Socrates on war

Wars and revolutions and battles are due simply and solely to the
body and its desires. All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of
wealth; and the reason why we have to acquire wealth is the body,
because we are slaves in its service. - Socrates [InvestorWords, 11/27/06]

a way to treat everyone

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to
be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and
understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward.

Your life will never be the same again.

[tchiba@TheGreatSecret, 11/19/06]

Gifts that don't cost a cent

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING: But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION: Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you".

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE: It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT; A simple and sincere, "You look great in red", "You did a super job" or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR: Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE: There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8.THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION: The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it's not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

-- from investwise, 10/8/06

Life

God created the donkey and said to him.
"You will be a donkey. You will work untiringly from sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on your back. You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years."

The donkey answered: "I will be a donkey, but to live 50 years is much. Give me only 20 years"

God granted his wish.


God created the dog and said to him:
"You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend. You will eat the scraps that he gives you and you will live 30 years. You will be a dog."

The dog answered:
"Sir, to live 30 years is too much,give me only 15 years."

God granted his wish.


God created the monkey and said to him:
"You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to branch doing tricks. You will be amusing and you will live 20 years."

The monkey answered: "To live 20 years is too much, give me only 10 years."

God granted his wish.


Finally God created man ... and said to him:
"You will be man, the only rational creature on the face of the earth.
You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals.
You will dominate the world and you will live 20 years."

Man responded: "Sir, I will be a man but to live only 20 years is very little,
give me the 30 years that the donkey refused, the 15 years that the dog did not want and the 10 years the monkey refused."

God granted man's wish


And since then, man lives 20 years as a man,
marries and spends 30 years like a donkey,
working and carrying all the burdens on his back.

Then when his children are grown,
he lives 15 years like a dog
taking care of the house
and eating whatever is given to him,
so that when he is old,
he can retire and live 10 years like a monkey,
going from house to house
and from one son or daughter to another
doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren.

That's Life.

The Professor

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class
on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
Find out who the child was in the end.

He asks one of his new students to stand and .....

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed
to God to heal him.Most of us would attempt to help
others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God
good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again,
young fellow. Is God good?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in
this world?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make
everything. Correct?
Student: Yes

Prof: So who created evil?
Student does not answer.

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?
Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the
world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Tell me,
son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God,
smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory
perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable
protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do
you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science
has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn
of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more
heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat
or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold.
We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat,
but we can't go any further after that. There is no
such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to
describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.
Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir,
just the absence of it.

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there
such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal
light, bright light, flashing light....But if you
have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's
called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness
isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness
darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise
is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of
duality. You argue there is life and then there is
death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the
concept of God as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.
It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen,
much less fully understood either one. To view death
as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact
that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death
is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students
that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural
evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your
own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile,
beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process
of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this
process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching
your opinion, sir? Are you then not a scientist, but a
preacher?

(The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever
seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the
established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable
protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your
lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the
student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god
is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving &
alive.

Student: Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does
not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of
God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that
man has created to describe the absence of God. God
did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love,
that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the
result of what happens when man does not have God's
love present in his heart. It's like the cold that
comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes
when there is no light."

The professor sat down.


WANT TO KNOW WHO THAT STUDENT WAS..........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

the student was none other than.........
.........ALBERT EINSTEIN !!

* * *

(Actually the story isn't true, but thought-provoking nonetheless.)

examine your own work

"Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another." --Galatians 6:4

-- Bless The Day, 7/3/05

look in the mirror

Use a mirror in difficult times:
You will see both cause and resolution.

- Tricks and Trinkets #402

The Right Words at the Right Time

There are times in our lives when the right words spoken at the right moment can transform us. They challenge us at a crossroads, carry us through times of sorrow or dare us to action.

-- Marlo Thomas

A Wisdom Diet

There are so many diets where we try to lose. Here's one made specifically for gaining, my Wisdom Diet for the 21st Century.

