The world is not something that happens to us; we are something that happens to the world. – Kent Nerburn, Ordinary Sacred
You can read my review of Ordinary Sacred on She’s Got the Book!
Christian Book Reviews, Self Improvement, Positivity
The world is not something that happens to us; we are something that happens to the world. – Kent Nerburn, Ordinary Sacred
You can read my review of Ordinary Sacred on She’s Got the Book!
by Joi 2 Comments
“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Anderson
More quotes about life.
by Joi 2 Comments
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!” – Unknown
Tomorrow, when I’m back on my soap box telling you what you should eat… shouldn’t eat…. reminding you to take care of yourself.. and, by all means, telling you to put down the cigarettes while you can still breathe – do not remind me of the quote above.
I’ll deny ever seeing it, let alone re-posting it.
But for now, yeah, let’s all vow to concentrate MORE on the ride and less on the destination. I can’t help but think about Survivor and another personal favorite, The Biggest Loser. Contestants – even on day 1 always talk about the finale and the big check.
Ironically, it’s usually the ones who are too busy enjoying the ride to worry about the end that actually walk away with everything. I’d be willing to bet the rest wish they’d simply enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime ride rather than tried to steer so hard.
I’ve read these types of reflections before. Not from reality show contestants, mind you, but from people just like you and me – people who are at the end of the ride, wishing they’d simply enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime ride rather than tried to steer so hard.
May we all skid in broadside!
More Quotes About Life
by Joi 3 Comments
It was an utterly fascinating, gut wrenching, educational, and profoundly moving experience. I’ll never forget any of it for the rest of my life. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – if you ever are chosen to serve on a jury, just do it. Don’t do back flips trying to get out of it or throw the notice away, acting like you never saw it.
You’re cooler than that.
For one thing, you could get into a lot of trouble and who really wants to invite trouble into their home… especially the kind in uniform. For another thing, it’s the least you can do to serve your community and to stand up for your neighbors. Lastly, why should ANYONE run scared from something that others are facing head on? The entire process is laid out for you plainly and like most things in life, your primary responsibility is to just care enough to show up.
If you’re lucky, really lucky, you’ll be rewarded with the honor of serving your community and getting a chance to meet life head-on out on the battlefield. Invigorating. Very invigorating.
As I pointed out in a recent post (Behold: The Land of the Lost... sorry, someone had too much coffee and not enough chocolate that day. There’s a sweet balance and when I get out of rhythm, I’m thrown. Too much coffee and not enough chocolate makes me testy. Too much chocolate and not enough coffee makes me punchy.), doing things such as serving on a jury or even just reporting for jury duty is considered out of the ordinary and most people hate “out of the ordinary.” Yet, this is where TRUE growth happens. Out of the ordinary is where you learn new things. As I said in the testy post, Each experience helps you to develop new layers and fill up fresh wells of life experiences to draw from.
I didn’t start out to lecture you on jury duty – honestly. I just wanted to take the opportunity to let you know where I’ve been and why updates have been unusually sparse. I also wanted to say that I’m nearly caught up on responding to comments and e-mail.
I have also gotten behind… make that VERY BEHIND on books I’ve been wanting to review. I’ve read some amazing books lately and can’t wait to share them with you. Book reviews take a little longer with me simply because I don’t just say, “I read this book. I liked this book. You should read this book.” My approach is this: If the book was worth my time and I believe will be worth your time, I incorporate the book into an article that could stand on it’s own. That is, I try very hard to tell you about the book and review the book without making you feel like you’re in the midst of a book review.
The book that I’ll be focusing on in the next post is called Better Because of You by Ginny Hutchinson and Cathy Haffner. I read it this month during my jury duty – on breaks when no one was around to talk to. When others were near, I talked with them. I love books, but I’d never ever choose one over a human. Anyway, this is a fantastic little book and I’ll tell you all about it either later today or tomorrow.
I want to end this post with a quote from this particular book. I read it during a long day of jury duty. A day that found me missing my family, my cats, my house shoes, and my kitchen – and hoping they all remembered who I was. I was on schedule with my coffee/chocolate balance, so I wasn’t punchy or testy. However, I still got a lot out of this quote and loved how it showed up at just the right time. I’ve written this passage down and I think you’ll want to do the same. Heck, I’d recommend starting each and every day by reading the words from front to back.
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is not brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. – George Bernard Shaw
Splendid, Mr. Shaw, splendid.
by Joi 2 Comments
Below is a sample of what sidetracked my proverb-ial pursuit:
“You Are What You Do” by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek
If the past has taught us anything it is that every cause brings its effect, every action has a consequence. This thought, in my opinion, is the moral foundation of the universe; it applies equally in this world and the next.
We Chinese have a saying: “If a man plants melons he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans.” And this is true of every man’s life; good begets good, and evil leads to evil.
True enough, the sun shines on the saint and the sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked wax and prosper. But we can say with certitude that, with the individual as with the nation, the flouishing of the wicked is an illusion, for, unceasingly, life keeps books on us all.
In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions. Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment. Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurture for growth and development.
Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny; for inexorably we become what we do. This, I believe, is the supreme logic and the law of life.
Talk about proverbial wisdom.
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