August 2004
Welcome to the 20th issue of Messages from SpiritLight at Home offering monthly inspirational thoughts, insights into new, useful, fun, sometimes unusual and interesting ideas and some of my favorite links on the Internet.
- A Message from Deirdre
- New Pages
- Inspirational Thoughts
- Favorite links
- Humor for the Day
- Subscriber's Sites
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." Sir John Lubbock
A MESSAGE FROM DEIRDRE
Hello dear friends. This newsletter is long overdue and I hope you haven't missed it too much. My message for this issue was inspired by my daughter-in-law, Angela, who sent me one of those
You know you are living in 2004 when . . .
messages. First of all, it made me laugh because I saw the funny side of it. Then, it got me thinking about how I feel about living in this technology age and what I might do to counteract some of the high-tech things I do to increase my day-to-day stress.
So, here's the list. Perhaps some of my counter techniques can be helpful to you too.
1. You accidentally enter your pin number on the microwave.
I doubt if I would do this because I can't remember half of my passwords or pin numbers anyway!
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
Stop right now and call a bunch of my friends over for a game of cards (if I'm not reading this at 2 in the morning!).
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
Turn off ALL of my phones and get in the car and visit someone the closest to whom I haven't seen in a long time. Then suggest the same to my friends and family (except my daughter who only has a cell phone!)
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
How about turning to them and giving them a GREAT BIG smile for no reason and watch their "deer in a headlight" reaction! Then ask them to meet you at the watercooler for a quick chat.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
Get out a piece of paper (it's in my printer), find a pen ( in the bottom of my pocket book) and write a letter (even if it's only one page) to someone I can't reach by email.
6. You go home after a long day at work and you still answer the phone in a business manner.
How about if I DON'T answer it and hug my husband first. Then, once I know for sure that I'm home, I can start answering the phone again (or not). Then suggest the same to my friends and family to hug their husband or wife and/or children. If they live alone, I'll suggest they take a long, hot bath first, get into their "softies" and get out a good book (unless I know they can do this at work!).
7. You make phone calls from home and you accidentally dial "9" to get an outside line.
Do exercise 5 first.
8. You have sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies.
Well, I guess if this is the case, I need to feel gratitude for at least having a job!
10. You learn about your redundancy on the 11 o'clock news.
Get to know my human resources people on a first name basis!
11. Your boss does not have the ability to do your job.
How about mentioning this fact and that I am willing to make up a training manual for them. (I actually did this once.)
12. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.
This is scary! But if it's my brother or my son they will drive into my driveway and use the cell phone to call me as if they're "just checking in" so that they can surprise me with their visit! Now that's a good use of a cell phone!
13. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
Before I turn around. Think. Do I have voice mail? If the answer is yes, then I don't need it right now. I can call for my messages once I get where I'm going. Where is the nearest phone booth if I need to use a phone? If I'm not going on a long trip, I don't need it right now. What's the panic? A phone call costs .25 cents in a phone booth. I'll spend more for gas to turn around. Is it worth it?
14. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
How about making the coffee first and then taking it outside (if it's summer) with me to have a wander around the yard? Or how about reading the morning newspaper if it's winter? Like dust, the computer will always be there and nothing can be accomplished before I have had a chance to actually wake up!
15. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :-)
Now that's funny!
16. If you're like me, you're reading this nodding and laughing.
Yup!
17. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this.
Instead, I'm being inspired by it. But my friends are getting this anyway through the newsletter!
18. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
I didn't notice! I'm too busy writing this newsletter!
19. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.
Yup, I did!
20. You start talking in shorthand -- i.e, you want to say, "LOL" instead of actually laughing.
And that's the craziest one of all!
AND NOW I HOPE YOU ARE LAUGHING yourself. Which is not a bad thing!
If we can learn to turn our negatives into positives, our days become a little brighter and the world doesn't seem to be such a bad place after all (if that's what we think). Progress is always good. It's how we perceive progress that makes the difference and what we do with it to make it fit it into our own set of circumstances.
Now, *FOFL and have a good time!
Light and Love to you All,
Deirdre
*fall on the floor laughing
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." Albert Camus
INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS:
Brought to you from various resources around the Globe. We embrace all religions at SpiritLight at Home and will endeavor to bring to you inspirational stories that can be applied to your own beliefs.
The Yellow Shirt (Thanks Ange)
"The baggy yellow shirt had long sleeves, four extra-large pockets trimmed in black thread and snaps up the front. It was faded from years of wear, but still in decent shape. I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away.
"You're not taking that old thing, are you?" Mom said when she saw me packing the yellow shirt. "I wore that when I was pregnant with your brother in 1954!"
"It's just the thing to wear over my clothes during art class, Mom. Thanks!"
I slipped it into my suitcase before she could object.
The yellow shirt became a part of my college wardrobe. I loved it. After graduation, I wore the shirt the day I moved into my new apartment and on Saturday mornings when I cleaned.
The next year, I married. When I became pregnant, I wore the yellow shirt during big-belly days. I missed Mom and the rest of my family, since we were in Colorado and they were in Illinois. But that shirt helped. I smiled, remembering that Mother had worn it when she was pregnant, 15 years earlier.
That Christmas, mindful of the warm feelings the shirt had given me, I patched one elbow, wrapped it in holiday paper and sent it to Mom. When Mom wrote to thank me for her "real" gifts, she said the yellow shirt was lovely. She never mentioned it again.
The next year, my husband, daughter and I stopped at Mom and Dad's to pick up some furniture. Days later, when we uncrated the kitchen table, I noticed something yellow taped to its bottom. The shirt!
And so the pattern was set.
