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Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way

An old man lived alone in a village. He wanted to prepare his potato garden, but it was hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison.

The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation:

Dear Son,

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t in prison. read more

How Does Someone Create a More Interesting Life? 

I was reading a blog post that asked people how they would define an “interesting life” for themselves. After reading the responses, I thought I’d share one with you that I particularly liked. 

Having an interesting life doesn’t mean it has to be interesting to anyone else. It also doesn’t mean you have to do the typical things most people associate with being interesting, such as travel.The definition of the word interesting, in application to life, is different to everyone. read more

Fairy Tale Chicken

A delicious and easy chicken recipe that takes just minutes to prepare, before setting it in the oven to bake.

When You’re Right For The Job…

In the 19th century, when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man went to apply for a job as a Morse code operator.

At the job location, he found a busy office filled with noise and bustle and the ever-present clatter of a telegraph in one corner. He joined ten other applicants, all following instructions written on a blackboard that said to sit and wait to be summoned for an interview.

But after five minutes, the young man stood up with a smile and walked confidently into the office without an invitation. The other applicants looked at each other, and smiled. All expected the brash young man to be tossed out the door. read more

Failure Provides Deep Roots For Growth

After years of failure at everything he tried, a man sought advice from a wise monk in a nearby monastery. “Brother,” he said, “I just don’t have it in me to go on anymore. Can you think of any reason why I shouldn’t just quit?”

The monk took him out to the garden. “Look at the fern and the bamboo. Look closely.”

“What about them?”

“When I first planted them, I gave them both plenty of light and water. The fern grew quickly, and its green leaves covered the garden.

“But nothing came from the bamboo seed. Year after year the fern grew more beautiful, but the bamboo still didn’t sprout. read more

Letters of the Heart – January 2015

Getting Perspective This New Year

Each of us can probably identify times when a moment, a day, a year, or even our whole lives changed in an instant—not because we did something different—but simply because our perspective shifted. Here is a very small story from the website peopleandpossibilities.com that illustrates how simple and powerful a different perspective can be:

One day I was shopping with my child after work to pick up supplies needed for an employee celebration. I was exhausted and wanted to get in and out quickly. My child was tired and cranky and wanted out of the shopping cart. She was grabbing for every item we passed. read more

Letters of the Heart – December 2014

Sometimes You Have to Keep Going

Most of us have experienced dire circumstances in life when we had to keep going or risk losing something of great value, perhaps even our own life. It’s one of the ways that we learn to be resilient, by having to dig deep inside and come up with more strength than we thought we had. Here’s a story about a young woman that illustrates this point:

I had gone with friends to a small resort island in Indonesia. Being 16 and invincible, I decided to windsurf alone to a small deserted island nearby. Halfway there, the wind changed and I found myself getting carried out towards open water. I panicked and began fighting the sail. Several times I dropped it into the water and had to pull it back up with brute force. Being a small girl, it took a toll on me and after a while I had lost all strength. I was afraid to paddle with my arms because I was worried about sharks, so I just lay on the board and floated out to sea. read more

Letters of the Heart – November 2014

Cut Holiday Costs without Cutting Value

November is a good time to talk about money. Why? Because during November and December, people spend on travel, gifts, and food at a rate of three to four times their ordinary rate of spending. The result is that many people end the holiday season in January with a profound sense of loss—in the pocketbook.

So I thought it would add value to your life to discuss some approaches to spending wisely over this holiday season. Here are some of my suggestions for cutting costs without cutting the fun.

  • Instead of cooking everything for your holiday parties yourself, invite guests to bring a dish, dessert, or drink they can share with others. Coordinate so that you don’t get too many cookie plates and too few main dishes.
  • Think of high-value gifts that don’t cost a lot. A gift basket filled with low-cost, but fun items is a big hit.
  • When someone in your life has expensive tastes, see if you can get relatives to share the cost, and that can be their gift. A 14 year old boy would probably prefer to get one new Xbox from four relatives than get four separate gifts of clothes and books.
  • Make your own decorations instead of buying them. Google DIY Christmas (or whatever holiday you prefer) Decorations, and you’ll get tons of ideas!
    • read more

    Letters of the Heart – October 2014

    Relax and Smell the Roses

    Do you ever find yourself rushing around in a frenzy of productivity, and when you finally have a moment to yourself, you only then realize how tense and stressed you’ve been?  Here’s how that moment happened recently to me. I had just gone through a fast food drive-through line, and was sitting in my car in the parking lot, too busy to go inside to eat. The morning had been a dash to finish errands, and the afternoon looked busier still. My mind was clouded with thoughts. I was planning to snatch a moment to gulp down my food before continuing my errands.

    As I was taking a bite, I noticed a little bird hopping around the parking lot looking for crumbs. It was so small and intent on searching for food. I tore off a piece of bread and tossed it to the bird. It hopped over, grabbed it and flew away.
    read more

    Letters of the Heart – September 2014

    Don’t Look Where You Don’t Want To Go

    Are you familiar with the idea that we tend to attract more of what we focus on? Here’s a great story that perfectly illustrates this concept. 

    A man who was afraid of heights decided to conquer his fear by rappelling down the side of a steep cliff. A guide was on hand to help him, but as he   stood on the edge of the cliff, the sight of the long drop and the rocks waiting for him down below made him freeze.

    The guide gave him some simple advice: “Don’t look where you don’t want to go.”  By this simple twist on familiar goal-setting advice (“look where you want to go”), the man was able to complete his descent. read more

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