Entertainment

The moral of all of this is that entertainment can be uplifting and edifying, or it can be demoralizing and debasing. So where do you want our energy to flow - - and, even more important, what kind of energy do you want our children to experience? We must be on guard against any entertainment that uses excessive profanity and seems to support hatred and disrespect in its narrative.

(Dr. Wayne Dyer, Inspiration, page 166)

31 December 2015

They Won't Let Me

They won't let me

Life is depending on you to shine.

Life is waiting for you to bloom.

Life is waiting for you to glorify it.

Please don't let life down.

Be sure not to allow other people to should on you.

Folks are always so ready to let you know what you should be or should not be doing, they get very little done in their own lives.

If your mother, father, sister, brother, friend is so sure of what you should be doing, let them do it.

Remember, good advice is not always free.

You pay dearly for it with little pieces of your life and yourself.

It may be challenging to move beyond the expectations and demands others have of or for you, but remember a good challenge strengthens your muscles.

Please  do not should on me!

(Iyanla Vanzant, Faith In The Valley, p. 151)

30 December 2015

Stamps on a Passport

I look at my very imperfect body and see its patches of history, like stamps on my passport. The stamps aren't the kind of thing that would make me throw off my towel at the gym or be the first to jump naked into a lake. But like a good story, they remind me of where I've been, and the annoying and endearing people I've met along the way.
(Betsy Carter, writer, in Words That Matter by the Editors of the Oprah Magazine, p. 86)
29 December 2015

Stifle Yourself

Actively work at reducing your inclinations to interrupt others with an I reference in conversations.

Just stifle yourself, as Archie Bunker used to say.

Make a concerted effort to be silent when you're about to interrupt.

See the words stifle yourself flash on your inner screen, and remind yourself at that moment that you inspire by listening and encouraging, not by self-reference or sermonizing.
(Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Inspiration, p. 154)
28 December 2015

Perspective

We all need a place to vent our emotions, a place to talk. When we don't have this, we live in our own heads too much and things become out of proportion. We lose our perspective.

It is so important to have positive and loving people in your life to talk to and with whom to share. In the safety of good friends we are able to release what we have been holding inside, freeing ourselves from negativity and fear.  This frees us to be more open and grow.

(Ruth Fishel, Time For Joy, 10 December, p. 344)

27 December 2015

Belligerent Individuals

New 2015 Santa Claus

Belligerent individuals who live in turmoil and revel in hostile encounters send out nonverbal energy that adversely impacts those around them. The immediate impulse is to remove ourselves from these low-energy non-peaceful people because sticking around means tension and a lowering of our energy.
(Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Inspiration, p. 151)
26 December 2015

Merry Christmas 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2015

 

Here's the link to our Christmas letter which is staged on my Box account in PDF format.

Dick & Melva's Christmas Message

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Melva's New 2015 Christmas Decoration

It came upon the midnight clear,

that glorious song of old,

from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:

"Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heav'ns all-gracious King!"

The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.

(Moravian Daily Texts - 2013, 24 December)

24 December 2015

Present Moment

Pilgrims Landed on December 21, 1620

(Departure from Europe Image)

You are always in the present moment. If you are not aware of this, you have no power because you are under the control of external circumstances.
(Gary Zukav and Linda Francis, Thoughts from the Heart of the Soul, p. 56)
21 December 2015

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

Money

Money often compounds unhappiness because, mistakenly, we think that spending will make us feel better ... When you're happy, you create your own financial stability by living within you means.
(Suze Orman, finance expert, in Words That Matter, by The Editors of The Oprah Magazine, p. 74)
19 December 2015

Walking

Photo by Mr. Dickie at Omaha, NE

Taking a walk when you hear bad news or have been cooped up with someone sick is extremely therapeutic. Having a standing walk date with a friend is delightful and intimate. Some people like to talk things through with others when they're having difficulty, but often ... [they'd] rather walk alone. Walking gives ... [us] the solitude to work things out for ... [ourselves]. ... take a small pocket notebook ... [along] and write down ideas and images that float to mind while ... walking. This helps ... keep a healthy state of mind.
(Alexandra Stoddard, The Art of the Possible,p., 10-102)
18 December 2015

Human Spirit

There is no more searching test of the human spirit than the way it behaves when fortune is adverse and it has to pass through a prolonged period of disappointing failures. Then comes the real proof of the man. Achievement, if a man has the ability, is a joy; but to take hard knocks and come up smiling, to have your mainsail blown away and then rig a sheet on the bowsprit and sail on -- this is perhaps the deepest test of character.
(Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts, found Flowers Along The Path by Esther Carls Dodgen, p. 211)
17 December 2015

Good Habits

Good habits are not made on birthdays, nor Christian character at the New Year.
The workshop of character is every-day life.
The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won.
(Maltbie D. Babcock, Thoughts for Every-Day Living found in Flower Along The Path by Esther Carls Dodgen, p. 210)
15 December 2015

True Joy In Life

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one ... the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
(George Bernard Shaw, playwright in Words That Matter by The Editors of The Oprah Magazine, p. 65)
13 December 2015

Free Will

The individual is as free to be afraid of a new venture as to be eager for it; free to bear the consequences of his mistakes as well as of his achievements.
(Dr. Carl Rogers in The Art of the Possible by Alexandra Stoddard, p. 109)
12 December 2015

The Illusion of Importance

It's easy to operate under the illusion that what we are doing is so important we cannot stop doing it.
We think we cannot slow down, especially for something so trifling as a turtle [or duck in the road].
But that is exactly the sort of thing we must never be too busy ... [to do].
Stopping is a spiritual act.
It is the refuge where we drink [in] life ....
(Sue Monk Kidd, Firstlight, p. 121)
11 December 2015

Dreams

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness, weakness.
(Henry David Thoreau in Flowers Along the Path by Esther Carls Dodgen, p. 199)
11 December 2015

Acting "As If"

Sometimes you might have to "act as if" to push beyond feelings, to get to the other side of them where you really want to be. There are times when it is not appropriate to act out how you really feel. You might have to save those feelings and deal with them later in a more healthy and appropriate way.
(Ruth Fishel, Time For Joy, 27 October 2015)
9 December 2015

Gifts

The most significant gifts are often the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered through our days.
(Sue Monk Kidd, Firstlight, p. 113)
5 December 2015