...Your Prayers.
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

History Like You've Never Heard It Before

(purported to be answers provided by sixth-graders during history tests. Probably more urban myths, but funny all the same)
1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics.
2. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients.
3. Solomon had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
4. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. He died from an overdose of wedlock.
5. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shaw.
6. Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper.
7. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music.

My Symphony

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common - this is my symphony.

- William Henry Channing -

Sin

One of the disconcerting – and delightful – teachings of the Master was: God is closer to sinners than to saints.
This is how he explained it: God in heaven holds each person by a string. When you sin you cut the string. Then God ties it up again, making a knot – and thereby bringing you a little closer to him. Again and again your sins cut the string – and with each further knot God keeps drawing you closer and closer.

from Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

Run Through the Rain

She had been shopping with her mum. She must have been six years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.
We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the shop. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the havens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in. "Mum, let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mum asked. "Let's run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mum replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mum, let's run through the rain." "We'll get soaked if we do," Mum said. "No, we won't, Mum. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mum's arm. "This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?" "Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mum paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.
"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mum said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day! To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN!

Irrelevance

All the questions at the public meeting that day were about life beyond the grave. The Master only laughed and did not give a single answer. To his disciples who demanded to know the reason for his evasiveness he later said, “Have you observed that it is those who do not know what to do with this life who want another that will last forever?
“But is there life after death or is there not?” persisted a disciple.
“Is there life before death? – that is the question!” said the Master enigmatically.

from Anthony de Mello, S.J., Prayer of the Frog

The Wise Woman's Stone

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable this stone is, but I gave it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone".

Peace on Earth

One night in a dream, a man noticed a new shop in the High Street. He went in and saw an angel behind the counter. Nervously, he asked what the shop sold. “Everything your heart desires,” the angel said. “Then I want peace on earth,” cried the man. “An end to sorrow, famine and disease.”
“Just one moment,” said the angel, “You haven’t quite understood. We don’t sell fruit here... only seeds.”

Solving Problems

Men decide many more problems by hate, love, lust, rage, sorrow, joy, hope, fear, illusion, or some similar emotion, than by reason (veritate) or authority or any legal standards, or legal precedents, or law.

- Marcus Tullius Cicero -

How Long, O Lord?

(an adaptation of the Thirteenth Psalm)
How long - how long O Lord how long?
Is it forever you forget?
How long - how long O Lord how long?
With sorrow is my heart beset.
O hear my prayer; consider, Lord,
My eyes grow dim with darkling death.
And those that trouble me, O Lord,
Rejoice to hear my failing breath.
But in your love and mercy, Lord,
My heart finds harborage and peace;
And in your healing grace, O Lord,
My praise and faith shall never cease.
My soul shall sing and praise my Lord
Rejoicing, raise her voice above;
For, many blessings on me You have poured,
And lit my lonely life with love.

by Kerry Elizabeth Thompson

Crazy Thoughts and Sayings

• I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
• 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
• A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
• OK, so what's the speed of dark?
• How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
• Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now.
• I intend to live forever - so far, so good.
• If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
• All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.
• The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
• I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.
• If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
• Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
• When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
• Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
• Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
• A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
• The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
• The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
• The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
• It's a good thing we have gravity, or else when birds died they'd just stay right up there. Hunters would be all confused.
• Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

The Apparent Triumph of Evil

I sometimes feel appalled at the thought of the sum total of human misery all over the world at the present moment: the millions parted, fretting, wasting in unprofitable days - quite apart from torture, pain, death, bereavement, injustice. If anguish were visible, almost the whole of this benighted planet would be enveloped in a dense dark vapor, shrouded from the amazed vision of the heavens! And the products of it all will be mainly evil - historically considered. But the historic version is, of course, not the only one. All things and all deeds have a value in themselves, apart from their "causes" and "effects." No man can estimate what is really happening sub specie aeternitatis. All we do know, and that to a large extent by direct experience, is that evil labors with vast power and perpetual success - in vain: preparing always the soil for unexpected good to sprout in.

from the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

The source of Peace

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.

- Dwight Eisenhower -

A Prayer for Peace Today

Lord, hold all troops, and civilians, in your loving hand, regardless of race or creed.
Protect the weak and innocent.
Bring justice with love and love with justice.
May compassion and grace rule over might and power.
God of all nations, let YOUR kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven....
Bless Saddam Hussein, George W Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard. Build a Coalition of those willing for peace, justice and freedom for all humanity.
Disarm all those who are committed to imposing their will on others.
May Your will and grace be the only source of freedom.
In the name of that Middle Eastern Preacher I pray...
Amen.

written by Gary Heard

Back In My Day

In my day, we didn't have any rocks. We had to go down to the creek and wash our clothes by beating them with our heads.
In my day, we didn't have hand-held calculators. We had to do addition on our fingers. To subtract, we had to have some fingers amputated.
In my day, we didn't have water. We had to smash together our own hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Kids today think the world revolves around them. In my day, the sun revolved around the world, and the world was perched on the back of a giant tortoise.
In my day, we didn't have virtual reality. If a one-eyed razorback barbarian warrior was chasing you with an axe, you just had to hope you could outrun him.

Against War

Our lives turning
On the edge of mortality
We look into the chasm,
Then turn away and grit our teeth.
Far from here,
Or so it seems,
Evil men call us to our deaths
Halfway 'round the world.
Bloated with their own importance,
Swollen with greed
They pride themselves
On their lack of humility.
We bow our heads,
Since they will not bow theirs.
No end of sacrifice
Will suffice.
What can turn their hearts of stone?
Can anyone reach them?
What will it take
To reason with them?
Is it better ten million die
Than they admit their guilt?
Is it truly such a hard thing
To fall on their knees?
Turn the other cheek!
Sage advice from one who knew
The only answer
Is to love them.

by Robert Bly

BUT SIR . . .

But Sir,
I have some questions:
Why,
If we're "the good guys,"
Does this feel so wrong?
It's not what
I grew up believing.
Why must these people die
So horribly,
Then their only crime
Was being born
In the "wrong" place?
Why must good dreams of finding love,
Having babies,
Planting a garden,
Owning a little shop,
Always fall victim to the tyrant's whim?
What makes us think
War is the "right answer"
This time?
Isn't it because you're all
Playing chess with our lives?
Until we learn
Not to live
By the world's way,
We're condemned
To reap its reward.
Dear God,
I pray for us all!
I know there's got to be
A better way!
Not this--not again!
Above it all,
Satan laughs.
We shoulder our bombs
And march away.

by Diane CadyMiller

Are You Ready to Take on a Lone-Gun Superpower?

The world struggles to fight global warming, and its biggest polluter thumbs its nose. The world calls for an international criminal court, and "the global supercop" rejects it out of hand. Now the world wants a firm but peaceful solution in Iraq, and America is beating the drums of war.
It's the new global arrogance. The White House is right. The rest of us are wrong. And like it or not, the world gets a war.
How do we - from Tokyo and Bombay to London and Los Angeles - take a stand against Rogue Nation USA? Here's an idea: we hit the superpower with a boycott the whole world can see, and that American power can really feel. For most of us, the clear symbols of American culture gone wrong are the corporate logos that make up Brand America. So we empty the McDonald's, the Niketowns and Hollywood cinemas. We clear out Disneyland. We turn off Fox, CNN and MTV. We shut down Esso and Texaco, Gap and Starbucks.
When you make the Boycott Brand America pledge, you make a public statement. You also add your email address to our secure list, so we can build the boycott into an international outcry on par with the peace marches. Watch for days of action on oil, fast food, sweatshop labor, the media - the intensity will build with every week of the war.
We face a historic turning point - and a need for new mass actions. Don't doubt that we can turn the tide; the peace movement is already 10 million strong and growing. That's enough consumer clout to make the Brand America Boycott a challenge heard round the world.
Ready for action? From personal choice to public protest, you can build the Brand America Boycott with the power of your own imagination. Whatever you choose to do, let us know (tell sadie@adbusters.org), and watch the site for updates, jams, photos and reports. Take on the global bullies and celebrate your freedom from commercial culture.
Copy of the pledge:
Because I am one of the millions of people against the war;
And because the American government has made it clear that it won't listen to world opinion;
And because the symbols of American power are its corporations and their brands;
I hereby pledge to boycott Brand America, from the moment the war begins and to the best of my ability until the empire learns to listen.
To sign go to: http://adbusters.org/

The Death of Democracy

The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.

- Robert Maynard Hutchins -

The Value of Action

It's the action, not the fruit of the action that's important.
You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power,
may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit.
But that does not mean you stop doing the right thing.
You may never know what results come from your action.
But if you do nothing, there will be no results.

- Mahatma Gandhi

What is TRUE LOVE?

The late Father James Keller, founder of The Christophers, put it this way:

Love delights in giving attention rather than attracting it.
Love finds the element of good and builds on it.
Love does not magnify defects.
Love is a flame that warms but never burns.
Love knows how to disagree without becoming disagreeable.
Love rejoices at the success of others instead of being envious.

The War Prayer

O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle - be thou near them! . . . O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead: help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief. . . . For our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it in the spirit of love of Him who is the Source of Love, and who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all who are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen

(written by Mark Twain)

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day brings back memories of maternal advice and admonition. Picture the scene with these famous offspring:
Alexander the Great’s mother - “How many times do I have to tell you - you can’t have everything you want in this world!”
Franz Schubert’s mother - “Take my advice son. Never start anything you can’t finish”.
Achilles’ mother - “Stop imagining things. There’s nothing wrong with your heel”.
Sigmund Freud’s mother - “Stop pestering me! I’ve told you a hundred times the stork brought you!”

The God of Many Names

Eternal God, we see that our understanding of you has been shaped and chiseled by the stories of many people. Indeed you are known to us by many names:
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you remind us that you are part of the human story, and have connected yourself with us in unique and surprising ways. You have allowed yourself to be shaped by our journey, connecting yourself with the lives of Moses, Elijah, and the prophets.
And you have surprised us through your interaction with and ownership of the life of Rahab the prostitute, the broken marriage of Hosea, and the deep grief of Ruth and Naomi. In succeeding generations you have touched and inhabited many lives, always adding to the story of our understanding, challenging us to accept you in the new and the old.
We confess that we find it hard to connect with their stories: you seem much more distant from us: the immediacy and intimacy of their relationship with you does not echo in our own experience. Help us to find comfort and hope from the past, rather than a prescription. You surprised Moses at the burning bush; Elijah in the whisper of a wind, Jonah inside a great fish, even Job in his deep turmoil.
Grant us a present and future understanding and expectation: grounded in the knowledge that you met others in their present and futures. Liberate us from prescription.
Encourage us to open exploration. That we might meet you afresh tonight.
Etch your name on our gathering, in our hearts we pray, and into our week.
Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen

Through Violence...

Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that..

- Dr Martin Luther King -

Building a peaceful world

We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the dischords of war. Somehow, we must transform the dynamics of the world power struggle from the negative nuclear arms race, which no one can win, to a positive contest to harness humanity's creative genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all the nations of the world. In short, we must shift the arms race into a peace race. If we have a will - and determination - to mount such a peace offensive, we will unlock hitherto tightly sealed doors of hope and transform our imminent cosmic elegy into a psalm of creative fulfillment

- Dr Martin Luther King -

Three Religious Truths

There are three religious truths:
1. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
2. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian faith.
3. Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store.

Signs of War

An anti-war rally was held in Washington, DC. on Martin Luther King Day in the USA in January 2003. A variety of the hand-made signs held were by the protesters. Here is a sample...

