Friday, November 30, 2007

Buddha say....4

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal
with the intent of throwing it at someone else;
you are the one getting burned.

--Buddha
:)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Did you know...4

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (that's about what my memory span is.)
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years. (I know some people that could do this too!)
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

4

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Jon said...



In the car of life,
there are no rear view mirrors
(and it’s an import!)

--- Jon
:)

Football and 9/11


LSU football coach Nick Saban described a recent defeat by his team in almost apocalyptic terms, mentioning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Pearl Harbor ...

To even mention these events in the same breath as a football game is incredible.
And to think, this coach is teaching kids about life!

:(

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The jacket from my brother

My Brother's Jacket

About 2 years ago my brother died at the age of 48. When we were collecting his things, I took his jacket. It was nothing fancy. Just some plaid jacket: kind of a hunters, red plaid jacket that goes down to my thighs. Surprisingly, it fits me pretty good. I didn’t think about it much after that because living, at the time, in Safety Harbor Florida, a heavy jacket is just not needed that often.

So, here I am now in Germany. We just moved here in July and are now experiencing our first winter. It’s been relatively cold lately, for me at least. Most mornings are in the upper 20’s or low 30’s. For me, being born and raised in Florida, that’s cold!

Now, being unemployed and broke, I don’t have much money to buy a new winter jacket. Besides, I have to make sure my son is warm. We bought him some winter clothes and jackets etc… And, of course, had to buy my wife a jacket too (let’s not go there…).

Me? Doesn’t matter, really. I’ll make do with what I have lying around. Looking around through my clothes, I notice….

My brother’s jacket! Yup, that old red plaid jacket from Florida. So I put it on and … lo and behold, man is it nice and warm. I am totally surprised! It keeps me warm in the German winter! So, now, I “put my brother on” every morning before going out to face the cold. He keeps me warm….

You could say my brother is with me … everyday …


(Man, I miss my brother…HI JAY!)
:)

Thanks Giving

thanks giving

Unfortunately, the Indians didn’t come to Europe, barely survive the first winter by the niceness of the Europeans, show their gratitude by massacre ing em all before taking over the land and “letting” them have Serbia as their new home. So, when my well meaning family and friends send me those boring “ecards from aol” about “Happy Thanksgiving”, I have to remind them that we don’t celebrate it over here in Germany.

Finally, though, one of my sisters sent me an email saying “Happy Friday! It’s celebrated world wide!” OK, she got me on that one!

Actually, to me, everyday is sort of like a thanks giving. That is, I give thanks for having another day on earth. I don’t actually tell myself that and I don’t even think about it anymore but it is in me. It is a part of me.

Thanks for giving me another day as…. Yesterday, another top athlete died at the age of 28.

This is why I don’t complain too much about what happens in life. We can be gone at any time at any age. It can happen to any of us. This is part of the reason that I don’t go out of my way to make that extra money to buy expensive material things. They don’t matter too much to me. I don’t need a new or fancy car. I don’t need the newest TV, or couch or clothes. They don’t matter. My friendships matter the most. My family, friends and even those strangers who we only meet for perhaps 5 minutes and never see again…these are important to me. They make the differences in my life. Life experiences: ...meeting people from around the world…different cultures...the rainbow…nature…laughing…that is life.

Life…live it!

Oh, and happy thanksgiving….hehehe…

:)

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Buddha say...3

Neither fire nor wind,
birth nor death,
can erase our good deeds.

--Buddha

:)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Did you know......3

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast,
the line would never end because
of the rate of reproduction.

:)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Truly happy

Attachment to material things is the single most destructive act to our "emotional" well being. To be "free", we must be free of the desire and the need of "things". When we are completely free of these desires, of these attachments to the material, then and only then, we will be at one with ouselves, about ourselves and within ourselves: We shall have achieved peaceful introspections and become "truly happy".

:)

sanely insane

In an insane world,

the sane
are
the insane :)
and
the insane :)
are
the sane!

mmmmm.....

Might as well Dance!

Too many people put off things that bring them joy because they don’t have time, don't have it on their schedule, forgot it was coming, are too busy working or are just plain too rigid to depart from their routine.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. The other day,
I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg
on the way home, at least I would have
died happy.

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence
while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
When they ask to play
Do you say, “not now, tomorrow”?
What if tomorrow never comes?

I cannot count the times
I called my brother and said, "How about lunch?"
He would usually respond with, "I can't" or "maybe next week" or "it’s Monday.” Usually, though, it was “I don’t have the time."
We never did get together for that lunch.
He died a few years ago.

I was thinking the other day
about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner
that fateful night
in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more
flexible.

Americans cram so much into their lives. Americans have to fill every minute of the day with "something” to do. Everyday is planned out. Because of that, we live on promises
to make the time, when the conditions are “perfect”, when
the time is right!

Sure, we'll go and visit our parents when we get the kid a new shirt. We'll entertain when we replace the old TV. We'll go on a second honeymoon when the kids move out. We’ll move to a better place when we have more money.
Do it…NOW! There is no perfect time like
today.

Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow when
I have more time." And in your haste, not
see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?
Ever call to just say
“Hi”?

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make,
who would you call and what would you say?
And what are you waiting for,
the right time?

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to do," "I plan on doing," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit..."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend,
she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind and
an open schedule. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades or to
live in the woods!

