smile 'cause it happened

"Don't cry 'cause it is over - smile 'cause it happened."

~ Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel

"I am a Christian by choice," Obama began ...

Obama questioned on abortion, why he is a Christian
From Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House Correspondent
September 28, 2010 3:06 p.m. EDT
Albuquerque, New Mexico (CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/28/
obama.tough.question/index.html?hpt=T2

An event billed as a discussion on the economy turned personal Tuesday when a woman asked President Barack Obama about his Christian faith and views on abortion.

The question came at a town hall-style meeting in the yard of an Albuquerque home as part of Obama's public outreach to explain his policies and campaign for Democrats in the November congressional elections.

With a recent survey showing that only a third of Americans can correctly identify Obama as a Christian, the president gave a personal account of his conversion as an adult and how his public service is part of his faith.

"I am a Christian by choice," Obama began, standing beneath a blazing sun, when asked why he is a Christian.

"I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead," Obama said. "Being my brothers' and sisters' keeper. Treating others as they would treat me. And I think also understanding that, you know, that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility that we all have to have as human beings."

Humans are "sinful" and "flawed" beings that make mistakes and "achieve salvation through the grace of God," the president continued, adding that we also can "see God in other people and do our best to help them find their, you know, their own grace."

"So that's what I strive to do," Obama said. "That's what I pray to do everyday. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith."

At the same time, Obama emphasized his belief that freedom of religion is "part of the bedrock strength" of the United States.

"This is a country that is still predominantly Christian, but we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists" and others, he said, adding that "their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own, and that is part of what makes this country what it is."

etc.

Telling what you are not going to do

"I remember from [Wharton MBA] strategy class that the heart of strategy is being able to tell what you're not going to do. Telling what you're going to do is easy but telling what you are not going to do--like when you're going to say no to your customer--is much harder."

~ Denis Benchimol Minev, WG'03
Wharton Magazine, Summer 2010, p. 30

No Barriers

There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.

~ Ronald Reagan

The Christian Ideal

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting;
it has been found difficult and left untried!”

~ G. K. Chesterton

How to distinguish...

How to distinguish...

A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts:
"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man below says:
"Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude."

"You must be an engineer" says the balloonist.

"I am" replies the man. "How did you know?"

"Well" says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man below says "You must be a manager."

"I am" replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well", says the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."

~ Author Unknown

Laughing is healthy...

Laughing is healthy...

Question: What is the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?
Answer: The difference is that the optimist learns English while the pessimist learns Chinese.

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane, and the pessimist the parachute."
Gil Stern

"Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid back"

"The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism is dead."
Robert Brault

Marriage Is When A Man And Woman Become As One; The Trouble Starts When They Try To Decide Which One.

A man died and went to heaven. St. Peter took him on a tour. He saw a high wall over in the distance and asked what it was for. St. Peter said, "We keep all the Christians over there. They think they're the only ones here.

"Debating with someone on the Internet is like mudwrestling with a pig. You get filthy and the pig loves it."

"Somewhere at the edge of the bell curve is the girl for me."

"I think, therefore I am single."
Liz Winston

"If I had any nerves, I'd have a nervous breakdown."
Eugene O'Neill

"It is not denial. I'm very selective about the reality I accept."

http://my.opera.com/Optimism/forums/topic.dml?id=289697

The Potter and the Clay

The Potter and the Clay

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in a beautiful antique store. This trip was to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups.
Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked, “May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful.”
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke; this is the story the teacup told.

“You don't understand!” it said. “I have not always been a teacup.
There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me, and rolled me, pounded and patted me, over and over, and I yelled out, “Don't do that! I don't like it, let me alone!” But he only smiled and gently said, “Not yet!”
Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. “Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy I'm going to be sick!” I screamed, but the master only nodded and said quietly, “Not yet.”
He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then... then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. “Help, get me out of here!” I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, “Not yet.”
When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good… “Ah, this is much better”, I thought.
But after I cooled, he picked me up and brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. “Oh, please! Stop it, Stop it!” I cried. He only shook his head and said: “Not yet!”
Then suddenly he put me back into the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up.
Just then the door opened, and he took me out, and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited… and waited… wondering what's he going to do to me next?
An hour later he handed me a mirror and said: “Look at yourself!” And I did. I said: “That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!”
Quietly he spoke. “I want you to remember.”
Then he said: “I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any colour in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.”