Bush does for Christianity what Bin Laden does for Islam.
Brains Not Bombs
George Dubya: Weapon Of Mass Distraction
Beat The Bushes For Peace
Weapons Of Mass Destruction: Look Under The Bushes
Evolve! Work For A Non-violent Future
If War Is The Answer, We're Asking The Wrong Question
Killing Innocent People Is The Problem, Not The Solution
Save America, Spare Iraq, Make Texas Take Him back
Drop Names, Not Bombs
Who Would Jesus Bomb?
Stop Mad Cowboy Disease
There Is No Path To Peace - Peace IS The Path
Justice Or Just Us?
Tame The Tyrant In The Mirror, Then The One In Iraq
Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld: Axis Of Weasel
Go Solar, Not Ballistic
Who's The Unelected Tyrant With The Bomb?
Nonviolence, Not Nonexistence
A Village In Texas Has Lost Its Idiot
How Many Lives Per Gallon?
Make Alternative Energy Not War
How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Soil?
Regime Change Begins At Home
More MPGs, Less MIAs
Put The Peace Back In
God Does Not Bless Only America
Rich Man's War Poor Man's Blood
Has Anyone Seen Our Constitution Lately?
What If God Blesses Iraq?
Born To Kill, Born To Drill
Let's Try Preemptive Peace
Our Grief Is Not A Cry For War
If You Are Not Outraged You Are Not Paying Attention
Honk If You're A Terrorist
Smart Bombs Don't Justify Dumb Leaders
We Have Guided Missiles And Misguided Men

The Lesson

Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around him, he taught them saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are the meek...
Blessed are they who mourn...
Blessed are the merciful...
Blessed are they who thirst for justice...
Blessed are you when persecuted...
Blessed are you when you suffer...
Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven...

Then Simon Peter said, 'Do we have to write this down?'
And Andrew said, 'Are we supposed to know this?'
And James said, 'Will we have a test on it?'
And Philip said, 'What if we don't know it?'
And Bartholomew said, 'Do we have to turn this in?'
And John said, 'The other disciples didn't have to learn this.'
And Matthew said, 'When do we get out of here?'
And Judas said, 'What does this have to do with real life?'
Then one of the Pharisees present asked to see Jesus' lesson plans and inquired of Jesus his terminal objectives in the cognitive domain.

And Jesus wept...

Knowledge and Enlightenment

The poet Kabir says:
What good is it if the scholar pores over words and points of this and that but his chest is not soaked dark with love?
What good is it if the ascetic clothes himself with saffron robes but is colourless within?
What good is it if you scrub your ethical behavior till it shines, but there is no music inside?
Disciple: What’s the difference between knowledge and enlightenment?
Master: When you have knowledge, you use a torch to show the way. When you are enlightened you become a torch.

from Anthony de Mello, The Prayer of the Frog

Astronomy and Numbers

There are 10¹¹ stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers.

- Richard Feynman, physicist, Nobel laureate (1918-1988) -

Pun Zone (be warned)

Two aerials meet on a roof, fall in love and get married. The ceremony wasn't much but the reception was great.

Effective Prayer

Mrs. Friedman, the third grade Hebrew teacher, needed some supplies from a supply cabinet that was seldom used and was secured with a lock. She didn't know the combination, and called Rabbi Weinstein to give it a try.
Rabbi Weinstein placed his fingers on the lock's dial and raised his eyes heavenward for a moment. Then he confidently spun the dial and opened the lock.
Seeing how impressed Mrs. Friedman was with this demonstration of faith, he smiled and confided, "The numbers are written on the ceiling."

A (Belated) Christmas Surprise

A woman was taking a shower when her 2-year-old son came into the bathroom and wrapped himself in toilet paper.
Although he made a mess, he looked adorable, so she ran for her camera and took a few shots. They came out so well that she had copies made and included one with each of their family Christmas cards.
Days later, a relative called about the picture, laughing hysterically, and suggesting she take a closer look. Puzzled, she stared at the photo and was shocked to discover that in addition to her son, she had captured her own reflection in the mirror - wearing nothing but a camera!

A Voice from a Different Time

I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr -

The Big Bang

Astronomers were excited this week at having isolated a brief sound which occurred immediately before the Big Bang. Apparently, that sound was "Uh oh."

Diet Logic

Here is the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than do the British or Americans. The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans. The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Patriotism

In the days ahead we must not consider it unpatriotic to raise certain basic questions about our national character. We must begin to ask, 'Why are there forty million poor people in a nation overflowing with such unbelievable affluence? Why has our nation placed itself in the position of being God's military agent on earth...? Why have we substituted the arrogant undertaking of policing the whole world for the high task of putting our own house in order?'

