ANOTHER WORD FOR LOVE FOR LIFE

Tiny robot transformer toy - “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

I knew a woman who always found an excuse to love.

I met her working at the most difficult job of my life - as a helper in an after-school daycare center. I was completely unprepared for the work; I had no training and my temperament seemed to be particularly unsuited to the position.

I reminded myself that I was hired to watch the children, play with them and lead arts and crafts - not fix all of their problems, of which there were many. And my only help was Mrs. Tucker, a 73-year-old retired social worker who worked with me. All that stood between the kids and disaster was me and a 73-year-old woman. And I wasn't that sturdy a defense! But I soon learned that Mrs. Tucker was a master with these children.

"Some children just need more love," she always said. A case in point was Timmy. Timmy received special help at school because of his emotional problems. He was developmentally delayed. He often fought with other children and was a compulsive hair-puller. I could never get close to Timmy - he did not trust anyone. Anyone, that is, except Mrs. Tucker. He responded her. He genuinely loved her because, I came to believe, she loved him.

One day a fight broke out between Timmy and one of the other children. After separating them, Mrs. Tucker directed Timmy to sit in a chair. He screamed, "I HATE YOU, Mrs. Tucker! You're a mean, old lady! I hate you!"

"I know you hate me right now, Timmy," she said firmly, "but I'm sure not going to let you pull the other children's hair."

After a while Timmy had calmed down and Mrs. Tucker called him over. His cheeks were still dirty and bore dried tear streaks. I could not hear their conversation, but I saw Timmy put his arms around her neck. When I walked by I heard him say, "I'm sorry I called you a mean old lady, Mrs. Tucker." I knew he meant it.

A little later Mrs. Tucker said to me, "Timmy just needs more love than other children."

On another occasion I heard Timmy's mother say, "You work magic with him, Mrs. Tucker. He doesn't respond to anybody like he does to you."

Maybe so, but sometimes "magic" is just another word for "love."

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

MORE LIGHT AND LESS NOISE IN LIFE

Chicken and vegetables rice for lunch - “The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'.”

A great story from one of America's greatest story-tellers, Abraham Lincoln, was related by the president during those anxious days of the American Civil War. A delegation of well-meaning patriots tried to impress upon the president the gravity of the war. They implied that his administration was neither as wise nor good as it ought to be. He listened carefully, then responded with a memorable anecdote.

He told them that he once had a neighbor who found himself in a tight situation. He was traveling home one dark and rainy night. There were few bridges in the country and he came to a stream that he would have to ford. But because of the darkness and the rain, he couldn't see well enough to know just where to cross.

Lightning flashed and he saw his way for the briefest moment. But the man was perplexed because there seemed to be more thunder than lightning. He was convinced that every lightning flash was followed by several loud peals of thunder. The poor man just stood at the edge of the stream in his confusion about how to proceed. He finally prayed, "O Lord, if it is just the same to you, give me more light and less noise."

The delegation clearly got the point that the president needed more solutions and less complaining - more light and less noise.

Some people are more like light and others are more like noise.

Some people shed light on solutions. Others only make a din about the way things are.

Some people help us to see the situation more clearly. Others just sound off about who's to blame.

Some people show a better way. Others clamor about the present course of action.

Some people offer to help. Others wail about the problem.

The sun rises every morning and sheds light, vanquishing the night's darkness. The rooster also rises every morning and makes noise, which does nothing about the darkness.

How could things be different if you were more like the sun than the rooster? What if you decided today to contribute to the light?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A KIND OF DEVOTION YOU'LL NEVER REGRET FOR LIFE

Eeepc mini laptop computer - “Don't be a time manager, be a priority manager. Cut your major goals into bite-sized pieces. Each small priority or requirement on the way to ultimate goal become a mini goal in itself.”

A true story comes from an incident which occurred during a business training seminar. To illustrate motivation, the trainer asked one of the business executives in the audience to come forward.

The trainer said, "I want you to imagine that I have placed a wooden beam across the floor here and I would like for you to walk from one end of the beam to the other end. Would you do that for $20?"

The man said that he would.

Then leader continued, "Now, I want you to imagine that I take that same beam and raise it up to the top of a forty-story building and run it across the street to another tall building. Would you still walk across the beam for $20?"

This time the man answered that he would not.

"How about for a $100?"

"No!" the man emphasized.

The trainer forged ahead. "You have a child, right?"

"Yes."

"This time, what if I were to hold your child over the edge of the building and tell you that if you do not walk across the beam I will drop your child. Would you walk across?"

Surprisingly, the father hesitated for a beat, then smiled and asked, "Which child do you have?"

The trainer, of course, was right in assuming that a parent's devotion to a child is usually greater than almost any amount of fear associated with saving that child. Most parents love their children fiercely and would do anything possible to help them.

An eastern newspaper reported that a train in Bangladesh accidentally struck a calf elephant. The mother elephant apparently became upset over the incident, for a little while later another train came along and spotted the female standing in the middle of the track. Though the engineer blasted his horn, she would not budge. When the train came to a halt, she began butting it with her head! For fifteen minutes she hammered the engine, rendering it inoperable. Once satisfied, she walked off into the jungle, stranding two hundred passengers for five hours while they waited for a replacement engine. Don't mess with her children!

Devotion to our own children is essential. Here are some ways we can channel our devotion into productive areas.

1. Devote TIME to your child. Quality time means nothing if it rarely occurs. Spend time reading, laughing, playing, exploring, learning, talking, and just sitting quietly together.

2. Devote POSITIVE ATTENTION to your child. Let her know she is important by the way you speak and listen to her.

3. Devote LOVE to your child. He is one of the most important people you'll ever have the privilege of knowing.

4. Devote ENERGY to learning how to be the best parent possible. All of our children are different and require different skills from us.

5. Devote YOURSELF, and you'll never regret the valuable investment.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

WHEN YOU'RE PULLED ALONG IN LIFE

Spider wall decoration art - “I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual becoming with a goal in front and not behind”

Do you ever feel as if your life is pulling you someplace you don't want to go?

Comedian Carol Burnett experienced one of those moments when she emerged from a cab one day and caught her coat in the door. The driver was unaware of her plight and slowly began to edge out into traffic. All of a sudden, she found herself being pulled out into the street. All she could do was run alongside the cab as it made it's way down the block.

A passerby alerted the driver who quickly stopped. He jumped out and released Carol's coat from the door. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes," she gasped, "but how much more do I owe you?"

Life goes like that sometimes. It pulls us along and all we can do is run to keep up. Or it may pull us in a direction we never chose to go and charge us for the experience!

It pulls us into frightening problems and circumstances.

It pulls us into complex situations that call forth the best from us.

It pulls us into experiences that change us and mold us.

It pulls us into the lives of other people.

It pulls us into opportunities to make a difference.

It pulls us in directions we never planned on going and gives us experiences we never thought we needed.

Sometimes all we can do is try to run alongside and make the best of a situation. But if we also let those situations make the best of us, it will always be worth the trip.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A HUGE HELPING OF GOOD NEWS FOR LIFE

Iron baggage trolleys - “Everything has its limit - iron ore cannot be educated into gold”

Have you had a large helping of good news lately?

A woman called her pastor. "We just won $100 million in the lottery!" she exclaimed. "But I'm afraid to tell my husband. He has a weak heart and I'm afraid he may have a heart attack. Pastor, would you be able to tell him for me?" she asked.

The clergyman thought that perhaps he could, so he came right over and sat down with the man. "What would you do," he began, "if you were to win $500,000 in the lottery?"

"My wife could quit her job and I could work less and relax more," the man said.

"What would you do if you were to win one million dollars in the lottery?" the pastor asked.

"If I were to win that much we could both retire," the man said. "Life would be good."

The pastor forged on. "Well, what would you do if you were to win five million dollars?"

"We could do anything we wanted!" he exclaimed. "We could travel, live anywhere in the world and enjoy a life we never dreamed we could live!"

