Security is mostly a superstition

"Security is mostly a superstition; it does not exist in nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

~ Helen Keller

Equipoise

e·qui·poise (kw-poiz, kw-)
n.

1. Equality in distribution, as of weight, relationship, or emotional forces; equilibrium.

2. A counterpoise; a counterbalance.

3. Equilibrium and poise. The sublime balance of emotion.

4. The state of being perfectly balanced; equilibrium.

5. Equality of distribution; counterbalance, equilibrium, balance
structure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"

6. Conformation - a symmetrical arrangement of the parts of a thing.

7. Symmetry, proportion - balance among the parts of something.

8. A state of being equally balanced; equilibrium; -- as of moral, political, or social interests or forces.

examples:

"What matters is the poetry, and the truest readings of it "are those which are sensitive to the strangeness of Marvell's genius: its delicate equipoise, held between the sensual and the abstract, its refusal to treat experience too tidily, the uncanny tremor of implication that makes the poems' lucid surfaces shimmer with a sense of something undefined and undefinable just beneath."
~ James A. Winn, "Tremors of Implication", New York Times, July 9, 2000

"I cannot see how the unequal representation which is given to masses on account of wealth becomes the means of preserving the equipoise and the tranquillity of the commonwealth."
~ Edmund Burke, "Reflections on The Revolution In France"

"Our little lives are kept in equipoise
By opposite attractions and desires."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Haunted Houses"

Legends never die

"Heroes are remembered but legends never die."

~ author unknown

organize, don’t agonize

"Organize, don’t agonize."

~ Nancy Pelosi

The Keys

"I don't know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

~ Bill Cosby

How to Tell If You Are Management Material

Here's ten ways to tell whether or not someone is management material.

Difficulty Level: easy Time Required: 5 minutes
----------------------------------------------------
Here's How:

10. You like not doing anything
9. You have no trouble telling others what to do
8. Work fascinates you - you can sit and watch it for hours
7. You like ‘sweating the small stuff’
6. You have always been something of a loner
5. You don’t think ‘plan’ is a four-letter word
4. Your favorite cocktail is milk of magnesia
3. On Halloween you dress up as Alex P. Keaton
2. Your favorite horror writer is Tom Peters

And the number one clue you are management material -
1. You enjoy having people despise you just for doing your job.

Open Channels

"In hopelessness, we become open channels."

~ Native American saying

Yogi Berra quotes

quotes from Yogi Berra,
The Grand Master of the Malaprop:

"When you come to the fork in the road, take it."

"You know, a nickel isn't worth a dime any more." (To the economist Milton Friedman.)

"What paper do you write for?" (Upon being introduced to Ernest Hemingway.)

"Thank you for making this day necessary." (To the fans, on Yogi Berra Day.)

"You can't hit and think at the same time."

"Half this game, is 90 percent mental."

when his teams lost: "We made too many wrong mistakes."
or: "We were overwhelming underdogs."

"We may be lost but we're making good time."

Years later, Yogi was being interviewed on radio, part of a campaign to promote his memoirs, Yogi: It Ain't Over. He struggled so obviously that during a commercial break the interviewer asked: "Yogi, have you actually read this?"

Yogi blithely replied: "Why should I? I was there."

"It ain't over till it's over, but when it's over, it's over."

Bill Lyon, "As catcher and phrasemaker, Yogi Berra has had no equal"
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/
20090405_As_catcher_and_phrasemaker__
Yogi_Berra_has_had_no_equal.html

Do What is Right

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do and damned if you don't"

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Delight in Our Salvation and Grace

"For it is God's will
that we have true delight
with him in our salvation,
and therein he wills that we be
mightily comforted and strengthened,
and thus wills he joyfully
that our soul be occupied with his grace.
For we are his bliss,
for in us he delights without end;
and so shall we in him
with his grace."

Julian of Norwich
The Gift of Julian of Norwich,
text by Karen Manton, illustrated by Lynne Muir
Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2005,
p. 63

Approval and Happy Attentions, Decisive Reigning

quotes from The Autobiography of the Queen,
a novel by Emma Tennant, Arcadia Books Ltd. 2007

"All at once, as concierge and Jolene conveyed to each other with their mutual looks of astonishment and pleasure, the old lady became someone whose approval and happy attentions were highly desirable and impossible to forget once experienced." p. 59

"The Queen was an expert listener. ... there was always a moment when the teller, over-emotional at being granted a royal audience, mentioned the one grudge -- or crime -- or stain of illegitimacy, which continued to haunt them and would do so for the rest of their days. ... she had perfected the art of listening to a stage where not coming out with some kind of confession seemed to the teller to be a crime in itself." p. 119

""For over half a century, she had reigned as a model sovereign: dutiful, always ready to hear the complaints or demands of her people and to put these before her own wishes and interests." p. 4

"As she had so often been taught when young, thinking of yourself leads to muddle and to vanity." p. 132

"It seemed that no one could live without the secret hope of an opposite to what they had been dealt in life." p. 210

"A monarch cannot indulge in regrets: too many resonances of heads cut off and kings and queens exiled overseas all their lives for a lack a decisive reigning presented themselves." p. 211

Love

Go out into the world in peace
and the God of joy and peace will be with you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength;

love your neighbor as yourself,

and love your enemy,

for God’s love is stronger than death.

A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat.
Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help. "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder.
Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

~ Author Unknown

Why Waste Your Time Worrying?

40% of worry will never happen, for anxiety is the result of a tired mind.

30% of worry concerns old decisions which cannot be altered.

12% of worry centers in criticism, mostly untrue, made by people who feel inferior.

10% of worry is related to my health which worsens while I worry.

Only 8% of worry is "legitimate," showing that life does have real problems which may be met head-on when I have eliminated senseless worries.

Fresh Fish

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish would not arrive fresh.
[Don Del Castillo] The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price.

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.
Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?
If you were a consultant for the fish industry, what would you recommend?

As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax. You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs.

Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's. "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment". The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

Therefore, instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat 'em up. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge and more help.
If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals.
Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference." So, put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

"When reality stinks, write fiction."

~ author unknown

Doves

Doves are a prevalent symbol of Christians in the Bible. At Matthew 10:16, Jesus told his followers to be cautious (wise) as serpents, yet gentle (harmless) as doves. What is so special about doves? Why were they used rather than some other bird?
A number of years ago, my family had a lot of bird pens and raised chickens, pigeons, roosters, doves and assorted other creatures.
Most birds, even those not meat eating, are predators even against their own kind. That is, they will kill the eggs and destroy the nests of other birds in order to make themselves and their offspring superior. Many humans and nations are like this also destroying others to keep themselves from being destroyed or even to keep themselves from merely losing some monetary objectives.
But doves are not like that. Rather than destroy the nests of other doves, all in the pen will take turns sitting on the nests... even the single males. Pigeons and chickens will not do this.
Doves mate for life in male/female pairs and others will not interfere in these relationships trying to steal a dove's mate. Other birds are likely mated all to one dominant male (like chickens). (A few bird species such as eagles, parakeets, pigeons will mate for life, but are still aggressive, fighting type birds).
Doves care for each other; cuddle together for warmth; help care for eggs/nests/infants; and will only reject a member once the illness or injury is unrecoverable. Then they will isolate the member from the rest. Most bird species will peck an injured one to death at the first sign of illness or injury. They will also peck to death the babies of other birds including their own kinds.
Doves, therefore, naturally mimic much of the conduct expected of Christians as shown in the following Bible verses:
1 Thessalonians 5:14; Hebrews 11:34; Romans 15:1; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 13:4; Hebrews 10;23-25; Romans 1:12; Hebrews 13:4; 2 Timothy 2:24; 2 Corinthians 10:3
Even though we live in the world, a world full of Satan's birds who would pick us and our seeds to death, we do not wage war as the world does as Paul stated above.
Let us act like doves and not other birds. Matthew 13:3, 4, 18, 19. Do not allow the birds to pluck away that which you have received in learning Bible truth. Your fellow doves are always around to help if you are willing to make use of them.

5 Signs of Depression

By Dr. Oz

Have you experienced any of these symptoms for an extended period of time—not for a day or two, but more like two weeks? If so, Dr. Oz says you may want to consider seeking professional help.

Lack of Energy
Are you more sluggish than normal?

Weight Gain or Loss
"Have you been eating more or less than you're supposed to?" Dr. Oz asks.

Trouble Sleeping
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Or trouble getting out of bed?

Lack of Concentration
Do you have trouble keeping your mind focused?

Apathy
"Have you lost the love, the zest, for the hobbies you have in your life?" Dr. Oz asks.

http://www.oprah.com/article/health/
20090305-tows-oz-depression-signs

She likes a rigged game.

quotes from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

McMurphy: (referring to nurse Ratched)
"She likes a rigged game."

McMurphy: (in group session)
"I’d like to know why none of the guys never told me that you, Miss Rached, and the doctors could keep me here until you’re good and ready to turn me loose. That’s what I’d like to know.
You let me go on hasseling Nurse Rached here, knowing how much I had to lose, and you never told me nothing."

Robert Benchley Quotes

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.

A great many people have come up to me and asked how I manage to get so much work done and still keep looking so dissipated.

Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.

I have tried to know absolutely nothing about a great many things, and I have succeeded fairly well.

In America there are two classes of travel - first class, and with children.

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.

~ Robert Benchley