A PARABLE OF A CHILD IN LIFE

Hard at work in the office - “Work like you don't need the money, love like your heart has never been broken, and dance like no one is watching”

There is a difference between education and experience. Education is what you get from reading the small print. Experience is what you get from not reading it!

But isn't it true that great learning comes from both education and experience? Let me tell you a parable:

A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said, "You will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader. How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence, grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity, be open-minded, yet strong in character? In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of the world's truly GREAT leaders?"

The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before -- any ONE of his present or future students could be the person described in his dream. Was he preparing them to rise to ANY POSITION to which they may aspire? He thought, 'How might my teaching change if I KNEW that one of my students were this person?' He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind.

This student would need experience as well as instruction. She would need to know how to solve problems of various kinds. She would need to grow in character as well as knowledge. She would need self-assurance as well as the ability to listen well and work with others. She would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future. She would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind. She would need to grow in understanding of others and become a student of the spirit. She would need to set high standards for herself and learn self discipline, yet she would also need love and encouragement, that she might be filled with love and goodness.

His teaching changed. Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him, a future world leader. He saw each one, not as they were, but as they could be. He expected the best from his students, yet tempered it with compassion. He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction.

After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence. He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream. Only she was not one of his students, but
rather his daughter. For of all the various teachers in her life, her father was the best.

I've heard it said that "Children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see." But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher. It is a parable about you and me -- whether or not we are parents or even teachers. And the story, OUR story, actually begins like this:

"You will be given a child who will grow up to become...." You finish the sentence. If not a world leader, then a superb father? An excellent teacher? A gifted healer? An innovative problem solver? An inspiring artist? A generous philanthropist?

Where and how you will encounter this child is a mystery. But believe that one child's future may depend upon influence only you can provide, and something remarkable will happen. For no young person will ever be ordinary to you again. And you will never be the same.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

HOW MUCH MUSIC CAN YOU MAKE FOR LIFE?

Wooden decorative electric lighting - “When you have come to the edge Of all light that you know And are about to drop off into the darkness Of the unknown, Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly”

Imagine this. A concert violinist is performing a difficult piece in front of a large audience. Suddenly there is a loud snap that reverberates throughout the auditorium. The audience immediately knows that a string has broken and fully expects the concert to be suspended until another string, or instrument, is brought to the musician.

But instead, the violinist composes herself, closes her eyes and then signals the conductor to begin again. The orchestra resumes where they had left off and now the musician plays the music on three strings. In her mind she works out new fingering to compensate for the missing string. A work that few people can play well on four strings, the violinist with the broken string plays on three.

When she finishes, an awesome silence hangs in the room. And then as one, the crowd rises to their feet and cheers wildly. The violinist smiles and wipes perspiration from her brow. When silence returns to the great room, she explains why she continued to play in spite of a broken string. "You know," she says, still breathless, "sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." *

We know what she means, don't we? Maybe we've lived most of our lives and we have only a little time left. Can we still make music?

Maybe disease has robbed us of our capacity to work. Can we still make music?

Perhaps a financial loss has left us impoverished. Can we still make music?

Or maybe a meaningful relationship has ended and we feel alone in the world. Can we still make music?

There will come a time when we all experience loss. Like the violinist, will we find the courage to discover just how much music we can still make with what we have left? How much good we can still do? How much joy we can still share? For I'm convinced that the world, more than ever, needs the music only you can make.

And if it takes extra courage to make the music, many will applaud your effort. For some people have lost more than others, and these brave souls inspire the rest of us to greater heights.

Just how much music can you make with what you have left?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES IN LIFE

Sturdy door lock - “Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart.”

An expert on whales was telling friends about some of the unusual findings he had made. "For instance," he said, "some whales can communicate at a distance of 300 miles."

"What on earth would one whale say to another 300 miles away?" asked a sarcastic member of the group.

"I'm not absolutely sure," answered the expert, "but it sounds something like this: 'Heeeeeeey! Can you hear me nowwww!?!' "

Hearing well is only part of effective communication. But another, and often more important part, is frequently overlooked. It does not concern the ears, however, but the eyes.

According to Leil Lowndes (TALKING THE WINNER'S WAY, Contemporary Books) Boston researchers asked opposite-sex individuals to have a two-minute casual conversation. They tricked half their subjects into maintaining intense eye contact by directing them to count the number of times their partner blinked. They gave the other half of the subjects no special eye-contact directions for the chat.

When questioned afterward, the unsuspecting blinkers reported significantly higher feelings of respect and fondness for their colleagues who, unbeknownst to them, had simply been counting their blinks. One might conclude that, for respect and fondness, count blinks! But the larger message is: good eye contact will dramatically improve your relationships.

Ears are not the only organs essential for great listening. Whether you're talking to a spouse, a colleague, a neighbor, a child or a stranger, eye contact is essential. When eyes are focused away from distractions and onto the speaker, the message you communicate most clearly is, "I value you."

Today, listen with your eyes -- and "see" what you've been missing!

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

LET GO IN LIFE!

Electronic computer motherboard - “There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage.”

One newspaper advice columnist was asked if there was a predominant theme in her readers' request for help. She replied, "Yes, there is -- fear. People are afraid of losing their loved ones, their health, their wealth. People are afraid of life itself."

Going to the dentist is a fearful experience for many people. One man jokingly listed his middle name as "Wimp" on the admittance form. The receptionist read it, laughed and assured him that there was nothing to worry about. "Besides," she added, "many patients felt the same way."

Half an hour later, the same receptionist came into the waiting room. Looking directly at the nervous patient, she said, smiling, "The doctor will now see the wimp."

Three other people got up with him.

At least those people were there! Too often we find it easier to avoid a thing we fear and never grow beyond it. In order to do all we want to do and to live as fully as possible, we will have to learn to manage our fears.

I believe that it was Dr. Paul Tournier who once compared life to a man swinging on a trapeze. Back and forth he went. The bar was his whole life -- back and forth, back and forth. He hung on tightly and felt secure. He knew nothing other than swinging on the trapeze -- back and forth.

Then one day another bar came into view and he faced a dilemma. What was he to do? Should he reach for the new bar? Should he take the chance ... abandon the security he'd always known and venture forth to a new place? He felt excited, and a little scared.

The moment of truth dawned, however, when he realized that, in order to reach the new bar, he would have to LET GO of the old one. The thought terrified him. But he knew that he could never move ahead unless he left the place where he was.

Our lives are filled with fearful moments and anxious decisions. Managing the fear sometimes means letting go and just doing it. It's the only way to move ahead.

Do you need to let go and take hold of that new thing? The reward could be the life you've been wanting.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

ONE DAY IN LIFE

Flower wall motive decoration - “Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms Without the aid of the seasons.”

In Turin, Italy, an anonymous citizen wrote the tax office enclosing 10,000 Lira (four or five US dollars) and explained he had cheated on his income tax and it had caused him to lose his appetite. He added, "If my appetite doesn't improve I'll send the rest."

Guilt created a biological response in him. But it created an even more unusual response in one woman. William Wirt Winchester's widow built a bizarre mansion to assuage her guilt. It is a house built over a 38 year period at a cost of over five million dollars. The 160 room house has stairways that lead to blank walls, corridors that lead to unopenable doors, 13 bathrooms, 13 stair steps, 13 lights to a chandelier, 13 windows to a room.

Her husband was the son of the Winchester, heir of the manufacturer of the repeating rifle. Her house is referred to as the "guilt house," and was conceived as a never-ending building project to provide a home for the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. Instead of confronting her guilt and working through it in constructive ways, her project occupied the rest of her life.

Erma Bombeck has called guilt "the gift that keeps on giving." And it is, if it isn't laid to rest. It can keep on giving emotional, physical and spiritual problems for a lifetime. But you needn't carry it around forever or find a bizarre way to assuage it.

Do you have unresolved guilt? I'm not talking about the kind of guilt that may keep one from breaking the law or hurting innocent people. I mean unnecessary guilt. Over-anxiety and self-loathing about that which can no longer be changed.

- In one day you can recognize where your feelings of guilt come from.
- In one day you can decide to make necessary amends to those you may have hurt.
- In one day you can decide to ask for forgiveness from others.
- In one day you can exercise your spiritual power and choose to be at one with God and the universe.
- In one day you can decide to be gentler with yourself and allow yourself to experience the healing balm of acceptance.
- In one day you can resolve to learn from the past and not repeat your behavior.
- In one day you can choose to do something constructive with that guilt, and then continue every day until it is only a memory.

And best of all, that one day can be today.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes