Thoughts are Things

 Alan Cohen included this little verse at the end of his essay, "Thoughts are Things:"

Sow a thought, reap a word;

Sow a word, reap a deed;

Sow a deed, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a Destiny.

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

Envy/Jealousy

Envy:  implies wanting something that belongs to another and to which one has no particular right or claim

Jealousy:  may refer to a strong feeling of envy, or it may imply an intense effort to hold on to what one possesses;  it is often associated with distrust, suspicion, anger, and other negative emotions

Perspective from the Clouds

 "Do clouds of trouble fill your skies today? --Dennis Fisher, Our Daily Bread 

Dennis Fisher writes....when the producer of a 1927 silent film about American aviators during WWI asked the director why he had suspended shooting for several days the director replied, "All we have is blue sky.  The conflict in the air will not be as visible without clouds.  Clouds bring perspective."

Margin of Greatness

"The purpose of being outstanding is not to win acclaim or glory, but to be more of what we can be, and until we live up to all that we are, we shall never be satisfied." --Alan Cohen

Alan Cohen uses an example in baseball to illustrate the difference between being average and being outstanding.  To be considered an average batter you must have a .250 hitting average.  If you have a 3.0 average you are considered outstanding.  He says that means you are average if you hit 5 out of 20 balls.  But if you hit 6 balls out of 20 you are outstanding.  That is just one more hit in 20 hits to be considered great!

Parable of the Scissors

Last month I painted my bedroom and took this photo when I finished.  In order to paint I removed all the smaller furniture from the room but just moved that drawing table out of the way.  I'm showing you this photo for a reason.  I'm going to use it to illustrate the Parable of the Scissors....

Jesus often used examples from everyday life to illustrate the teaching of a spiritual truth.  He used lost coins, lost sheep, lost sons, and various other things like soil and seeds.  In my case it was lost scissors.

About Time

While you were asleep last night you lost an hour of your life.....

Everyday people who travel across the International Date Line lose a whole day!  Of course, in both instances you eventually gain it back....that is if you don't die first.

Where Wisdom Lives

It is said that Thomas Edison hardly slept.  Instead he took frequent cat naps during his 16-hour work day.  He used these naps to access answers to troubling questions he had about his experiments because he believed the answers would come to him while sleeping.  To make sure he'd be able to "capture" these answers he'd go to sleep with a rock in his hand.  Once he reached deep sleep the rock would slip from his hand awakening him with the answer fresh in his mind.