SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE

Designer arc gateway - “The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.”

How would you rate your level of "Inner Peace"? Enough to stay calm in a den of lions? Enough to get through a good day? Enough for the next five minutes, so long as everybody leaves you alone?

You may need a good case of inner peace, a disease that could leave you stress-free and contented for years to come. A chiropractor named Jeff Rockwell composed a list he calls "Symptoms of Inner Peace." You may have already caught this disease! See how many of these symptoms you exhibit:

1. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experiences.

2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

3. A loss of interest in judging self.

4. A loss of interest in judging others.

5. A loss of interest in conflict.

6. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

7. A loss of ability to worry (this is a serious symptom).

8. Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

9. Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

10. Frequent attacks of smiling through the eyes of the heart.

11. Increasing susceptibility to love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

12. An increasing tendency to let things happen.

Inner peace is a communicable disease that could possibly infect your home or workplace. You may already be showing signs of it and quite possibly be passing it along to others! Rockwell warns:

"If you have all or even most of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of PEACE may be so far advanced as to not be treatable."

Have you caught it?

From Lifesupport.

LET IT SHINE!

Diamond wedding ring - “The choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.”

While attending a conference, I returned to my motel room late one evening. The overhead light outside my door was burned out and I had difficulty finding the keyhole. When I managed to open the door, I felt around the wall for a light switch. I found a plate where a switch was once installed...but no switch.

Not discouraged easily, I remembered spotting a lamp by the bed when I deposited my luggage earlier in the day. I found the bed in the dark and felt around until I found the lamp, but when I switched it on, nothing happened! Now what?

Though I knew that it was dark outside my window since the outdoor light was broken, I thought that perhaps if I opened the curtains I might be able to use the light from the street to find another lamp. So I made my way slowly across the room to the drapes and...no drawstring! (Have you ever had days like that?)

I finally stumbled around until I found a desk lamp that actually worked! That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world can be and how necessary light is.

But even more necessary than physical light is the light that shines from people -- that light which illumines these dark recesses of the spirit and warms the heart. The light of love and compassion and faith. Because, for many people, the world is a dark and lonely place.

One December I received a letter from a reader in Mexico City who said this about the darkness around her: "Yesterday I bought a Christmas decoration. It's a plastic star, maybe 18 inches across, strung with small white and gold Christmas lights. I hung it in my living room window last night. It looks so beautiful from outside -- even better than I had hoped! I live on the second floor of a five-story government housing project building. The building where I live is tucked away where few people go. Not a whole lot of folks see my lighted star. As long as I have it plugged in, that star shines bravely and brightly out into the cold night. It shines on regardless of whether anyone is around to see it or not. And I know that anyone who does see it must be heartened by it -- it's that lovely.

"I got to thinking, 'Isn't that the way we should be? Shouldn't our lives in some way shine out into the cold night -- regardless of whether or not anyone admires them? It's certainly nice when someone notices us and is encouraged or heartened. But, after all, isn't it the shining itself that is most important?'"

It is the shining that is important, whether or not you feel as if you are making a difference. For someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or sadness or fear and in need of some light.

So let your light shine. Whatever light you offer may be a beacon of hope and encouragement in someone's darkness. And if you feel that your light is no more than a candle in a forest, remember this -- there isn't enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candle.

Will you let your light shine?

From Lifesupport.

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BEATITUDES FOR PARENTS

Fridge magnets decor - “Never pride yourself on knowledge. Remember; even a head of iceberg lettuce knows more than you do. It knows whether or not that light really does go out when the refrigerator door shuts.”

One man says he had a great speech for parents. It was called, "How to Raise Your Children." He went on speaking tours in the Midwestern United States and was paid a high honorarium for the talk. "This guy will wow you, " people said.

Then they had their first child. His majestic speech lost its punch at 2:00 AM with the baby in full cry. But he kept trying. He renamed his new, modified speech "Some Suggestions for Parents" and charged bravely on.

They had two more children. The speech changed again. And again. Now it's called, "Feeble Hints for Fellow Strugglers" and he begins with the question: "Does anyone here have a few words of wisdom?"

Parents through the ages can identify. "Could someone, please, just give me the final answers to parenting?" we ask. "ALL of them? Could someone tell please tell me how to respond and what to do and what to say and when to say it and do it and tell me now?"

But, of course, we ask the impossible.

Maybe this will help. I have saved it for years, and I'm convinced it was written by one who has been there.... It is not the final answer to parenting, but cherish it as a dose of wisdom worth re-reading as often as possible.

Beatitudes For Parents
by Marion E. Kinneman (1895-1985) (Used by permission.)

Blessed are those parents who make their peace with spilled milk and with mud, for of such is the kingdom of childhood.

Blessed is the parent who engages not in the comparison of his child with others, for precious unto each is the rhythm of his own growth.

Blessed are the fathers and mothers who have learned laughter, for it is the music of the child's world.

Blessed and wise are those parents who understand the goodness of time, for they make it not a sword that kills growth but a shield to protect.

Blessed and mature are they who without anger can say "no," for comforting to the child is the security of firm decisions.

Blessed is the gift of consistency, for it is heart's-ease in childhood.

Blessed are they who accept the awkwardness of growth, for they are aware of the choice between marred furnishings and damaged personalities.

Blessed are the teachable, for knowledge brings understanding, and understanding brings love.

Blessed are the men and women who in the midst of the unpromising mundane, give love, for they bestow the greatest of all gifts to each other, to their children, and -- in an ever-widening circle -- to their fellow men.

Blessed are those who read these words...but more blessed will be they who follow them!

From Lifesupport.

YOUR RIGHT TO BE WRONG

Catnap on the roof - “If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.”

A humorous story has it that a newly appointed young clergy person was contacted by a local funeral director to hold a graveside service at a small country cemetery in Iowa. There was to be no funeral, just the committal, because the deceased had no family or friends left in the state.

The young pastor started early to cemetery, but soon became lost. After making several wrong turns, he finally arrived a half-hour late. The hearse was nowhere in sight and cemetery workers were relaxing under a near-by tree, eating their lunch.

The pastor went to the open grave and found that the vault lid was already in place. He took out his book and read the service. As he returned to his car, he overheard one of the workers say, "Maybe we'd better tell him it's a septic tank."

Why is it we make our biggest mistakes in public? And some people can't avoid it...former hockey goalie Jacques Plante wonders, "How would you like a job where, if you made a mistake, a big, red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?"

But we should never give up our right to be wrong. Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. It is your right to be wrong. "No (one) ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes," said William E. Gladstone. Great mistakes are opportunities for great learning. And great learning makes for great living.

You have a right to be wrong. And if you are to build a great life, you have a duty to make great mistakes. If possible, laugh at them. Always learn from them. And try to make sure your next mistake is one you haven't made before!

From Lifesupport.