Serenity's Hope Inspirational Archives

6/6/99

THEY WON'T LET ME IN

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. People were filling the
church to its fullest capacity! As they entered, each were
given a bulletin filled with announcements, topic of today's
sermon, what songs they would sing and who to pray for.
At the end of the line stood an older man. His clothes were
filthy and you could tell that he had not bathed in days.
His face was covered in whiskers where he had not shaved
for a very long time.

When he reached the usher, he removed his tattered old brown
hat in respect. His hair was a long, dirty, tangled mess.
He had no shoes on his feet, and wore only soiled, black socks.

The usher put his fingers to his nose and glared at the old man
and said, "Uh, I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid we can't let you in.
You will distract the congregation and we don't allow anyone to
disrupt our service. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

The old man looked down at himself and with a puzzled look on
his face, he placed his old brown hat back upon his head and
turned to leave. He was sad as he loved to hear the choir sing
praises to the Lord. He loved to watch the little children get
up in front of the church to sing their little songs. He carried
in his pocket a small worn out Bible and loved to see if the
minister preached a passage from the Bible that the old man had
underlined. He was respectful enough and didn't want to cause
any commotion, so he hung down his head and walked back down the
steps of the big brick church.

He sat down on the brick wall near the edge of the church yard
and strained to listen through closed doors and windows to the
singing going on in the church. Oh how he wished he could be
inside with all the others. A few minutes had passed by when all
of a sudden a younger man came up behind him and sat down
near him. He asked the old man what he was doing.

He answered, "I was going to go to church today, but they thought
I was filthy and my clothes are old and worn, and they were afraid
I would disrupt their service. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself.
My name is George."

The two gentlemen shook hands and George couldn't help but notice
that this man had long hair like his. He wore a piece of cloth
draped over his body tied with a royal purple sash. He had
sandals upon his feet, now covered with dust and dirt.

The stranger reached out to touch George's shoulder and said,
"Hello, George, don't feel bad because they won't let you in. My
name is Jesus, and I've been trying to get into this same church
for years, and they won't let me in either."

Unknown

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If we are going to do anything on the planet
worthwhile for ourselves or anyone else, we have to
watch out primarily for these insidious mindsets
that sabotage all our good works: The victim and
the enemy within.

You are the one who makes yourself the victim.
And who is the enemy? It's you. You are the
enemy and the victim at one and the same time!

- John-Roger
(From: Spiritual Warrior, The Art of Spiritual
Living)

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THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD
       Author: Atira Hatton Seattle, Washington
       Angels and Miracles... Good-News-Letter
                 http://www.angelscribe.com

On my latest trip to Egypt something happened
that I would like to share with you. This incident
is based on my belief that the children of the world
are mine and yours.

One morning as I walked to the souk (street where
vendors sell things in small shops) I saw a little
street person. She was only 4 or 5 years old.

This tiny child was picking up old, half-eaten
bread from the dirty street and eating it.

She was not asking people for money, she was
foraging for food. When I saw this, I knew I had
to do something.

I went over and, in my best half-Arabic and
half-English, I tried to speak with her.

The dirty little street child looked up with
beautiful brown eyes and stared at me.

She stepped back, frightened, so I took her
small hand in mine and walked along the shops
asking in Arabic, "Do you speak English?" until
I found a man who said, "Yes, why?"

I asked the man to tell the little girl that if she
would follow me to the nearest food cart, I
would buy her food. He asked me why I would
do such a thing for a beggar.

I told him that she had not begged me for
anything and she was eating off the street.

He told the little girl what I had said. Then I
asked him, "How much should it cost me for
the pocket bread with beans in it?" he smiled
and explained two pounds, or about 50 cents.

He walked with us to the food cart (I am not
sure if he thought I might hurt the girl or what)
but once there he told the man at the cart what
I was doing and helped me to buy three pocket
breads. I gave one to the little one and she ate
it as if she had not eaten for days. The other two
I put into a bag and handed to her.

She smiled a wondrous smile and ran off. The
shopkeeper smiled and went back to his shop.

The next morning on my way to the souk, the little
one was waiting. She obviously knew a good thing
when she saw it. I laughed and said, "ok, breakfast
again?" and repeated the action of the day before,
thinking that, for at least 14 days, this little one would
have breakfast and maybe lunch, depending on with
whom she was sharing the other pocket breads.

The shopkeeper smiled and so did the cart vendor.
We seemed to have become fast friends over this
little deed.

That night I got to thinking about my little street
urchin. She was so dirty and smelled so badly.
What else could I do to help her?

The next morning I was off to the souk again but
this time I had a bigger plan. As I came around the
corner, right on time, there she was, smiling.

I took her hand and went over to the shopkeeper
and asked "Where is there water?" He thought I
wanted bottled water to drink and I explained, "No,
I want a faucet, like where the people wash before
prayers." He looked at me like "now you really are
a crazy American!!" and then he showed me a little
side alley and there was a water faucet.

"Ok, here goes," I thought. "What will these people
think? But, oh well." I reached into my bag and
pulled out a newspaper and laid out a soap bar,
a wash cloth, shampoo and cream rinse (the kind
you get in nice little bottles at good hotels).

Now for the hard part: getting her out of her rags
without upsetting everyone. The water was cold
but it was the best I could do. So off came her
clothes and I started soaping her down. She wiggled
and squirmed the whole time but I could tell by the
smile on her face she loved having someone care
for her.

It took two soapings to clean her and all the shampoo
to help her smell wonderful. Out of my bag I pulled a
towel and dried her off. Then I pulled out a little dress
from the bag I was carrying. I had bought the dress
for a friend's child who, I decided, could do with one
less dress this year. This little one needed it more. As
I lifted the dress out, and she saw it, her face lit up like
any child's at Christmas. It was a little big but she would
grow into it.

Then I noticed something: a crowd had gathered. I had
been so intent on my clean-up job, I had not noticed.

Now I looked up into the beaming faces of men, women
and other children. The shopkeeper asked why I was
helping this child and my answer was, "The children
of the world are mine and yours. If we don't care for
them, who will?"

I told him this child was as much mine as if I had given
birth to her;   that we are all responsible for the children,
and if one child went to bed hungry then we were not
doing our part."

He turned to the crowd and told them what I had
said and they began to nod their heads "yes." It
was as if in this single little act of helping this
child, a miracle had happened. I bent and wrapped
the old dress and the soap and things into a plastic
bag and gave it to the little one before we went off
to get her morning breakfast. Things had changed:
the food vendor would not take money and gave her
her food. We hugged and I went off to do my work.

The next day, I had many business things to do and
didn't go to the souk and then I became ill and was
not able to go to for five days. On the sixth day I
walked the street looking for her, and boom!
There she was in her new dress. Smiling, the shopkeeper
came running up and said, "Madame, I thought you
must have gone home." I said no I had been ill and he
told me not to worry, they had made sure she had food
each day. "But," he said, "each morning she would
set out looking for you for hours. I tried telling her you
had gone home and she would say no, and wait."

I asked the man if I gave him $40.00, would he make
sure she was fed each day; that would cover about a
year. He said yes and that others would help as they
felt Allah had sent me as a teacher to them. I laughed
and thought, "Spirit at work again."

The day before I left Cairo, I sat down with the little girl
and the shopkeeper as translator, and had him tell her
I was leaving but that she would be fed each day, and
I would try to come back next year. I brought her a bag
of fruit bars, soap, shampoo and a sweater much too
big but it would keep her warm. I gave her 10 pounds.

Where her parents are , I do not know. I only know
that one person can make a difference to a child. If,
each trip, I am able to touch a child then I have done
Spirit's work.

The children of the world are mine and yours.

Ala- watchful alertness
Lokahi - unity, coming together
O'iaoia- truthful honesty
Ha'aha'a- humility
Ahonui - patient perserverance

6/7/99

Hello Sweet Ones,
My wish for you is that you will find that point of peace that lies within
the center of your heart. And that all you meet will be touched and
mesmerized by your essence of peace and love.

Namaste,
Serenity

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

We are each of us angels with only one wing,
and we can only fly by embracing one another.

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

How on earth do you gain forgiveness when you've
forgiven yourself and the stuff keeps coming back
up?

I know that we all have very similar feelings that
stop us from moving forward into what we really
want. We have to address with courage, conviction,
and all the willpower that we have, whatever it is
that stands in the way.

