May 11, 2025

This Is A Great Story To Be Shared On This Mother's Day And Remembered For A Lifetime...💖

One young man went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the initial interview, and now would meet the director for the final interview.

The director discovered from his CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent. He asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "no".

"Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

"My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.” he replied.

"Where did your mother work?"

"My mother worked as clothes cleaner.”

The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

"Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

"Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go home today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back home, he asked his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to her son.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother winced when he touched it.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fees. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his education, his school activities and his future.

After cleaning his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, when he asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered," I cleaned my mother's hands, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

“I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, I would not be who I am today. By helping my mother, only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done on your own. And I have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping one’s family.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life.”

“You are hired.”

This young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and worked as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop an "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, they may be successful for a while, but eventually they would not feel a sense of achievement. They will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying our children instead?

You can let your child live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch on a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your child learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

I Love You Mom! 💖 Happy Mother's Day. 😊💐

Mother
~ Author unknown
(American Greetings card)

Sometimes,
a mom means laughter, sharing, and warmth.
Sometimes,
a mom means understanding, encouragement, and guidance.
But always, a mom means love.

As time goes by,
I appreciate more and more
all the things you've done for me.

I recognize kind acts and realize sacrifices;
I understand your viewpoints and appreciate your wisdom.

And with these things,
I discover I not only love you,
but I love what you've done,
I love who you are,
and I love that you are my mom.

******************************
Dear Mom,

I don't know if you realize how much I admire you, but I do.

Being your daughter is a joy, because you've been such a wonderful role model for me, not just in the way you raised me, but in the way you live your own life.

I've learned so much from you, what it means to be truly giving and caring, how important it is to be fair, how to believe in myself and in my ideals. But my most cherished observation, to be a free spirit.

Your example has shaped the way I think and feel and believe much more than you will ever know.

Happy Mother's Day!

💖 I LOVE YOU! 💖

Your favorite one and only child,
😊~ Josette ~😊
Me and my mom celebrating my 1st birthday!

Me and my mom celebrating my 44th birthday!
11 years ago.

Happy Mother's Day To All Of You Beautiful Wonderful Inspiring Women Around The World! :)


I just want to take a moment to personally thank ALL of the women around the WORLD who have chosen to sacrifice their personal lives in order to give birth to new life. Women who have chosen to give unconditional love to their children. Women who have chosen to nurture and mentor these children who will become our future leaders. All of humanity owes you a GREAT deal of gratitude, because without you women, NONE of us would exist.

"The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between
the heart and the heavenly Father."
~ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge ♥

May 5, 2025

Radical Thinking: What You Can Learn From the Timeless Philosophy of Socrates! GREAT SYNOPSIS!

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Radical Thinking: What You Can Learn From
the Timeless Philosophy of Socrates
written by Tejvan Pettinger

During his lifetime Socrates wrote nothing down. Yet his wisdom has formed the bedrock of western philosophy. Socrates was viewed as a great teacher. But he did not claim to be a teacher. In fact, he frequently said ‘all I know is that I know nothing’. By all accounts Socrates was both poor and ugly. Yet in a society that placed tremendous value on beauty and wealth, people of all classes were magnetically drawn to his teachings and enigmatic personality. As he wrote nothing down, there is some dispute about what Socrates actually said. But, from the writings of Plato and others, we can gain a few glimpses into the character and ideals of this ancient sage and unique philosopher.

The Socratic Dialogue

Perhaps the most arresting feature of Socrates’ legacy is his unique method of teaching and arriving at the truth. Socrates didn’t claim the truth is this or the truth is that. He sought to question students in a way that would lead them to arrive at the truth themselves. Socrates frequently claimed to know nothing. Yet, if Socrates knew nothing, why were people so eager to hear him talk? The reason was that Socrates was able to make people reconsider their own ingrained ideas; Socrates had a way of making people think for themselves and consider truth from different angles. This method of conversation incurred the ire of some people; they were not happy that Socrates was able to show the limitations of their thinking. Yet, the genius of the Socratic method was that he never had to directly tell people their inadequacies; they came to realise it themselves.

Independence of Thought

One of Socrates most admired traits was that he did not follow popular opinion. He questioned every orthodox belief and decided independently if it was worth pursuing. Socrates looked at issues from both perspectives; he did not allow himself to be tied down by religious, political, or social conventions. This independence of thought and mind was particularly powerful given the forces of conformity predominant in Greek society. The importance he placed on independence of thought can be seen by his response to his trial and death. Socrates had numerous opportunities to flee; however, he didn’t wish to flee — he felt that escape would weaken his philosophic independence. Socrates was also non dogmatic; he had friends with both Oligarchs and Democrats. At the same time, he had enemies in both parties; Socrates would never moderate his words to curry favour with others.

Interest in the Welfare of Others

Socrates spent most of his time wandering the streets of Athens, talking with people interested in discovering more about life. Socrates was a great teacher, because ironically he didn’t have an agenda to teach. He was not interested in imparting a certain dogma or attracting followers. He wanted people to think for themselves and consider the real nature of life and truth. As Socrates said to one student.”If you take my advice, you will give but little thought to Socrates but much more to the truth.” Socrates was not just a great talker, but also a great listener. It is this balance which set him apart from ordinary teachers who want only to lecture others.

Fear Not Death

"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows” - Socrates. The authorities felt threatened by the popularity and independent nature of Socrates and sought to have him silenced. The result was a travesty of justice; however, Socrates was able to meet his death with an enviable equanimity. Not only did Socrates maintain a philosophic calm, he also bore little anger or ill feeling to his judges who had unjustly tried him. He magnanimously said: ”I am not angry with my accusers, or my condemners; they have done me no harm, although neither of them meant to do me any good; and for this I may gently blame them.” It is easy for a philosopher to talk about the unreality of death, but the real test is how we respond when faced with it ourselves. The equanimity of Socrates suggests he lived the ideals he spoke of.

Self Control

Socrates once visited a palm reader. The palm reader looked at his hands and said to him: “so many undivine qualities you have: anger, pride, lust.”. His followers were furious — how could she say this about the great saint, Socrates? Socrates replied, “Wait, let us see whether she has anything else to say.” The palm reader continued, “Yes, he has these qualities, but, he also has them under his complete control.” Like all people, Socrates had negative emotions and qualities but he was able to prevent them from controlling him.

Tolerance of Others

Socrates married Xanthippe, who was renowned for her irritating behaviour and quick temper. Socrates didn’t get upset about his wife’s negative qualities. Instead he saw it as an opportunity to develop tolerance, patience and humility. Socrates even made a joke of it saying, “As I intended to associate with all kinds of people, I thought nothing they could do would disturb me, once I had accustomed myself to bear the disposition of Xanthippe.”

Outer Appearances Do Not Matter

It is said even by his admirers that Socrates was ugly. Reports suggest he was short, fat, and had a big nose. Yet, despite his unflattering looks, many eagerly sought his company for his wisdom, counsel and inspirational views on life. Despite an ugly outer countenance people saw in Socrates an inner beauty. As the aristocratic military genius Alcibiades said of Socrates “His nature is so beautiful, golden, divine. ”Socrates paid little attention to outer form. This doesn’t mean he could not appreciate beauty; however, as a true philosopher, it was his duty to see beyond the outer form.

Know Thyself

It is said that Socrates once visited the oracle of Delphi, where he was told the most important task in his life was to know his real self. To know the real self is perhaps the ultimate goal of philosophy. If we don’t know who we are, how can we solve the mysteries of life and help other people? For Socrates knowing thyself was more than a mere intellectual quest. It was an idea that shaped his life and inner attitude. He was never satisfied with accepting outer appearances and conventional wisdom, but always strove for a deeper understanding of his real Self. Above all, Socrates taught us not accept our existing thoughts as true. Step back and reevaluate the truth and veracity of your opinions and beliefs. Seek to know your real self and seek truth. It is a lofty philosophy, but one that has retained an enduring appeal and fascination through the ages.
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Footprints In The Sand... You Are NEVER Alone! God Wants You To Know This "Don't Worry, I Am Carrying You".

Footprints In The Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, He looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

by Carolyn Carty, 1963

REMEMBER: All of the good and the bad in your life up to this day has made you who you are today. You are still standing strong for a reason. God has a great plan for your life. Please don't give up. God loves you and accepts you as you are, and wants to meet you right where you are with no condemnation. You don't need to change first or be a saint to have fellowship with your Divine Source who loves you so very much, unconditionally. 💖 Big hug.
The Lord says this to you:
"Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, the battle belongs to God." [2 Chronicles 20:15 AMP]
💖💖💖

You Take My Breath Away...♥ You Really Do.


Such beautiful lyrics and melody. She has such an angelic voice. Please listen. Enjoy...💖

"Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."
~ by Ella Fitzgerald ♥

"Where love reigns the impossible may be obtained."
~ Indian Proverb ♥

You Take My Breath Away ~ by Eva Cassidy

Sometimes it amazes me
How strong the power of love can be
Sometimes you just take my breath away

You watch my love grow like a child
Sometimes gentle and sometimes wild
Sometimes you just take my breath away

And it's too good to slip by
Too good to lose
Too good to be there
Just to use
I'm gonna stand on a mountain top
And tell the news
That you take my breath away

Sometimes it amazes me
How strong the power of love can be
Sometimes you just take my breath away

Your beauty is there in all I see
And when I feel your eyes on me
Oh don't you know you just take my breath away

And it's too good to slip by
Too good to lose
Too good to be there
Just to use
I'm gonna stand on a mountain top
And tell the news
That you take my breath away

And it's too good to slip by
Too good to lose
Too good to be there
Just to use
I'm gonna stand on a mountain top
And tell the news
That you take my breath away
Yep...♥ Hugs! :)

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment

I added the picture above to the message I've shared with you below.

The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the Moment
written by Jay Dixit
[source: Psychology Today]

A friend was walking in the desert when he found the telephone to God. The setting was Burning Man, an electronic arts and music festival for which 50,000 people descend on Black Rock City, Nevada, for eight days of "radical self-expression"—dancing, socializing, meditating, and debauchery.

A phone booth in the middle of the desert with a sign that said "Talk to God" was a surreal sight even at Burning Man. The idea was that you picked up the phone, and God—or someone claiming to be God—would be at the other end to ease your pain.

So when God came on the line asking how he could help, my friend was ready. "How can I live more in the moment?" he asked. Too often, he felt, the beautiful moments of his life were drowned out by a cacophony of self-consciousness and anxiety. What could he do to hush the buzzing of his mind?

"Breathe," replied a soothing male voice.

My friend flinched at the tired new-age mantra, then reminded himself to keep an open mind. When God talks, you listen.

"Whenever you feel anxious about your future or your past, just breathe," continued God. "Try it with me a few times right now. Breathe in... breathe out." And despite himself, my friend began to relax.

You Are Not Your Thoughts

Life unfolds in the present. But so often, we let the present slip away, allowing time to rush past unobserved and unseized, and squandering the precious seconds of our lives as we worry about the future and ruminate about what's past. "We're living in a world that contributes in a major way to mental fragmentation, disintegration, distraction, decoherence," says Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace. We're always doing something, and we allow little time to practice stillness and calm.

When we're at work, we fantasize about being on vacation; on vacation, we worry about the work piling up on our desks. We dwell on intrusive memories of the past or fret about what may or may not happen in the future. We don't appreciate the living present because our "monkey minds," as Buddhists call them, vault from thought to thought like monkeys swinging from tree to tree.

Most of us don't undertake our thoughts in awareness. Rather, our thoughts control us. "Ordinary thoughts course through our mind like a deafening waterfall," writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, the biomedical scientist who introduced meditation into mainstream medicine. In order to feel more in control of our minds and our lives, to find the sense of balance that eludes us, we need to step out of this current, to pause, and, as Kabat-Zinn puts it, to "rest in stillness—to stop doing and focus on just being."

We need to live more in the moment. Living in the moment—also called mindfulness—is a state of active, open, intentional attention on the present. When you become mindful, you realize that you are not your thoughts; you become an observer of your thoughts from moment to moment without judging them. Mindfulness involves being with your thoughts as they are, neither grasping at them nor pushing them away. Instead of letting your life go by without living it, you awaken to experience.

Cultivating a nonjudgmental awareness of the present bestows a host of benefits. Mindfulness reduces stress, boosts immune functioning, reduces chronic pain, lowers blood pressure, and helps patients cope with cancer. By alleviating stress, spending a few minutes a day actively focusing on living in the moment reduces the risk of heart disease. Mindfulness may even slow the progression of HIV.

Mindful people are happier, more exuberant, more empathetic, and more secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own weaknesses. Anchoring awareness in the here and now reduces the kinds of impulsivity and reactivity that underlie depression, binge eating, and attention problems. Mindful people can hear negative feedback without feeling threatened. They fight less with their romantic partners and are more accommodating and less defensive. As a result, mindful couples have more satisfying relationships.

Mindfulness is at the root of Buddhism, Taoism, and many Native-American traditions, not to mention yoga. It's why Thoreau went to Walden Pond; it's what Emerson and Whitman wrote about in their essays and poems.

"Everyone agrees it's important to live in the moment, but the problem is how," says Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard and author of Mindfulness. "When people are not in the moment, they're not there to know that they're not there." Overriding the distraction reflex and awakening to the present takes intentionality and practice.

Living in the moment involves a profound paradox: You can't pursue it for its benefits. That's because the expectation of reward launches a future-oriented mindset, which subverts the entire process. Instead, you just have to trust that the rewards will come. There are many paths to mindfulness—and at the core of each is a paradox. Ironically, letting go of what you want is the only way to get it. Here are a few tricks to help you along.

1: To improve your performance, stop thinking about it (unselfconsciousness).

I've never felt comfortable on a dance floor. My movements feel awkward. I feel like people are judging me. I never know what to do with my arms. I want to let go, but I can't, because I know I look ridiculous.

"Loosen up, no one's watching you," people always say. "Everyone's too busy worrying about themselves." So how come they always make fun of my dancing the next day?

The dance world has a term for people like me: "absolute beginner." Which is why my dance teacher, Jessica Hayden, the owner of Shockra Studio in Manhattan, started at the beginning, sitting me down on a bench and having me tap my feet to the beat as Jay-Z thumped away in the background. We spent the rest of the class doing "isolations"—moving just our shoulders, ribs, or hips—to build "body awareness."

But even more important than body awareness, Hayden said, was present-moment awareness. "Be right here right now!" she'd say. "Just let go and let yourself be in the moment."

That's the first paradox of living in the moment: Thinking too hard about what you're doing actually makes you do worse. If you're in a situation that makes you anxious—giving a speech, introducing yourself to a stranger, dancing—focusing on your anxiety tends to heighten it. "When I say, 'be here with me now,' I mean don't zone out or get too in-your-head—instead, follow my energy, my movements," says Hayden. "Focus less on what's going on in your mind and more on what's going on in the room, less on your mental chatter and more on yourself as part of something." To be most myself, I needed to focus on things outside myself, like the music or the people around me.

Indeed, mindfulness blurs the line between self and other, explains Michael Kernis, a psychologist at the University of Georgia. "When people are mindful, they're more likely to experience themselves as part of humanity, as part of a greater universe." That's why highly mindful people such as Buddhist monks talk about being "one with everything."

By reducing self-consciousness, mindfulness allows you to witness the passing drama of feelings, social pressures, even of being esteemed or disparaged by others without taking their evaluations personally, explain Richard Ryan and K. W. Brown of the University of Rochester. When you focus on your immediate experience without attaching it to your self-esteem, unpleasant events like social rejection—or your so-called friends making fun of your dancing—seem less threatening.

Focusing on the present moment also forces you to stop overthinking. "Being present-minded takes away some of that self-evaluation and getting lost in your mind—and in the mind is where we make the evaluations that beat us up," says Stephen Schueller, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Instead of getting stuck in your head and worrying, you can let yourself go.

2: To avoid worrying about the future, focus on the present (savoring).

In her memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about a friend who, whenever she sees a beautiful place, exclaims in a near panic, "It's so beautiful here! I want to come back here someday!" "It takes all my persuasive powers," writes Gilbert, "to try to convince her that she is already here."

Often, we're so trapped in thoughts of the future or the past that we forget to experience, let alone enjoy, what's happening right now. We sip coffee and think, "This is not as good as what I had last week." We eat a cookie and think, "I hope I don't run out of cookies."

Instead, relish or luxuriate in whatever you're doing at the present moment—what psychologists call savoring. "This could be while you're eating a pastry, taking a shower, or basking in the sun. You could be savoring a success or savoring music," explains Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California at Riverside and author of The How of Happiness. "Usually it involves your senses."

When subjects in a study took a few minutes each day to actively savor something they usually hurried through—eating a meal, drinking a cup of tea, walking to the bus—they began experiencing more joy, happiness, and other positive emotions, and fewer depressive symptoms, Schueller found.

Why does living in the moment make people happier—not just at the moment they're tasting molten chocolate pooling on their tongue, but lastingly? Because most negative thoughts concern the past or the future. As Mark Twain said, "I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." The hallmark of depression and anxiety is catastrophizing—worrying about something that hasn't happened yet and might not happen at all. Worry, by its very nature, means thinking about the future—and if you hoist yourself into awareness of the present moment, worrying melts away.

The flip side of worrying is ruminating, thinking bleakly about events in the past. And again, if you press your focus into the now, rumination ceases. Savoring forces you into the present, so you can't worry about things that aren't there.

3: If you want a future with your significant other, inhabit the present (breathe).

Living consciously with alert interest has a powerful effect on interpersonal life. Mindfulness actually inoculates people against aggressive impulses, say Whitney Heppner and Michael Kernis of the University of Georgia. In a study they conducted, each subject was told that other subjects were forming a group—and taking a vote on whether she could join. Five minutes later, the experimenter announced the results—either the subject had gotten the least number of votes and been rejected or she'd been accepted. Beforehand, half the subjects had undergone a mindfulness exercise in which each slowly ate a raisin, savoring its taste and texture and focusing on each sensation.

Later, in what they thought was a separate experiment, subjects had the opportunity to deliver a painful blast of noise to another person. Among subjects who hadn't eaten the raisin, those who were told they'd been rejected by the group became aggressive, inflicting long and painful sonic blasts without provocation. Stung by social rejection, they took it out on other people.

But among those who'd eaten the raisin first, it didn't matter whether they'd been ostracized or embraced. Either way, they were serene and unwilling to inflict pain on others—exactly like those who were given word of social acceptance.

How does being in the moment make you less aggressive? "Mindfulness decreases ego involvement," explains Kernis. "So people are less likely to link their self-esteem to events and more likely to take things at face value." Mindfulness also makes people feel more connected to other people—that empathic feeling of being "at one with the universe."

Mindfulness boosts your awareness of how you interpret and react to what's happening in your mind. It increases the gap between emotional impulse and action, allowing you to do what Buddhists call recognizing the spark before the flame. Focusing on the present reboots your mind so you can respond thoughtfully rather than automatically. Instead of lashing out in anger, backing down in fear, or mindlessly indulging a passing craving, you get the opportunity to say to yourself, "This is the emotion I'm feeling. How should I respond?"

Mindfulness increases self-control; since you're not getting thrown by threats to your self-esteem, you're better able to regulate your behavior. That's the other irony: Inhabiting your own mind more fully has a powerful effect on your interactions with others.

Of course, during a flare-up with your significant other it's rarely practical to duck out and savor a raisin. But there's a simple exercise you can do anywhere, anytime to induce mindfulness: Breathe. As it turns out, the advice my friend got in the desert was spot-on. There's no better way to bring yourself into the present moment than to focus on your breathing. Because you're placing your awareness on what's happening right now, you propel yourself powerfully into the present moment. For many, focusing on the breath is the preferred method of orienting themselves to the now—not because the breath has some magical property, but because it's always there with you.

4: To make the most of time, lose track of it (flow).

Perhaps the most complete way of living in the moment is the state of total absorption psychologists call flow. Flow occurs when you're so engrossed in a task that you lose track of everything else around you. Flow embodies an apparent paradox: How can you be living in the moment if you're not even aware of the moment? The depth of engagement absorbs you powerfully, keeping attention so focused that distractions cannot penetrate. You focus so intensely on what you're doing that you're unaware of the passage of time. Hours can pass without you noticing.

Flow is an elusive state. As with romance or sleep, you can't just will yourself into it—all you can do is set the stage, creating the optimal conditions for it to occur.

The first requirement for flow is to set a goal that's challenging but not unattainable—something you have to marshal your resources and stretch yourself to achieve. The task should be matched to your ability level—not so difficult that you'll feel stressed, but not so easy that you'll get bored. In flow, you're firing on all cylinders to rise to a challenge.

To set the stage for flow, goals need to be clearly defined so that you always know your next step. "It could be playing the next bar in a scroll of music, or finding the next foothold if you're a rock climber, or turning the page if you're reading a good novel," says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist who first defined the concept of flow. "At the same time, you're kind of anticipating."

You also need to set up the task in such a way that you receive direct and immediate feedback; with your successes and failures apparent, you can seamlessly adjust your behavior. A climber on the mountain knows immediately if his foothold is secure; a pianist knows instantly when she's played the wrong note.

As your attentional focus narrows, self-consciousness evaporates. You feel as if your awareness merges with the action you're performing. You feel a sense of personal mastery over the situation, and the activity is so intrinsically rewarding that although the task is difficult, action feels effortless.

5: If something is bothering you, move toward it rather than away from it (acceptance).

We all have pain in our lives, whether it's the ex we still long for, the jackhammer snarling across the street, or the sudden wave of anxiety when we get up to give a speech. If we let them, such irritants can distract us from the enjoyment of life. Paradoxically, the obvious response—focusing on the problem in order to combat and overcome it—often makes it worse, argues Stephen Hayes, a psychologist at the University of Nevada.

The mind's natural tendency when faced with pain is to attempt to avoid it—by trying to resist unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and sensations. When we lose a love, for instance, we fight our feelings of heartbreak. As we get older, we work feverishly to recapture our youth. When we're sitting in the dentist's chair waiting for a painful root canal, we wish we were anywhere but there. But in many cases, negative feelings and situations can't be avoided—and resisting them only magnifies the pain.

The problem is we have not just primary emotions but also secondary ones—emotions about other emotions. We get stressed out and then think, "I wish I weren't so stressed out." The primary emotion is stress over your workload. The secondary emotion is feeling, "I hate being stressed."

It doesn't have to be this way. The solution is acceptance—letting the emotion be there. That is, being open to the way things are in each moment without trying to manipulate or change the experience—without judging it, clinging to it, or pushing it away. The present moment can only be as it is. Trying to change it only frustrates and exhausts you. Acceptance relieves you of this needless extra suffering.

Suppose you've just broken up with your girlfriend or boyfriend; you're heartbroken, overwhelmed by feelings of sadness and longing. You could try to fight these feelings, essentially saying, "I hate feeling this way; I need to make this feeling go away." But by focusing on the pain—being sad about being sad—you only prolong the sadness. You do yourself a favor by accepting your feelings, saying instead, "I've just had a breakup. Feelings of loss are normal and natural. It's OK for me to feel this way."

Acceptance of an unpleasant state doesn't mean you don't have goals for the future. It just means you accept that certain things are beyond your control. The sadness, stress, pain, or anger is there whether you like it or not. Better to embrace the feeling as it is.

Nor does acceptance mean you have to like what's happening. "Acceptance of the present moment has nothing to do with resignation," writes Kabat-Zinn. "Acceptance doesn't tell you what to do. What happens next, what you choose to do; that has to come out of your understanding of this moment."

If you feel anxiety, for instance, you can accept the feeling, label it as anxiety—then direct your attention to something else instead. You watch your thoughts, perceptions, and emotions flit through your mind without getting involved. Thoughts are just thoughts. You don't have to believe them and you don't have to do what they say.

6: Know that you don't know (engagement).

You've probably had the experience of driving along a highway only to suddenly realize you have no memory or awareness of the previous 15 minutes. Maybe you even missed your exit. You just zoned out; you were somewhere else, and it's as if you've suddenly woken up at the wheel. Or maybe it happens when you're reading a book: "I know I just read that page, but I have no idea what it said."

These autopilot moments are what Harvard's Ellen Langer calls mindlessness—times when you're so lost in your thoughts that you aren't aware of your present experience. As a result, life passes you by without registering on you. The best way to avoid such blackouts, Langer says, is to develop the habit of always noticing new things in whatever situation you're in. That process creates engagement with the present moment and releases a cascade of other benefits. Noticing new things puts you emphatically in the here and now.

We become mindless, Langer explains, because once we think we know something, we stop paying attention to it. We go about our morning commute in a haze because we've trod the same route a hundred times before. But if we see the world with fresh eyes, we realize almost everything is different each time—the pattern of light on the buildings, the faces of the people, even the sensations and feelings we experience along the way. Noticing imbues each moment with a new, fresh quality. Some people have termed this "beginner's mind."

By acquiring the habit of noticing new things, says Langer, we recognize that the world is actually changing constantly. We really don't know how the espresso is going to taste or how the commute will be—or at least, we're not sure.

Orchestra musicians who are instructed to make their performance new in subtle ways not only enjoy themselves more but audiences actually prefer those performances. "When we're there at the moment, making it new, it leaves an imprint in the music we play, the things we write, the art we create, in everything we do," says Langer. "Once you recognize that you don't know the things you've always taken for granted, you set out of the house quite differently. It becomes an adventure in noticing—and the more you notice, the more you see." And the more excitement you feel.

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There

Living a consistently mindful life takes effort. But mindfulness itself is easy. "People set the goal of being mindful for the next 20 minutes or the next two weeks, then they think mindfulness is difficult because they have the wrong yardstick," says Jay Winner, a California-based family physician and author of Take the Stress out of Your Life. "The correct yardstick is just for this moment."

Mindfulness is the only intentional, systematic activity that is not about trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, explains Kabat-Zinn. It is simply a matter of realizing where you already are. A cartoon from The New Yorker sums it up: Two monks are sitting side by side, meditating. The younger one is giving the older one a quizzical look, to which the older one responds, "Nothing happens next. This is it."

You can become mindful at any moment just by paying attention to your immediate experience. You can do it right now. What's happening this instant? Think of yourself as an eternal witness, and just observe the moment. What do you see, hear, smell? It doesn't matter how it feels—pleasant or unpleasant, good or bad—you roll with it because it's what's present; you're not judging it. And if you notice your mind wandering, bring yourself back. Just say to yourself, "Now. Now. Now."

