Becoming

The people we choose to spend time with help determine the kind of person we are becoming. (Lyn Klug in A Gentle Spirit, 24 June)

Do you have the people and activities in your life that you really want there? (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 8 June)

******

Yesterday I made my 1,500th post to this blog.

Mr. Dickie

31 July 2012

On The Wrong Track

When I let personal piques and resentments interfere with what I know to be my proper conduct, I am on the wrong track and I am undoing all I have built up by doing the right thing. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 24 June) 30 July 2012

I Can't Think Straight

You must develop the discipline to think right.  This will give you the discipline to act right.  When you are disciplined in your thinking and acting you always feel good. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 20 July) 29 July 2012

My Way

Admit to yourself that no matter how much you want them, or how hard you work to get them, some things simply won't work out the way you want them to.  (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today!, 6 July) 28 July 2012

It's Over

... [Put] an end to the things that are over!

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 19 July)

27 July 2012

Overflowing Libraries

Libraries are overflowing with books we haven't read about ideas we have never considered. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 20 July) 26 July 2012

Negatives

A steady diet of negatives leaves us demoralized. 

(John Sherrill in Daily Guideposts - 2010, 20 July) 

25 July 2012

Life Battles

My serenity does not depend on my winning every round in my battle with life. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 15 July) 24 July 2012

The Prophets

... The prophets taught that adherence to God's will would bring divine favor whereas disobedience would lead to hardship -- and surely obedience would be better for everyone involved, especially the poor, needy, and weak.  The prophets, in short, were concerned about issues of real life - poverty, homelessness, injustice, oppression, the uneven distribution of wealth, the apathetic attitudes of those who have it good toward those who are poor, helpless, and outcast. ... (Bart D. Ehrman, God's Problem, p. 54)

[Mr. Dickie's comment: The issues of real life haven't changed in thousands of years.]
23 July 2012
]

Perfection

Some people regard themselves as perfect, but only because they demand little of themselves. (Herman Hesse in Touchstones, 21 July) 22 July 2012

Fair Play

Fair play is primarily not blaming others for anything that is wrong with us. 

(Eric Hoffer in Touchstones, 2 July) 

21 July 2012

Effort

Sometimes it is amazing how little a person can accomplish in a day's efforts. 

(Touchstones, 3 June) 

20 July 2012

Grievances And Faults

When we think constantly about our grievances and the "faults" of  ... [others], our minds are too confused to accept new ideas. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 2 April) 19 July 2012

Forget About It

When a memory of something you have forgotten is controlling your life, you will:

• say things that are not true,
• do things that are not productive,
• hear things that are not said,
• see things that are not there,
• respond in ways that are inappropriate and out of character,

(Iyanla Vanzant - Until Today! (modified), 18 July)
18 July 2012

Peace Not War

In all cases, when people use violence, you should try to convince them not to.  You should try to apply wise, convincing arguments, appealing not to the everyday world, but to their higher spiritual understanding.  Then, when you succeed, you will have the complete satisfaction of your conscience. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar of Wisdom, 17 July) 17 July 2012

Old Habits

Old destructive habit patterns must be replaced.

(One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 15 June)

16 July 2012

So Long

... you must be willing to leave some people behind.

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today!, 2 May)

15 July 2012

Something New

People who don't want to try anything new are a sorry lot.  I've known a few. (Tom Harding in Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey, 24 June) 14 July 2012

Yesterday

How we ... [feel] about whatever happened in a multitude of yesterday's doesn't have to consume our attention today. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 9 June) 13 July 2012

Angels Whisper

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  

Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.

(Raymond Inmon in Touchstones, 1 July)

12 July 2012

Little Messes

It can be difficult to acknowledge your role in the annoying little messes and great big disasters in your own life. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 28 June) 11 July 2012

It's Your Fault

We blame little things in others and pass over great things in ourselves; we are quick enough in perceiving and weighing what we suffer from others, but we mind not what others suffer from us. (Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, in One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 9 May) 10 July 2012

Control

Anyone ... who tries to take control of what cannot be controlled, brings trouble to himself. (Touchstones, 5 May) 9 July 2012

There's A Time

There's a time - all too brief as it too soon becomes apparent - to be little; a time to be in between; and a time to be old.  Let each have its season.  Let little be little. (Malcom Forbes, in Chicken Soup For The Father's Soul, p. 87) 8 July 2012

I Can't Hear You

Today I will be aware of the difference between being a good listener and getting overly involved in other's problems. (Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 27 May) 7 July 2012

Risk

Taking a risk to do something new today just might be fun.

What have you got to lose?

... realize the importance of having something to do upon arising each morning.

(Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 1 April and 3 May)

6 July 2012

You're Great

Is a person any better because others think him so?
(Thomas 'A Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 50, p. 147)
5 July 2012

Yankee Doodle

Yankee Doodle went to town

A-riding on a pony,

Stuck a feather in his cap

And called it macaroni'.

Chorus:

Yankee Doodle keep it up,

Yankee Doodle dandy,

Mind the music and the step,

And with the girls be handy.

Father and I went down to camp,

Along with Captain Gooding,

And there we saw the men and boys

As thick as hasty pudding.

Chorus

There was Captain Washington,

Upon a slapping stallion,

Giving orders to his men-

I guess there were a million.

Chorus

(4 July 2012)

Don't Ask Me

Stop demanding that people do what they have already demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to do. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 3 May) 3 July 2012

Reading and Listening

... when you read or listen, consider the source, and the source's credentials. (Father of Calvin Louis Fudge in Chicken Soup for the Father's Soul, p. 201) 2 July 2012

Shortcut To Life

U.S. Capitol after 29 June 2012 windstorm

There is no shortcut to life.  

To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned. 

(Harrison E. Salisbury in Touchstones, 11 May) 

*******

I didn't post to either blog on Saturday, 30 June 2012.

The power was out all day after the windstorm just before midnight on Friday.  Our neighborhood experienced the worst wind damage we have seen since we moved here in 1978.  Personally we were very lucky.  It will probably cost less than $500 to repair the damage to our roof.  Many others in our development of about 120 homes weren't so lucky.  There is considerable damage to roofs, decks, trees and a few cars.  Power was out from a few minutes into the storm until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.  We consider it a blessing that our outage was only eighteen hours.

I walked around for several hours yesterday talking to the neighbors and observing the damage.  I noticed two houses with generators.  Now I know where two couples smarter than us are living.

Mr. Dickie
1 July 2012