It takes great courage to see the face of God,
because you first have to look at your own.

- John-Roger
(From: Forgiveness: The Key to the Kingdom)

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

It Doesn't Matter

"It doesn't matter if the sun doesn't shine...
It only matters if it's cloudy all the time.

It doesn't matter if I cry through the night...
It only matters if I cry away my life.

It doesn't matter if I fall down...
It only matters if I stay on the ground.

It doesn't matter if I see poverty...
It only matters if I don't see they eat.

It doesn't matter if there's sickness and disease...
It only matters if I don't help you heal.

It doesn't matter about the color of my skin...
It only matters if I don't see we're kin.

It doesn't matter what I hear you say...
It only matters that I don't turn away.

It doesn't matter if I'm weak or strong...
It only matters that I always belong.

It doesn't matter what my reasons are...
It only matters if they ring true in my heart.

It doesn't matter how I scream and shout...
It only matters that I understand what I'm about.

It doesn't matter at all as you can see...
For when I know who I am, then magically you know me."

Virginia Santoro

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

"Once you stop acting like something,
you become something."

Glen Ridless

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

"Being on purpose means that you are at peace
with yourself, and that is what you have to give away."

Wayne Dyer

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better
and happier. Be the living example of God's kindness
and generosity."

~ Mother Theresa ~

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

"I can now own my excellence as God would have it."
"It has been you, God with skin on, that has enabled me to see who God
really is, not the God of my childhood."

Cyndy and Cindy

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

Our minds create the experience
of both happiness and suffering,
and the ability to find peace lies within us.

In its true nature,
the mind is peaceful and enlightened.
Anyone who understands this
is already on the path to wisdom.

- Tulku Thondup

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

                               "There is only one religion,
                               the religion of love.
                               There is only one language,
                               the language of the heart.
                               There is only one race,
                               the race of humanity.
                               There is only one God,
                               and He is omnipresent."

                               -- Sathya Sai Baba

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

If we learn to give of ourselves,
to forgive others,
and to live with thanksgiving,
we need not seek happiness.....
it will seek us.

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than
oneself is real.

-Iris Murdoch

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

We have lost the sense of belonging in our world and to the God who
creates, nurtures, and redeems this world and all its creatures, and we
have lost the sense that we are part of a living, changing, dynamic
cosmos that has its being in and through God. But we can return
consciously.

-Sally McFague

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

"Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!
Somebody said," Alice whispered, "that it's done by
everybody minding their own business. Ah well! It means
much the same thing." --Lewis Carroll

No one helps a caterpillar become a butterfly. First it must
crawl through the leaves as a many-legged creature, and then
it weaves its own cocoon. Nature does its slow, daily work
inside the cocoon and one day a butterfly emerges--and each
butterfly is a different shape and color. No other creature
can step in and speed up this process without hurting the
butterfly.

Sometimes we humans confuse love with playing the part
of God. We think we can speed up the natural growth of
people around us. We interfere by telling them to do what
we think best.

Sometimes the greatest love we can offer is to accept our
loved ones the way they are. We need to remember that
each caterpillar weaves a cocoon in its own time and
becomes a butterfly in its own way. The wisdom of the
universe is greater than our own.

How will I show my acceptance of others today?

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

As you place your life more directly under God's
charge, more into the Grace that is God, then the
angels are brought closer. This is as it is intended.

But with this comes the freedom of choice. And
often the angels don't come dressed in a form that is
recognizable to you. They can often come in a form
that is disturbing, in a form that upsets you, that
confounds you -- but one that moves you and shifts
your consciousness and brings you the necessary
experiences on your way to God.

          - John Morton

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

With both heart and mind, we can build caring communities, design schools
that develop children's wisdom and emotional strength along with their
intellect and physical strength, and operate institutions with balance,
intelligence and appreciation for people and the environment.

Freeze-Frame, Doc Childre

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

Doubt and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the
steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.

Helen Keller

                  ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

6/7/99

Good morning dear heart, beloved of God,

Spirit is cause; body is effect; and between the two is soul. Your spirit
is connected to the affairs of your life by your soul. Spirit pours itself
peacefully and lovingly into your soul where you determine the form that
spirit will take in your worldly experience.

Attempting to change the effects will never really change your experience.
For a little while a new job, a new car, more money, a new relationship, a
new house will seem perfect but soon the same old experience shows up. To
change our life experience we must go to cause, not effect.

Spirit pours its awesome creative substance into us and we give it form in
our use of mind. There is One Mind and that Mind is God and your mind and
my mind and all mind, there is no other mind. When we use GodMind life is
wonderful. When we think we have a mind separate from the One Mind we
struggle and suffer.

Have a fabulous day, salvation is at hand. It is God's Will that your life
be filled with a Peace beyond understanding.

The gateways
to wisdom and knowledge
are always open.

Love and blessings of joy, light and laughter
edwardg

***
Affirmation: My mind is my use of the One Mind. My will is God's Will
and all is well.

Affirmation: I am awake to the truth of the magnificent potential
within me.

Affirmation: I am as God created me; harmonious, joyful, peaceful,
loving, powerful, and free.

Affirmation: I already have within me all the good I desire.
It is mine now.

Affirmation: I am divinely guided and protected in all things. I am
loved. Truth is with me always.

Affirmation: All my thoughts, words and deeds are positive, loving, and
powerfully creative.

Affirmation: I am divinely guided to be fully present in this scared moment.

Affirmation: I am whole, perfect, and complete a unique creation and
expression of God.

Affirmation: I release all my insane thoughts and I am healed,
made whole, complete, and perfect. Thank you God.

Affirmation: I relax and become as a small child living fully present
in this sacred moment.

Affirmation: I rejoice that the consciousness of God is at hand and it
is mine for the taking.

Affirmation: Nothing stands between me and my unlimited good
except my own limited thinking.

Affirmation: My thoughts, my words, my actions are the thoughts,
words, and actions of God in me.

Affirmation: My mind is the GodMind. All my thoughts are joyous,
creative, loving and abundant.

Affirmation: God is my Source. My consciousness of God is my
unlimited supply.

Affirmation: I believe in the Good that dwells within me which seeks
only to give me unlimited good.

Affirmation: I can have anything I desire by right of my consciousness.

Affirmation: Spirit constantly pours Itself into my body which is
whole, complete, and perfect because Spirit is Whole,
Complete and Perfect.

Affirmation: I am directly connected to God the Source of unlimited
good by my soul.

Affirmation: I am not my body, I am free, I am as God created me.

Affirmation: I am one with the source of unlimited good and its all
mine with understanding.

Affirmation: I am one with God. I love my God with all my heart, with
all my soul, and with all your mind and I am abundantly
blessed.

ИИ,.ЗДЏ`З., \)/ ,.ЗДЏ` З.ИИ,

6/8/99

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Be good to you

Make it a point today to do something nice for a very important person in
your life -- you! In order to give of yourself to others, you must first
have something to give. So enjoy life. Have fun. Indulge yourself. Be good
to yourself. How can you hope to bring happiness to others, if you are not
happy?
Enjoy this day. Do something special for you. In the midst of frustration,
even during a time of desperation, there is joy in simply being alive. There
is nothing to be gained by denying happiness to yourself. Being happy is a
choice that you're always able to make, and one you can make without feeling
any guilt.

You deserve to be good to you. And you'll be a more effective, interesting,
creative and productive person for the effort. Make yourself the kind of
person who can really make a difference. Be good to you today, and every
day.

-- Ralph Marston

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Stop holding back

What would you do if someone else treated you the way you treat yourself?
How would you react if someone criticized you the way you criticize
yourself? How would it be if someone forced you into the same self-defeating
behavior that you choose to do on your own? What if someone else prevented
you from enjoying life as much as you deny enjoyment to yourself?
You would, no doubt, be outraged. You would probably file a lawsuit, or have
them arrested, or seek revenge. And yet each day you hold yourself back, and
hardly even notice.

If you would never let someone else treat you that way, why do you allow
yourself to do so? You have control over your own actions, your own
thoughts, your own feelings. Stop defeating yourself. Allow yourself to
live, permit yourself to succeed, let yourself enjoy life.

Be good to yourself. You deserve it.

-- Ralph Marston

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Reluctance

If you are reluctant in your efforts, the results will come with the same
reluctance. Anything that is attempted grudgingly has only a slight chance
at best of succeeding.
Your reluctance is telling you something. When you are unenthusiastic about
taking action, it means that you're really not committed to being or having
whatever that action will bring.

You may say every day that your goal is to increase sales by 25% this
quarter. You may even have put it on paper. But if you don't
enthusiastically make the effort, day after day, to reach that goal, it is
not truly your goal. You don't really want it.

There is never any lack of ambition when the objective is compelling enough.
Stop following goals you're reluctant to pursue. Find ones that will keep
you awake at night with excitement. There is something you really, truly
desire. Let go of what the world expects. Touch your very own yearning.
Allow it to fill you with ambition, and eagerly go for it.

-- Ralph Marston

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Start small

There are numerous billion-dollar companies doing business today which
started only a few years ago with just one person -- one person who had a
big dream and who started small.
Anyone can start small and grow, whether it is in business, education, a
relationship, or learning a new skill. Just because you start small, does
not place any limit on how far you can go.

Starting small is infinitely better than never starting at all. If there's
something ambitious you wish to accomplish, it's very likely that you won't
get it all done in a single leap. But that is certainly no reason to give up
on it.

Start small. There is something you can do right now to get it going. Then
you'll be ready for the next step. Tomorrow, there will be something else
you can add to the effort. Before long, you'll establish a powerful
momentum.

In our world of e-mail, overnight shipping and microwave ovens, we too often
think that instant gratification is the only kind of fulfillment that
matters. But that is not the case.

Good things always take time. They always have and they always will,
cyberspace notwithstanding. Do you have a dream? Have the courage and the
patience to start small. Keep it up, day after day, and it will surely come
to be as big as you want it to be.

-- Ralph Marston

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One a day

Challenge yourself today to change just one thought from negative to
positive. As you go through the day, be aware of your negative thoughts and
select just one to turn around.
Is there someone of whom you've always held a negative opinion? Now's your
chance to change that. Is there something you've always thought you could
not do? Perhaps you'd like to reconsider. Find just one of those negative
thoughts. Then find a way to make it positive.

You are in control of your thoughts. Those negative, limiting thoughts which
"come to you" are in reality coming from you. You have the power to change
them. And when you do, great things can happen.

So give it a shot. Discover how readily you can change your thoughts, and
how effective that can be. Just imagine what your world would look like if
you changed only one negative thought each day. Think of the new
perspectives you could gain, and of the opportunities that could open up for
you.

Take the challenge today. Pay attention to your negative thoughts. Select
just one and make it positive. Discover what an immediate and valuable
difference it can make in your life and in your world.

-- Ralph Marston

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The voice of doubt

You say you're ready for the challenge, but in the back of your mind you
have serious, nagging doubts. There's a little voice that keeps popping up,
reminding you of your self-imposed limitations.
You may be able to convince the rest of the world, but if you cannot win
over the little voice in the back of your mind, it will stop you cold.

The way to assuage that little voice is by sheer will and repetition. Every
time it says "no you can't" you must immediately tell it "yes I can!" You
allowed that little voice to take hold, and you have the power to change it.

In the past, you've told yourself or been told you can't do it so many times
that your doubt has taken on a life of its own. Now you must give life to
your confidence. Know you can do it. Tell yourself, over and over again,
that you can do it. With enough repetition, you'll begin to truly believe it
and the doubt will surely fade.

Change the cruel, whining voice of doubt to a resounding chorus of
confidence.

-- Ralph Marston

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Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm can win over even the most ardent skeptic. When you truly believe
in what you are doing, it shows. And it pays. The winners in life are those
who are excited about where they're going.
Be genuinely enthusiastic, and you'll be impossible to ignore. Show
enthusiasm, and it will spread. People are drawn to enthusiasm.

Find a way to be truly enthusiastic about what you're doing. If you can't
muster any enthusiasm, then why in the world are you doing it? There are so
many opportunities in this life. Do you really want to waste your precious
time in the service of something which does not even warrant your own
enthusiasm?

Be as effective as you can be by infusing your actions with enthusiasm.
Nothing is more insincere than phony enthusiasm. Don't fake it. Be truly
enthusiastic. Get excited, and let it show.

-- Ralph Marston

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Don't listen to them

Consider that the limitations others place on you are really their own.
Don't believe those who tell you that you cannot do something. That is just
their opinion. It is not your reality.
The world is full of successful people who were told time and time again
that their dream was impossible. They chose not to listen. They chose not to
burden themselves with the limitations of the people around them. They chose
to make it happen in spite of their detractors.

As you move toward the fulfillment of your dreams, as you work with
persistence and commitment, many of the people around you will want to pull
you down, as if somehow they could pull themselves up by doing so. Pay them
no heed. Get on with what you're doing. You have chosen your path. You know
what you're doing, and you know you can do it.

-- Ralph Marston

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Unspoken priorities

Your priorities are evidenced not by what you announce, but by what you
become. Look around you and observe the things you've accomplished. Look
inside of you and see the person you are. Take a good look at your life and
you'll see your true priorities.
If you're not completely satisfied with where your priorities have taken
you, that's OK. You can change your priorities. However, you can't change
them just by saying so. Priorities are not a wish list. Your authentic,
driving priorities are commitments to action. Your true priorities are the
things for which you'll undertake any effort, meet any challenge, or make
any necessary sacrifice in order to achieve or maintain.

The fact is, you will most certainly achieve your true priorities. You've
always done it and you always will. Whatever you want enough to live for,
you'll get. That's an awesome power, and it is yours to direct as you wish.
Choose your true priorities wisely, and they'll take you to magnificent
heights.

-- Ralph Marston

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The strength of fear

Life is too precious to let fear hold you back. The purpose of fear is to
prepare you, not to stop you. Fear will heighten your senses, focus your
mind, sharpen your judgment and boost your energy level. It gets you in
condition to meet challenges.
Feel your fear, take strength from it, and move forward with the power it
gives you. In your fear of failure, are the tools for success. In your fear
of humiliation, is the energy to eloquently express yourself. In your fear
of rejection, you'll find the energy to persevere. But only if you refuse to
be stopped by fear.

Fear will often help you to make positive changes in your approach. Yet your
fear is wasted if you let it stop you completely. Use your fear to run
faster and smarter, not to run away.

-- Ralph Marston

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http://www.greatday.com/motivate/index.html

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6/11/99

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Reflection of the Day--Giving love is a fulfillment in itself.
It must not matter whether love is returned or not. If I give
love only to get a response on my terms, my love is
canceled out by my motives. If I have the capacity to give
love, then any return I get for it is a special bonus. It is
through giving love, freely and without expectation of
return, that we find ourselves and build ourselves
spiritually.

Have I begun to believe, in the words of Goethe, that "Love
does not dominate; it cultivates..."?

Today I Pray--May I, the inveterate people-pleaser and
approval-seeker, know that the only real love does not ask
for love back. May God be patient as I try to practice this
principle. May I rid myself of pride that throws itself in
the way of love. May I discard my silly cat-and-mouse games that have
no place in real love.

Today I Will Remember--I will not give love to get love.

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Living the past is a dull and lonely business; looking
back strains the neck muscles, causing you to bump into
people not going your way.
Edna Ferber

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Anything We Love Can Be Saved

"It is when people are at peace, content, full, that they are most
likely to meet my expectation, selfish, no doubt, that they be a generous,
joyous, even entertaining experience for me. I believe people exist to be
enjoyed, much as a restful or engaging view might be. As the ocean or
drifting clouds might be. Or as if they were the human equivalent of
melons,
mangoes or any other kind of attractive, seductive fruit. When I am in the
presence of other human beings, I want to revel in their creative and
intellectual fullness, their uninhibited social warmth. I want their
precious human radiance to wrap me in light. Everything I would like other
people to be for me, I want to be for them.
To be such a person or to witness anyone at this moment of
transcendent presence is to know that what is human is linked, by a daring
comparison, to what is divine. During my years of being close to people
engaged in changing the world, I have seen fear turn into courage. Sorrow
into joy. Funerals into celebrations. Because whatever the consequences,
people, standing side by side, have expressed who they really are, and that
ultimately they believe in the love of the world and each other enough to be
that!"

Alice Walker

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"It is love and cooperation that makes it all work."

Wayne Dyer

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"Loving feels wonderful, but it's more than
just a feeling; loving is a choice."

