Just when it seems like a bit of good news would be exceedingly welcomed, comes this true story (I’ve checked it with Snopes) about a woman hand feeding hummingbirds.
Isn’t it great that with the Internet we have a way to easily share these experiences that we might never hear about otherwise?!
Thanks to Cathy for sharing with me in the first place!
It’s a reminder to me that “God’s in his heaven; all’s right with the world.”
from “Pippa Passes”
The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven -
All’s right with the world!
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Is it possible that in these difficult times we could trust more deeply that God will feed and clothe us, as he does the birds and the lilies? Whether we are literally in need of food, shelter, clothing, water, health, employment or any of a myriad of other needs, the most basic need is for the ideas that will lead us in the right direction and out of limitation.
Ideas are always limitless! (This goes along with the short movie I posted earlier.)
Not too long ago while pondering how I should schedule my day, though my first inclination the night before had been to get on down the road and back home, I felt it was all right to meander a bit. In doing so, I had a number of interesting conversations with strangers, some welcome time with a friend, and a bit of fashion enjoyment, including some time with perfumes.
After I’d been back on the highway for a while, an electronic sign informed me of an accident 26 miles down the road. One lane was closed. (I learned later that it had only cleared about an hour before I got there.) If I had hurried my way home, I would have been stuck for hours while they cleared the road. I was able to get past it without any lost time.
Sometimes we do not know what we or others are protected from, but this time it was apparent. And it could have been far worse, but thankfully wasn’t. On this busy stretch of road, many more could have been involved in this accident but were not.
That’s just a small example of how ideas will clear our day for us. Expect ideas today and always that will help you!
I can’t say I follow all the byways. I read nearly every word or I’d miss something, but because he has set up a sort of parallel universe I’m not always catching nuances. Sometimes another book adds some of the backstory in a way I find I understand it better. And I haven’t read the first 9 books all in order (it isn’t really necessary as there are enough allusions to other characters and their place in the story in each book.)
I really enjoy the narration of the main character, Harry. We get inside his head where there is plenty of cynicism, a lot of caring, and some interesting ways to handle evil.
This is sort of an apocalyptic series of good vs. evil with assorted vampires, archangels, evil spirits, and other literary and Biblical allusions, such as the fearsome Gruffs in this book (as in Billy Goat Gruffs). That one tickled my fancy!
I enjoy the humor.
At one time in my life, a shapeshifted, demonically possessed maniac crashing through a window and trying to rip my face off would have come as an enormous and nasty surprise.
But that was pretty much in the past. (p 102)
There is an entire website devoted to those who love the series and the various things (such as time lines and ages) that the fans are figuring out for the rest of us.
In the meantime, you could do a lot worse than spending some time in this series. There are godly believers; agnostics; atheists; a police officer in charge of paranormal with a developed sense of responsibility for her charge, the city of Chicago; and even a crime lord who has redeeming qualities. It is certainly thought provoking. There’s not a lot of gratuitous gore and what there is often happens to the bad guys. It’s not a series that would keep me up at night. I don’t expect any of these non-human characters to meet me in an alley.
This came across my computer from Insight of the Day today:
I believe people should study a little bit every day. It should become habitual, like brushing your teeth, combing your hair, having a shower or getting dressed. Study the mind, the laws of the universe and paradigms. There’s enough information on those subjects to keep a person studying forever. Bob Proctor
Because I like to learn about new things, I don’t think of it as a habit. I laugh and say once I’ve learned one new thing each day, I can go to sleep.
Recently I read the book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment. He teaches a very popular class in this. One of his interesting points is to make anything you like, that makes you happy, a habit, schedule it in. Evidently making something a habit means it actually gets into your life on a regular basis. And it takes upwards of a month to make something new a habit.
I love gardens and beautiful flowers, but I have a black thumb when it comes to outdoors. I can manage violets and some other indoor plants, but outside is a complete bust. I also don’t do well in heat, so there you have it, I’m not going to spend time outside once it is hot, hot, hot.
We (college girl, dh and I) did some outside painting (I did the pick up work, no painting). Then I bought some potted plants to put in the garden area. While they all said ’sun’, come to find out, they do better in shade or filtered light, so I am moving them around to get them out of the heat of the sun.
Anyway, I can imagine what my garden would look like if I had some success. The pots will do for now. Anything in the ground (I’ve tried petunias, etc) just dry up (the water runs off.)
How about you? What do you have in your garden? I’d like flowers and fragrance — is it a surprise?
This is a good reminder for me. When I’m having a hard day, it is sometimes difficult to rise above it, but I never give in.
How about you, what do you do when a day is rough?
Karin
Here is your Friday story,
The Perspective Song
One day, not long ago, I decided to re-send the attitude-changing philosophy in “A Course in Miracles.” Three years before, in its simple to follow lesson-a-day, the Course had helped me cultivate new levels of inner peace. I figured I could use more of the same. Within the first few weeks, I came upon a lesson that showed me I’d figured well.
The lesson was: “There is another way of looking at this.” The idea is to apply the lesson as often as possible throughout the day, to whatever situation is before you.
Okay, I thought. Simple enough. I’ll go apply “There is another way of looking at this,” to my day. No problem.
The trouble with this was that every situation I faced that day was challenging. And there was not another darn way to look at things. Thank you very much.
From a crashed computer to people not being available on the phone, to running out of shampoo in the middle of a shower, my day was filled with frustrations. It held little, if any, opportunity for me to look at things anew. And no New Age self-help affirmation was going to convince me otherwise!
So I pulled on my panty hose, zipped up my dress, dried my un-shampooed wet hair, and left for an appointment that was only 20 minutes away. Or so I thought.
Okay, the traffic is always crazy at the end of a workday. But I did not expect a bumper-to-bumper gridlock in the middle of the afternoon. Sitting there in my car, I did my best to repeat the day’s lesson to myself, hoping that I could find “another way of looking at this” freeway parking lot.
After an eternity, I decided there was no way out and that I’d be better off letting go of my plans and forgetting about making the appointment on time. One cell phone call later, assuring my colleague that I’d meet her the following day instead, I sat back in the car to wait things out.
As I did, something caught my attention at the side of the road. Pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway was an old, yellow, Ford pickup truck. It was lopsided. When I looked closer, I could see that the front tire was as flat as the plains of Texas. Since I wasn’t moving anywhere, I had plenty of time to stare.
The driver of the truck was sitting on the rusted and beat up tailgate. He was a young man with a ponytail, wore well-splattered painter’s pants and a matching, torn t-shirt. While waiting for a tow truck, or perhaps some divine intervention, he had pulled out his guitar and looked to be moving his mouth as if in song.
I rolled down my window. He was singing at the top of his lungs. My mouth hung open as I saw the peace on his face.
He’d found “another way of looking at this.” His music made me smile. His attitude cleared the traffic jam in my head.
I think he understood the lesson for the day. And finally, so did I.
Erica Ross-Krieger
For more than 20 years, Erica Ross-Krieger has inspired people throughout the world to come to life more fully. She is an author, a successful entrepreneur and founder of several businesses. In her work and her writing, Erica teaches her clients and readers how to cultivate the attitudes that will lead them to live more joyful and meaningful lives. Visit her website at: www.EricaRossKrieger.com from Insight of the Day
This quote came across my computer this morning, and it got me to thinking about how we keep score(s) in life.
Money is a way of keeping score in life, says T. Boone Pickens. But that is just for those who like playing the game. The real goal is to live with grace and dignity. You can do that with a small amount of money…or not do it with a fortune.
– Bill Bonner, financial journalist
How do we keep score? or, perhaps, how do we rate ourselves? I never really thought about it much. I tend not to want to play that game. Someone else always seems to be the winner!
If we think about raising children, keeping score starts as early as meeting in the parks, where moms share, bragging, about how early their kids learn the ABCs or can count to 10.
If we are keeping score in adoptions, people one-up themselves by what country they chose to adopt from.
Do we keep score by awards?
Do we only count if we win awards?
I hope not, for the great majority of folks are never up for any awards.
I loved the idea in this quote of having the goal of expressing grace and dignity no matter our circumstances. It’s an honest assessment of knowing we sometimes fall short.
I recently witnessed someone with a great deal of grace and dignity in a score keeping moment. I commented on it to the person, because it warmed my heart.
Moments of grace or dignity, when impossible to do on our own, are divine.
Have you witnessed such moments or been the one expressing them? What do you think about keeping score in life? Do you do it or know someone who does?
“I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves.” Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt 1767-1835, German Statesman
I have to say I don’t totally agree with this. If we took it to the nth, it would kill compassion for those going through difficult times. Mobilized compassion has done wonders for individuals and areas.
Right now there are huge snow storms in China affecting many areas and people. Orphanages have been asking for what is needed to help the children. And in at least one case, an orphanage has asked that other harder-hit orphanages be helped first, as they are making-do.
Yes, how we handle or think about what happens to us is important, but when some unthinkable occurs, grace has to enter into it, or how would we survive it or get through? There has to be help outside of ourselves if the issue is big enough. (I think even small issues.)
Maybe we have to throw into the equation asking for what we need when it is possible. And in situations where it is seemingly impossible to ask a person for help, to reach out to God for the help we need. Then trust that our needs will be met. And that we will live long enough to see it. We won’t give up.
Easy to say from the comfort of a lounge chair. But I have been there, done that on a few occasions. And I have watched others do it in far more difficult situations than mine.
.
. He teaches a very popular class in this. One of his interesting points is to make anything you like, that makes you happy, a habit, schedule it in. Evidently making something a habit means it actually gets into your life on a regular basis. And it takes upwards of a month to make something new a habit.
