BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then 4 minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes later a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes later a 3-year-old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but his mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. After 1 hour, he finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

And now for the rest of the story....

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars (no doubt a Stradivarius). Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. The question raised: "In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

This story made me stop and think. How many times in our daily lives do we see someone and judge them. This is the way it is with mental illness. People really don't take the time to look at the person, but judge them by their appearances. People with mental illnesses (and their families) face challenges every day. Many times they are shunned by society. From experience, I can tell you first hand, that people with mental illnesses are kind, talented, and giving. They are simply folks that have been dealt a different card in life. The stigma surrounding mental illness can be overwhelming. Even some mental health providers don't understand the dynamics of the person suffering and their family members. How many fine musicians are out there...how many artists....how many potential doctors, had mental illness not struck? Many times family members of a person suffering from mental illness, have to be content to simply hear the small sounds, the small gifts, the small contributions that somone with mental illness has to offer. It is a very lonely walk.........

CONTENTMENT

This past Thursday, our local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) participated in a Single Mothers Seminar. The keynote speaker, Kirstan, gave us some valuable information I would like to share with everyone. The keynote speaker was a single mother for a number of years, and is now married with a blended family of ten children.

REMEMBER

Remember who you are.

DREAM

The first step to creating your dream is experiencing it in your thoughts and heart.

DISCOVER

Each and every individual was born with unique qualities. It is up to us to discover those qualities.

BE

Be aware of your surroundings. Use all your senses and listen to your heart.

BELIEVE

Believe in who you are.

CREATE

Create the life you have always wanted. Live your dream each and every day.

******************

A thought Kirstan left us with was this:

SOMETHING GREAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY,

BECAUSE I AM GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN !!!

THINGS YOU CANNOT RECOVER

Be thankful and look to every new day with a positive hope.
Take time to pull yourself away from all the noise and just look around you.
Take inventory. Appreciate those who have enhanced the quality of your life,
and remember that they have been a gift to you.
And remember that you're an gift to them too.

Be grateful for the choices you've made, both good and bad.
Accept your mistakes; you can't change them anyway.
Apply what you've learned and go on.
Use these lessons to help you with your other decisions in life.
Appreciate yourself and your own uniqueness.

Go outside and look at the sky. Soak in the atmosphere.
Enjoy the colors of the landscapes.
Feel the textures of every place you are that you are thankful for.
Smile at the world.
Don't allow any negative feelings to creep into your consciousness.
Feel the power of your own acceptance.
Put a positive spin on every thought you have.

Make every day special. Own it. Enjoy it. Bask in the glory of life.
Appreciate the gift of your own life

~Doris Fargo~


So many times in my life, I have met people that have tried to make me feel less than I am. Now I try very hard to understand them, and I realize they may be the one with the problem. Many, many times, these are the people that judge when they shouldn't be judging. Criticize when they shouldn't be criticizing, and not tell the truth. These are the things I have now found out, that bug me. Insecure people are simply insecure people. My Mom used to tell me I wore my heart on my sleeve. Now I know what she meant. Thanks Mom and Dad for raising me with an open mind, and a loving and trusting heart. Our family has had some very traumatic hits, but now I am finding out, we just don't go around and dump our heartaches and troubles on others. I would guess that would be where the pride we have as a family comes in. We were always taught to take care of your own, make your own way in this life, and not take from others. It is a comforting feeling to know "I did it my way".

Seussism's !!!!

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss~

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you want. You are the guy who'll decide where to go. ~Dr. Seuss~

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. ~Dr. Seuss~

Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way. ~Dr Seuss~

And when they played they really played. And when they worked, they really worked.

~Dr. Seuss~

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lots, nothing is going to get better. It's not, It's not. ~Dr. Seuss~

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try !! ~Dr. Seuss~

LAW OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car

jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and

missed the other car by just inches !

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and

started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.

And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'why did you just do that'?

This is when my taxi driver taught me what

I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck".

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks.

They run around full of garbage, full of frustration,

full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it

and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to

other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not

let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets...

Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it,

and ninety percent how you take it.

Anonymous

LEADERSHIP

The things that will destroy us:

politics without principle...

pleasure without conscience...

wealth without work...

knowledge without character...

business without morality...

science without humanity...and

worship without sacrifice...

by: MAHATMA GANDHI

LESSON WELL LEARNED

A young couple moved into a new apartment. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

"That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap".

Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "look dear, she has learned how to wash correctly". I wonder who taught her this".

The husband said, "I got up this morning and cleaned OUR windows."

So as it is with life. What we see when watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

From an e-mail buddy of mine.

MEMORIES

A little house with three bedrooms and one car on the street,

a mower that you had to push to make the grass look great.

In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone

and no need for recording things, someone was always home.

We only had a living room where we could congregate,

unless it was at meetings in the kitchen where we ate.

We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine,

when meeting as a family those two rooms would work out fine.

We only had one TV set and channels maybe two,

but always there was one of them with something worth a view.

For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip,

and if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip.

Store-bought snacks were rare, because my Mother loved to cook,

And nothing could compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book.

Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play,

we all did things together-even go to church to pray.

When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather,

no one stayed at home, because we liked to be together.

Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own,

but we knew where the others were without our own cell-phone.

Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star,

and nothing can compare to watching movies in your car.

Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season,

pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.

Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know,

have real action playing ball-and no game video.

Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend,

and didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend?

The way that he took care of you or what he had to do,

because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you.

(and sometimes that meant coming to your home)

Remember going to the store and shopping casually,

for when you went to pay for it you used your own money?

Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount,

remember when the cashier person had to really count?

(why I think they even knew the name of everyone on every bill)

The milkman used to go from door to door,

and it was just a few cents more than going to the store.

There was a time when mailed letters came right to your door,

without a lot of junk ads sent out by every store.

The mailman knew each house by name and knew where it was sent;

there were not loads of mail addressed to 'present occupant.'

There was a time when just one glance was all that it would take,

and you would know the kind of car, the model and the make.

They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile;

they were streamlined, white walls, fins, and really had some style.

One time the music that you played whenever you would jive,

was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five.

The record player had a post to keep them all in line,

then the records would drop done and play one at a time.

Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today,

and always we were striving, trying for a better day.

Oh, the simple live we lived still seems like so much fun,

how can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?

And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle spokes,

and for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes?

This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways,

I love the new technology, but I sure miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same,

But I sure do love to reminisce, and walk down memory lane.

Much credit to the person who put this together, whoever it was-you should have signed your name.

" HAPPY FALL TO YOU "

From one pumpkin to another !!!
A woman was asked by a co-worker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?'
The co-worker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin .'
God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.'
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'

IMPORTANT WORDS

A while back Kirk Weisler gave me permission to post some of his thoughts for the day. The one being posted today is a gem. Thanks Kirk....

The six most important words.....I admit that I was wrong

The five most important words....You did a good job

The four most important words....What do you think ?

The three most important words.....Could you please..

The two most important words....Thank you

The most important word....." We "

The LEAST important word... " I "

author: unknown

FINANCIAL WARNING

• Normally I would avoid discussing any advice regarding buying or selling of stocks, but I felt this is important enough to share and warn you since this explosive situation might prove to be yet another ENRON !!

Please review any holdings you might have in the following stocks:

American Can

Interstate Water

National Gas Company

Northern Tissue Company

• Due to uncertain market conditions, I advise you to sit tight on your American Can, hold your Water, and let go of your Gas. You might be interested to know that Northern Tissue touched a new bottom today, and millions were wiped clean.

It's a tough market out there. Be careful !!!