CHOCOLATE SINGS

MY FRIDAY STORY

Submitted by Robin Harpe, MDI Subscriber

 

Author Unknown

 

One day I had a date for lunch with friends. Mae, a little old 'blue hair' about 80 years old, came along with them---all in all, a pleasant bunch. When the menus were presented, we ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Mae who said, 'Ice Cream, please. Two scoops, chocolate.'

 

I wasn't sure my ears heard right, and the others were aghast.

'Along with heated apple pie,' Mae added, completely unabashed.

We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time.

But when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy mine.

I couldn't take my eyes off Mae as her pie a-la-mode went down.

The other ladies showed dismay. They ate their lunches silently and frowned.

 

The next time I went out to eat, I called and invited Mae.

I lunched on white meat tuna. She ordered a parfait.

I smiled. She asked if she amused me.

I answered, 'Yes, you do, but also you confuse me.

How come you order rich desserts, while I feel I must be sensible?

She laughed and said, with wanton mirth, 'I'm tasting all that is Possible.

 

I try to eat the food I need, and do the things I should.

But life's so short, my friend, I hate missing out on something good.

This year I realized how old I was. (She grinned) I haven't been this old before.'

'So, before I die, I've got to try those things that for years I had ignored.

I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many books I haven't read.

There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead.

 

There are many malls I haven't shopped. I've not laughed at all the jokes.

I've missed a lot of Broadway hits and potato chips and cokes.

I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face.

I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace.

I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast.

I want un-timed long distance calls to the folks I love the most.

 

I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain.

I need to feel wind in my hair. I want to fall in love again

So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner,

then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner,

because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire.

I had that final chocolate mousse before my life expired.'

With that, I called the waitress over... 'I've changed my mind, '

I said. 'I want what she is having; only add some more whipped cream!'

 

Live well, love much & laugh often - Be happy.

Be mindful that happiness isn't based on possessions, power, or prestige,

but on relationships with people we love and respect.

Remember that while money talks, CHOCOLATE SINGS!

See the Trees

MY FRIDAY STORY

By William Lambert

I lived in Alabama on a half-acre lot blessed huge oak trees that were 40 feet in diameter. They were HUGE! The house was laid out such that every bedroom faced the backyard. Each bedroom had a large picture window. The view was breathtaking. I enjoyed just looking at the trees. In the fall I would identify a particular leaf that was falling and watched it for what seemed liked 5 minutes before it fell to earth. 

One day I invited this married couple over to enjoy the view from the bedroom window. I took them into the bedroom and excitedly pointed to the trees out of the window and exclaimed, "just look"!
After about 20 seconds there was no comment from the couple. I however, noticed a big frown on the woman's face. 

I said, "What's wrong". She was reluctant to reply. 

I insisted and again said, "What's wrong?" 

She relented and said, "Don't you see those fingerprints on the glass?" 

I turned and looked and there were what seemed to be fifty or more fingerprints on the glass. I ran for the Windex to clean the glass. The lady "Oh, I didn't mean for you to clean it now." 

The morale here is this. That lady never saw the trees. Even when I tried to point them out, She missed it! I didn't see the fingerprints. I was looking through the glass not at it. 

When the fingerprints were pointed out to me, I saw them and removed them. The lady never saw the trees. She focused on the fingerprints and she never got passed them. 

Life is much like that. There are things in life that are good and things that are bad. You choose which things you want to focus on. I focus on the trees.

What are you focusing on?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
William Lambert has made teaching his life submitted this story for our MDI subscribers. With a Master's degree in Education, from Memphis State University, He is a former teacher in the Memphis City Schools System, where he won the prestigious Distinguished Teacher Award. He has published articles in the education and training arena. Some of the articles are: Liven up the Lecture Method, What You Say Is What You Get, Micro Videotaping and The Madison Avenue Approach (to Teaching). You can reach Mr. Lambert at wlambert7@comcast.net or visit his website http://www.motivateme.com

Forgiveness And Positive Living

My Friday Story


By Ton Pascal

"Forgiveness is the key that can unshackle us from a past that will not rest in the grave of things over and done with. As long as our minds are captive to the memory of having been wronged, they are not free to wish for reconciliation with the one who wronged us." Lewis B. Smedes. 


For over 20 years I carried a grudge, an anger closer to hatred of my own mother. I felt totally justified and was utterly convinced I had the right to express openly this anger against what I believed was my mother's absence and lack of caring, love or any motherly feelings toward me since the death of my father. In fact I drew my strength from these things to carry on with my life. Only a few close friends knew about it and even when I started doing my relaxation studies I never thought this issue had anything to do with my search for mental harmony and the frustration of not being able to reach it completely.


My incessant moving around this planet from one country to another brought me personal and material satisfaction but left me with an empty feeling. Like a potted tree that hasn't yet found mother earth's ground in which to thrive. 
When I decided to come back to Canada five years ago, little did I know that it would be the beginning of a journey which would take me back in time and reunite me with my mother. My sister had arranged for us to meet and although I wasn't too keen to do so, I accepted. 