Finally the clergyman got to it. "Tell me...what would you do if you won ten million dollars in the lottery?"

"Ten million dollars? Why, if I ever won that much, Pastor, I'd give half of it to you and the church!"

The pastor had a heart attack. Too much of a good thing?

Most news, good and bad, does not come served in such large helpings. But that's OK ... there is plenty of good news available in smaller portions to keep me satisfied. A day nibbling on bite-sized bits of encouragement and kindnesses from others, as well as passing it along, can fill my life so full that I lose appetite for the negative.

It's a diet for health and happiness.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

JOY IN THE MORNING FOR LIFE

Energy expo display case - “The sage wears clothes of coarse cloth but carries jewels in his bosom; He knows himself but does not display himself; He loves himself but does not hold himself in high esteem”

Does this sound familiar?

James was cleaning out the attic one day when he came across a ticket from a shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed it was over eleven years old. He felt sure the shoes would not still be there, but decided to stop by anyway and check.

He handed the ticket to the man behind the counter, who didn't seem to be surprised at the date. "Just a minute," said the clerk. " I'll have to look for these." He disappeared into a back room.

After a few minutes, the clerk called out, "Here they are!"

"That's terrific!" said James, hardly believing his good fortune.

The man came back to the counter, empty-handed. "They'll be ready Thursday," he said.

We should all be masters of patience; after all, we've had plenty of practice. But waiting for shoes is one thing, waiting to heal from a hurt or waiting for a persistent problem to change can be far more difficult.

James Melvin Washington shared some wisdom about the importance of patience in those tough times of life. He said, "My grandmother used to tell me that every loss is temporary, that every rainy day is temporary, that every hardship is temporary. She used to tell me, 'Son, every goodbye ain't gone. Just hold on - there's joy coming in the morning.'"

Are you holding on? It may seem dark now, but morning is coming.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

ARE YOU READY TO BE SURPRISED IN LIFE?

White talkative parrot - “Much talking is the cause of danger. Silence is the means of avoiding misfortune. The talkative parrot is shut up in a cage. Other birds, without speech, fly freely about.”

Are you ready to be surprised? Life is full of surprises - to those who are aware.

History records amazing coincidences in the lives of two of America's founders - Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. You are aware that Jefferson labored for two weeks writing the Declaration of Independence. He showed his drafts to Adams and Benjamin Franklin, who edited it, honed Jefferson's ideas and refined the document. When it was finally finished, he brought it before the Continental Congress for approval. And America remembers her birth date, of course, as July 4, 1776.

Jefferson and Adams spent the next 50 years debating ideas about how this new nation should govern itself and what it should eventually become. Their administrations argued philosophies and legislation. Sometimes the two men were contentious, but later in life they seemed to develop more of an appreciation for each other. Though they lived far apart, they faithfully corresponded.

Surprisingly (and coincidentally) , they both died the same day! Adams is said to have uttered, just before he died, "Thomas Jefferson survives." He couldn't have known that Jefferson himself died only a few hours earlier.

Do you know what that day was? July 4 - Independence Day. Do you know what year? It was 1826, exactly 50 years from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And the coincidences don't end there.

Couriers were dispatched with the news of the great men's deaths. From Braintree, Massachusetts the messenger with news about Adams traveled south. Jefferson's messenger came north from Monticello, Virginia. Do you know where they met? In Philadelphia ... under the shadow of the great hall where both men's lives were so dramatically shaped, and where they labored to give birth to a nation.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But historians of the day often attributed these coincidences to providence - as a good omen for a new nation.

Our lives are full of surprises and amazing coincidences, though we may not always take notice. Whether or not we see the hand of providence in coincidence, life teems with the remarkable.

Learn to notice what others do not see, and you can expect to be surprised. Learn to notice what others do not see, and what you see will amaze.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

THE DAY THE TV BROKE IN LIFE

Dried preserved squid for sale - “The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.”

Tracy Smith quipped, "I wanted to make it really special on Valentine's Day, so I tied my boyfriend up. And for three solid hours I watched whatever I wanted on TV." Of course we laugh, but do you know that one of the major sources of friction identified by couples is conflict over which television channels to watch?

