Contentment and a clear conscience have a lot in common.

Are you content with the big and the small choices you’ve made?

THE BIG CHOICES:

Did you marry? Is he/she a good partner?

How about your standard of living? Is it adequate?

How about your children? Are they a joy or a problem?

THE LITTLE CHOICES

How do you treat loved ones?

How do you treat co-workers?

How do you treat your friends?

How do you treat yourself?

It is possible to be content in a bad situation, depending on your behavior.

You can’t always be content with what’s going on, but you can be content with your reaction to it.

Contentment is all about your behavior, not someone else’s.

You may not be content with a troublesome situation, but you can be content with your reaction to it.

Contentment is a personal quality that only applies to you.

You deserve to be content with your life!

If not today, when?

Are we?

We sure don’t act like it.

The bold truth is that we either live or don’t live on this planet together.

We should behave like a family because the house we live in is in danger.

I heard last week that the Gulf Stream is becoming unstable and will adversely affect our weather.

Every family member should help take care of the house because we must all live in it together.

And we must accept the fact that everyone is a member of our family even if they don’t look like us.

We know enough about Climate Change now that we can’t ignore it.

Where is the international co-operation to address this problem with a plan?

I’m not concerned about my future but the future of my children and grand children.

Unless we get serious, their world will be unstable.

That should NOT be unacceptable!

Yesterday’s blog was entitled: “The Whale That Cried.” 

A killer whale was stranded on rocks and tears were coming out of its eyes.

Did you know a killer whale had feelings?

How does the earth provide day and night?

How can babies be formed inside the mother and immediately begin breathing when born?

Why do we need the Gulf Stream to continue its journey every day and night?

Why has the earth provided all the ingredients necessary to sustain human life since the earliest times?

THIS LIFE IS A MIRACLE AND WE ARE ITS BLESSED ONES!!!!

Well, if this life is a blessing, why aren’t we grateful?

Why are we destroying the environment that has always given us everything we need?

Why do we mistreat people who don’t look like us?

This is not the way grateful people should act.

When will we begin every day THANKING GOD FOR THIS MIRACLE?

If not today, when?

Boaters in Alaska came upon a peculiar sight on Thursday: A 20-foot-long killer whale was on the shore, stuck in a crevice of rocks.

Soon, Chance Strickland, the captain of a private yacht in Alaska, and his crew anchored and came ashore to spray the whale with seawater.

The mist kept the whale cool and scared away birds that had gathered nearby in the trees, waiting for a chance to eat the orca alive.

Mr. Strickland and his crew hoped that when the tide rose that afternoon, the 13-year-old whale would float and make its way back to the sea.

Mr. Strickland could hear the orca calling out to killer whales swimming in the area.

People on other boats stopped with water and buckets to douse the orca.

“There were tears coming out of its eyes,” he said. “It was pretty sad.” (NYT)

I guess killer whales have feelings too!

“Be tough.”

Hang In There.”

“I understand.”

These are some of the things said by well-intentioned friends and family to very sick people.

As sincere as these comments are intended to be, they miss the mark.

We are learning, with the help of our cancer stricken daughter, that we must allow for complete candor from the sick person so that they can tell us what’s really going on inside their head and heart.

We must become better, more empathetic listeners.

To be honest, unless we have experienced a very serious illness ourselves, we really don’t understand the depth of their constant physical suffering and mental anguish.

And if we promise to pray for them, we’d better keep our promise!

If not today, when?

 

Will this little boy in South Africa and the 270 million people like him, who don’t have sufficient food, survive?

He is being fed outside a soup kitchen.

This kind man is keeping him alive TODAY, but who will keep him alive in ALL HIS TOMORROWS???

You don’t have to leave your town in order to find hungry people.

There are soup kitchens near you.

You just have to search for SOUP KITCHENS and you’ll find the ones in your area.

They are always looking for volunteers to lend a hand.

After you receive a service from a company, how do you feel about the quality of the service rendered?

As you know, we do get frequent requests to answer some questions in a follow-up survey.

Do you participate in any or some of them?

I just got off the phone with a service representative of a major automobile manufacturer.

She was, knowledgeable, professional and patient.

She is the kind of person who should be rewarded for caring enough to perform her job to the best of her ability.

I don’t fill out many surveys, but there are exceptions.

When I feel that the employee did a terrific job, I’d like to help that person get rewarded.

So, I take the few minutes necessary to take the survey.

They are usually designed with quick, simple multiple choice questions.

I’m inviting you to continue or begin answering customer surveys when you’ve been well treated.

If not today, when?

1. Accomplishments, Successes and Achievements

Sometimes we focus on everything that might be wrong with us, rather than on what’s right.

2. Really, Who’s Perfect? 

If you’ve been comparing yourself to other people all your life, it’s time for you to stop and realize that no one is perfect.

3. Looking at Values

Instead of buying into the idea that we need to FIT IN, we should pride ourselves on being a truly good person, honest, compassionate and caring

4. Creating Successes  

One of the best ways to  increase our self-esteem is to fight our fears and anxieties and start creating more positive accomplishments in our life.

5. Use Affirmations

There is a positive thinking technique called affirmations that can help improve our self-esteem. Stop negative self-trash-talk and replace it with affirmations.

6. See Yesterday with a Kinder Eye

Hindsight is always 20/20 and perhaps it’s not fair to judge our past based on what we know now.

7. Like Most of Yourself

Is it really reasonable to expect to like all 100% of yourself, all of the time?   Probably not, because, we’re all human.         (roberthammel.com—-A psychologist)

This is Andre De Grasse of Canada after winning the 200M race in the Tokyo Olympics.

He edged out two American runners who were favored.

In his follow-up interview, he explained that he worked out twice a day for six days a week for five years!

This is obviously an extreme example of someone who was willing to pay the price for success.

It’s never too late to dedicate yourself to attaining a goal or a dream you may have.

There is a saying that goes: “THOSE WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO TAKE A RISK, WORK FOR THOSE WHO DO!”

You might respond by saying that your dream requires too much pain.

My response: “How much pain do you endure each day in the knowledge you are not living YOUR DREAM?”

Marry the person who makes your HEART SMILE!

Always say “Good Morning” and “Good Night.”

Find something to laugh about together each day.

See yourselves as partners on the journey of life together.

Have a “date night” each week even if you only go for a walk.

Surprise each other with little things.

Use your “Best Manners” with your partner.

You can’t say, “I love you” too often.

Forgive the little annoyances of one another,

When your partner is speaking, listen.

Be complimentary when some act is worthy of a compliment.

Always let your partner know that he/she is the most important person in your life.

If not today, when?