<B> Food for Thought </b>

Food for Thought <B> Food for Thought </b>

"You know you are misperceiving if you see no options." --Richard Corriere

You are richer today than yesterday . . .
. . . if you have laughed often, given much, forgiven still more;
. . . if you have made stepping stones out of stumbling blocks;
. . . if you have thought more in terms of "you" than "me;"
. . . if you have managed to be cheerful even if you were weary;
. . . or if you have given a smile to someone who had none left to give.

Author unknown

A Useful Vessel
It's not what we keep but what we share,
Not what we have but what we spare.
Not what we clasp but what we lose,
Not what we hide but what we use.

A vessel God will make of you,
If small or great, "twill surely do."
Great joy and peace will always fill
The one who's yielded to God's will.

Beatitudes
Blessed are they who understand
my faltering step and shaking hand.
Blessed, who know my ears today
must strain to catch the things they say.
Blessed are they who seem to know
my eyes are dim and my mind is slow.
Blessed are they who looked away
I spilled my tea on the cloth that day.
Blessed are they who, with cheery smile,
stopped to chat for a little while.
Blessed are they who never say,
"You've told that story twice today!"
Blessed are they who make it known
that I am loved, respected and not alone;
and blessed are they who will ease the days
of my journey home in loving ways.

Love is Giving . . .
But Love is Also
. . . Receiving.

It's Good to Give, But if You
Continue to Live, Only Giving,
It's Not Two-Way,
And You've Missed the Meaning!

"You come to that moment in time when you can make a choice--which is every moment." -- Linda Hughes Allen

One of God's greatest miracles
is to enable ordinary people
to do extraordinary things.

If ignorance is bliss,
why aren't
more people happy?

"You can not enlighten the unconscious." -- Roger Mellott

"People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes." -- Abigail Van Buren

"When all else fails, do something." -- Bee Epstein

What Cancer Can Not Do
Cancer is so limited . . .

It can not cripple love.

It can not shatter hope.

It can not corrode faith.

It can not eat away peace.

It can not destroy confidence.

It can not destroy friendship.

It can not shut out memories.

It can not invade the soul.

It can not reduce eternal life.

It can not quench the spirit.

God created only one you, precious in His sight. You have immense potential to love, to care, to create, to grow, to sacrifice, to believe in yourself. It does not matter you age, or your color, or whether your parents loved you or not. (Maybe they wanted to and could not.) It belongs in the past. You belong to the now.

It does not matter what you have been. The wrong you have done, the mistakes you have made, the people you have hurt. You are forgiven. You are accepted. You are okay. You are loved in spite of everything. So love yourself, and nourish the seeds within you. Celebrate you! Begin now. Start anew. Give yourself a new birth. Today.

You are you, and that is all you need to be. You are temporary . . . Here today and gone tomorrow. But today . . . today can be a new beginning, a new thing, a new life.
Clyde Reid
Celebrate the Temporary

Slow me down, Lord Give me, amid the confusion of the day,
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions
of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music
of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations--
of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend, to pat a dog,
to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day
of the fable of the hare and the tortoise,
that I may know
that the race is not always to the swift--
there is more to live than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
into the branches of the towering oak and know
that it grew great and strong
because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send
my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values
that I may grow toward the stars
of my greater destiny.
--Richard Cardinal Cushing

Dear Mariner: It's titled A Parable of Immortality, by Henry Van Dyke:

"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, �There she goes!'

"Gone where? Gone from my sight--that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side say, �There she goes!' there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, �Here she comes!'"

Afterword: If I could live it over . . .
by Nadine Stair
If I had to live my life over again,
I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax.
I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I'm one of those people who live seriously and sanely, hour after hour, day after day.
Oh, I've had my moments. And if I had to do over again, I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.
I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter than I have.
If I had to live my life over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

God leads our thoughts;

but we must do the thinking.
God leads our steps;

but we must do the stepping.
God leads our speech;

but we must do the speaking.
God leads our reach;

but we must do the reaching.
God leads our touch;

but we must do the touching.
God leads our love;

but we must do the loving.

"You are what you think you are." -- Jacquelyn Ferguson

Grief Is Like a River
by Cynthia G. Kelley
My grief is like a river--
I have to let it flow,
But I myself determine
Just where the banks will go.

Some days the current takes me
In waves of guilt and pain,
But there are always quiet pools
Where I can rest again.

I crash on rocks of anger--
My faith seems faint indeed,
But there are other swimmers
Who know that what I need

Are loving hands to hold me
When the waters are too swift,
And someone kind to listen
When I just seem to drift.

Grief's river is a process
Of relinquishing the past.
By swimming in Hope's channels
I'll reach the shore at last.

A Gift from the Heart
I touched an old soul with my heart today,
One long ago lost and forgotten.
I made her laugh and I made her smile,
I made her feel young for a little while.

As I travel from house to house each day
I make each house a home.
I give personal care with a personal touch;
For these few moments no one's alone.

Some grin ear to ear when I walk in the door,
Others moan and groan "Why are you here?"
But they all have a need way down deep in their hearts
For my caring, my sharing, my time, and my ear.

They share tales of their youth, when their bodies were strong
And their hearts had a mind of their own.
They share dreams�some fulfilled, some that drifted away
And some of the dreams they still pray for today.

There are times when their bodies need physical care,
Some help with their bath�a shampoo for their hair,
But that's rarely enough for a meaningful day;
They need kindness, and softness, and tears gone away.

They have fears they're becoming a burden to others,
Fears that they might be forgotten.
The can tell me those fears that they can't tell another
And they trust me with spoken and unspoken tears.

I do physical care in the winter and summer,
Work in the homes that are often too cold or too hot.
Each client's different in both body and spirit
But they all understand that I care with my heart.

I touched an old soul with my heart today,
One long ago lost and forgotten.
She laughed right out loud and I gave her a smile
And that is what makes my hard work all worthwhile.

Author unknown, but surely a fine HHA/CNA!

Blessed are they . . .
Blessed are they
Who know today
My ears must strain
To catch what they say.

Blessed are they
Who seem to know
My eyes are dim
And my wits are slow.

Blessed are they
That looked away
When coffee spilled
At the table today.

Blessed are they
With a cheery smile
Who stop to chat
For a little while.

Blessed are they
Who never say,
"You've told me that story
Twice today."

Blessed are they
Who know the ways
To bring back memories
Of yesterdays.

Blessed are they
Who make it known
That I'm loved, respected,
And not alone.

Blessed are they
Who know I'm at a loss
To find the strength
To carry the cross.

Blessed are they
Who ease the days
On my journey Home
In loving ways.

By Ester Mary Walker

To have . . .
. . . To have laughed with friends aloud.
. . . To have cried beneath the darkened cloud.
. . . To have praised the heroes of the day.
. . . To have cursed fate and its strangling way.
. . . To have earned the respect of your peers.
. . . To have conquered the frightening jeers.
. . . To have taught the world your part.
. . . To have won the affection of a child's heart.
. . . To have seen the best in those who hate you.
. . . To have failed again only to continue.
. . . To have held the miracle of a child in your hand.
. . . To have let the child go, to explore the land.
. . . To have left the world your legacy, for ages hence.
. . . To have known in one life you've made all the difference.
. . . From the time you enter crying, to the time you leave dying . . .
To have given all that you could give,
This is truly to live!
Shawn Halwes

This was written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend (and I want to be like her)

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known that they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, or for whatever their favorite food was. I'm guessing; I'll never know. (Apple crisp at Reata?)

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands, because they know the other hand will always be there."

I don't believe in miracles... I rely on them.

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