For years now, watching television has become our universal pastime. We wake up to TV, hurry home so as not to miss our special programs, eat meals around the set and go to bed after our favorite nightly news or comedy show. Television is the babysitter of choice of countless households.

Not that television is bad. Like other forms of communication, including radio and the Internet, it can be both helpful and harmful -- depending on how it is used. And how often. It has been estimated that average Americans will spend eight years of their lives watching television. Laurence J. Peter sums up one of the greatest problems of excessive TV viewing among children: "Television, " he says, "has changed a child from an irresistible force to an immovable object."

Katherine Coroso Jackson, mother of pop star Michael Jackson, explained this about her son: "It all really started when Michael was three or four years old. The TV broke and the kids started dancing and singing to entertain themselves. I convinced their father they were good, and after he listened to them, he agreed with me." The TV broke and, well, you know the rest of the story.

If your TV broke, what might get fixed? Or, put another way, if you turned your television OFF today, what might get turned ON? An interest in a project you've wanted to begin? An new way of relating to those you live with? Community or public service? New friendships or adventures?

The Jackson children changed from immovable objects to an irresistible force the day their TV broke. WHAT might get turned on in you the day your TV is turned off? Want to find out?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

NO WRONG TIME TO SAY THE RIGHT THING IN LIFE

A crowd of people - “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

A cartoon depicts a woman shaking hands with her clergyman as she leaves the church. The caption says, "Thank you for the sermon. It was like water to a drowning man." Some compliments are better left unsaid....

Isn't it true that words carry with them immense power? Power to build up and power to tear down. Such was the case with the words of Maude, a woman who learned that there is no wrong time to say the right thing.

It was a cold, rainy day in March. Across the room in the millinery department of the store where Maude worked, sat Laura, a woman about Maude's age. Other workers did not like Laura; they thought her to be snobbish and aloof. And Maude agreed.

But sweeping the bias from her eyes, she made up her mind to say something kind to Laura. Finally, she managed, "Do you know, Laura, that I've worked in this room with you for several years. And whenever I glance up I see your head silhouetted against the window there behind you. I think you have the prettiest profile and hair that I have ever seen on anybody." Her words were not insincere flattery. She meant it.

Laura looked up and began to cry. "That's the first kind word anybody has ever said to me in all the years I've worked here," she said.

Maude discovered that Laura's aloofness was not due to snobbishness, but shyness. The two became friends. Other workers soon began to include Laura in their activities, and she blossomed like a flower that, for the first time, found sunlight. The right words, spoken in kindness, changed a life.

Never underestimate the power of your words. There is no wrong time to say the right thing. And there is no better time than now.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

TAKING CONTROL OF STRESS FOR LIFE

Bandage on hand - “That love is reverence, and worship, and glory, and the upward glance. Not a bandage for dirty sores. But they don't know it. Those who speak of love most promiscuously are the ones who've never felt it. They make some sort of feeble stew out of sympathy, compassion, contempt, and general indifference, and they call it love. Once you've felt what it means to love as you and I know it - the total passion for the total height - you are unable of anything else.”

Have you heard about the man who was shopping with his baby boy? The obviously distraught and screaming child sat in the shopping cart.

As the man walked up and down the aisles, he calmly and patiently repeated, "Don't yell, Bobby. Calm down, Bobby. Don't get excited, Bobby."

A woman standing next to him turned and said, "You certainly are to be commended for trying so hard to soothe little Bobby."

The bewildered man looked up and said, "Lady, I'M BOBBY!"

It all gets a little much sometimes. Have you taken inventory of the stress in your life? Stress can come from work. It can come from family. It can come from the places we live and the lifestyles we choose.

In a recent survey, 60 percent of respondents said the city in which they live is noisier now than five years ago. The other 40 percent? They didn't hear the question.

How much stress do you feel? Though not all stress should be avoided, too much pressure can cause lasting harm in practically every area of your life. The solution is to take control.

