Inspiration - 4/24/06

Apr 24, 2006 @ 01:55 pm by Ron

“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

— William James

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How You Doin’?

That’s the famous phrase from the television program, “Friends” — it was the way Joey would greet people most of the time … “How You Doin’?” This program was so good at showing us the importance of good friends.

When we’re close friends with someone, we intuitively know when they need a hug, a helping hand, or a sympathetic ear. By the same token, when we’re going through bleak periods in our own lives, it’s nice to be able to count on friends to support us through loss, illness, and other setbacks, whether big or small. While part of being a good friend means being there when the other person needs us, it’s just as important to be there for our friends so we can share in their joyous celebrations and triumphs.


After all, who else would our friends want to celebrate their promotions, graduations, marriages, and good news with other than their loved ones and good friends. Yet depending on what is happening in our own lives, it can sometimes be difficult to be there for our friends during the good times. We can become so busy with our own lives that we just forget to make time.

We may be so focused on our own problems that we may not feel like celebrating with friends. We may even take their joyful moments for granted, assuming that as long as we’re there for our friends during the bad times that we’re doing our jobs. Yet part of being a true friend means also being there during the good times. Success and happiness can feel empty without someone to share, and who better to join in our victory dances than our good friends.

Taking the time from our busy lives to honor our friends’ happy moments is a wonderful way to show them that they matter. And in many ways, by wanting you around during their happy occasions, your friends are also honoring you. After all, it is the people we cherish that we want around us to sing at our birthdays, visit our newborn babies, and pop open that bottle of champagne with when we reach a milestone moment.

So, the next time one of your friends asks you to help them celebrate an event in their life, remember that you should be honored that they thought of you.

~~~ DBL-R

Inspiration - 4/22/06 — Earth Day

Apr 21, 2006 @ 04:36 pm by Ron

Wilderness Remnants
by: Susan Morrison


Tiny parcels of Earth
Still free
from the heavy hand of man

Hidden away
Tucked safely
in secret valley
or atop inaccessible mountains

More real
than anything we know
They seem a dream

Lost in the memory
of a time
when these were
the only surroundings of man

Today . . .

Remnants

Tomorrow . . .

Legends to be told
to unbelieving children

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We LIVE as if every day is EARTH DAY! We think about our impact on the environment with everything we do. These are some tips for you to do each day:

Reduce Packaging Waste

  • Use canvas or cloth grocery, fruit/vegie and other shopping bags.
  • Purchase goods in minimal packaging only. Avoid hard plastic and stryofoam.
  • Use a reusable bottle for drinks (e.g., water). Avoid buying bottled water.
  • Buy milk in returnable glass bottles from the local dairy and local stores.

Reduce Energy Consumption

  • Buy only fuel-efficient vehicles.
  • Walk & bike more. Use public transportation. We walk to the pool, Tang Soo Do, the movie theater, etc.
  • Use manual yard tools instead of gas or electric powered tools. Use a reel mower, rake, hand clippers, manual edgers. No leaf blowers please!
  • Buy locally produced food to reduce transportation-associated pollution.
  • Use air conditioning sparingly. 80 degrees is sufficiently low.
  • Wash clothing in cold water only.
  • Avoid watering yards. Plant drought-resistant bushes & plants.
  • Convert to solar energy.

Avoid Use of Toxic Chemicals

  • Avoid use of all chemical herbicides (weed killer), pesticides (insect killer) and chemical fertilizers in your yard, garden and home.
  • Buy organic food. Support organic farmers each time you shop.
  • Maintain a non-toxic home. Use only “green” cleaners in and around your house.

Reduce Use of Disposable Products

  • Use cloth napkins at each meal instead of paper.
  • Clean your house with old cloth diapers or rags rather than with paper towels or disposable wipes & cleaning tools.

Recycle More

  • Recycle batteries, light bulbs, and other hazardous wastes.
  • Recycle mixed paper, magazines, cardboard and phone books at the local recycling drop off centers.
  • Recycle glass, aluminum, plastic bottles, and newspapers curbside, if you have this service. You may also take these to the recycling drop-off centers.
  • Start a recycling program at your place of work.
  • Collect household containers and other items to be used for school science projects and day care arts and crafts.
  • Drop off unused items in your household at thrift shops.

These are easy to do once you develop positive habits.

How Aware Are You?

Apr 20, 2006 @ 03:26 pm by Ron

Wake Up and Stop Walking Around in Circles!

Better to see where we have been blind in this life — toward others and about ourselves — than never to see at all; otherwise, we’ll just go on walking in circles and blaming others for not moving forward!

~~~ Guy Finley

Life is a journey! It’s a journey that’s comprised of many steps — steps along our personal path. This path takes us down a winding road of constant evolution.


Every day of our lives (and it doesn’t matter whether we’re in our personal world or our business world), we’re always being shown a myriad of opportunities that, if we were aware of them, could allow us to rise to our next best selves.

Every time someone in our life gets under our skin — rubs us the wrong way — we’re being given an opportunity to react differently than we did the last time that happened.

Or, perhaps we find ourselves in a situation that we know we really should walk away from, but we aren’t aware of how to go about that — or we’re not sure if we can.

What happens when we’re out of touch with our awareness?

Eventually, we find ourselves stuck in a rut that we can never seem to get out of. We make the same decisions over and over again — when we have choices we always choose the same ones because we don’t seem to know how to change. We no longer move forward, but rather we keep going around in a never-ending circle where all our decisions and choices keep bringing us right back to where we’ve already been.

Once awareness sets in — when we begin to see this happening to us, we can take the first steps to change.

Awareness is when we are able to realize what we’re doing. It’s sort of like being outside ourselves — we notice how we’re reacting to circumstances — we see the actions we’re taking. This awareness is the first step toward change. Only when we are aware can we begin to understand why we’re doing what we’re doing. We won’t change something unless we know there’s something to change.

Once that awareness sets in we’ll begin to see that we can no longer avoid making changes — we’re wide awake now — we see the truth behind our behavior.

There’s a freedom that comes with awareness. Rather than thinking that we’re stuck in a repetitive cycle where there’s no escape, we begin to see that we very much play a hand in creating our own lives. The choices we make are always ours to make — no one elses. Our past and our present no longer have to dictate our future when we choose to be aware. There are no longer any limits.

The path now leads forward only — it is paving the way for new experiences — new actions — a new way of life — a life where we are evolving and we know it.

~~ DBL-R

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