I was tense, arrogant, and disagreeable when we met. As my mother tried to kiss me I pulled back and simply offered my hand for a handshake. Her first words stayed engraved in my mind and heart for the days to come when she said, "All that I want is to ask if you could forgive me for not being the mother I wish I could have been, my son, I am so sorry..." 

We met again a few days later and we talked openly about our pains, hurts, sorrows, and expectations. It was the first time I saw my mother as a woman and as a human being; not from a child's point of view. 

My father's untimely passing away at thirty two left a beautiful young widow of twenty six years old with four children, the youngest 25 days old to take care of, several cattle ranches and a retail business in a male- oriented society. Having only an aging father and a younger sister in Brazil, she was alone and against all odds, she succeeded in raising her family. 

Compassion and understanding gave me the strength not only to forgive her, but to forgive myself for the senseless pain I inflicted myself and the guilt it carries with it. We became very close again, and slowly the whole family seemed to come closer and closer. 

I soon found out that forgiveness is a positive energy that spreads much quicker than I thought. I have nephews, nieces, and cousins that are now an integral positive part of my life. 

A new route was opening on my path and the writing of Dream Your Life Positively came a year after. A well-documented site on this subject is "A Campaign for Forgiveness Research"* where I found some important examples cited here. 
Each time we witness an act of forgiveness, we marvel at its power to heal, to break a seemingly unending cycle of pain. Forgiveness is something virtually all Americans aspire to. In a Gallup poll nationwide survey, 94% said it was important to forgive, but it is not something we frequently offer. (In the same survey, only 48% said they usually tried to forgive others.) 

Perhaps this is because forgiveness is something we don't fully understand, or we associate forgiveness with weakness as Friedrich Nietzsche did. Some view forgiveness, as an almost saintly quality that blesses only the very special and most certainly cannot be learned. In fact, the opposite is true. Forgiveness is a sign of strength. Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin in 1997 indicates forgiveness can be taught, with positive results. 

I told a friend of mine that if she wanted to find a healthier source of strength after her separation from an abusive husband, she must forgive him before she could find her own way to happiness. "After what I have been through with that bastard? When hell freezes over." was her answer. 

I suggested she try the three affirmations below for a few weeks and see if she still felt the same way. - I am good, compassionate and I now have the strength to forgive. - I deserve to be happy and successful. - I am now ready to receive more love, support, and wealth from the vast supply of the universe. 


After two weeks of affirmations she told me that the most difficult thing was to think of him and all the bad incidents. The pain, despair, and guilt would come back but she now understood that she wanted to be able to forgive and in her prayers she asked God to help her to forgive.


I knew then she had found her path. Forgiving is not condoning; hurtful actions have consequences. Yet couples that communicate forgiveness may hold the key to stable marriages. 


What makes some marriages last a lifetime, while others falter and fall apart? According to Professor Douglas Kelley of Arizona State University West, the key to long-term conjugal bliss may be in how well a couple communicates forgiveness. "These days the notion of equality, an eye for an eye, is prominent," says Kelley. "That makes forgiveness counter-intuitive - but at the same time, a lot of people who don't call themselves religious or spiritual are forgiving one another. Is it because they sense that they will reap the benefits of forgiving for years to come, or is there some other motive?"
In the end, Kelley hopes that embracing and communicating forgiveness can provide a sense of well-being and stability for couples living in an increasingly stressed society. 


Forgiving doesn't change what has passed, neither does it justify or make it all right. It allows you to focus on your life from a pain free emotional state. The past no longer makes you cringe, cry or swear.
Forgiveness simply helps you to let go of that negative baggage and makes a place for all the positive things you wish to have. I know a lot of people who after a lover's break up or a friend's betrayal have vowed, "I will never let anyone hurt me like that again." 


It is quite justifiable, it is your survival instinct, a protective shield taking over, but be careful that this shield will also prevent you from connecting with new people and eventually making new friends.
This is negative living, and most people are not even aware of it. Forgiveness is letting go of that negative emotional baggage and starting on a new path stronger than before. It is very difficult, I know, to accept the fact that someone you loved and trusted, who has betrayed and stabbed you in the back, deserves your forgiveness. 


When I lost a best friend of 25 years to what I thought was petty gossip, I was devastated and questioned the sincerity of her friendship all those years. After forgiving her I can now look back and laugh at the good moments we had together. Sincerity is no longer a question, my love for her is the same, but I no longer need to see, speak or interact with her. Our roads just took different directions, that's all. 


Make an assessment of the people in your life, and the ones who are gone. What are your feelings about them? Is there someone you feel "I dislike (or hate) that SOB" either for personal reasons or because of malicious gossip? Or is there someone you distanced from and in your book is unforgivable?


You are carrying some heavy negative emotional baggage. Get rid of it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you want the good energy of positive living to reach you. 


An important, well documented and proven factor is that your anger, hurt and pain not only will affect the way you communicate with others, but eventually will exclude you from social contact. Your self worth is constantly being questioned and if you don't take action it will eventually break down. 


"Forgiveness allows one to overcome a situation that would otherwise be a major source of stress, both mentally and neurobiological. Forgiveness is thought to dramatically change the individual's biological homeostatic equilibrium. He will assess the neurobiological response associated with forgiveness and unforgiving-ness." Study of the Brain Functional Correlates of Forgiveness in Humans -Pietro Pietrini, M.D., Ph.D., Pisa - Italy. 


Forgiveness benefits both, but you the most, because you left the negative baggage behind. You are now ready to receive the positive force, energy, love, wealth and success the universe has in store for you. The other person doesn't even need to know, it is irrelevant. Neither do you have to bring that person into your life or closer circle any more. 


What matters is your thoughts and therefore your actions. If it is clean, clear, and positive, so will your life, your friends, and your future. "Forgiveness is both a decision and a real change in emotional experience. That change in emotion is related to better mental and physical health." Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Ph.D. Executive Director, A Campaign For Forgiveness Research. 


From a decade-old grudge against the third-grade bully to deep-seated rage against a cheating spouse, millions of Americans harbor long-term grievances. Dr. Carl Thoresen, a professor at Stanford University, and his colleague, Dr. Fred Luskin, are exploring whether the unresolved anger that blights many people's lives can be alleviated with the help of an age-old concept: forgiveness.
Together, the pair launched a comprehensive research project: The Stanford Forgiveness Study. Thoresen and Luskin hope the impact of their work will be preventative as well as therapeutic. "It's our hope that family and school violence, including shootings, road rage, gang violence and workplace conflict will be diminished - if not avoided - if more people understand the role that forgiveness can play in interpersonal relations," says Thoresen. 


"It takes courage and commitment to act in a more forgiving fashion. It's not at all a sign of weakness but a mark of strength." Dr. Carl Thoresen is a professor of Education, Psychology and Psychiatry at Stanford University. Dr. Fred Luskin is a research associate at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention. 


Have a great journey.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ton Pascal is a self thought, self help advocate and author and submitted this story for our MDI subscribers.  His Dream Your Life Positively is a beautiful guide to visualization and meditation. He believes that the times we are facing in our world require a more spiritual approach to our everyday lives. You can reach Ton at tonpascal@dreamyourlifepositively.com  His website is:  http://www.dreamyourlifepositively.com

Today's Inspiration

Every morning has a new beginning, a new blessing, a new hope for dreams to come true. Let us not forget to look back and thank God for everything.

Wash Day

Now, this is really a cute one. . .and I've not seen it before, either!! That is getting to be a rarity!!!

Monday
Wash Day

Lord, help me wash away all my selfishness and vanity, so I may serve you with perfect humility through the week ahead.

Tuesday
Ironing Day

Dear Lord, help me iron out all the wrinkles of prejudice I have collected through the years so that I may see the beauty in others.

Wednesday
Mending Day

O God, help me mend my ways so I will not set a bad example for others.    
 
Thursday
Cleaning Day

Lord Jesus, help me to dust out all the many faults I have been hiding in the secret corners of my heart.

Friday
Shopping Day

O God, give me the grace to shop wisely so I may purchase eternal
happiness for myself and all others in need of love.

Saturday
Cooking Day

Help me, my Savior, to brew a big kettle of brotherly love and serve it
with clean, sweet bread of human kindness.

Sunday
The Lord's Day

O God, I have prepared my house for you. Please come into my heart so I may spend the day and the rest of my life in your presence.       


If this message has inspired you in anyway or you feel that it can brighten someone else's day, please share it. 
 

A Red Marble

During the waning years of the depression in a small southeastern
Idaho community, I used to stop by Mr. Miller's roadside stand for
farm fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money
were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively.

One particular day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for
me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged
but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green
peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of
fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the
peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr.
Miller and the ragged boy next to me.

"Hello Barry, how are you today?"

"Hello Mr. Miller, Fine, thank you. Just admiring those peas...
sure look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Mother?"

"Fine. Getting stronger all the time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, Sir. Just admiring those peas."

"Would you like to take some home?"

"No, Sir. I don't have anything to pay for them with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I have is my prize marble here."

"Is that right? Let me see it."

"Here it is. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort
of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"

"Not exactly...but, almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip
this way let me look at that red marble."

"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.
With a smile she said: "There are two other boys like him in our
community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just
loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or
whatever."

"When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do,
he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home
with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one,
perhaps."

I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with the man. A
short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of
this man, the boys and their bartering.

Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just
recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho
community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.
They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends
wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the
mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased
and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army
uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white
shirts...very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller,
standing smiling and composed, by her husband's casket. Each of
the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly
with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes
followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and
placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.
Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came
to meet Mrs. Miller.

I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about
the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the
casket. "Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I
told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things
Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his
mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.

"We've never had a great deal of wealth of this world," she
confided, but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest
man in Idaho."

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her
deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently
shiny, red marbles.

We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.

                                 Author Unknown

Thought for Today

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
 Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

~Albert Schwietzer