Robert Reich did just that. As Secretary of Labor in the Clinton cabinet, Robert B. Reich, in an article published in the Op-Ed sections of the New York Times and Washington Post, told of his decision to resign from the stressful job. He said, "I have the best job I've ever had and probably ever will. No topping it." It was true. He seemed to love his job. But he added, "I also have the best family I'll ever have, and I can't get enough of them." And there was the problem -- too much of a good thing. He could not give himself to his family and to this particular career at the same time.

So Reich said, "I had to choose. I told the boss I'll be leaving, and explained why." His boss, of course, was the president of the United States. And the country took notice. Some people were stunned. Here was a high government official who made a decision to step out of an important and powerful position in order to spend the more time at home. He took control.

That is the first step to freeing ourselves from unnecessary stress: take control. Make the tough decision. It may be a decision for less money, a smaller home, a new location, a different job, less
prestige, or a simpler lifestyle. But one thing I believe: it will be a decision you will never regret.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE BODY FOR LIFE?

A set of keys - “Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.”

A hot, new business capitalizes on people's need to 'fess up, as well as their interest in eaves-dropping on the confessions of others.

A fee-based phone services and Web sites allow customers to record their confessions anonymously - anything from admissions of petty theft to adultery and even murder. Or, those who are inclined can listen to or read the edited sordid tales of others. (This is where the real money is made, by the way.)

After the first year of business, one such service, The Confession Line, reportedly made 17 million dollars. Plans were implemented to expand from 25 telephone lines to 100. The need to confess is pandemic!

But if confession is "good for the soul," it is also good for the body. Why? What we hide inside eats us up.

Researcher James Pennebaker studied health benefits of confession. Some people's secrets literally make them sick. He discovered that criminals who confessed to lie detector technicians were often so grateful for the physical relief they felt after "getting it all out," that they sent birthday, holiday and thank you cards to the polygraph personnel who heard their stories.

Perhaps the bigger problem is that our secret IS our sickness. What we hide is what hurts us. Whether it is big or small, past or present, that which we carefully conceal from the rest of the world is our sickness. And we won't begin to recover until what is concealed is revealed.

The prescription? Bring it up and bring it out into the open. You can't bring out what you don't bring up. Do it for your body's sake; for your mind's sake; for your soul's sake.

Bring it up and bring it out. You may be surprised that others are quicker to understand your misdeed than you are even to admit it! And at least when you get it off your chest, you'll have one less burden to carry as you make amends!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

DON'T GIVE UP ON TRUST FOR LIFE

Bullseye targets galore - “Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets.”

One woman describes herself as "five feet, three inches tall and pleasingly plump." After she had a minor accident, her mother accompanied her to the emergency room. The triage nurse asked for her height and weight, and she blurted out, "Five-foot-eight, 125 pounds."

While the nurse pondered over this information, the woman's mother leaned over to her. "Sweetheart, " she said gently, "this is not the Internet."

The Internet is becoming known as a place where the truth is not readily apparent. I've learned from the Internet that I have extremely wealthy acquaintances in Africa that have enormous sums of money they need to transfer out of the country. They literally contact me every day! And if I will only help, they will gladly share a portion of their bounty with me and I'll become an instant multi-millionaire. Others promise me wealth beyond my wildest dreams if only I invest in an up-and-coming business venture. Daily, the Internet reminds me that greed can lead to disaster; that not everybody has my best interest in mind and I must be sensibly cautious.

But in most relationships, I would rather trust than shut others out. I would rather be taken advantage of by a few than isolate myself from everybody. Perhaps not everybody should be trusted, but I would hate to experience life without it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson put it well: "Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great."

Children will more often live up our high expectations than not. Friends and colleagues will generally show themselves to be dependable. The world we live in is a good world, inhabited by mostly good people who can still be counted on.

If you feel cynical, don't give up on trust. Others will usually come through. If love makes the world go 'round, then trust makes the love go 'round.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

TRADE SHOW DISPLAY EXTRAVAGANZA

Planning and hosting your company's trade shows requires a lot of thoughts and considerations in various essential focus areas. You need the right theme which is a perfect match with your company's objectives for your Custom Trade Show Exhibit. Having the wrong theme for the job can be disastrous. One of the most effective solution to circumvent this issue is to have a reliable consultant for Custom Trade Show Display Booths.If you are looking for a specialist for Custom Trade Show Exhibits look no further than Gilbert Displays. With a superior industry track record of award-winning Custom Retail Displays and Custom Showcase Fixtures firmly within their grasp, you can be sure of their quality service and excellent unique designs.
Gilbert Displays also caters for antecedent architectural woodworkings which provide the much needed flair for your company's corporate image.

"RECONCILIATION" -- A DIFFICULT WORD FOR LIFE

A glass of chinese tea - “The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort and refinement.”

An office reports that they have an answering machine that instructs callers to leave their name and address, and to spell any difficult words.

Early one Monday when the secretary was reviewing the weekend messages, she heard an enthusiastic young woman recite her name and address and then confidently say, "My difficult word is reconciliation. R-E-C-O-N-C- I-L-I-A-T- I-O-N."

Everyone's a comic! But in another sense, reconciliation IS a difficult word. If not difficult to spell, then difficult to carry out. Other difficult words are "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you."

When my son was eleven years old he came home from school in tears one day. A couple of the older kids had beat him up at the bus stop.

We soon learned that tension had been brewing for some time. For several days there had been taunts, then pushing and shoving. But now the conflict escalated to fists. Rob wanted to stay home from school so he wouldn't have to confront the boys in the future.

We called the school and found great support. "We'll be happy to call the boys' parents," we were told. "And you should call the police."

"We don't know what we will do yet," I said. I wanted to consider the best way to handle this situation.

The next day was Saturday. Rob happened to look out the window and said in alarm, "There are the boys who beat me up!" Two older boys were standing in front of our house, as if they were waiting for Rob to step outside.

I immediately began to think of what I wanted to say to them, but my wife Bev, a natural reconciler, acted first. She opened the door and said with a smile, "Hi guys. Would you like some ice cream?"

They looked at each other in puzzlement. But they were teenagers, after all, so they shrugged their shoulders and one of them said, "Sure. Why not?"

They followed her indoors and Bev promptly introduced herself, Rob's younger brothers and me. She even introduced Rusty the dog. "And I think you already know Rob," she said, pointing to our son. Her idea was to help them to see that Rob was a person, not a target. He had a family; he lived in a neighborhood and even owned a friendly dog.

Bev drew the boys into conversation while we ate ice cream. After a few minutes, she said, "I know there's been some trouble at the bus stop. I think there may be a misunderstanding. "

They nodded that there had indeed been trouble at the bus stop.

"Rob wants to be your friend," she continued. "Maybe we can talk about the misunderstanding so you can all be friends."

They nodded their agreement and we talked. Eventually the boys apologized and said there would be no more trouble. And there wasn't.

The vice-principal of the school called back the following week and asked about the fighting. "Did you call the police?" he asked.

"No, but we've taken care of it," I said.

"What did you do?" he wondered.

I said, "We fed them ice cream."

Reconciliation is a difficult word. But it's one we need to learn!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

TO HONOR THEIR SOULS FOR LIFE

Empty seats - “Sometimes when a speaker has the audience on the edge of their seats, they're trying to muster up the nerve to get up and go home”

Perhaps you have never heard of Katherine Lawes. Katherine was the wife of Lewis Lawes, warden at Sing Sing Prison from 1920-1941.

Sing Sing had the reputation of destroying wardens. The average warden's tenure before Lewis Lawes was two years. "The easiest way to get out of Sing Sing," he once quipped, "is to go in as warden." In his 21 years he instituted numerous reforms - and an important part of his success was due to his wife Katherine.

Katherine took seriously the idea that the prisoners are human beings, worthy of attention and respect. She regularly visited inside the walls of Sing Sing. She encouraged the prisoners, ran errands for them and spent time listening to them. Most importantly, she cared about them. And as a result, they cared deeply about her.

