Attitude

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today.’
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, and almonds.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8.  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9.  Life isn’t fair sometimes, but it’s still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15.  No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years,  will this matter?’
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19.  The Universe has healing powers.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends  will.  Stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23.  Each night before you go to bed complete the following  statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished  _________.
24.  Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

On one of his tape series, Wayne Dyer suggests that we “get out of judgment and onto purpose”.

I started thinking about this the other day and noticed something that really surprised me. I had no idea how much of the time my thoughts are making judgment.

I would look at a person and think that they were ugly or pretty (judgment). Look at a car, a house, a building, a sign and think good or bad (judgment).

The more that I thought about it, almost every thought that I had was a judgment. A comparison of an item to my idea of right and placing that item on my spectrum is a judgment.

Try this for a day, keep track of how many times you look at something or someone and make a judgment. If is is a quick mental comparison, you are judging that item against your mental scorecard.

So, how do we stop this? One way is to have a purpose.

For me, I have taken a line out of the preamble of Alcoholics Anonymous that is read before every meeting. This line states that “our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics stay sober”. So, I work to stay on this purpose and help others.

One result of this is that I am not in judgment as much. When I am concentrating on my purpose, I have a direction and am not just sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

I hear a lot of people asking how they can be happy. One way is to select a purpose and spend part of your day working toward its accomplishment.

And, purpose and goal are two different things. To me, a goal is a task that one is attempting to accomplish. But a purpose is a guideline that will be applied to their life.

If we are just floating thru life with nothing to guide us, we will be like the proverbial “cork on the water”, being pushed this way and that by every wave or breath of wind.

Life is as good as I allow it to be.

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Look how changing a couple of words can change a man’s world

You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I’ve ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband’s employer’s home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband’s employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man’s face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

‘Look at it.’ He said. ‘Read what it says.’

She read the words ‘ United States of America ‘.

‘No, not that; read further.’

‘One cent?’

‘No, keep reading.’

‘In God we Trust?’ ‘Yes!’ ‘And?’

‘And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God’s way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, ‘In God We Trust,’ and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland,
Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here goes:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life,
don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.