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr -

The mystery of Divine Revelation

The great mystery of the divine revelation is that God entered into intimacy with us not only by Christ’s coming, but by His leaving.
- Henri Nouwen -

I wish...

For one night,
I wish to dine and dance with kings
to experience royalty.

For one journey,
I wish to stand on the moon
to see the Earthrise.

For one season,
I wish to soar with the Eagles
to feel the freedom of flight.

For one day,
I wish for a spirit
filled with peace.

For a millennium and beyond,
I pray for violence to end.
For a millennium and beyond,
I pray for illness and pain to disappear.
For a millennium and beyond,
I pray that poverty and wealth would have no distinction.
For a millennium and beyond,
I pray for all of mankind to
be filled with the true spirit of Peace.

Three Animals and an Argument

Three animals were having a huge argument over who was the best: The first, a hawk, claimed that because of his ability to fly, he could attack anything repeatedly from above, and his prey had nary a chance. The second, a lion, based his claim on his strength, and none in the forest dared to challenge him. The third, a skunk, insisted he needed neither flight nor strength to frighten off any creature. As the trio debated the issue, a grizzly bear came along and swallowed them all: hawk, lion and stinker!

Worth thinking about

Writing about the spiritual life is like making prints from negatives ... Often it is the dark forest that makes us speak about the open field. Frequently prison makes us think about freedom, hunger helps us to appreciate food, and war gives us words for peace. Not seldom are our visions of the future born out of the sufferings of the present and our hope for others born out of our own despair. Only few “happy endings” make us happy, but often someone’s careful and honest articulation of the ambiguities, uncertainties, and painful conditions of life give us new hope. The paradox is indeed that new life is born out of the pains of the old.

- Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out -

Valuing the gift

Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favours. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.

- Thomas à Kempis, 1380-1471 -

Friendly Obstacles

For every hill I've had to climb
For every stone that bruised my feet
For all the blood and sweat and grime
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song....
These were the things that made me strong.

For all the heartaches and the tears
For all the anguish and the pain
For gloomy days and fruitless years
And for the hopes that lived in vain
I do give thanks for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!

'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

- Author Unknown

(Yet More) Rare and Strange Thoughts

Is a computer virus covered by Medicare??
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
There is no point in being pessimistic, it probably wouldn't work anyway.
Did you hear about the clumsy lens grinder? He fell into the lens grinding machine and made a spectacle of himself.
Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by moving to where you can't find them.

(Still More) Rare and Strange Thoughts

Why is it that you must wait until night to call it a day??
Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to??
If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too??
Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.

(More) Rare and Strange Thoughts

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
Disneyland: A people trap operated by a mouse.
What did the Egyptians do when it got dark? They turned on the Israelites.
What happened to the thief who stole a calendar? He got twelve months....
What is cowhide most used for? Holding cows together....

Rare (and Strange) Thoughts

Whoever said nothing is impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
His money is twice tainted; 'taint yours and 'taint mine - Mark Twain
The secret to creativity is ... knowing how to hide your sources - Albert Einstein
If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

Happiness

Realise that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

- Og Mandino -

Be Thankful

Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favours. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.

- Thomas à Kempis, 1380-1471 -

Psalm 23: Antithesis

The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down only when exhausted.
It leads me to deep depression.
It hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy for activity's sake.
Even though I run frantically from task to task,
I will never get it all done.
For my "ideal" is with me.
Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me.
They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule.
They anoint my head with migraines.
My in-basket overflows.
Surely fatigue and time pressure shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration forever.

I Hate to Spoil it For You. . .

• Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of fur. The story was changed in the 1600s by a translator error.
• It was the left shoe that Aschenputtel (Cinderella) lost at the stairway, when the prince tried to follow her.
• In Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart never said "Play it again, Sam."
• Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson."
• Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
• Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
• Dr. Seuss coined the word "nerd" in his 1950 book "If I Ran the Zoo"

A Prayer

God help us
To rise up from our struggle.
Like a tree rises up from the soil.
Our roots reaching down into our trouble,
Our rich, dark dirt of existence.
Finding nourishment deeply
And holding us firmly.
Always connected.
Growing upwards and into the sun.
Amen.

from Leunig, The Prayer Tree

The Ways of God

God often gives in one brief moment that which he has for a long time denied
- Thomas À Kempis -

Creativity

Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know... Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.
- George Kneller -

Searching...

