LIVING FULLY FOR LIFE

BBQ chicken rice set meal for dinner - Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Do you feel your life is all it can be? Do you yearn for life to be
fuller? A friend once re­cited this poem to me:

There once was a cautious gal,
who never romped or played;
She never drank, she never smoked,
from the path she never strayed.

So when she passed away
the insurance was denied;
For since she never really lived
they claimed she never died!

Of course, I don't think these behaviors de­scribe quality living, but
I do think most people want to experience life as fully as possible.
This has always been the case. Even two thousand years ago, Jesus,
that great lover of life, recog­nized our universal yearning for life
when he said, "I have come that they might have life and have it more
abundantly."

And, of course, "romping," "playing," and "straying from the path"
have little to do with how fully one experiences life. Abundant living
is more about how we love the other people on this planet, how we care
for ourselves and how well we honor our God. It has to do with joy and
laughter, kind­ness, forgiveness and peace. It means taking time for
what is truly necessary.

One man was asked if he believed in life after death. His wife spoke
first. "Life after death?" she said. "He doesn't even believe in life
after din­ner!"

I believe in life after death. But I also be­lieve in life before
death. Abundant and full and beginning today.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

ONE OF YOUR GREATEST ASSETS FOR LIFE

Passengers on the MRT subway - I don't want to be a passenger in my own life

One of your greatest assets is...your imagination!

In his book THE WINNER'S EDGE, writer Denis Waitley tells of high
school basketball players who were divided into three groups.
Group One was told not to practice shooting free throws for one
month. Group Two was told to practice shooting free throws in the
gym every afternoon for a month. Group Three was told to
"imagine" shooting free throws every afternoon for one hour for a
month.

The results? Group One slipped slightly in their percentage
free-throw average. Group Two increased about two percentage
points. Group Three also increased about two percentage points.

Do you want to excel at some endeavor? Or perhaps improve or
change something about yourself? Is there a skill you'd like to
perfect? Or maybe you want to replace your fear of
something, such as speaking in public or heading up a project,
with more confidence and courage. If so, then mental practice,
visioning success, is as important as physical practice. The time
you spend "seeing" in your mind what you are trying to accomplish
actually helps to bring it to pass.

Imagine your success. Visualize doing that thing you fear. Get it
in your mind. Then imagine your success in that area again and
again, like free throws going into the basket. In a short time,
you'll likely discover that things really did change for you!

Anatole France said, "To know is nothing at all; to imagine is
everything." Whatever you desire begins in the mind.
You can IMAGINE what will follow!

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

STICK TOGETHER FOR LIFE

IT hardware equipment rack - Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.

An old story is told of two men who went fishing in a small boat. The
day was uneventful until one of them hooked a huge fish, which, in the
strug­gle, pulled him overboard! He couldn't swim and began to panic.

"Help!" he yelled. "Save me!"

The friend reached over and grabbed the man by the hair to pull him
closer to the boat. But when he tugged, the man's toupee came off and
he slipped down under the water again.

He came up shouting, "Hey, help me! I can't swim!"

So the friend reached down again and this time latched onto the
struggling man's arm. But when he pulled, the arm came off! It was an
arti­fi­cial limb.

The drowning man continued to kick and thrash around and his friend
reached out a third time. This time he grabbed a leg and pulled. You
guessed it -- he pulled off a wooden leg!

The man continued splashing and sputter­ing and calling out, "Help
me!" and the friend fi­nally called back in disgust, "How can I help
you if you won't stick together?"

Similarly, how can people in marriages and families be helped when
they won't stick to­gether? How can churches, schools and businesses
get anywhere when they won't stick together? And how can a nation
function well when it can't stick together?

None of us lives in isolation. This life is a group outing. And some
conflict along the way is inevitable. But when we stick together,
beauti­ful things can hap­pen.

If you feel as if things in your life are fal­ling apart, maybe it is
because the people in your life are not sticking together!

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

NOT "SKEERED OF DYIN'" IN LIFE

Gundam model kits on display - Make no display of your talents or attainments; for every one will clearly see, admire, and acknowledge them, so long as you cover them with the beautiful veil of modesty

Economist Jeremy Gluck speculated on US Federal Reserve Board Chairman
Alan Greenspan's epitaph. He decided it would probably read something
like this: "I am guardedly optimistic about the next world, but remain
cognizant of the downside risk."

Though many people feel at peace about their own eventual death,
others are concerned about the possible "downside risk." One of
humankind's greatest fears is around death and the process of dying.
Like the song "Old Man River" says:

"Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin'.
"Ah'm tired of liven' an' skeered of dyin'."

Some people believe that the most basic of human fears is the fear of
death. "Skeered of dyin'." Maybe you feel it, too.

In his later years, John Quincy Adams once remarked, "I inhabit a
weak, frail, decayed tenement battered by the winds and broken in on
by the storms, and from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend
to repair."

Though he may have held out no hope that he would not die, he
approached his own death with acceptance and a remarkable lack of
concern.

When the elderly statesman fast approached his 80th birthday, he
succinctly related his philosophy of death. The occasion happened as
he hobbled down the street one day in his favorite city of Boston,
leaning heavily on a cane, and a friend suddenly approached and
slapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, how's John Quincy Adams this morning?" the friend inquired.

The old man turned slowly, smiled and replied, "Fine, sir, fine! But
this old tenement that John Quincy lives in is not so good. The
underpinning is about to fall away. The thatch is all gone off the
roof, and the windows are so dim John Quincy can hardly see out
anymore. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise me if, before the
winter's over, he had to move out. But as for John Quincy Adams, he
never was better...never was better!"

I have spent much of my life around death. I have sat with people as
they died. I have listened to others relate near-death experiences. I
have studied theology and am aware of what scriptures and religions
say about life and death. And I have come to the conclusion that death
is not to be feared. Moreover, when it is time for me to move out of
this tenement in which I am housed, I will to look forward to it
joyfully. I will say, "I never was better...never was better!"

Who is ready to live who is not ready to die?

From Lifesupport

AFFIRMATION FOR TODAY FOR LIFE

Professional Gundam modeling works on display - “I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson has accurately said, "One of the illusions of life
is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it
on your heart that every day is the best day of the year."

Today is an important day. That problem you solve, that decision you
make, that time you enjoy can shape your whole life. The way you and I
ap­proach today, and each day, is crucial. Our lives are built by a
series of days like today.

I discovered an affirmation that can help in living each day fully:

Today I will live through the next 24 hours and not try to tackle
all of life's problems at once.

Today I will improve myself , body, mind and spirit.

Today I will refuse to spend time worrying about what might
happen if...

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were
different. They are not dif­ferent. I will do my best with what
material I have.

Today I will find the grace to let go of resentments of others and
self-condemnation over past mistakes.

Today I will not try to change, or improve, anybody but me.

Today I will act toward others as though this will be my last day
on earth.

Today I will be unafraid. I will enjoy what is beauti­ful, and I
will be­lieve that as I give to the world, the world will give to
me.

Whether these are the best of times or the worst of times, these are
the only times we've got. Live each day fully and you will look back
on a life that made a difference.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes