I WANT TO BE READY IN LIFE

Fresh white carrots for sale - “Those who think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind”

In her book TEACHING A STONE TO TALK (New York: Harper Collins, 1988), Annie Dillard reveals a sad, but poignant story. She tells of a British Arctic expedition that set sail in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage around the Canadian Arctic to the Pacific Ocean. Neither of the two ships and none of the 138 men aboard returned.

Dillard argues that Captain Sir John Franklin prepared as if they were
embarking on a pleasure cruise rather than an arduous and grueling
journey through one of earth's most hostile environments. He packed a
1,200 volume library, a hand-organ, china place settings for officers
and men, cut-glass wine goblets and sterling silver flatware,
beautifully and intricately designed. Years later, some of these place
settings would be found near a clump of frozen, cannibalized bodies.

The voyage was doomed when the ships sailed into frigid waters and
became trapped in ice. First ice coated the decks, the spars and the
rigging. Then water froze around the rudders, and the ships became
hopelessly locked in the now-frozen sea.

Sailors set out to search for help (possibly delirious from
lead-poisoning from the cans which preserved their food), but soon
succumbed to severe Arctic weather and died of exposure to its harsh
winds and subfreezing temperatures. For the next twenty years, remains
of the expedition were found all over the frozen landscape.

Dillard reports that the crew did not prepare either for the cold or
for the eventuality of the ships becoming ice-locked. On a voyage that
was to last two to three years, they packed only their Navy-issue
uniforms and the captain carried just a 12-day supply of coal for the
auxiliary steam engines. The frozen body of an officer was eventually
found, miles from the vessel, wearing his uniform of fine blue cloth,
edged with silk braid, a blue greatcoat and a silk neckerchief –
clothing which was noble and respectful, but wholly inadequate.

Historians may doubt the wisdom of such an ill-prepared journey. But
more important for us is the question: Are we, too, prepared for the
important voyage we've embarked upon, that journey we call "life"? I
want to be as ready as possible for whatever may lie ahead.

I try to prepare myself for the future in several ways:

* Intimacy: I need some caring people in my life.
* Work & Finance: I like to work hard, pay my way and help others
where possible.
* Spiritual Life: When I am spiritually centered and at peace, I can
handle most things.
* Service to Others: A lake with no outlet becomes a dead sea. It's
true with people, too.
* Mind and Body: Exercising my body as well as my mind helps them both
work better.
* Attitude Adjustments: I really can control my outlook and attitudes.
* Emotions: I can also control my reactions, including anger.
* Relationships: I need to make sure my relationships are healthy.

As long as we are alive, our journey is not over. And in large part,
the success of our voyage will be determined by our regular and
systematic preparation.

I want to be ready.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

SUCKER DAY IN LIFE

Old cucumbers for sale - “A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing”

I've never visited the town of Wetumka in Oklahoma (USA). But I
understand the folks there celebrate a day every year when they laugh
at themselves. They call it Sucker Day and they plan a town festival
on the last Saturday of September to commemorate it.

It all started in 1950 when a man calling himself F. Bam Morrison
arrived in Wetumka and persuaded local residents to put up the money
to bring a circus to town. They did not know F. Bam, but he was a nice
enough fellow and they trusted his word.

Merchants bought plenty of food, beverages, and souvenirs in
preparation for the crowds of people who were bound to attend. And
Morrison sold advance tickets. The townspeople were ecstatic at the
thought of a circus in their very own village. Children could hardly
sleep at night.

On the day the circus parade was to march down the main street,
ecstasy turned into dismay when nothing happened. F. Bam had slipped
quietly away in the night with any money he had left. There would be
no circus. The good folks of Wetumka had been swindled.

It didn't take long for their disappointment to turn into amusement,
however. Someone came up with the idea of holding a four-day
celebration anyway. And why not? They had all the food and goodies.
Calendars were cleared and, besides, everyone's heart was set on
having a good time.

They called their party The Sucker Festival. In a display of
good-natured fun, people celebrated the fact that they'd been conned,
snookered and hornswoggled. And now Sucker Day is an annual event
Wetumka – a good excuse to come together, to laugh and to have some
fun.

We're going to be fooled sometimes. Especially if we easily place our
confidence in people. But I'm not going to give up trusting just to
avoid being had.

I've observed that some of the happiest people I know are far from
being the most wary – in fact, they are quite often open and trusting.
These contented folks share at least two traits.

The first is that they are trustworthy. They are known to be honest
and true to their word.

And the second trait these happy and satisfied people share is that
they easily trust others. Sometimes their trust is misplaced, but they've discovered that the benefits of trusting usually outweigh the risks of disappointment.

I expect I'll get taken in plenty of times yet by friends and
strangers I believed in. But I hope the next time I trusted when I
should have been more cautious, I can learn from the good folks of
Wetumka and laugh at myself.

Because I'd rather let others into my heart than shut them out. I'd
rather be a sucker for a day than unhappy for a lifetime. And I'd
rather believe there is goodness in most people, for that is the only
way to find it.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

DRIVING OUT BAD NAILS FOR LIFE

Macross Frontier VF-25F messiah model kit - “Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.

A teacher who was lecturing on habits told his class, "Anything you
repeat twenty times is yours forever." From the back of the classroom
came a whispered voice, "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…." Of course, what
the teacher was trying to say is that any behavior, often repeated,
becomes habit.

The Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus once said, "A nail is driven out
by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit." And if I understand him
right, he suggests that saying no to a bad habit is not enough.
Instead, we should try to replace it with a good one. Repeat the new
behavior twenty times … and it is yours.

If any behavior, good or bad, is often repeated, it becomes stronger
and more powerful. "Since habits become power, make them work for you
and not against you," said E. Stanley Jones. In other words, drive out
the undesirable nail, the behavior you'd like to change, with a better
one.

One woman did just that after lamenting to her friend, "I hate being
late. It has been a problem for me all of my life."

"Do you really want to change that habit?" her friend asked. The woman
said that she did and her friend responded, "All right. Every time you're
late for work or anywhere else, then give me $25."

"I'd go broke!" she said. "But I'll do $10."

"It's got to hurt," said the friend.

"Believe me, that will hurt," the woman replied. They agreed that the
money should be deposited in a jar and used for charity.

In the first week, the habitually tardy woman made a concerted effort
to plan ahead and she only paid $10 to her friend. The next week, $20.
The third week, none at all. By week five, she had built a strong
habit of leaving early, and her new behavior replaced the old pattern
of tardiness that had hindered her for so long. She drove out one nail
with another one. And she found freedom.

If you're like me, there is a bad nail you want to remove. Today is a
good day to pick up a better nail and start using it.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A LIFE THAT MATTERS

View at the open air vegetables market - “An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.”

They said he died.

One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, the man who
had spent his life amassing a fortune from the manufacture and sale of
weapons of destruction, awoke to read his own obituary. Of course, it
was a mistake. Alfred's brother had died, and the reporter
inadvertently wrote Alfred's obituary.

For the first time, Alfred Nobel saw himself as the world saw him –
"the dynamite king," the great industrialist who had made an immense
fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was
concerned, was the entire purpose of his life. None of his true
intentions surfaced. Nothing was said about his work to break down the
barriers that separated persons and ideas. He was, quite simply, a
merchant of death, and for that alone would he be remembered.

Alfred read the obituary with horror. He felt that the world must know
the true meaning and purpose of his life. He resolved to do this
through his last will and testament. The final disposition of his
fortune would show the world his life's ideals. And at that time came
into being yearly prizes for chemistry, physics, medicine,
literature – and the famous Nobel Peace Prize.

If you were to read your own obituary today, what would it say? Do
others know what you stand for, what you believe in and what truly
matters to you?

Dr. Philip Humbert asks, "What remarkable, extraordinary and amazing
things will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and
only life?" I believe that the question should also be asked this way:
"What will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and
only DAY?" For it's increasingly clear to me that the decisions I make
every day, even little decisions, will decide how my life will
eventually turn out.

Hopefully, I won't wake up to read my own obituary. But I have already
begun to write it – day by day, moment by moment. And if I live a life
that matters today, then my obituary will already be written in the
hearts of those who know me.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

THE HAND FOR LIFE

Lemons for sale - “When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.”

At first it sounded like a Thanksgiving story, but the more I
reflected on it, the more appropriate it seemed for any time of the
year. The way I heard it, the story went like this:

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a
fun assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were
thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but
still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other
traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would
be the subjects of most of her student's art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different
kind of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and
unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to
stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt
behind those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of
something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else.
Just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand
could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because
farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the
police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the
hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went -- until the
teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at
Douglas' desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little
boy looked away and murmured, "It's yours, teacher."

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here
or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, "Take
my hand, Douglas, we'll go outside." Or, "Let me show you how to hold
your pencil." Or, "Let's do this together." Douglas was most thankful
for his teacher's hand.

Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about
teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing
friendship, and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They
might not always say thanks. But they'll remember the hand that
reaches out.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes