I will miss you.

Its only when we lose something that we suddenly remember how dear it was.

As long as it is handy and available, we are so careless about it.

We know its always there, anyway.

We can always get back to it anytime we want.

'Let me finish just these few things and then I will get back to it later' is what we think....
But that getting back to it never happens....

..and now it is slowly disappearing right in front of us.

Oh, no.... 

Dog Lessons

DOG LESSONS

By Jo Ann Brown

It is amazing to me how God communicates certain lessons. Apparently, I must not listen in a traditional way because He always seems to use nature, my children, or my dogs to teach me things about myself.

As I was walking my dog, Chelsea, today, I noticed she was worse than usual about pulling. She was practically choking herself. She has a 25-foot leash that allows her 25 feet in just about any direction to enjoy without feeling uncomfortable. However, Chelsea seemed to always want to pull the leash as tightly as possible to get to the next "spot" in the road. Keep in mind that we are walking that direction and will be at that "spot" in just a matter of minutes.

Chelsea was so busy looking at the next place, the next moment that she failed to enjoy the place where she was. With 25 feet in any direction, she could only concentrate on the one foot that she could not reach in front of her. All the while we were moving forward, she wanted to be someplace different, further ahead. Her eyes were always one step further than where we were.

When I thought about how ridiculous she was, I realized how ridiculous I am as well. God has been trying to teach me to enjoy the moment while continuing to move forward. Why do I practically choke myself to get to the next place that I fail to enjoy the beauty of the place where I am. As long as I am moving forward, why can't I enjoy the trip?

I made a decision to enjoy things I usually would take for granted. That day, I found myself enjoying even the small things in my life more. I did not just take a shower that day thinking about what I needed to do during my day. I enjoyed my shower, thought about the warm water and how grateful I was that in our country I could take a shower anytime I want. That was probably the best shower I have had in a long time.

I can honestly tell you that I experienced more pleasure from everyday chores than I can ever remember. What a wonderful lesson I learned from my sweet Chelsea. I pray that I can continue to enjoy the place where I am, while continuing to move forward to the place I want to be.

So much joy can lie in the journey if I can be content with where I am and not continually pull to be where I am not quite ready to be. I wish I could say that Chelsea learned her lesson but that would be a lie. She still kills herself to get to that next place in the pavement when everything she needs is right under her nose.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jo Ann Brown is an MDI subscriber and the mother of two wonderful teens, Brian and Danny and two dogs, Lucky and Chelsea. She can be reached at blessedwtwoboys@yahoo.com

Sent to you as a courtesy of..My Daily Insights

Writing is...

I am always drawn to what Paulo Coelho writes in Facebook and most days I follow the link to his blog for an interesting read. 

Today he wrote in FB:  

Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public.

Whoah! what is this now? Isn't this rather cruel? I may be over reacting but that's my first reaction.



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People and things

Came across this image on one of the sites that I visited sometime in the past.  Does it sound too cliched? It definitely sounds familiar! 

We tend to remember forever the times when we were being used. How about the times when we used others? Intentionally or otherwise? That would be rather difficult to remember, right? 


When I sit back and recollect such instances, and when I visualise myself in such a situation, I can't help but get an overwhelming feeling of being helpless. May not have been exactly mean or manipulative or even aggressive but essentially helpless. It's almost like an excuse, a factor that justifies putting someone else on the block. We use others. In simple unobtrusive ways. Not debating whether it is right or wrong. Only wondering what it does to oneself.It definitely leaves a very bad taste. 

I don't want to be used, but what can I do about it? Try not to do this to anyone else, maybe.                                                                                                                                                        

My hut is burning

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened ~everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. God, how could you do this to me he cried. Early the next day, however, he was wakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

It had come to rescue him. How did you know I was here asked the weary man of his rescuers. We saw your smoke signal, they replied.

Creativity with Courage

Its another wonderful new  year beginning. The usual review of last year and anticipation. It's life, cycled once more. There is one question on top of everything - how different is this year going to be?

This Jim Ron's article is a potential fuel for all the fires planned this year:

CREATING OPPORTUNITY

By Jim Rohn

An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.

To be enterprising is to keep your eyes open and your mind active. It's to be skilled enough, confident enough, creative enough and disciplined enough to seize opportunities that present themselves... regardless of the economy.

A person with an enterprising attitude says, "Find out what you can before action is taken." Do your homework. Do the research. Be prepared. Be resourceful. Do all you can in preparation of what's to come.

Enterprising people always see the future in the present. Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation, not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren't lazy. They don't wait for opportunities to come to them, they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition.

Enterprise is two things. The first is creativity. You need creativity to see what's out there and to shape it to your advantage. You need creativity to look at the world a little differently. You need creativity to take a different approach, to be different.

What goes hand-in-hand with the creativity of enterprise is the second requirement: the courage to be creative. You need courage to see things differently, courage to go against the crowd, courage to take a different approach, courage to stand alone if you have to, courage to choose activity over inactivity.

And lastly, being enterprising doesn't just relate to the ability to make money. Being enterprising also means feeling good enough about yourself, having enough self worth to want to seek advantages and opportunities that will make a difference in your future. And by doing so you will increase your confidence, your courage, your creativity and your self-worth, your enterprising nature.