~ Author Unknown

Stress Management

Stress Management
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked: "How heavy is this glass of water?”
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied: "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.”
”If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.”
”In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued: “And that's the way it is with stress management.”
“If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.”
”As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”
”So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”
”Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!”

~ Author Unknown

The Water Pot

The Water Pot

A water bearer had two large pots; each hung on each end of a pole that he carried across his shoulders. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years they went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what is perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you”. “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” “I have been able these past two years to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all this work and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot and asked it to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it up some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but none on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw and took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walked back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without being the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we allow it, our flaws can be used to grace other people’s lives.

~ Author Unknown

The Professor's Jar

The Professor's Jar
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him when the class began; he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar, and shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things... God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions... and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter... like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else... the small stuff.
"Now, if you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked." The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

~ Author Unknown

The Horse and the Donkey

The Horse and the Donkey
Once upon a time . . . an old carter kept a horse and a donkey in the same stable. He was equally fond of both his animals, but as he used the horse to pull his trap, he gave it better food and more attention than he did the donkey. However, the donkey, knowing he was not so precious as his stablemate, ate straw instead of corn and hay, without complaining. Even when both animals carried sacks to market, the donkey's was the heavier load, for the carter did not want to overwork his noble horse, though he had no such feelings about the donkey.
As time went by, the horse grew more handsome and robust, while the donkey became thin and weak. One day, on their way to market, the donkey was carrying his usual heavy load, while the horse had only two lightweight sacks tied to the saddle.
"I can't go much further!" moaned the donkey. "I'm much weaker today! I can hardly stand and unless I can get rid of some of this weight, I won't be able to go on. Couldn't you take some of my load?"
When the horse heard this, he looked the donkey up and down in disdain, for he considered himself much superior, and said: "Our master gave you the heavy load, because he knows that donkeys are beasts of burden. Their loads ought to be heavier than those of noble horses!"
So the wretched donkey stumbled on. But after a short distance, he stopped again, bleary-eyed, his tongue hanging out.
"Please, please listen! If you don't help me, I'll never reach market alive." But without even a glance, the horse haughtily replied: "Rubbish! Come on, you'll manage this time too!" But this time, after a few tottering steps, the donkey dropped dead to the ground.
The donkey's master, who had lingered to pick mushrooms, ran up when he saw the animal fall.
"Poor thing!" he said. "He served me well for so many years. His load must have been too heavy." Then he turned to the horse: "Come here! You'll have to carry your companion's load too now!" And he hoisted the donkey's sacks onto the horse's back.
"I'd have done better to help the donkey when he was alive," said the horse to himself. "A little more weight wouldn't have done me any harm. Now, I'm frightened of collapsing myself under a double load!" But feeling sorry too late did nothing to lighten his load.
~ Author Unknown

Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?

Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?
A farmer's horse ran away one day and all the villagers came to him saying, Oh what bad luck you've had! Your horse that you need to do your work is gone!
The farmer shrugged his shoulders and said: "Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?"
Several days later, the farmer's horse returned, followed by a herd of wild horses!
Oh what good luck you have, cried the same villagers! Not only has your horse returned, he has brought you many horses!
The farmer again shrugged his shoulders and said: "Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?"
One day not long after, the farmer's son was trying to break one of the wild horses. He was thrown off the horse and broke his leg.
Oh what bad luck you have! Cried the villagers. Now your son has a broken leg. Who will help you?
The farmer shrugged his shoulders and said: "Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?"
Not long after, as the son was recuperating, an army came through the village and took all the young males to fight in a war in another region. They did not take the farmer's son because of his broken leg.
Oh what good luck you have! The villagers cried once again. Your son has been spared being taken off to war because of his broken leg!
The farmer shrugged his shoulders and said: "Good luck, bad luck. Who knows?"
~ Author Unknown