A lot of the time....

.....it doesn't feel like it, but nobody on this planet is ever completely powerless. We all have options, alternatives and possibilities that we can explore. It is just that these may seem to us to lack immediacy or efficacy. We wish that we could do this but it turns out we can only do that. Disappointing though such a state of affairs may be, we owe it to ourselves to look at whatever our only choice may constitute.

That 'precious little' may turn out to be all that is required in order to make an enormous difference. Rising to a small challenge, may improve a lot.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Let your light shine....

Don't let me stop you....

....from reaching for the best, but be aware that the best is not always out of reach. We often mistake elusive targets for desirable ones. If something is rare, we figure, it must be precious. That's not always the way. Some of the finest things in life are not only free, they are right under our noses, available to us in plentiful supply.

Often, what we need most of all, is not an object, an item or a change of circumstance, it's just the ability to feel grateful for some simple, yet wonderful gift.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  

It's the life in your years.  

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Parents of small children....

....often wonder if they will ever again know what a full night's sleep feels like. Parents of babes now grown into adults, often wonder if these really were the infants they once held in their arms. We all treat our current reality as if it is the only one there has ever been or can ever be. To pine for the past is as foolish as to force tomorrow to become today.

But if we ignore the possibility of change, we deprive our flame of wisdom of vital fuel. Remember - slow growth is not the same as no growth.

If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.  (Marc Chagall)

Can someone please explain....

....to me why we have colour TVs and vibrant colours in clothing etc?  After all, most people seem resolutely determined to view the world in black and white. They want clear-cut, simple, unambiguous answers to even the most complex questions. They yearn for rights and wrongs that they can easily relate and react to. It is a very natural human thing to seek certainty but it is often, too, a dangerous and divisive quest.

If something is unclear, that is most likely because it is multi-faceted. Seek a deeper understanding, not a swifter resolution.

You can not tell a hungry child that you gave him food yesterday.  (Zimbabwean Proverb)

Run through the rain....

 A little girl had been shopping with her mum.  She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.  It was pouring outside.  The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.  We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the shop.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.  I am always mesmerized by rainfall.  I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.  Memories of running, splashing, so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, 'Mummy, let's run through the rain,' she said. 'What?' mum asked. 'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated. 'No, darling.  We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' her mum replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated, 'Mummy, let's run through the rain.' We'll get soaked if we do,' her mum said. 'No, we won't, mummy.  That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her mum's arm. 'This morning?  When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?' 'Don't you remember?  When you were talking to daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!''

The entire crowd stopped, dead silent.  I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.  We all stood silently.  No one came or left in the next few minutes. Her mum paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly.  Some might even ignore what was said.  But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life.  A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

'Darling, you are absolutely right.  Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,' her mum said.  Then off they ran.  We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles.  They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case.  They got soaked.  But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did.  I ran.  I got wet.  I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health.  But no one can ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and take opportunities to make memories everyday.  To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.
 

Imagine being given....

....a mathematical equation to solve. Rather than attempt to work it out, you simply pick your favourite number and make it become the answer. Then you recalculate, adding an additional process here or there until it justifies the result that you want. Very often, we all do something along these lines. We decide how we think things ought to be, then retrospectively create a set of arguments and explanations to support this idea.

Isn't it better to be more open-minded and honest?

In a gentle way, you can shake the world. (Mahatma Gandhi)