Choices

You should not take responsibility for someone else's poor choices. If you do, before long, that person will be controlling you and manipulating you.
(Joel Osteen, Become a Better You, p. 241)
20 February 2016

Growth

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.
(As Bill Sees It, p. 115)
20 December 2015

Power

Dick & Melva in Annapolis, MD (2015)

I have all the power I need today to say no to negative choices.

The personal choices I make today are positive and healthy.

I take responsibility for my life today.

(Ruth Fishel, Time For Joy, 14 May)

11 August 2015

Responsibility

U.S. Postal Museum - photo by Mr. Dickie

Every one of us has the responsibility to help those in need, no matter our age or the circumstances of our lives. People are counting on us. Let's do the best we can as often as we can.
(The Christophers, Three Minutes A Day, Vol. 41, 26 December)
9 July 2015

I Am Not Powerless

I am not powerless over my attitudes.
I am not powerless over negativity.
I am not powerless over assuming responsibility for my own ... [action or lack thereof].
I have the power to exert a positive influence on myself, my loved ones, and the world in which I live.
(Daily Reflections, 3 January)
5 July 2015

The More You Know

Earth Day 2014

The more you know and the better you know it, the greater is your responsibility for using your knowledge wisely.
(Thomas 'a Kempis, The Imitation Of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 2)

******

Yesterday we worked in the yard for several hours.  I bought a gallon of gas for the lawn mower.  I got lucky, the mower started after two or three pulls. I trimmed around the edges and mowed the front and back yard. This year we are required to put the yard waste into brown paper bags. I'll need to get used to that. It's not as easy as dumping the grass into a plastic bag. Sometimes part of the grass fell on the ground and once I ripped the top of the bag. Melva and I dug up some of the day lilies and lily of the valley plants in the flowerbed near the kitchen window.  We plan to plant tomato plants there this year. Because we no longer can use the plastic bags that mulch comes in for yard waste I took all of those bags to the front curb for recycle pick up on Tuesday. This will free up lots of space in the shed, maybe I'll be able to spot a bag of grass fertilizer and gain access to the spreader.

Mr. Dickie

22 April 2014

Responsibility

The most important thing people need to do is take responsibility for their actions.
(Michael Acton Smith in Hero by Rhonda Byrne, p. 32)
21 April 2014

Detachment

• Let me not take to myself, and suffer over, the actions and reactions of other people.
• Other adult human beings are not my responsibility, no matter how closely their lives may be intertwined with mine.
• I will not allow myself to be troubled by anyone else; my one problem is to improve my own way of living and looking at life.

God teach me to detach my mind from what others say and do, except to draw helpful lessons and guidance from them.

(One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 7 January)
8 January 2014

Reading Is Fundamental

... the possibility of making damned fools of ourselves would appear to be limitless.
(Frederick Buechner, Listening To Your Life, 15 September)

Every one of us has the responsibility to help those in need, no matter our age or the circumstances of our lives. People are counting on us. Let's do the best we can as often as we can. (The Christophers, Three Minutes A Day, Vol. 41, 26 December)

Yesterday I was able to start my 2014 reading in all of the books I selected to read each day.  Now I must resolve to set aside enough time each day to follow my plan to read the entire stack of books during the year. Do you have a plan to turn off the television for a while each day in order to find time for reading some books on your reading list?

Mr. Dickie
2 January 2014

To Be A Man

Photo: Melva with our rain barrel - July 2013

To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible.

(Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

22 July 2013

The Force

My will shall shape the future. 

Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. 

I am the force. 

I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. 

My choice, my responsibility. 

Win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.

(Elaine Maxwell, American Writer, in Pocket Positives) 

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2 July 2013

High Blood Pressure

A 1990 Cornell University study concluded that jobs combining high responsibility with low autonomy were three times more likely to produce high blood pressure than jobs that either offered some degree of autonomy or lower responsibility levels. (Doreen Virtue, Ph.D., I'd Change My Life If I Had More Time, p. 112-3)

Mr. Dickie's Comment: I personally confirmed this while working at the Library of Congress. It's no fun trying to deliver a project, with a fixed completion date, when you don't have the power to compel people to do the work that only they can accomplish.

May is High Blood Pressure Education Month
28 May 2013

Responsibility

People who are not willing to take responsibility for their lives would much rather hold on to their perceived limits. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 19 October) 29 April 2013

Self-Evaluation

When you are willing to accept responsibility for your choices, the outcome leads you to self-evaluation and self-correction. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 28 June) 19 August 2012

Growth

Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight. (Touchstones, 18 March)

If you say you want to grow but make no steps to make it happen, it probably will not happen. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 26 March)

People who fear responsibility sometimes use a lifestyle of chaos to help them avoid responsibility -- and to block out their fear of it. (Craig Nakken, Finding Your Moral Compass, p. 85)

People learn by example, and you are a living example. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 30 April)

Persistance is necessary if you are to advance in spiritual things. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 18 March)
7 May 2012

Blackwater Falls, WV  (Photo: Mr. Dickie)

Let go of your attachment to responsibilities that others have given you without your consent.  (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Wisdom Of The Ages, p. 235) 28 November 2011

Responsibility

Sideling Hill on Interstate 68 in Maryland

... responsibility for the pain that accompanies poor choice is always our own.  (Casey and Vanceburg, The Promise Of A New Day, 18 November)

******

Last night I was channel surfing when I noticed they were showing Part One of a two-part program about Woody Allen on PBS.  One thing I liked about this program was that Woody Allen himself talked about many aspects of his life.  Often this type of program relies on what others remember, rather than interviews with the featured person.  They showed the program twice.  That allowed me to watch the  part of the program I'd missed before I found it.  They talked about many Woody Allen movies I haven't seen.  I was particularly interested in the black and white film, Manhattan.  I was also reminded how much I enjoyed his movie Bananas many years ago.

Skype seems to be broken.  It crashes when I attempt to view my own profile.  This is the second time there have been problems running the program on my laptop.  I'm getting frustrated.

Mr. Dickie

21 November 2011

Privilege, Responsibility, Accountability

Privilege brings responsibility and where there is responsibility there will be accountability.

(Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 583)

11 September 2011

Responsibility

(Photo: Mr. Dickie - December 2010 Card Wall)

You cannot give your responsibility for your efforts to anyone else. (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Real Magic, p. 302)
26/Dec/2010 7:13

Talent in Government

The need for the best talent in positions of political responsibility is not only great, but mounts with each stroke of history's clock. (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
21/Oct/2010 10:07