Even if you win....

....the rat race, you're still a rat. The world is full of people who worship the great god money. They believe it has total power.

Yet the funny thing is, even when you actually do have enough of this stuff to pay your bills and have a full stomach, you don't get any wiser, kinder, smarter or more talented.

Nice possessions are nice things.  But if you're not enough without them, 

you'll never be enough with them.

To err is human. To forgive, divine....

....We cannot argue with this old saying. Or can we? Can we not take issue with the word 'err'? It is such a little word. It looks like an abbreviation for the word 'error'. Yet an error sounds like a small thing, a minor mistake, a slip of the tongue or the pen. Why would anyone ever resist the idea of forgiving such a thing?

But there is just as strong a case for extending forgiveness, even to those whose transgressions are far, far, greater.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.    

 (Mahatma Gandhi)

When asked for the reasons....

...behind their decisions, most people give the explanation that they suspect will make them sound most sensible. Rarely, though, do those answers reflect the real story. Our biggest choices and preferences are generally influenced by emotions and instincts. We fear that if we confess to these we may sound immature so we keep quiet about them.

 

If, though, you want to help someone see a situation from a different point of view, you need to first discover what's truly motivating them.

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.    (Ayn Rand)

We all know that....

...the best mushrooms grow on rich manure, and the sweetest wines are made from rotting grapes. Nature almost goes out of its way to hint at the hidden value of the seemingly undesirable. Nevertheless, we find ourselves fighting against a tide of almost instinctive resistance, whenever we want to exploit this understanding to our advantage. Our desire to reject what we don't like the look of, also seems perfectly natural.

  

There are times in life when we're given the opportunity to think more deeply about what's really in front of us and what it could be worth.

Self praise is no praise at all.  (English Proverb)

Who could sensibly argue that....

....we are not like mirrors. After all, we reflect back whatever comes our way. When we feel particularly defensive, we become even more inclined to shroud our sensitive souls in this way. We just give back whatever we seem to be getting. If we hear negativity, we echo it. Thus we increase the extent of negativity's range.

  

So what are we supposed to do? Absorb it? That's even worse. We need to try to transform it.

Love is more than a noun.  It is a verb.  It is more than a feeling - 

it is caring, sharing, helping, sacrificing.      (William Arthur Ward)

At an early age....

....we are sent to school. There, facts and figures are drummed into our heads. No wonder we all feel that we know so much. Yet, though we may be mines of trivial information, there are still many things we do not understand. It's just that, because none of us wishes to appear ignorant, we try to deny this. We act as if we have all the answers, even when it is patently clear that it can't be so.

No wonder we sometimes make the wrong choices.

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.   (Henri Frederic Amiel)

It takes far less energy....

....to say something than it does to do something. And, the more you talk, the more you can persuade yourself that your words are almost as powerful as your actions. You can psych yourself into a state of triumph whilst doing absolutely nothing.

Talk, is cheap. Actions cost energy and commitment, but they bring real results.

Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it. (Rabindranath Tagore)