Then one night in October of 1937, news was "telegraphed" between the prison cells that Katherine was killed in an accident. The prisoners petitioned the warden to allow them to attend her funeral bier. He granted their strange request and a few days later the south gate of Sing Sing swung slowly open. Hundreds of men - felons, lifers, murderers, thieves - men convicted of almost every crime conceivable, marched slowly from the prison gate to the bier, reassembled at the house and returned to their cells. There were so many that they proceeded unguarded. But not one tried to escape. If he had, the others may have killed him on the spot, so devoted were they to Katherine Lawes, the woman who daily walked into Hell to show the men a piece of Heaven.

Katherine's strength was to see the men less as prisoners and more as individuals. Thomas Moore has said, "We can only treat badly those things or people whose souls we disregard."

To treat people well is to honor their souls. To honor their souls is to understand what it means to love your neighbor.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

REAL LIBERATION FOR LIFE

Drinks and beverages counter stall - “Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator.”

We humans experience two kinds of limitations: physical and mental.

I had a remarkable conversation with a woman about physical limitations. Nancy was a sufferer of M.S. She could no longer walk and spent her waking hours in a wheelchair.

"I'm not 'confined' to a wheelchair," she insisted one day. "It doesn't confine me. It sets me free."

She asked me, "Do you want to know my reason for living?"

"What is it?" I wondered.

"To liberate people. To set them free. Before I got my wheelchair," she explained, "I had trouble getting around. Now I can go places! However I can free people, I want to do it."

"People speak of being 'shut in,'" she continued. "People who are confined to a room or a house or a bed are not 'shut in.' They're 'shut out' - shut out of activities and shut out of people's lives. So my mission is to liberate people, to set them free, however I can."

Because of her disease, Nancy now helps people find ways of gaining more physical freedom. But we humans suffer from other kinds of limitations, too. We need liberation from enslaving beliefs and attitudes.

"Almost everybody walks around with a vast burden of imaginary limitations inside his head," says J. H. Brennan. "While the burden remains, personal success is as difficult to achieve as the conquest of Everest with a sack of rocks tied to your back."

What burden of limiting beliefs and attitudes are you walking around with? Do you ever say, "I can't do that" or "I can't change this or that"? Do you ever think that you'll never be able to pursue your passion or achieve a cherished dream? Do you believe that other people can experience the good things of life, or simply be happy, but not you? These patterns of thinking are as much of a burden as a sack of rocks tied to your back.

Listen to these words from Darwin P. Kingsley: "You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind."

Okay, certain limitations are a part of life. You may be more able to see those that are physical. After all, "stinkin' thinkin'" can be easily hidden. But, as Kingsley says, when you get rid of limiting attitudes and beliefs, those rocks tied to your back, you'll discover powers you never dreamed of. You'll do things you never thought you could do! And you'll be truly free.

Besides an unhealthy mental outlook, what have you got to lose?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

WHEN ARE YOU TOO OLD IN LIFE?

Emergency flotation device - “When the tides of life turn against you and the current upsets your boat, don't waste those tears on what might have been, just lie on your back and float.”

When asked how it was that she has lived so long, one 91-year-old woman replied, "I think God is testing the patience of my relatives."

When is "too old"? At what age do we give up? At 100, Grandma Moses was still painting, and Titian painted "Battle of Lepants" when he was 98.

At 93, George Bernard Shaw wrote Far­fetched Fables.

At 91, Eamon de Valera served as presi­dent of Ireland.

At 90, Pablo Picasso still drew and en­graved.

At 89, Arthur Rubinstein gave one of his great­est recitals in New York's Carnegie Hall, and Pablo Casals, at 88, still performed cello concerts.

At 82, Winston Churchill wrote the four-volume work, A History of the Eng­lish-Speaking Peoples, Leo Tolstoy completed I Can­not Be Silent, and Goethe, at the same age, fin­ished Faust.

At 81, Benjamin Franklin engineered the diplomacy, which led to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

When are you "too old"? Only on the day when you truly have nothing left to give. And the good news is this: that day never has to arrive!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes