Tuesday, January 11, 2011

a good reminder

Someone sent this to me in an email today. It's a great reminder to be thankful for every day and your health... not everyone is so lucky:

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.  He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?  What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote: 'Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.'"

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:  Be thankful for what you have...
  • Be creative.
  • Be innovative.
  • Think differently and positively.
  • When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
  • Face your past without regret.
  • Handle your present with confidence.
  • Prepare for the future without fear.
  • Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Monday, January 3, 2011

home is where the awesome spa shower is

I've said it before and I'll say it again: While I love the massages, Burke Williams has lost some of its luster since I moved into my house, which has a better spa shower than the spa. So sad... for everyone but me! Mwhahahaha!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

grace

I received some great smelling Philosophy lotion and bath gel from my friend Niki for Christmas. And while I normally don't read packaging, the photo on the gift set was so cute that I read this one, which I find extremely poignant...

How you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain, and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. In the end, it all comes down to one word: grace. It's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and back luck, the darkness and the light.


Sadly, not a lot of people seem to know how to be graceful these days. When I think of that word, I picture Audrey Hepburn. Many know of her as an iconic actress, but towards the end of her life, she was a selfless humanitarian. This poem she quoted, when asked for her beauty tips -- originally written by Sam Levenson -- is one of my favorites:


"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
    For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
    For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
    For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
    For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
    People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.
    Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
    As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."