Does your body help you or prevent you from achieving your dreams?

I’m asking a serious question here.

Do you live in a healthy or unhealthy body?

Is a healthy body a priority of yours?

If you are not as physically healthy as you’d like to be, what’s the problem?

You know the formula for good health:

Good nourishment-regular exercise-adequate sleep.

Which of these three items requires improvement?

If all three, which one is your greatest need?

If you are physically healthy, all of of life’s challenges become possible.

Maybe you have a long way to go before you can become as healthy as you’d like to be.

A journey of a hundred miles begins with the first step.

Take control of your life by taking control of your body!

If not today, when?

I was walking into the checkout lane at the grocery store this morning.

I was entering from the wrong direction because I didn’t think there were any customers in that lane.

I was wrong. A small Asian lady was also entering from the proper direction.

When I saw her, I began backing out of the lane and told her, “Ladies first!”

She saw I was much older than her and insisted that I should be served ahead of her.

Here were two complete strangers practicing the good manners they had been taught.

She had been taught to RESPECT HER ELDERS!

I had been taught LADIES FIRST!

How are your MANNERS and what are you teaching your KIDS?

You want a more CIVIL SOCIETY?

PRACTICE AND TEACH GOOD MANNERS!

If not today, when?

It’s one of the most important issues that will affect your lifelong happiness.

How do you view your place in the world?

Does it give you joy or cause disappointment?

If your place in the world gives you joy, then it is where you should be.

If it brings disappointment, it’s never too late to improve your situation.

Is your disappointment self-induced or caused by others?

Winston Churchill’s father told him he would never amount to anything and that he was a disgrace to the family.

The irony is that the condemnation by his father might have been just the kick-in-the-pants he needed to go out and make something of himself.

Do you need a kick-in-the-pants?

If not today, when?

Yes, these are those great PATRIOTS who volunteered to defend America.

For 48 years, our military has been composed of an all-volunteer force.

On January 5th, they were living their lives just like the rest of us.

They are your dentist.

They are an auto mechanic at your car dealer.

They are a policewoman in your town.

They are your child’s school teacher.

They are the cashier at your grocery store.

They are your attorney.

They are a carpenter.

They are a nurse in your local hospital.

They are a professional fisherman on Cape Cod.

They are your local UPS driver.

They are a member of your church choir.

They are a cook in your favorite restaurant.

They are your daughter’s volleyball coach.

On January 6th, however, they became the guardians of your freedom!

They can’t sleep in their own bed tonight.

No, they sleep on the floor of the United States Capitol Building.

They are neighbors and PATRIOTS!

The “SHIP OF STATE” is in rough waters these days.

This noble experiment we call DEMOCRACY has been there before.

Many times actually.

Through many wars and economic upheavals, She always re-emerges better than ever.

Despite all its faults and shortcomings, we want to govern ourselves.

We have seen the evils of dictatorships around the world and it’s not for us.

So, we all must hold onto both sides of the boat.

I have been in a large sailing vessel tossed around in what seemed to be a relentless, unforgiving storm at sea.

Like today’s events, we didn’t know how and when it would end.

But, it did and this will end too and we will emerge wiser and stronger.

I don’t know if we really appreciated our DEMOCRACY enough until we were in danger of losing it.

Let’s do what I did then.

HOLD ON!

If not today, when?

As I walked out of the grocery store this morning, a cashier wished me “a good day!”

While driving home, I asked myself, “So, what is a good day?”

A good day is when you get a much desired promotion at work.

A good day is when the love of your life says “YES.”

A good day is when a homeless person finds a home.

A good day is when nothing bad happens in your life.

A good day is when a dying loved one is relieved of his/her suffering.

A good day is when a lonely person gets a phone call.

A good day is when you practice patience with someone who annoys you.

A good day is when you forgive yourself for making a wrong decision.

A good day is when a jobless person gets a job with fair wages.

A good day is when you sincerely appreciate your blessings.

“HAVE A GOOD DAY!”

They can hurt or heal.

Many times, a compliment may be just what the other person needed.

You never have to regret being kind and kind words are remembered.

Words spoken in anger, however, cannot ever be taken back.

Even a subsequent apology doesn’t remove the memory of the original altercation.

Your choice of words also have a great impact on your own peace of mind.

Words also have an enormous influence on important relationships.

Before speaking, ask yourself how these words, you are about to use, will affect others.

Don’t allow your words to become weapons.

Use words that express LOVE, PATIENCE, ACCEPTANCE AND FORGIVENESS!

They make for a better world.

If not today, when?

Is today just another day or is it the most important day of your life?

I ask this question because yesterday is gone.

I ask this question because tomorrow may never come.

No, the only thing we can experience is today.

And will today be a good or a not-so-good experience for you?

How well have you invested your time on this earth?

When looking back on your life, how well you spent each day is your report card.

Many of us will waste today by worrying about the future or regretting the past.

DON’T DO THAT!

Make today count! Live in the moment!

We are accountable for each others’ happiness.

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing there’s just too little of!” (Jackie DeShannon)

If not today, when?

Do you accept people who are different than yourself?

If not, you’ve got a problem because you happen to live in a country that your ancestors chose to live in.

Most countries are composed of people whose ancestors were native born. They all speak the same language and adhere to the same customs that have been handed down.

Not in America! We all came from elsewhere!

We look different than our neighbors.

We speak different languages.

We have different customs.

We have different religions.

Many of us came as slaves.

So, here we are! Different!

We have a saying, “In diversity, there is strength!”

That must be true about America because all these different people built a unique society.

I just believe acceptance of all our differences is the MAJIC OF AMERICA!

Will you become more accepting?

If not today, when?

How are your kids reacting internally to current events?

Hopefully some are verbalizing their concerns to you.

Their openness depends on the closeness of your relationship.

I’m guessing that your teenagers are less communicative than your younger children.

They form their opinions in three steps: 1) What happened? 2) Friends reaction. 3) Your reaction.

It’s an uphill battle for parents because teens put great value on what their peers say and do.

Nevertheless, you must try to open a dialogue with your kids.

The best approach would be to begin by asking them what they think of the recent events in Washington.

Once you know what their understanding is, you are better equipped to construct a meaningful conversation and exchange of thoughts. LISTENING carefully is most important.

There is so much turbulence in society today.

You don’t want turbulence in your family relationships.

The most appropriate remedy is a loving dialogue.

If not today, when?