Quotes and stories that bring awareness and healing
"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret - curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable." - Walt Disney
Every day that you attempt to see things as they are in truth Is a supremely successful day. - Vernon Howard
If you want a place in the sun, you've got to put up with a few blisters. - Abigail Van Buren
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap ... but by the seeds you plant! - Robert Louis Stevenson
It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read. - Thomas Jefferson
I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs. - Frederick Douglass
Editor Pat: I'm going through a challenging time and I bet many of you are also. This is a good time to quietly reflect and remind ourselves of why we are here. To serve Goodness and in doing so we make our world just a little bit better than it was. Perform random acts of kindness when you can, it doesn't take much effort and the recipients tend to pass on the good behavior.
God Bless and Enjoy your Holiday and family time!
“Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know, and you shall attain to higher knowledge” - Matthew Arnold
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss
“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.” - Frank Tilbolt
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” - Abraham Lincoln
"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." - Fr. Alfred D'Souza
"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn - and change" - Carl Rogers
A Commitment To Life
(Choosing To Love Life In An Often Unlovely World)© Lee Wise All rights reserved
I choose respect over pride-filled disdain,and sincere honor over selfish flattery.
I choose to unearth treasures of goodness instead of crumbling before the weight of widespread evil.
I choose truthfulness over the easiest way out, and faithfulness over convenience without commitment.
I choose to value the beauty within by not reducing a person's worth to the size of a waistline, amount of networth, or ability to help me achieve my self-centered pursuits.
I choose the joy of making a small difference with someone as opposed to making no difference with anyone.
I choose to hear the laughter of a child as over and against the drones of an adult whose maturity is defined more by his accomplishments than his awareness of life itself.
I choose to spend more time dreaming about my possibilities, refocusing my energies, and realigning my values than I do rehearsing my failures.
I choose to carefully listen as opposed to caring less and revealing it more.
I choose to flourish in the freedom of forgiveness as opposed to remain enslaved by the tyrant of never ending bitterness.
I choose to escort laughter into my world instead of wistfully longing for its arrival at the assault of each untried day.
I choose to exchange blame for responsibility, cruelty for compassion, and the mindset of rigidity for the heartbeat of a caring, understanding individual.
I choose to value the complexity of loving in the messiness of real life instead of relinquishing that privilege on the altar of misguided self preservation.
I choose action as opposed to resignation and involvement instead of isolation.
I choose to cherish relationships more than the counterfeit value of acquiring currency without concern and dollars without devotion.
I choose to love the God I know and serve the God I love.
I choose life.
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"The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be" - Marcel Pagnol
"You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith." - Mary Mann Morrissey
"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." - Elisabeth Foley
Self-Confidence
by Holly Jahangiri
Self confidence is inner peace. It is a deep-seated belief in yourself; it is contentment with who and what you are. It is not the misguided belief that you are perfect, or somehow better than others. It is not a delusional belief that there is no room for growth or improvement. It is not "attitude."
Self-confident people are able to take criticism with an open mind and a grain of salt. Years ago, a coworker told me that I would "make more friends on the job" if I turned down a promotion I had already been given. I considered her advice with an open mind. She was correct; several coworkers resented my being promoted so quickly, and I had essentially bumped someone else from the position. He was demoted, and I was asked to do his job. My responsibility was to my employer, and I wasn't being paid to make friends at the office. So, I did my job. I did end up making some friends there, in the end. Self-confident friends who didn't feel threatened by or jealous of my success.
I get criticism of my writing daily, and thank God for it! The way I look at it is this: Before I send a book out to be translated into umpteen languages and printed worldwide, I want to know if I've missed something that's going to come back and haunt me. If I disagree with the comments or corrections, I can choose to fix them or not. But if I'd seen them for myself, would I have shown them to others? Would you be kind enough to tell the Emperor he had no clothes--back in his dressing room when he still had time to fix the problem? Or would you cringe and pretend that you didn't know the Emperor was naked?
Self-confident people don't have to belittle others to feel better about themselves. I think the appeal of shows like Jerry Springer is that they make us feel so vastly superior to those poor fools on the stage. But underlying that sense of "There but by the Grace of God" is a mean-spirited delight or titillation in the misfortunes and stupidity of others. And I contend that it is more satisfying to watch such spectacles when we are suffering our own little "crises of confidence" than when we are content with ourselves. I had surgery a few years ago, and started watching these shows in the afternoon. I'd been told my recovery could take six weeks, but at the end of the first week I was starting to look forward to my daily dose of stupid people. I rolled my eyes, I sneered, I jeered - I cringed. I begged my doctor to let me go back to work at the end of a week. "My brain is starting to rot," I said. "You have to let me go." He did. Self-confidence recovered, sanity restored, my body healed faster.
Self-confident people don't have to take the offense or the defense. Self-confident people don't have to be pushy or rude to get their way. Most of the self-confident people I know are not consumed with introspective self-doubt and worry, and are therefore more able to focus on others and make others feel better about themselves. They are often mentors, who are glad when their students outshine them. They are not threatened by this; they take credit where it's due and are happy to share it freely. Self-confident people don't get defensive or come out fighting when things don't go their way, or when someone criticizes or insults them. They know that there are better things to come, and that one rotten apple doesn't spoil the barrel.
Self-confident people can feel hurt like anyone else, but because they are their own best friends, self-confident people cannot be crushed or have their spirits broken by an unkind word.
Self-confidence is attractive; love is self-confident. Ever notice how people in a steady, dating relationship often have to beat back prospective suitors with a stick? And how people who are anxiously seeking someone with whom to have a meaningful relationship are stuck at home on Friday and Saturday nights, doing their laundry or washing their hair? Neediness and lack of self-confidence scare people away. Correction: Neediness and lack of self-confidence attract some people, but generally not the sort of people you'd want to attract. When you don't need anyone's company but your own, yet are open to accepting the company of others, you will have it before long.
When I was first married, I actually told my husband that if he were hit by a car, I'd throw myself in front of a bus to die with him. What pathos! He said he wouldn't do the same for me; after all, someone would have to make the funeral arrangements. Omigod, I thought. He doesn't love me at all! I was crushed by his "cavalier" attitude. I've since assured him that I'd arrange a lovely funeral for him, too, if he got run over by a bus. I recently asked him, "Why do you love me? Why have you put up with me, stayed married to me, all these years?" His answer was the most romantic, touching, meaningful thing I could imagine. 18 years ago, a less self-confident me would probably have filed for divorce. "It's not because you're beautiful, or because you're sexy, or even because I love you," though he hastened to assure me that I was, I was, and he did, "It's because you're not stupid."
That kind of love lasts.
About the author:
Holly Jahangiri is a professional writer who claims, tongue-in-cheek, to channel the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe, Erma Bombeck, and O'Henry. On a bad writing day, she claims to have poured every last ounce of creative ability into childbirth; she has two wonderful children to prove it. On good days or bad, Holly is always grateful for the love and support of her husband, J.J. Holly Jahangiri is an author on Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ).