The Ship Of Life

Across the shore awaits a boat

Though sea's are rough, its still afloat

Raise the sails, held up by mast
Forget the troubles of distant past

As wave crash down upon the deck
Steady the boat; not quite a wreak

Tend the mast, and fix the scrach
Light the lantern with one last match

The storm will end, pull anchor and rope.

Look up to see the stars of HOPE.

- Author Unknown

Straight to the Heart

It was my three-year-old grand daughter, Jani, who gave me the answer to a question I'd been puzzling over. I was visiting both of my daughters in the city that day and had taken the youngest grandchild for a walk. It was only by chance that we came upon that little park, complete with tiny hills and lovely greenery. It was like a little hideaway that not a soul knew was there. Even the sounds of traffic were blocked out.

Jani was enjoying the swing and I sat back to watch her from a wooden bench flanked by shrubs. That was when I felt something indescribable yet so peaceful.

What was that?

I knew I'd felt something like this before at our little country home, but even there I was unable to really identify it. That indescribable "feeling" was the reason we ended up buying the place. We had been looking for an affordable home in the country and finally discovered an old armhouse on an acre and a half thirty-minutes from the city.

The house had been built as a one-room schoolhouse in 1911. The basement was still a dirt cellar. Looking at this old place and thinking of giving up my beautiful home in the city with wall-to-wall carpets, a lovely fireplace and a bay window, was a bit of a downer. I just didn't know if I could do it. Then we walked out across the land and that beautiful feeling hit me.

I commented to my husband, Shawn, "It feels so good here."

We looked through the old place and once again walked out in the yard and as we traveled down a wee slope to an enclosure, that wondrous feeling again came upon me. "Shawn, I can't describe it, but it feels so good here!" I guess I told him that at least three or four times that day.

In the weeks and months that followed our purchase of the home, I received that feeling each time I walked in my enclosed "secret garden."

But I was not the only one to feel this warm energy. When we had company I encouraged each person to spend some alone time in the secret garden and every single one reported the same warm good feeling come over them. But what was it?

Now here I was in a park and I had that same lovely indescribable feeling. I called over to my rambunctious little granddaughter. "Jani, come over here and sit with grandma." She climbed up on the park bench and managed to slow down her little energetic body long enough to listen.

"Jani, will you sit here with me and just close your eyes and see if you feel anything?"

Bless her, she didn't question my weird request; she merely closed her eyes and sat perfectly still. I waited to see if she would experience what I did. And then I kept waiting, as she seemed in no hurry to open her eyes. Strange inactivity, for such a lively little bundle of energy!

Finally I could wait no longer. "Jani?" I touched her shoulder gently encouraging her to open her eyes. As she did, I asked, "Jani did you feel anything?"

Trust a child to cut through all the fuss and head straight for the heart. She broke out with a beautiful, radiant smile and she said, "Oh Gamma, it feel like God giving me a hug!"

- By Ellie Braun-Haley

Serve & not Work

One evening a scholar was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture. One of the participants asked the following question :

"I am a manager of Materials Department and I joined an organization 10 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 10 years I have gone through every experience in the organization. During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting. But all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my joy any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job.

However, Sir, I was comparing my life to my mother's and mine should actually be more satisfying than hers but she seems more satisfied with her life than I am. I see that my mother has been doing the same boring job of looking after the family day in and day out, and that too with a smile on her face. She cooks, cleans, waits for everyone in the family, looks after our routine and though we rarely thank or appreciate her, doesn’t seem to get bored or tired.

The response from Scholar was very interesting and convincing. He asked the executive the question:

"Please tell me for whom does your Mother do all this?"

The executive replied that obviously the mother does all that she does for the family i.e. others.

Then the Scholar said, "Your mother 'Serves' others and because of this service mindedness, she does not feel tired or bored. But in an office, we 'Work' and not 'Serve'. Anything we consider, as service will not make us feel bored. That is difference between Serving and Working. Whenever you put a larger context around your work and see a broader meaning for your work, you will take interest in your work and it will make a very big difference in your internal energy." He asked the executive to consider his work as service and not merely a work.

Well. I know that life is more complicated than this simplistic story, but the point is clear. So, today lets 'Serve' and not 'Work'.

- Author Unknown

Be Thorough

There’s really no such thing as knowing too much about what you’re doing.

When I was in college, I spent my spare time reading about real estate and foreclosures. I didn’t feel it was a sacrifice of my time, because I was interested in real estate; I wasn’t studying just to pass a test. The knowledge I gained on my own led to my first successful investment. I couldn’t have achieved that if I hadn’t spent the time studying on my own.

In college, I also read something that Rudyard Kipling said, which I’ve never forgotten: “I keep six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew - their names are What and Why and When--and How and Where and Who.” Finding the answers to these questions will ensure that your information is comprehensive and correct.

An example of this was from The Apprentice, when my assistants and I interviewed candidates. Sometimes the process went on for hours - one boardroom meeting lasted for over five hours so we could make the most knowledgeable decision possible!

Staying informed is a daily task, and challenge, considering how quickly our world is moving. But not keeping up is like agreeing to check out - please don’t do that. Plug in and learn everything you can. You never know when information will come in handy. If I hadn’t studied real estate foreclosures as a student, I wouldn’t have been able to see the great opportunity that led to my first big success.

Resolve to move forward and to learn as much as you can - today and every day.

- Donald Trump

Courage and Inspiration

"So you think I'm courageous?" she asked. "Yes, I do." said he.

"Perhaps I am. But that's because I've had some inspiring teachers." And she told him about one of them.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.

"Yes, I've learned courage," she added, "because I've had inspiring teachers."

We see courage and inspiration all around us - from the smallest and the most ordinary. Today, be that inspiration or be inspired…..

- Author Unknown

Today's Mantra

Today's Mantra comes in the form of a song by Baz Luhrmann. I love it. Hope you enjoy it and maybe adopt the philosophy too...

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 , If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….and You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen....

- Author Unknown

Excellence

A man once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage."

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. “Excellence” is a drive from inside, not outside. Excel at a task today - not necessarily for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction.

- Author Unknown