-- Reynold Feldman

acting

Act the way you'd like to be and
soon you'll be the way you act.

Leonard Cohen

-- Cool Tricks and Trinkets #400

Want Less

[4/30/06] Perhaps the best advice [Lama Karma Rinchen] has for us is to be learned in his lifestyle. Americans are constantly filling our lives with things and then taking medications to deal with the stress in our lives. Rinchen sees a very simple solution.

“If you have less materials, less problems,” says Rinchen. “If you have more materials, more problems. If you have a bicycle outside or new car, which are you more worried about? We start our own problems.”

[4/10/06] Doug Short's secret of happiness [from this article]

Determine Your Life

Your life is determined by
the nature of mind.

A disturbed mind creates a miserable life.
Suffering follows this mind
like the cart behind a horse.

A silent mind creates a peaceful life.
Happiness will follow this mind
like an ever-present shadow.

-- Guatama Buddha's (from Health Daily 152)

The rules for being human

1. You will receive a body.

You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around.

2. You will learn lessons.

You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.

Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works."

4. A lesson is repeated until learned.

A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end.

There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here."

When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."

7. Others are merely mirrors of you.

You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you.

You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie inside you.

The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.

10. You will forget all this.

-- from investwise, but apparently originally from Chicken Soup for the Soul and/or If Life is a Game, These are the Rules

happiness or success?

When something goes well in your life, it's not uncommon to expect that your success would make you happy. But some psychologists now believe that the reason things go well in the first place may be, in part, because someone is happy to begin with.

In other words, evidence suggests happiness begets success. Then success can bolster your happiness, which then can breed even more success. A happy domino effect if ever there was one.

The Hugging Judge

'Don't bug me! Hug me!' - Bumper Sticker

Lee Shapiro is a retired judge. He is also one of the most genuinely loving people we know. At one point in his career, Lee realized that love is the greatest power there is. As a result, Lee became a hugger. He began offering everybody a hug. His colleagues dubbed him "the hugging judge" (as opposed to the hanging judge, we suppose). The bumper sticker on his car reads, "Don't bug me! Hug me!"

About six years ago Lee created what he calls his Hugger Kit. On the outside it reads "A heart for a hug." The inside contains thirty little red embroidered hearts with stickums on the back. Lee will take out his Hugger Kit, go around to people and offer them a little red heart in exchange for a hug.

Lee has become so well known for this that he is often invited to keynote conferences and conventions, where he shares his message of unconditional love. At a conference in San Francisco, the local news media challenged him by saying, "It is easy to give out hugs here in the conference to people who self-selected to be here. But this would never work in the real world."

They challenged Lee to give away some hugs on the streets of San Francisco. Followed by a television crew from the local news station, Lee went out onto the street. First he approached a woman walking by. "Hi, I'm Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. I'm giving out these hearts in exchange for a hug." "Sure," she replied. "Too easy," challenged the local commentator. Lee looked around. He saw a meter maid who was being given a hard time by the owner of a BMW to whom she was giving a ticket. He marched up to her, camera crew in tow, and said, "You look like you could use a hug. I'm the hugging judge and I'm offering you one." She accepted.

The television commentator threw down one final challenge. "Look, here comes a bus. San Francisco bus drivers are the toughest, crabbiest, meanest people in the whole town. Let's see you get him to hug you." Lee took the challenge.

As the bus pulled up to the curb, Lee said, "Hi, I'm Lee Shapiro, the hugging judge. This has got to be one of the most stressful jobs in the whole world. I'm offering hugs to people today to lighten the load a little. Would you like one?" The six-foot-two, 230-pound bus driver got out of his seat, stepped down and said, "Why not?"

Lee hugged him, gave him a heart and waved good-bye as the bus pulled out. The TV crew was speechless. Finally, the commentator said, "I have to admit, I'm very impressed."

One day Lee's friend Nancy Johnston showed up on his doorstep. Nancy is a professional clown and she was wearing her clown costume, makeup and all. "Lee, grab a bunch of your Hugger Kits and let's go out to the home for the disabled."