A neighbour found Nasruddin on his hands and knees.
“What are you searching for, friend?”
“My key.”
Both men got on their knees to search.
After a while, the neighbour asked,
“Where did you lose them?”
“At home.”
“Good Lord! Why are you searching here?”
“Because it’s brighter here.”
Search for God where you lost Him.

from Anthony de Mello,
The Song of the Bird

Just one

I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything let me not refuse to do the something that I can do
- Edward Everett Hale -

Give up and go

I want you to give up what you think you know and open to what you do not yet know. I want you to recognise and live in your spirit. I want you to burn up your past and live for what life may yet bring you - for the revelations it will bring you, if you dare to live for them.

- Andrew Harvey -

Evening Prayer

Now that dusk is near -
with parrots in the gum trees
lessening their chatter,
with the distant roar of cars
fading to a mere murmur -
may I hear
the voice of the One
who walks in the garden
in the cool of the evening
and, in hearing that voice,
find a little of the Eden-peace
which some day will be perfected.
This I pray
in the name of Him
who was once mistaken for a gardener

- Bruce Prewer, "God of the evening"

Spiritual Disciplines at Work?!

A nun joined a convent which had a rule of silence; she was permitted to say only two words a year. The first year she came to Mother Superior and said "Bed hard". Mother Superior thanked her and promised to get her a softer mattress. The second year the nun came to the Mother Superior and said, "Food cold". Again Mother Superior thanked her and said she would look into the matter. The third year the nun came to the Mother Superior and said "I'm leaving". Mother Superior said, "I'm not surprised. All you've done since you've arrived is complain, complain, complain."

Saints

Once someone approached a disciple of the Muslim mystic Bahaudin Naqshband and said, “Tell me why your Master conceals his miracles. I have personally collected data that shows beyond doubt that he has been present in more than one place at a time; that he healed people by the power of his prayers but tells them it was the work of nature; that he helped people in their troubles and then attributes it to their good luck. Why does he do this?”
“I know exactly what you are talking about,” said the disciple, “for I have observed these things myself. And I think I can give you the answer to your question. First, the Master recoils from being the centre of attention. And secondly, he is convinced that once people develop an interest in the miraculous, they have no desire to learn anything of true spiritual value.”

from Anthony de Mello, Prayer of the Frog

Communication Australian style

There is something about us Australians that prefers to communicate in silences rather than words. Perhaps we are defeated by it all, tongue-tied in the presence of ultimate things. Perhaps we feel safer with the great things left unsaid, meaning them only in the silence: we, the inarticulate, offering our homage to the ineffable. Ultimate truths are not to be captured in any expression. They are not the exclusive possession of anyone; nor are they merely to be taken on anyone's authority. For someone to really know these things is to keep a decent reserve, to hold what is sacred in silence.

- Tony Kelly, A New Imagining

Dreams

"When will I be enlightened?"
"When you see," the Master said
"See what?"
"Trees and Flowers and moon and stars."
"But I see these every day"
"No. What you see is paper trees, paper flowers, paper moons and paper stars. For you live, not in reality, but in your words and thoughts."
"And for good measure", he added gently, "you life a paper life, alas, and will die a paper death"

from Anthony de Mello,
One Minute Wisdom.

Times Change

In the 1960s people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Feed the Wolf

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life: "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

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!

At The Movies

A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh theater. When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat." The man groaned but didn't budge. The usher became impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager."
Again, the man just groaned, which infuriated the usher who turned and marched briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager. In a few moments, both the usher and the manager returned and stood over the man. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move him, but with no success. Finally, they summoned the police. The cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?"
"Sam." The man moaned. "Where ya from, Sam?"
With pain in his voice, Sam replied, "The balcony."

The Difference

I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn't have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task;
I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
But the day toiled on grey and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
But He said, "You didn't seek".
I tried to come into God's presence;
I used all my keys in the lock.
God gently chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.
Author Unknown.

Look and See

All of us are watchers - of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway - but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.
- Peter M. Leschak -

How Life has Changed!

The year is 1902, just over one hundred years ago - here are some U.S. statistics for that year:
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was forty-seven (47).
Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bathtub; Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
A three minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year - a dentist $2,500 per year - a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year - and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95% of all births in the US took place at home.
Ninety percent of all U.S. physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost 4 cents a pound; eggs were 14 cents a dozen; coffee cost 15 cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
The American flag had 45 stars: Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.
There was no Mother's Day (or Father's Day).
One in ten U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.
There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.
What a difference a century makes!

Abraham Lincoln's Road to the Whitehouse

Failed in business in 1831.
Defeated for Legislature in 1832.
Second failure in business in 1833.
Suffered nervous breakdown in 1836.
Defeated for speaker in 1838.
Defeated for Elector in 1840.
Defeated for Congress in 1843.
Defeated for Congress in 1848.
Defeated for Senate in 1855.
Defeated for Vice President in 1856.
Defeated for Senate in 1858.
Elected President in 1860.

LESSON: Never Give Up!

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the fragrance that a violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
- Mark Twain -

Crucifixion

The true God does not say, "Crucify the enemy."
He says, "Crucify your heart so I can create in you a new one."

Good Friday

Jesus was crucified not in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves.
- George F MacLeod -

Coasting

When you are coasting, you are either losing speed, or going downhill.

True Spirituality

The Master was asked, "What is true spirituality?"
He said, "Spirituality is that which succeeds in bringing one to inner transformation."
"But if I apply the traditional methods handed down by the Masters, is that not spirituality?"
"It is not spirituality if it does not perform its function for you. A blanket is no longer a blanket if it does not keep you warm."
"So spirituality does change?"
"People change and needs change. So what was spirituality once is spirituality no more. What generally goes under the name of spirituality is merely the record of past methods."
Don't cut the person to fit the coat.

from Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird

A Growing Exchange

If you have a penny and I have a penny and we exchange pennies, you still have one cent and I still have one cent. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange ideas, we both now have two ideas.

- Mary Anne Phelps -

Good Public Relations

* Smile. It takes 72 muscles to frown and only 14 to smile.
* Speak to people and call them by name. The sweetest music to anyone's ears is the sound of his or her own name.
* Be friendly and helpful. If you would have friends, be friendly. You can like everybody if you try.
* You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar! Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.
* Be thoughtful and considerate of the opinions and feelings of others. There are always three sides to a controversy - yours, the other person's and the right one.
* Do a good deed for others. He is not the greatest who has the greatest number of servants, but he who serves the greatest number.

Strange but True

The Prince of Wales' chef, one Henri Carpentier, had a minor kitchen catastrophe one day when he accidentally set fire to a dish he was preparing. It tasted delicious, so he named the crepe after the only person who had seen him make the error, a young girl named Suzette.

Dumb Advice?!

(PLEASE DO NOT TRY THESE OUT!)

1. Fool other drivers into thinking you have an expensive car phone by holding an old TV or video remote control up to your ear and occasionally swerving across the road.
2. If a person is choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a jug of boiling water down their throat and presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.
3. Save on alcohol by drinking cold tea instead of whiskey. The following morning you can create the effects of hangover by drinking a thimble full of dish washing liquid and banging your head repeatedly on the wall.

Sleeping Through Life?

How much of the day are you awake? You think, I gotta get the dry cleaning, I gotta get going, and this and this. All of a sudden it's dinnertime. And then there is a moment of connection with your spouse or your friends. Then you read and go to bed. Wake up, and it's the same all over. You're not awake, you're not living, you're not experiencing. We start early medicating ourselves. We start kids early on TV and video games and so on. It's daunting how many possibilities there are in life for every one of us. But rather than face that I may be a failure or a success - I think both of them are terrifying - people find diversions. - Tim Allen

Just Too Smart?! (2)

A patient limped into his doctor's office complaining about his sore foot. The doctor handed him a large pill. Just then, the nurse called the doctor out of the room to ask him a question. While the doctor was gone, the patient hobbled over to the sink, ran some water in a paper cup and swallowed the pill. Just then the doctor returned with a bucket and said, "Now, drop the pill into the bucket and we'll soak your foot."

Ignatius of Loyola

The sixteenth century mystic, Ignatius of Loyola, said that at the time of his conversion he had no one to turn to for guidance, so the Lord himself taught him the way a schoolmaster teaches a child. He once declared that even if all the scriptures were destroyed, he would hold on to what they revealed because of what the Lord had taught him personally.
Christian:
I have, unfortunately, had a surfeit of people to guide me. They badgered me with their persistent teachings till I could barely hear you through the din. I never thought I could have you for my teacher, for they said, "We are all the teachers you have; he who listens to us, listens to Him."
But I am wrong to blame them or deplore their presence in my life. It is I who am to blame. For I lacked the firmness to silence them; the courage to find out for myself; the patience to wait for your appointed time; and the trust that someday. somewhere, you would break your silence and reveal yourself to me.

from Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird, pp 196-197

Just Too Smart?! (1)

A passenger was at the airport, checking in at the gate, when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?" The puzzled passenger said, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?" The employee smiled and nodded knowingly, "That's why we ask."

Organisations

Someone once said that organisation membership is made up of four bones:
There are WISHBONES who spend all the time wishing that someone else would do the work.
There are JAWBONES who do all the talking, but little else.
There are the KNUCKLEBONES who knock back everything that anyone else tries to do.
Finally, there are BACKBONES who get under the load and do all the work.

Just for today, Lord...

I will live through the next 12 hours and not try to tackle all of life's problems at once. I will improve my mind. I will learn something useful. I will learn something that requires effort, thought, and concentration. I will be agreeable. I will look my best, speak in a well-modulated voice, be courteous and considerate. I will not find fault with friend, relative or colleague. I will not try to change or improve anyone but myself. I will have a program. I might not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two enemies - hurry and indecision. I will do a good turn and keep it a secret. If anyone finds out, it won't count. I will do two things I don't want to do, just for the exercise. I will believe in myself. I will give my best to the world and feel confident the world will give its best to me.

- Author Unknown

A Bird’s-eye View

Said the robin to the sparrow,
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so..."

Said the sparrow to the robin,
"I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."

by Elizabeth Cheney

The Drums of War

Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.... And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."

- William Shakespeare -

A Prayer at Midday

The day has been breathless, Lord. Now I stop for a few moments and I wonder: Is the signature of the holy over the rush of the day? Or have I bolted ahead, anxiously trying to solve problems that do not belong to me?
Holy Spirit of God, please show me:
How to work relaxed,
How to make each task an offering of faith,
How to view interruptions as doors to service,
How to see each person as my teacher in things eternal.
In the name of him who always worked unhurried. Amen

Richard Foster, Prayers from the Heart

Times Have Changed

If Jesus were to do his same ministry on Earth today
He would be wanted by...
...the FDA for turning water into wine without a license,
...the EPA for killing fig trees,
...the AMA for practicing medicine without a licence,
...the Dept. of Health for asking people to open graves, for raising the dead and for feeding 5,000 people in the wilderness,
...the Education Department for teaching without a certificate,
...Occupational health and Safety for walking on water without a life-jacket and for flying without an airplane,
...the RSPCA for driving hogs into the sea,
...the National Board of Psychiatrists for giving advice on how to live a guilt-free life,
...and by the ZONING DEPT for building mansions without a permit.

Transition

There is a time to hold the gavel and a time to pass it on. More important than plaques on your wall or monuments bearing your name are the hearts which have been touched because you chose to lead with love.

- Neil Eskelin -

The Universe

There is a theory that states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory that states that this has already happened.

A Daily Prayer

Teach us, good Lord,
To serve you as you deserve:
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to see for rest;
To labour, and not ask for any reward,
Except that of knowing that we do your holy will;

Ignatius Loyola

An Irish Toast

Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.

Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.