Archive through April 29, 2001
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The ClubHouse: Archives: Thought For The Day: Archive Through June 1, 2001: Archive through April 29, 2001

Lancecrossfire

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 11:05 am EditMoveDeleteIP
A good friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you forget the words.

Lancecrossfire

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 11:10 am EditMoveDeleteIP
You're welcome Karuuna, Tksoard and Ducky.

Ducky, hadn't seen you for awhile--good to have you back.

Flint

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 11:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable? Or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?

- Rob (John Cusack) (High Fidelity)

Tess

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 12:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Amen, Lance, to both of your thoughts for today. Perfect timing as usual.

Tess

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 12:16 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Write on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tess

Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 12:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.

-Izaac Walton

Flint

Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 08:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
The ten thousand questions are one question. If you cut through the one question, then the ten thousand questions disappear.

- Zen Saying

Zeb

Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 09:13 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Ok, Lance, are you getting this? lol!

Lancecrossfire

Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 09:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes I am Zeb. I'm not to the point yet where I can distil my questions into just 1 and still get the information I'm looking for.(I hope some day I can get to that point)

On that theme, I think it's appropriate for a person to answer with "I don't know, so I can't answer", or "I don't want to answer", or "it will take me a long time before I answer".

Those, AS LONG AS TRUE, beat the approach car repair shops give frequently; "yes, I'll have it done next week", when they know the part won't be in for at least two weeks.

Truth above all else.

(not LOL)

Nancy091158

Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 09:38 am EditMoveDeleteIP
-

"Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something
you design for the present."

Jim Rohn

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word
happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is
far better to take things as they come along with patience and
equanimity."

Carl Jung

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting
something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what
we do have."

Fredrick Koeing

"Happiness...it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of
creative effort."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -
loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

Victor Hugo

"To have joy one must share it. Happiness was born a twin."

Lord Byron

Karuuna

Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 01:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ghandi had this sign on the wall in his room at Sevagram, his last home:

When you are in the right you can afford to keep your temper, and when you are in the wrong, you cannot afford to lose it.

Grooch

Friday, April 27, 2001 - 07:44 am EditMoveDeleteIP
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.
Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."
"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.
At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.
"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of."
And that he did.
Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time?
Penicillin!
The name of the nobleman was Lord Randolph Churchill.
His son's name was Sir Winston Churchill.
Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Twiggyish

Friday, April 27, 2001 - 08:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Now that really makes you think. I sent this to my Scottish heritage email list. Thanks!

Tess

Friday, April 27, 2001 - 04:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Loved that story, Grooch. Thanks so much. We should never pass up the opportunity to show a kindess or offer a helping hand.

Kindness is it's own reward.

Flint

Friday, April 27, 2001 - 04:20 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Dreams are merely ourselves convincing ourselves of our true selves.

Nancy

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 03:36 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
WHAT TO DO ABOUT STRESS - THE 30 POINT PLAN by Craig Lock
====================================================
1. Be positive- see problems as opportunities. Have goals
and visions. Have a positive mental attitude.
2. Play sports and step up your exercise.
3. Talk things over with someone.
4. Determine what causes you stress and try to eliminate
it.
5. Become physically fit.
6. Balance work, home/family and recreation.
7. Enjoy your play and relaxation - it is precious time!
Learn to delegate - don't try to do everything yourself.
8. Get adequate sleep and rest
9. Allow yourself some relaxation and meditation time every
day.
10. Learn relaxation techniques: systematic ways to relax.
11. Give yourself time to think.
12. Know your limits and your symptoms of stress...and how
to relieve them. Learn to say 'no' to others' excessive
demands on you. Don't say "yes" when you mean "no."
13. "Coast" if necessary.
14. Worry only about that which can be changed by you. I
like the quotation which goes something like this: "Accept
that which cannot be changed by you and let God give me the
wisdom to know the difference." I often do not follow this
rule.
15. Use your imagination to reduce your stress levels. Be
creative.
16. Learn to switch off thinking about work when you get
home.
17. Think about your diet and eat nutritious food.
18. Learn to plan your time better.
19. Learn to recognize and to accept your limitations as
well as the limitations (and faults) of others.
20. Learn to have FUN: you must be able to enjoy your work.
21. Learn to praise others and be positive,
22. Learn to tolerate and to forgive.
23. Learn to avoid unnecessary competition: you don't have
to be the best at everything.
24. Learn to confide in others.
25. Learn to accept what can't be changed in others, e.g.
personality or decisions.
26. Learn to accept that some things aren't as important to
others as they are to you.
27. Learn to delegate.
28. Learn to recognize stress. Do not become so accustomed
to feeling stress that it becomes a normal part of your
life.
29. Have trust in other people.

And finally, no matter how stressful or hopeless your
situation may appear to be...

30. Have FAITH IN YOURSELF AND ESPECIALLY IN GOD, The
Spirit of the Universe that things will eventually work out
for you.

Tess

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 06:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
A friend sent me this story...

We all know what it's like to get that phone call
in the middle of the night. This night's call was no different. Jerking up to the ringing summons, I focused on the red, illuminated numbers of my clock.

Midnight! Panicky thoughts filled my sleep dazed
mind as I grabbed the receiver. "Hello?" My heart pounded, I gripped the phone tighter and eyed my husband, who was now turning to face my side of the bed. "Mama?" The voice answered.

I could hardly hear the whisper over the static. But my thoughts immediately went to my daughter. "Mama, I know it's late but, don't. . . Don't say anything until I finish and before you ask, yes, I have been drinking. I nearly ran off the road a few miles back and . . . and I got so scared. All I could think about was how it would hurt you if a
policeman came to your door and said I'd been killed.

I want to come home. I know running away was wrong. I know you've been worried sick and I should have called you days ago, but I was afraid."

I paused and tried to think what to say before I could go on, she continued. "I'm pregnant, Mama and I know I shouldn't be drinking now
especially now-----but I'm scared, Mama. So scared!" the voice broke again and I bit into my lip, feeling my own eyes full with moisture.

I looked at my husband, who sat silently mouthing, "who is it?" I clutched the phone and stared at my husband, seeking guidance. "I'm here. I wouldn't hang up," I said into the phone. "I should have told you, Mama. I know I should have told you but when we talk, you just keep
telling me what I should do. You read all those pamphlets on how to talk about sex and all, but all you do is talk. You don't listen to me, you
never let me tell you how I feel. It is as if my feelings aren't important. Because you're my mother, you think you have all the answers but
sometimes I don't need answers. I just want someone to listen."

"I'm listening," I whispered. "You know back there on the road, after I got the car under control, I started thinking about the baby and taking care of it. Then I saw this phone booth and it was as if I could hear you preaching about how people shouldn't drink and drive. So, I called a taxi. I want to come home."

"That's good honey."I said, relief filling my
chest. My husband came closer, sat down beside me and laced his fingers through mine. I knew from his touch that he thought I was doing and
saying the right thing. "But, you know, I think I can drive now."
"I know, but do this for your mama, wait for the taxi please."
I listened to the silence, fearing. When I didn't hear her answer, I bit into my lip and closed my eyes. Somehow I had to stop her from driving. "There's the taxi now." There was a click and then the phone went silent.

Moving from the bed, tears forming in my eyes, I walked out into the hall and went to stand in my 16 year old daughter's room. The dark silence hung thick. My husband came from behind, wrapped his
arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "We have to learn to listen," I said to him.
He pulled me around to face him. "We'll learn. You'll see."
Then he took me in his arms and I buried my head in his shoulder.

I let him hold me for several moments, then I pulled back and stared at
the bed. He studied me for a second and then asked, "Do you think she'll ever know she dialed the wrong number?"

I looked at our sleeping daughter and then back at him. "Maybe it wasn't such a wrong number."

"Mom, Dad, what are you doing?" The muffled young voice came from under the covers. I walked over to my daughter, who now sat up staring into the darkness. "We're practicing," I answered. "Practicing what?" she asked and laid back on the mattress, her eyes already closed in slumber.

"Listening," I whispered and brushed a hand over her cheek.

Kady

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 07:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow!! Thanks Tess. I liked that one.

Tess

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 07:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Kady...it sure made me think.

Lancecrossfire

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 08:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks for sharing that Tess. A very insightful message and lesson for both family and friends.

We hear the words, but do we always listen?

Tess

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 09:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ah, no we don't....maybe we stop listening when we don't like what we hear.

One of the most important things I've learned this year at school with my daughter is to talk less, use fewer words and chose them wisely. There comes a point when a person continues talking just to try to make a point and they're no longer communicating effectively. And...if, while we think we're listening, we are really trying to think of our next comment, or argument, or incredibly insightful observation...we have both lost.

Lancecrossfire

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 11:46 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Something that was sent to me. It's just something to think about--a nice little story.

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings.

Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work.

Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the
band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net.

Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap,with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business.

He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.” I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.

“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet.

Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital. He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.”

And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.” “You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.

Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

“Now, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part.” “It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail”; he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived
to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of
them left to enjoy.

“So I went to a toy store and bought every single
marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the sack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.” “I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focus more on the really important things
in life.

There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.” “Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.”

It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more
time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.

Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.” “What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.

Tess

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 11:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Reading this makes me realize once again what a wonderful father my daughter has. Thank you, Lance. Thank you very much.

Tess

Saturday, April 28, 2001 - 11:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
And here's one from a friend of mine that really touched my heart:

A Candle!

And they call some of these people "retarded"...

A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the
100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, Not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry.

The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back........every one of them. One girl
with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, This will make it better."

Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story Why? Because deep down we know this
one thing:Ê What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.

What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

If you pass this on, you may be able to change your heart as well as someone else's.Ê Ê

A candle loses nothing by lighting another.

Kady

Sunday, April 29, 2001 - 09:48 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Lance and Tess, I really love these type of stories. I love those Chicken Soup books. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!