Kindness

Today’s Poem ~ Make Me a Channel of Your Peace by St. Francis of Assisi

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Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Source

October 4th – Feast Day of St. Francis of

Thinking Out Loud ~ Thinking About Consequences ~ A Lesson from Aesop’s Fables

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Boys and the Frog. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.

The Fable

“Some mischievous Boys were playing on the edge of a pond, and,

catching sight of some Frogs swimming about in the shallow water,

they began to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones, and

they killed several of them. At last one of the Frogs put his head

out of the water and said, “Oh, stop! stop! I beg of you: what is

sport to you is death to us.”

 

Note: When I read this fable I thought about how I could apply it to contemporary society. The thoughts streamed through my mind. I thought about people racing down the road where the speed limit is 40 miles an hour. They’re traveling at 70  miles per hour. There are consequences to everything we do. What’s a game to them but it could be a death trap for people trying to obey the law. What about people who use social media to bully others, make fun of others, and disrespect others? What’s fun to them really hurts other people. It’s good to look at what we do and reflect on it. When we do something that hurts others it’s also hurting us as well; we may not realize it but it does. I like the saying treat other people as you would like to be treated.

Photo for Today ~ We’re Better Together

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Feel Good Tip ~ A Recipe for a Great Day

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What’s on the menu? I hope having a great day is today’s special. Much like a great meal, a great day takes effort. It doesn’t happen until we decide to add all the special ingredients. These are the ingredients I put into my great day: (Hint:add generously)  smiles, gratitude, kindnesses, reaching out to speak/connect to others, reading and viewing things that make me feel better. My great day just got greater writing this post.

Poem for Today ~ True Kindness is a Pure Divine Affinity

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True Kindness is a Pure Divine Affinity

Henry David Thoreau

True kindness is a pure divine affinity,
Not founded upon human consanguinity
It is a spirit, not a blood relation,
Superior to family and station

Source

Poem of the Day ~ On Friendship

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On Friendship

Kahlil Gibran

And a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship.
    And he answered, saying:
    Your friend is your needs answered.
    He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
    And he is your board and your fireside.
    For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

    When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
    And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
    For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
    When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
    For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
    And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
    For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery us not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

    And let your best be for your friend.
    If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
    For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
    Seek him always with hours to live.
    For it is his to fill your need but not your emptiness.
    And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
    For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Source

Thinking Out Loud ~ It is a Great Mystery

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Saint-Exupéry writes that it has been six years since the Little Prince left. He reflects on the Little Prince’s visit. He writes:

Sometimes I say to myself, “Once in a while we are distracted and that’s enough! He forgot, one night, the glass globe, or even the sheep came out silently during the night . . . .  “ So the bells drown in tears!

Look at the sky. Ask yourself: “The sheep did or did not eat the flower?” And you will see how everything changes. And no grown up will ever understand that it is so important!

Note: We get so busy with the stuff of our life we forget to be distracted and discover the joys that surround us. The little Prince it’s always nearby, however, when we are too busy with all of our stuff we can’t see the little Prince and enjoy our conversations with him. Here’s hoping you find time in your life each day to be distracted and to discover the little Prince in your life.

Feel Good Tip ~ Feel Good Moments

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I stopped by my market today. I checked my grocery list on my iPhone, grabbed hold of a small shopping cart, and headed in. Ten items in my basket, I qualified for the express line. It wasn’t open and all the self-checkout stations were full. Hold on, a regular check out lane was open and empty. I was quickly checked out and on my way home with my groceries. I felt good. Sometimes it’s the small things like getting in the right line, making all the traffic lights on the way to work or home, seeing your child beaming when he/she comes home with a good test score. Enjoy these moments, they’re all feel good moments.

Inspirational Quote ~ Kindness Blesses the Receiver & Giver

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“A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses.”

Chinese Proverb

Poem of the Day ~ Anger

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Anger

Sri Chinmoy

Anger says:
“I can destroy
The whole world.”
Peace says:
“Not when I work
Inside you.

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