The Bear soon left him, for it is said that bears will not touch a dead body.

When he was quite sure the Bear had gone, the other Traveler descended from the tree and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear.

“He gave me this advice,” his companion replied. “Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

Author Unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

The Bear and the Two Travelers

Today you are one day closer to becoming the person you were meant to be.

Today you have more experience and more wisdom than you did just one day ago.

So what’s the best thing to do today? More!

You are more today than you’ve ever been before. What a waste it would be to ignore that! What a waste it would be not to make full use of it! Now that you’ve become more, it’s time to do more.

Right now, you have what it takes to put more effort into your work, more love into your relationships, more discipline into your actions, and more passion into your life.

The tools and opportunities available to you have grown.
So use them to make your results and your life grow, too – not next week, not in a few days, but right now.

What can you improve just a little bit today? Those little improvements add up, compounding on each other until you’ve soon forged your life into a masterpiece.

You have more today than ever before. So go out and make more of this day than you’ve ever done.

Today is truly golden, and you have what it takes to make your life shine more brightly with each passing moment.

You really can do it!

Author Unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

More Each Day

He replied, “I don’t know, dear, but I am glad we were blessed enough to see another one together.” That made me, at first, shed a tear at their exchanged words, but then it made me ask myself, “Why doesn’t it?”

I thought and thought some more. I concluded, “How can we ask the moon to constantly shine so beautifully night after night if we as humans cannot find it in ourselves to do the same? Why can’t we find what it takes to remain illuminating creatures when we bear witness time after time of the glorious dreams we have shown to be so capable of?

Why do we so often blow out our candles and let the darkness escape to cover up a portion of our glow? Do we cycle through our emotions the same as the moon does? Why can’t we consistently find the peace and love that I can so clearly recognize in this young couple: the way they grip each other’s hand as if they never want to let go, the way they walk so slowly in rhythm with one another, as if their heartbeats are setting the pace, and the way they stare at each other as if they have found the gateway to the soul in each other’s eyes.

Then I think again: maybe we can control the moon’s luster, it’s wholeness. Just maybe if we can find it in our hearts, in ourselves, to shine with such radiance, over time we’ll begin to notice as we look toward heaven on a clear night that the moon is as full and bright as we ourselves choose to be. Maybe we only deserve to see this brilliance every so often. And maybe only when enough people can accumulate enough love, peace, and goodwill toward one another shall the moon dazzle us in all her beauty.

So now whenever I think the moon is going through her cycle again, I will tell myself, “No, she is waiting on us to go through ours.”

Author Unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

The Full Moon

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: “TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.”

The friend who had slapped and then saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand. Now, you write on a stone. Why?”

The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone.

Author unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

Sand and Stone

Then we get frustrated because our children are not old enough, and that all will be well when they are older.

Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and we must deal with them. Surely we’ll be happier when they grow out of the teen years.

We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.

The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than right now.

If not, then when?

Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it all.

For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to start. Real life.

But there was always some obstacle along the way, an ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time to be given, a bill to be paid. Then life would start.

I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.

That point of view helped me see that there isn’t any road to happiness.

Happiness IS the road.

So, enjoy every moment.

Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to lose ten pounds, to gain ten ounds, for work to begin, to get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning, waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off, for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played on the radio, to die, to be reborn… before deciding to be happy.

Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.

There is no better time to be happy than… NOW!

Live and enjoy the moment.

Author unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

Happiness is a Voyage

Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent- over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.

The man was using the iron pipe to punch holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later, the old man told the traveler, “I’ve planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only one-tenth of them will grow.”

The old man’s wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. “I want to do something useful,” he said.

Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him; he could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long.
Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wildflowers perfumed the air.

The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that once was. A beautiful oak forest stood there now – all because someone cared.

What small thing can you do today to make the world a more beautiful place?

By: Brian Cavanaugh

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

The Acorn Planter

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.

Take naps and stretch before rising.

Run, romp and play daily.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you’re not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout… Run right back and make friends.

Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

Things We Can Learn from a Dog

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly 16 hours.

Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.

On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while millions watched on national television.

Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half- mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.

Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.

Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours!

Author Unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

Keep Your Goals in Sight

A Sioux Indian story…

My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone person.

“You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures,” he said.

“Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle, and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both.”

That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

Remember the eternal wisdom: Whatever you focus on expands.

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

The Splashes Of Life

“Very good, Dad!”

“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon.”

When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless.

His son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!”

Isn’t it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude toward life, you’ve got everything!

You can’t buy any of these things. You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

Author Unknown

Post from: Rich Beyond Words

Perspectives