Here's the most fundamental paradox of all: Mindfulness isn't a goal, because goals are about the future, but you do have to set the intention of paying attention to what's happening at the present moment. As you read the words printed on this page, as your eyes distinguish the black squiggles on white paper, as you feel gravity anchoring you to the planet, wake up. Become aware of being alive. And breathe. As you draw your next breath, focus on the rise of your abdomen on the in-breath, the stream of heat through your nostrils on the out-breath. If you're aware of that feeling right now, as you're reading this, you're living in the moment. Nothing happens next. It's not a destination. This is it. You're already there.

How to Be Present and Still Create Your Future; 20 Simple Ways to Be More Mindful Right Now

I added the picture above to the message I've shared with you below.

written by Jennice Vilhauer Ph.D.
[source: Psychology Today]

The concept of being in the present moment has become synonymous with our idealized sense of peace and well-being. This idea has been lauded so much over the past decade by psychologists, spiritual leaders, and pop-culture authors that many of us have come to believe that thinking about the past or the future is something to be wary of, if not the very culprit of our mental distress. But as happens with ideas of iconic proportion, when the context is lost, so is the meaning. The phrase being in the present moment comes from the idea of being mindful, which has its origins in Eastern philosophy and religions. Mindfulness is a mental skill that increases awareness through our ability to focus attention, and it is used as a tool in many forms of cognitive psychotherapy.

Despite its origins, mindfulness has nothing to do with religion, nor is it about thinking of any one time frame. Mindfulness is about being consciously aware of thoughts and feelings that are happening in the present moment, as opposed to being in default mode. If you’ve ever been driving and passed your exit on the freeway or arrived at your destination with little recollection of how you got there, you were operating on autopilot, in default mode. To reduce the load of data that our brain has to process, we consolidate the information we’ve learned into automatic or procedural processes. This allows us to do more by thinking less. We are more able to multitask, but the downside is that we aren’t giving our full attention to our experiences and thus aren’t fully engaged, and perhaps, more important, we aren’t as able to make conscious choices. When you aren’t using your mind to consciously decide your actions, you are just doing whatever you’ve learned to do in the past. This can make it very difficult to break bad habits and choose new ways to do things.

The reality is we can only experience thoughts and emotions in the present moment; it is the only place we exist. However, in the present you can, with conscious awareness, think about any time frame, past, present, or future. If your goal is to lead a fulfilling life, then how you allocate your thoughts in these time frames matters. The past is gone. We can never bring it back, except by bringing our attention to it. The present, no matter how awful or sweet it may be, is constantly leaving. It is what just passed. Holding on to it is impossible. The future, however, is constantly arriving. The arrival of the future and the now we live in are one and the same.
I added the picture above to this message I've shared with you.
This is why I have no regrets. The past is gone. I can't go back and change anything even if I wanted to change my choices. I also can't change how people treated me in the past. What's done is done. No need to dwell there. So I release it, learn from the experience, and grow from the lesson I learned. Hopefully, by staying mindful, I can make better choices from this day forward and I accept that I can't control how other people treat me, I only control how I respond to anything. I understand that no one can hurt me without my permission. Plus, I can't create with my mind stuck in the past. Giving birth to new ideas comes from the void of the present. (emphasis mine)
For the most part, what arrives in our present to become a lived experience is not an accident. We have the power to greatly influence the future by consciously making present-moment choices that are consistent with the future we want. Practicing mindfulness can slow us down, take us out of default mode, and give us a window of opportunity between thought and action, where we can make a choice to allow a better future.

It is how we think about the future that determines whether the outcome is beneficial. You can think about what you want and how to make it happen, or you can think about what you don’t want and worry about how to prevent it from happening. The first way increases your chances of bringing positive emotions and experiences into your life, while the second causes you to experience negative emotions about things that may never happen; further, it decreases the amount of time and energy you have for creating positive experiences.

Most of the time, when we are operating on autopilot we are simply projecting into the future what we have learned from past experiences and then acting accordingly. If you have had several failed relationships, for example, you may expect that a future relationship will fail as well. Here is where mindfulness can be very useful in changing your future. When you are able to be mindful about what you are feeling at any given moment, you can use this information to help you recognize the type of experiences you are in the process of creating. If you start to think about the future and you notice a negative emotion, such as fear or guilt, you can stop and do a check-in with yourself. Whether the future experience you are thinking of is in five minutes, five days, or five years, ask yourself if it is something you want to have happen. If the answer is no, then this is your moment of opportunity to change the outcome by asking yourself this next very important question: What would I like to have happen instead? As you start to answer the question, you are shifting your thinking into a whole new direction, toward a positive outcome or a solution. As you picture a new, more desired outcome, you have created a target destination, which is the first and most important step in creating any new future experience.

Once you have a destination, you can ask yourself the next very important question: How do I get there? As soon as you do this, you create a cognitive dilemma that activates the brain’s executive network (the problem-solving area of the mind), which will work on helping you generate a solution. The longer you stay mindfully focused on this question, the more new ideas and solutions will come to you. You can then consciously choose which ones to act on. New actions will create new experiences in your present moment.

Mindfulness can play a big role in your ability to consciously create your life. In essence, mindfulness is about being present, not thinking about the present. When we are present we are in our full power to notice our emotional guidance and to own our thoughts and behaviors; only then do we have the real opportunity to create and experience the life we choose.

Jennice Vilhauer, PhD, is the author of Think Forward to Thrive (link is external): How to Use the MInd's Power of Anticipation to Transcend Your Past and Transform Your Life and the developer of Future Directed Therapy. 
I added the picture above to the message I've shared with you below.

If you have a minute, you have time to be mindful.
written by Shonda Moralis MSW, LCSW
[source: Psychology Today]

1. Pause right where you are and take two deep breaths.

2. Look directly into your loved one’s eyes as you talk.

3. Eat a snack with your full awareness—no reading, no screens, no conversation.

4. Gaze out the window and take in the sights.

5. Step outside and take a few deep breaths of fresh air.

6. Pause and notice the sounds around you, both near and far.

7. Move just the slightest bit more slowly and with more awareness.

8. Imagine a time machine has transported you from 1915 to 2015—notice what you typically take for granted.

9. Consider what you appreciate about someone and tell him.

10. Imagine you live in an underdeveloped country where having your basic human needs met is not a given.

11. Name five things you are grateful for right now.

12. If any of these are people, let them know you are grateful for them.

13. Drop your shoulders.

14. Sit up straight.

15. Stretch.

16. Hug someone and allow her to be the first to let go.

17. Perform one simple random act of kindness.

18. While waiting in line, resist checking your phone and look around.

19. Smile. Make it genuine. What changes in your body, thoughts, and mood?

20. Smile at someone else. Notice the same.

Shonda Moralis, MSW, LCSW is a psychotherapist, mindfulness educator, writer and mom of two.
In Print: Breathe, Mama, Breathe: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Busy Moms
Online: www.shondamoralis.net

May 4, 2025

The Gift of Wisdom! Beautiful Message ❤

I added the images above to this message.

The Gift of Wisdom
[James 3:13-14]
written by Pastor Greg McDonell

I was inspired to focus on the James passage today because of a comment my granddaughter made during a children’s sermon at her church in Houston. It seems that the pastor had gathered all the children around him and posed to them a question. He said: Does anyone know the difference between a person who is smart and one who is wise? Our Shelby raised her hand and the pastor recognized her, “Yes, Shelby, what is the difference?” She replied: “A smart person is someone who knows a lot of stuff and a wise person is one who makes good decisions.”
A reading from JAMES…………

“You say that I am repeating something I said before. I shall say it again.
In order to arrive there,
to arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
YOU MUST go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
YOU MUST go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
YOU MUST go by the way of dispossession.
To arrive at what you are not
YOU MUST go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know.
And what you own is what you do not own.
And where you are is where you are not”
-T.S. Elliot. “East Coker”

If T.S. Elliot and Shelby Kallus are correct, and I sense that they are, WISDOM is a quality we are given and not something we gain. Wisdom is not how much you know, but knowing what is IMPORTANT to know as we read between the lines of our lives.

The author of James asks the question: “Who is wise and understanding among you?” And he goes on to supply his own answer: By ones good life let that person show their works in the gentleness of wisdom.” Wise people live out their gratitude for God’s gift in happiness, gentleness, and serenity. Or as Eliot would suggest: wise people know that what they do not know is worth knowing, where they have not yet been is important to be, and what they do not possess is what is important to possess. Wisdom is something accepted as a gift.

God in Christ offers us a life of purpose and meaning. God gives us wisdom that is….insight into GOD’S VISION for humankind. Our receptivity to that, our response to that, is the “GOOD LIFE” we live FOR others.

Bob is an alcoholic, a drug addict, a burglar, a thief, and con man. He is also a father of two children, a happily married man. In his book, Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Our Children and Drugs, he tells his story of how he came to accept the gift of wisdom……….He says,

“At one point I actually counted the number of times people tried to help me get off drugs…31!!! My parents tried of course and failed. Teachers were equally unsuccessful. A neighbor and friend of the family begged me with tears in his eyes to stop for the sake of my parents; I didn’t. I tried a Christian group that told me to read the bible and everything would be fine. But at that time I was so sick and my eyes were so bad that I couldn’t have read the bible if I had wanted to; which I didn’t. Christian groups failed to help me. I tried methadone. The doctors at John Hopkins thought that getting high on that bitter stuff you wash down with Tang would be better for me than heroin. I always had the impression that doctors prescribed methadone so addicts wouldn’t go out and steal their television sets. A chemical substitute for junk is certainly no solution for the addict. Methadone treatment is a bad joke.

I tried behavior modification, psychoanalysis, chemical therapy, hypnosis, confrontive therapy, and numerous other methods. My experience in rehabilitation ranged from comic to tragic to frustrating to down right bizarre….NONE WORKED. Thirty one attempts to cure me failed…BUT the thirty-second time was a different story…. - Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, p12-13

Bob goes on to tell about that 32nd time. He had begun eating lunch at the Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church across the street from Rice University where he was working on the grounds. And each day at lunch Father Charlie came by and made small talk. Bob writes:

“I had no idea what to think of the man. I wasn’t particularly interested in him, but he seemed to be interested in me. EVERY DAY he would come over to my table and talk with me while I ate. One day I was eating by myself when someone called out, ‘Phone call for Bob’. I figured it was probably a cop, so I pretended I didn’t hear. A fellow worker pointed me out, so I went and took the call. It was Father Charlie.

“I’m sorry I missed our appointment today,” he said. Appointment, I replied? We had never made an appointment. Charlie went on to apologize profusely for having been tied up. I told him that it was OK and that I would see him tomorrow.

And then just before we hung up, he added, I just wanted to say that I love you.

