Encouragement

"This life is a difficult riddle,

For how many people we see

With faces as long as a fiddle

That ought to be shining with glee.

I am sure in this world there are plenty

Of good things enough for us all

And yet there's not one out of twenty

But thinks that his share is too small.

"Then what is the use of repining,

For where there's a will there's a way,

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today.

"Do you think that by sitting and sighing,

You'll ever obtain all you want?

It's cowards alone that are crying

And foolishly saying, 'I can't!'

It is only by plodding and striving

And laboring up the steep hill

Of life, that you'll ever be thriving

Which you'll do if you've only the will.

"Then what is the use of repining,

For where there's a will, there's a way,

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today."

...And as they sang, the fear and the suffering of the long winter seemed to rise like a dark cloud and float away on the music.  Spring had come.  The sun was shining warm, the winds were soft, and the green grass growing.

~From 'The Long Winter' By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Be Radiantly Happy!

"Montaigne, the great French philosopher, adopted these seventeen words as the motto for his life:  "A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinion of what happens." And our opinion of what happens is entirely up to us.


What do I mean?  Have I the colossal effrontery to tell you to your face- when you are mowed down by troubles, and your nerves are sticking out like wires and curling up at the ends- have I the colossal effrontery to tell you that, under those conditions, you can change your mental attitude by an effort of will?


Yes, I mean precisely that!  And that is not all.  I am going to show you how to do it.  It may take a little effort, but the secret is simple.


William James, who has never been topped in his knowledge of practical psychology, once made this observation:  "Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not."

In other words, William James tells us that we cannot instantly change our emotions just by "making up our minds to"- but that we can change our actions.  And that when we change our actions, we will automatically change our feelings.

"Thus," he explains,  "the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if your cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and to act  and speak as if cheerfulness were already there."

Does that simple trick work?  Try it yourself.  Put a big, broad, honest-to-God smile on your face; throw back your shoulders; take a good, deep breath; and sing a snatch of song.  If you can't sing, whistle.  If you can't whistle, hum.  
You will quickly discover what William James was talking about-- that it is physically impossible to remain blue or depressed while you are acting out the symptoms of being radiantly happy!
This is one of the little basic truths of nature that can easily work miracles in all of our lives."


~Dale Carnegie, 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living'

The North Wind Made the Vikings

 

Illustration by Milo Winter


Harry Emerson Fosdick  says in his book,  The Power to See It Through,  " There is a Scandinavian saying which some of us might well take as a rallying cry for our lives:  'The north wind made the Vikings.'  Wherever did we get the idea that secure and pleasant living, the absence of difficulty, and the comfort of ease, ever of themselves made people either good or happy?
Upon the contrary, people who pity themselves go on pitying themselves even when they are laid softly on a cushion, but always in history character and happiness have come to people in all sorts of circumstances, good, bad, and indifferent, when they shouldered their personal responsibility.  So, repeatedly the north wind has made the Vikings." 
~Dale Carnegie, 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

Looking Through Windows

(Be sure to pause the Playlist music player at the bottom of  blog before playing video below.)

Birthday Month

At our house, the month of February is filled with birthdays- three of our own, plus numerous aunts and cousins.  

Growing up, it felt as if February belonged to my sister and I.  Our birthdays, three days apart, were often celebrated together.   That, along with the fact that February's birthstone is purple, made me feel as if it were a month for girls.

Then my sister and I both had sons born in 'our' month.

The funny thing about being a mom is that instantly, you are more than happy to share a treasured thing with your children.   

I happily and joyfully celebrated the birthdays of my two boys over the past two weeks.  

One son, on the verge of being a man, brings humor to our family on a daily basis.  He is a gentleman- the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to date.  Seriously. He's sweet to his sisters and helpful to all of us.  Kind, charming, generous and fun to be around, he has a strong conscience of right and wrong and lives by it.

My youngest son (my baby boy) has a ready smile at all times, can be on the serious side- he's a man of few words for the most part- but a deep thinker.  He has ambitious goals and a loving heart.  He often sees life in black or white, but fights for the underdog and hates injustice.
 

These babies of mine- now young men- make my heart swell with joy. 
 Where did all those baby and toddler and little-boy years go?  Once upon a time, they seemed they'd never end.  

All those days and years of picking up after them, washing mud and jam off their little bodies, hugging them close when they got hurt and praising all the of the neat rocks and sword drawings and other items they brought to me for inspection.

Nights of bathwater splashed everywhere and jammies to be zipped, stories to be read, questions to be answered and backs to be scratched.   How I would give to have one more day with them as little boys, their arms wrapped around my neck, giggling or snuggling with me.

Time with children is precious!

Promise to myself: I will do my best to not take for granted any of the time I have left with them in my home- before the grow up and go out into the world as men.