When they arrived at the home, they started giving out balloon hats, hearts and hugs to the patients. Lee was uncomfortable. He had never before hugged people who were terminally ill, severely retarded or quadriplegic. It was definitely a stretch. But after a while it became easier, with Nancy and Lee acquiring an entourage of doctors, nurses and orderlies who followed them from ward to ward.

After several hours they entered the last ward. These were 34 of the worst cases Lee had seen in his life. The feeling was so grim it took his heart away. But out of their commitment to share their love and to make a difference, Nancy and Lee started working their way around the room followed by the entourage of medical staff, all of whom by now had hearts on their collars and balloon hats on their heads.

Finally, Lee came to the last person, Leonard. Leonard was wearing a big white bib which he was drooling on. Lee looked at Leonard dribbling onto his bib and said, "Let's go, Nancy. There's no way we can get through to this person." Nancy replied, "C'mon, Lee. He's a fellow human being, too, isn't he?" Then she placed a funny balloon hat on his head. Lee took one of his little red hearts and placed it on Leonard's bib. He took a deep breath, leaned down and gave Leonard a hug.

All of a sudden Leonard began to squeal, "Eeeeehh! Eeeeeehh!" Some of the other patients in the room began to clang things together. Lee turned to the staff for some sort of explanation only to find that every doctor, nurse and orderly was crying. Lee asked the head nurse, "What's going on?"

Lee will never forget what she said: "This is the first time in 23 years we've ever seen Leonard smile."

How simple it is to make a difference in the lives of others.

-- from investwise

reconciliation

Reconciliation is to understand both sides;
to go to one side and describe the suffering
being endured by the other side, and then go
to the other side and describe the suffering
being endured by the first side.

- Thich Nhat Hahn (Cool Tricks and Trinkets #396)

The problem with the world

"The whole problem with the world is that fools
and fanatics are always so certain of themselves,
but wiser people so full of doubts."

~ Bertrand Russell (Cool Tricks and Trinkets #393, also Notable Quotables 6/2/05)

Some Things To Consider

The most destructive habits .................. Worry and Assumption
The greatest Joy ............................. Giving
The greatest loss ............................ Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work ..................... Helping others
The ugliest personality trait ................ Selfishness
The most endangered species .................. Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource ................ Our youth
The greatest "shot in the arm" ............... Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome ............. Fear
The most effective sleeping pill ............. Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease ........... Excuses
The most powerful force in life .............. Love
A dangerous pariah ........................... A gossiper
The world's most incredible computer ......... The brain
The worst things to be without ............... Hope and Humor
The deadliest weapon ......................... The tongue
The two most power-filled words .............. "I Can"
The greatest asset ........................... Faith
The most worthless emotion ................... Self-pity
The most beautiful attire .................... A SMILE!
The most prized possession ................... Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication ... Prayer
The most contagious spirit ................... Enthusiasm

-- Phillips Brooks (Contributed by Pamela Poland)
from Cool Tricks and Trinkets #387
(note: the atttribution to Phillips Brooks is probably spurious. The above is on various sites with Author Unknown. Plus computers weren't around in Phllips Brooks' time)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin,
but by the content of their character.

~Martin Luther King Jr. (from Cool Tricks and Trinkets #386)

Irritation

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an
understanding about ourselves.

- Carl Jung (Notable Quotables Weekly, 1/19/06)

Our Responsibility

We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not
unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of
thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we
can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.

- Richard Feynman (Notable Quotables Weekly, 1/19/06)

How Do I Change?

If I feel depressed I will sing.
If I feel sad I will laugh.
If I feel ill I will double my labour.
If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.
If I feel inferior I will wear new garments.
If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.
If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.
If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.
If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.
Today I will be the master of my emotions.

- Og Mandino, "The Greatest Salesman in the World"

[from Cool Tricks and Trinkets #383]