Very strange thing to say, I thought. I hung up the phone and walked to my table thinking, “I know he is not gay; I’ve got no money, so he’s not trying to rip me off; there is nothing a bum like me has to offer him. What does he want? Why does he say he loves me? I couldn’t figure it out. But every day I came back to that cafeteria to see Charlie. And I knew that I was coming for one reason and one reason only….I SO WANTED TO HEAR HIM SAY IT AGAIN!

And so, Bob slowly began to get his life back together again as he received and responded to the gift of acceptance from Father Charlie. His soul was strengthened and his self-esteem began to soar.

You see, my dear friends, Father Charlie gave something to Bob he had never experienced before or heard of before: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. Father Charlie created an environment in which people like Bob could pull themselves up if they chose to do so. Father Charlie would have still loved Bob had Bob returned to drugs. His love was unconditional, no strings attached. He offered Bob a new definition of happiness and said, “If you want it, take it, if you don’t want it…fine.” Bob says that it took him years to understand the power of that kind of love.

Bob’s experience goes beyond those who are victims of the disease of chemical dependency. His experience under scores for all of us THAT WISDOM, like grace is something we receive, something given that is responded to, something to accept and not to waste time trying to achieve it…….God in Christ offers us a better way of life. God GIVES us Christ and invites us to partake. God encourages each of us to receive and respond to such loved offered and given freely…There it is! Take it! It’s your life! Enjoy it!

So who is WISE among US? The wise truly are those who know and live their life believing that God loves them unconditionally. The most basic need of life, unconditional love, is already settled. We are accepted. We do not have to earn it, achieve it, to seek and struggle to gain it. It is a given gift that each of us hold within us.

And yet still, some of us refuse to allow ourselves to be loved unconditionally. We are very uncomfortable with that kind of love. We are trained, geared, reared, and otherwise brainwashed that you don’t get anything for nothing! And so some of us go around driving ourselves and driving ourselves until we just want to quit….and all along there is our Lord standing beside us saying, “Won’t you ever learn, won’t you ever be wise enough to understand the unconditional love I have for you. While you were yet sinners I died for you…no strings attached. But like Bob we want to say, “Hey, wait a minute what’s this guy up to?”

Maybe I have missed you in today’s sermon but as for me there certainly are times when I reject such love or at least forget about it’s reality in my life. The high level of tension in which we live in this world and perhaps even in your homes where stress and depression runs wild are signs enough that we need to be simply wise enough to let go……let go of our self-defeating drive to be the best, the biggest, and the brightest. Perhaps we need to slow down, relax, enjoy one another, enjoy our life here, and have peace in our hearts. The wise among us are drawing ever closer to the One who loves them unconditionally.

There is much to do in this life of ours. But let us have the wisdom to accept it first, to enjoy it first, to be grateful for it first…to receive God’s unconditional love FIRST and then to live into a life of gentle wisdom.

Friends, God loves YOU unconditionally. Believe it! Accept it!

God bless you this day!

HAPPY Star Wars Day!!! :)


Party at Jabba's Palace tonight! The Max Rebo Band will be performing. Here they are in the video with Sy Snootles rockin the mic to Lapti Nek.

See you there! I'll be the Jedi boogying on the dance floor. lol ;) ♥

NBC News, Los Angeles, CA local
written by Maria Chamberlain
Wednesday April 30, 2025

All across the galaxy, Jedi and Siths are celebrating "Star Wars" Day.

Here's what it is, how the unofficial holiday came to be and what to say if someone says, "May the fourth be with you."

Why is 'Star Wars' Day celebrated?

In the 1977 film, "Star Wars: A New Hope," the phrase "May the force be with you" is said by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker and is again mentioned throughout the movie franchise.

The unofficial holiday grew organically as a way for fans to celebrate the "Star Wars" movieverse as May the 4th sounds a lot like "May the force."

When did 'Star Wars' Day start?

According to StarWars.com, the first use of the phrase came from the most unlikely source -- a British political ad.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was elected to office on May 4, 1979, two years after "Star Wars" was released. To congratulate her, the Conservative Party placed an ad in the London Evening News. It read, "May The Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

Thanks to the power of the internet and fans all over the world, the phrase has become what it is today.

How to respond to 'May the 4th be with you'

The correct response differs depending on who you ask. Perhaps fans were inspired by the Catholic faith as one popular response echoes that of the church.

"And also with you" or "and with your spirit" (in line with the updated response during Mass).

Other responses include "May the 4th be with us all" or "May the 4th be with us both."

How to celebrate

Have a "Star Wars" movie marathon, visit Galaxy's Edge at the Disney parks, shop the May the 4th merchandise drop, or head to Disney+ to binge "Andor" Season 2, releasing every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET until May 13.

Fortnite players will also get an exclusive first look at the new animated show, "Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld," beginning on May 2 at 10 a.m. ET. The first two episodes will be available to watch in-game a full two days before the show streams on Disney+.
SYFY WIRE published December 10, 2017: Yes, there may be things about Star Wars: A New Hope (a.k.a. just "Star Wars") that you might not know. We are certain Chewbacca mom does not know them. 
We are here to tell you!
Disney Parks published December 25, 2018: Check out this exciting new video of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening summer 2019 at Disneyland Resort and fall 2019 at Walt Disney World Resort.
Deutsche Grammophon - DG published October 2, 2020: John Williams and Wiener Philharmoniker – "Main Title" from "Star Wars: A New Hope"