On our next visit home, I secretly placed the shirt under Mom and Dad's mattress. I don't know how long it took for her to find it, but almost two years passed before I'd discovered it under the base of our living-room floor lamp. The yellow shirt was just what I needed now while refinishing furniture. The walnut stains added character.
In 1975 my husband and I divorced. With my three children, I prepared to move back to Illinois. As I packed, a deep depression overtook me. I wondered if I could make it on my own. I wondered if I would find a job.
I paged through the Bible, looking for comfort. In Ephesians, I read, "So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will be standing up."
I tried to picture myself wearing God's armor, but all I saw was the stained yellow shirt. Slowly, it dawned on me. Wasn't my mother's love a piece of God's armor? My courage was renewed.
Unpacking in our new home, I knew I had to get the shirt back to Mother. The next time I visited her, I tucked it in her bottom dresser drawer. Meanwhile, I found a good job at a radio station. A year later I discovered the yellow shirt hidden in a rag bag in my cleaning closet. Something new had been added. Embroidered in bright green across the breast pocket were the words "I BELONG TO PAT."
Not to be outdone, I got out my own embroidery materials and added an apostrophe and seven more letters. Now the shirt proudly proclaimed, "I BELONG TO PAT'S MOTHER." But I didn't stop there. I zig-zagged all the frayed seams, then had a friend mail the shirt in a fancy box to Mom from Arlington, VA. We enclosed an official looking letter from "The Institute for the Destitute," announcing that she was the recipient of an award for good deeds. I would have given anything to see Mom's face when she opened the box. But, of course, she never mentioned it.
Two years later, in 1978, I remarried. The day of our wedding, Harold and I put our car in a friend's garage to avoid practical jokers. After the wedding, while my husband drove us to our honeymoon suite, I reached for a pillow in the car to rest my head. It felt lumpy. I unzipped the case and found, wrapped in wedding paper, the yellow shirt. Inside a pocket was a note:
"Read John 14:27-29. I love you both, Mother."
That night I paged through the Bible in a hotel room and found the verses:
"I am leaving you with a gift: peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do, you will believe in me."
The shirt was Mother's final gift. She had known for three months that she had terminal Lou Gehrig's disease. Mother died the following year at age 57.
I was tempted to send the yellow shirt with her to her grave. But I'm glad I didn't, because it is a vivid reminder of the love-filled game she and I played for 16 years. Besides, my older daughter is in college now, majoring in art. And every art student needs a baggy yellow shirt with big pockets."
Written by: Patricia Lorenz, Chicken Soup for the Soul.
And what I would take as a fable, but nonetheless thought-provoking. Thanks Donna.
Once upon a time...
Two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was their first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side. They made it through sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart.
It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference. Finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.
One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox.
"I'm looking for a few days work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with?"
"Yes" said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence, an 8-foot fence...so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."
The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."
The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day. Measuring, sawing, and nailing. About sunset, when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.
The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence at all. It was a bridge...a bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other. A fine piece of work...handrails and all. And the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched.
"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."
The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder.
"Stay a few days. I have a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.
"I'd love to stay on, " the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build."
"Love can never grow old. Locks may lose their brown and gold. Cheeks may fade and hollow grow. But the hearts that love will know, never winter's frost and chill, summer's warmth is in them still." Leo Buscaglia
NOT SO NEW PAGES
* Read all about the history of Reiki here: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/ReikiHistory.html
* Learn about energy healing here: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/EnergyHealing.html
* See pictures of our Reiki Studio here: http://spiritlightworks.photosite.com/SpiritLightWorks/
Continue to access the newsletter now directly on our site. Every month, the newsletter will be published at SpiritLight at Home and you can find this month's issue by clicking on: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/NewsletterAugust.html
Each month, you can find it by typing in the appropriate month. For example: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/NewsletterMay.html and so on. The October, November, December/January, February, March and April and May issues are now active.
* Deirdre's Poetry: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/Poetry.html
* Our Service Page: http://www.spiritlighthome.com/ServicePage.html Free social resources.
"When fortune empties her chamber pot on your head, smile and say We are going to have a summer shower." Sir John A. McDonald (Canada's first Prime Minister 1815-1891)
DEIRDRE'S FAVORITE LINKS
(Just favorites in my bookmarks - no profits made here. Any advertising (if any) is placed at the end of the newsletter.)
1. A World of Possibilities - Skills for creating happiness and blessing others - Click here: http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/possibilities/Q_GiftsGratitudeBlessing.htm
2. People Lookup - I'm not a fan of AOL generally, however this is a good search page to look up people in various ways such as email, address, phone number, etc. when you only have limited info. Click here: http://www.infospace.com/_1_2KVIT3W0272V3ZM__aolwp.aolw/white-pages/reverse-email?top=email
"Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ''Embraceable You'' in spats." Woody Allen
HUMOR OF THE DAY
Groaners (Thanks Deb!)
Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
Definition of a will: A dead give away.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.
She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
Every calendar's days are numbered.
A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
Acupuncture is a jab well done.
"There once was a Bald Man who sat down after work on a hot summer's day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing about his bald pate, and stinging him from time to time. The Man aimed a blow at his little enemy, but - whack - his palm come on his own head instead; again the Fly tormented him, but this time the Man was wiser and said: YOU WILL ONLY INJURE YOURSELF IF YOU TAKE NOTICE OF DISPICABLE ENEMIES.'' Aesop
SUBSCRIBERS' SITES
Many of our subscribers have fascinating web sites. Please let us know about your's so that we might mention it in this section. Write to: deirdre@spiritlighthome.com
"Summer is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." John Ruskin
Bless you all and have a great month. Happy Summer and see you in the fall!
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