Have you ever played with your friends kids' playing on a merry go round or
stood in the rain during a summers downpour?
Ever follow a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
Or do you run through each day
on the fly?

When the day is done, do you lie in bed with the next day's chores running through your head...worried about
how to do it all?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift... thrown away....
life is not a race. Soooooo…

Take the time to Make the time to..
Watch that sunset… Smell the flowers…Do nothing…
See the sunrise... Follow that butterfly…Soar with the Eagles…Make that call...
Turn off the phone…Drive around aimlessly…Throw out the planner…
Play!...

Life is today, for tomorrow may not come.
Enjoy it. Be the DJ
This is your life…your life song

"Life may not be the party you want it to be,
but as long as it’s your song……you

might as well dance! "

:)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Buddha say....2

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick,
at least we didn't die; so,
let us all be thankful.

--Buddha

:)(:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Did you know...2

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

2

Sunday, November 11, 2007

For a good life...

For a good life,
...according to jon...

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements
involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a
wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate
steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and
think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for
your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the
current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your
love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge success by your heart.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
(and sex too?)
20. Be you, not me.

:)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

My son in hospital

My 12 yr old son is in hospital for 2 days for observations due to head injury at school. He is alert, all motor functions are working properly and his health appears to be ok.

My responses and or posts may be delayed.
Priorities.

Thanks, ALL, for you understanding, comments and support.

jon

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Buddha say....1

What we think,
we become.
--Buddha

:)(:

Monday, November 5, 2007

Success is...

SUCCESS is...

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of ones self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation.

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived --- this, is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(slightly edited by JBM)

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Did you know...#1

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand...

"lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand...

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing!


1/20

Thursday, November 1, 2007

World events and personal change

Recent headlines: Burma Monks rise up again. This reminds me of the relationship between worldly events and our selves as individuals.

When an individual seeks change and wants to grow as a person and/or help facilitate the growth of their soul, the initial thought is to look outward for help and ideas. This is normal as we all need, initially, a guide to our journey: A starting point from one who has already started the journey and is further along the path of change. However, eventually, we will come to the realization that real growth can only be attained from within. Outside help only goes so far because the real change must start and happen from within us.

Using Burma as an example: The people of Burma want change. They plead for help from the outside world but they know that true change will only happen when it comes from within their country. Only they can affect this change and only they can bring about this change, from within. Outsiders can have some influence and offer some guidance, but for true change to hold, it must come from the people of Burma. They must be committed and must stand strong against the resistance to their efforts.

The recent uprisings for change that began in September (earlier, actually) and were brutally stopped in October, offer a personal lesson. Many people within Burma and around the world thought that with the crackdown, the attempt at change had ended. Many believed that the junta had successfully defeated all attempts at change. Some Burmesians (?) even admitted defeat saying, “The violence is too much. We cannot defeat the sword. We can not change. I fear for the life of my family and myself” This is understandable as no one really wants to die or see their loved ones murdered. Violence and resistance against change can be very strong and morally defeating. However, they must look at the big picture.

The Buddhist Monks of Burma know this. They rose up AGAIN. The Monks rose up again and are looking evil in the eyes. The are staring down possible death. They realize that to make change, it is not easy. They know that to make real change, personal sacrifice is sometimes called upon. This is why they are rising up again, even if it means death. They know that in order to bring about change for all the people of Burma, it will not be easy and that personal sacrifice must some times be made. They are putting the good of all above the physical well being of themselves as individuals. They know the easy path is usually not always the best path. They know the easy way is usually not the most fruitful path. It is a hard journey to undertake. To quit is easy. To say, “I tried” is easy, but to pick up the pieces and continue, is hard. But they do it. The monks know that the results will be “life changing” for the health of all the Burma people.

These lessons apply to personal change as well. Those who want to make change within themselves will initially look for help from others in the form of books, or seminars or in confirmations from friends of their quest or even from blogs! This is normal. However, for us to really make change, it MUST eventually come from within. This is not always easy. It never is. Initially, we might face ridicule or misunderstanding from those closest to us (and we all want acceptance) as we attempt to change and/or grow. Or we might fall from the bike of change and want to give up when we initially don’t succeed. We might want to quit when we feel like we are not accomplishing anything. This is the easy way, the easy path I talked about. Change is hard to accomplish. It takes commitment and determination. (Character traits I lack by the way!). It takes time. But change can happen. It does happen. Many people have accomplished it. The path may different for all of us and the journey will be full of pitfalls and detours. However, if you hang in there and keep plugging away, change will come. It is in us. It is a part of us. It can happen and it will happen. Just remain true to yourself and your commitment to growth. If others can face certain death to obtain change, then surely we can face the trivial ups and downs we must confront in order to succeed and gain a happy and healthy life along our path of power. The power to change is within each and every one of us. YOU CAN DO IT.

For as the sky around me is cold and grey, I know that on the horizon … is warmth and sunshine!

(Personally, I, and I’m sure many of you are too, am pulling for the people of Burma in their quest for freedom. If you want to read more about the situation, please check out my other site, www.burma-myanmar-news.blogspot.com, for articles, pictures and some good links to the Burma protests.)

:)

Sometimes...

Sometimes,
to advance and achieve growth, we must rely on the help of others.
Sometimes,
to advance and achieve growth, we must let go of those dearest to us...
...
:(

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