Peter McWilliams

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"It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster
when we have lost our way." --Rollo May

Our boundaries are both inside and outside ourselves. No
one can set them for us; we can only set them. When we
come into recovery, boundaries are often unfamiliar. We
may wonder, What are they? How do we use them? Many
of us come from families where, as children, our boundaries
were disregarded, creating a pattern we continue to act on as
adults.

Starting to set boundaries for ourselves takes time and
practice. Because the experience is unfamiliar, we may often
find ourselves veering between two extremes--holding back
for fear of blurring our boundaries or acting as if we have no
boundaries at all. But our willingness to set boundaries and
stick with them brings us a clearer sense of who we are. We
begin to learn where we start and end. We start to learn the
same about other people. With boundaries comes a new
sense of self-respect because they are our affirmation to
ourselves that we are not objects to be trampled on or used,
but we are human beings with dignity.

I know my own limits, and if I don't, I have every right to
learn them.

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Love's Influence

Allow yourself to let go and float on
The currents of love.

We all have a common ground and
The heart is where we will find that
Sacred place.

The thrill of the greatest worldly events
Cannot touch the vibration of Oneness that
Love's memory draws up.

Love heals with its rivers of release as
The pretense leaves and the ego shields
Evaporate into the ocean of spirit that
Longs to be free.

ЉCopyright
John McIntosh and Rev. Jo Ann (Ananda) Polito

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Compassion operates at the same level as celebration because what is of
most moment in compassion is not feelings of pity but feelings of
togetherness. It is this awareness of togetherness that urges us to
rejoice at another's joy (celebration) and to grieve at another's
sorrow. Both dimensions, celebration and sorrow, are integral to true
compassion. And this, above all, separates pity from compassion, for
it is seldom that we would invite someone we had pity on to a common
celebration ... There can be no compassion without celebration and
there will be no authentic celebration that does not result in
increased compassionate energies.

-Matthew Fox

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Get Serious

"When we are motivated by the desire to serve, we are looking out for
others. The thought system that dominates our culture is laced with selfish
values, and relinquishing those values is a lot easier said than done. For
years, we may have worked for power, money and prestige. Now all of a
sudden we've learned that those are just the values of a dying world. We don't
know where to search for motivation anymore. If we're not working in order to
get rich, then why are we working at all? What are we supposed to do all day?
Just sit home and watch TV? Not at all, but thinking so is a temporary
phase many people go through -- when the values of the old world no longer have a
hold on us, but the values of the new don't yet grab your soul. They will.

There comes a time, not too long into the journey to God, when the
realization that the world could work beautifully if we would give it the
chance, begins to excite us. It becomes our new motivation. The news isn't
how bad things are. The news is how good they could be. And our own
activity could be part of the unfolding of Heaven on earth. There is no
more powerful motivation than to feel we're being used in the creation of a world
where love has healed all wounds.

We are no longer ambitious for ourselves, but are rather inspired by
the vision of a healed world. Inspiration rearranges our energies. It
sources within us a new power and direction. We no longer feel like we're
trying to carry a football to the finish line, clutching it to our chest and
surrounded by hostile forces. We feel instead as though angels are pushing
us from behind and making straight our path as we go.

Purity of heart will not make us poor. A person acting from a
motivation of contribution and service rises to such a level of moral
authority, that worldly success is a natural result. The ego's world is
based on finite resources, but God's world is not. In God's world, which is
the real world, the more we give, the more we have. Our generosity towards
others is the key to our positive experience of the world. There's enough
room for everyone to be beautiful. There's enough room for everyone to be
successful. There's enough room for everyone to be rich. It is only our
thinking that blocks that possibility from happening.

Some things you do for no other reason than because they're the right
thing to do. "I'll do this because it serves, even if I'm not paid," is a
very high beam. It says to the universe that you must be very serious. And
when you get serious about the universe, the universe gets serious about
you."

Marianne Williamson

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"Maturity consists of no longer being taken in by one's self."

Dr. Robert Anthony

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"Do I really have something to offer,
or do I really need something to give?

Glen Ridless

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"The most frightening part of helping is getting involved."

Dianne Ridley Roberts

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Distancing others does not bring detachment, but its opposite. Only
when you let others into your heart do you become capable of releasing
them.

-Paul Ferrini

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