I have been a bit of a downer lately with work, family and covid, and feeling mentally drained. So I thought we could share some quick and short inspirations, lessons, values and just about anything else that can help each other out. Basically a feel good, makes you stop and think Hallmark Card moment.
I will start off with:
People say love is blind, but envy is blind. It is blind to all that you already have and should be thankful for.
DISCLAIMER: Many of these will come from me after Sunday church. I will try not to make it religious, but there are some some great tips on a Sunday morning
My dad once shared this, his version stated that: once there were a group of wise men, given the task to find a phrase which in all instances is positive. The answer they arrived at, was this: "This too shall pass"
I feel it is quite profound, so I went to google a little and found this that it is quite interesting.
When an Eastern sage was desired by his sultan to inscribe on a ring the sentiment which, amidst the perpetual change of human affairs, was most descriptive of their real tendency, he engraved on it the words : — “And this, too, shall pass away.” It is impossible to imagine a thought more truly and universally applicable to human affairs than that expressed in these memorable words, or more descriptive of that perpetual oscillation from good to evil, and from evil to good, which from the beginning of the world has been the invariable characteristic of the annals of man, and so evidently flows from the strange mixture of noble and generous with base and selfish inclinations, which is constantly found in the children of Adam.[1]
It was also used in 1852, in a retelling of the fable entitled “Solomon’s Seal” by the English poet Edward FitzGerald.[2][ better source needed ] In it, a sultan requests of King Solomon a sentence that would always be true in good times or bad; Solomon responds, “This too will pass away”.[3] On September 30, 1859, Abraham Lincoln recounted a similar story:
It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction[5]
I used this on someone once and they replied: “Have you tried eating barbed wire?”
Not something I shared with my kids but something I lived by in my troubled young years, a quote from my grandad: “If you are in a fair fight then you are doing it wrong.”
It helped me get past the bullies in life and once got me suspended for beating one of those over the head with a school chair.
Most importantly - Depression lies
We can be broken but furiously happy
The juggling balls theory
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.” - Bryan Dyson
Then these two:
I am sure most of you have heard of the Spoon theory
I was quite impacted by this today and thought I would share here. Please let me know if you would like the scriptures that were attached herein.
"You Have To Choose to Change"
CHANGE requires making CHOICES. It’s not enough to DREAM of changing. It’s not enough to DESIRE change. In order for you to change, you will need to make a decision. You must CHOOSE to change.
Change is INTENTIONAL. Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be less in debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be?
I can tell you the answer right now: It will only happen if you choose to change because it isn’t going to happen accidentally.
“It requires a choice”.
We have to make INTENTIONAL CHOICES in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change, and change means you LET GO of some OLD THINGS in order to GRAB HOLD of some NEW THINGS.
It’s like swinging on a trapeze. The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then he has to reach out and grab the other one. At some point, he’s got to let go of one to grab on to the other, or he’s not going to make it to the other side. If he thinks he can hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he’s going down.
Some of you are stuck in the middle, and you’re going down because you haven’t let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. You have to let go of your old ways.
thought i would share it.