If you do the right thing.....

....while everyone else does the wrong thing, what difference is it going to make? What is the point in trying when so many others are being so careless and apathetic? (So many people prefer to do what's easy, not what's right.)  There is, of course, every point. Not only do we feel good when we reach within ourselves for wisdom, perspective and honourable motivation, we inspire others to do the same.

Be an example today.

There's no greater role model, in my view, than Jesus Christ. It's just a shame that most of the people who follow him and call themselves Christians act nothing like him. (Bill Maher)

If you ask anyone for the reasons....

...behind their decisions, most will 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.

Maturity doesn't mean age; it means sensitivity, manners, and how you react.

Why do we think....

....we are supposed to have all the answers? Clarity is a wonderful thing to feel but a terrible thing to feign. When we pretend to know what's happening, we don't just rob ourselves of the ability to truly understand, we rob others too!

We dig the hole of illusion even deeper.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.  (Confucius)

Some people will say.....

.... or do almost anything if they think that it will gain them more money, more love or more respect. It's all rather sad, to say nothing of counter-productive. Money earned through insincere action is soon wasted on unnecessarily indulgence. Love attained through a false promise is soon lost. Recognition given to an empty gesture is rapidly replaced by criticism. 

If there is ever pressure on you to lower a standard or to compromise an important principle, the apparent reward is probably not really worth having.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.  (C S Lewis)

Let's start the week....

....with some words from a well known song - well, it was well known once upon a time..!!!

Grab your coat, and grab your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep, just direct your feet...' The thing is, though, what if the street has no sunny side? What if dark clouds are hovering overhead? What if it never stops raining? Well, perhaps that should be 'sunnier'. Or perhaps it should just be 'least bleak'.

One side of any 'street' will always present a more attractive proposition than the other, even if the difference is only slight. Pick the best option you can identify, and don't worry.

There is no success without hardship    (Sophocles)

If we didn't have rule books....

....where would we be? How confused our lives would soon become without patterns to follow, expectations to live up to, tried and tested formulae to apply and repeat. Thanks to all these habits, established so long ago, none of us really has to think very much.

But sometimes, the most important thing we can ever do is stand outside a situation for a moment and try to see it from a distance while we stop and think.





Don't find fault, find a remedy.  (Henry Ford)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest work....

...was arguably the blueprint for many other fictional detectives - Sherlock Holmes.  (Let's not mention that he also gave credence to the Cottingley Fairies pictures.   Oops, I just did mention it.)  Where was I?  Ah yes, good old Sherlock has planted, in the mind of every would-be detective, the idea that all mysteries can eventually be solved. We seem to forget that he is a fictional character and his exploits have been carefully engineered. We try to emulate him. We gather up our clues. We study our suspects. We weigh up motive and opportunity.

But somehow we forget that real life is illogical.

Trust is like an eraser, it gets smaller and smaller after every mistake.