WIT & WISDOM:

BREEDING BULL

A man took his wife to the rodeo and one of the exhibits was of
breeding bulls. They went up to the first pen and there was a sign that said
"This bull mated 50 times last year." The wife poked her husband in the
ribs and said, "He mated 50 times last year."

They walked a little farther and saw another pen with a sign that said,
"This bull mated 120 times last year." The wife hit her husband and
said, "That's more than twice a week! You could learn a lot from him."

They walked farther and a third pen had a bull with a sign saying,
"This bull mated 365 times last year." The wife got really excited and
said, "That's once a day. You really could learn something from this one."

The husband looked at her and said, "Go up and ask him if it was with
the same cow."
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ENJOY the MOMENT
--from the Times of India

Have you ever in your quest to be more and do more, experienced the
feeling that you were going backward? We all seem to be over-stretching
ourselves. I am always saying, "I never thought life would be this busy".

Could all this busyness actually prevent us or be creating blocks in
our lives to what we are truly seeking? Could we actually start slowing
down and asking ourselves different questions that would end up creating
a more profound awareness in our lives?

Can this hectic life with so many distractions keep us from a life
where we are in appreciation of each and every moment of our day?

We live in a world with so many expectations and so much to accomplish.
Financial well-being, relationships that work, looking good and to be
everything society wants us to be.

All these burdens and expectations are like trying to push a bowling
ball up a hill. Can we actually be causing damage to our well being, to
the physical mind and body and in turn slowing the real growth we seek
here on this planet? Does this damage that we have possibly caused need
to be healed and will we slow down enough to heal ourselves? We pursue
all these things to create a place of wholeness.

We seek a life that is complete and whole and dream of enjoying all
that life has to offer. But do we ever get to the place of peace,
calmness, and serenity and do we ever find the love for our lives?

When will we start to recognise that this is not working? And that we
just keep doing more but the wholeness of our lives is just a big hole.
Well, there is hope.

When we start to recognise what is going on and pay attention, we can
take steps in creating and changing our lives to make a difference.

When we recognise that we need to be responsible for our own life and
that we are the ones who ultimately create our reality, we can actually
break through all the expectations others have put on us and take the
time to enjoy the moment.

I am not saying that we just sit around and do nothing. The point that
I am making is that we are so busy that we are never where we are in
that moment. We are doing one task and thinking about the next task.

We never take the time to be in the moment and enjoy the moment for
just that. We are in our cars, talking on the phone and thinking about the
meeting we have later that day.

We pick up a friend from the airport or we are at lunch with our
mothers and we just have to answer that call from a friend who just wants to
chit chat.

When does it all slow down? When do we just be with someone or
something? Like taking the time to read a book, or just sitting there and
listening to your child, without all the noise going on in your head of what
you have to do next?

How about just being? Breathing and being in that moment from time to
time and just enjoying it. A good friend of mine would sometimes take a
Friday afternoon off from work or her chores and just be with the day —
enjoying the sunshine and feeling the warmth of the sun as it kisses
her long flowing hair.

Do you ever slow down and listen to the birds sing, or watch a humming
bird hover like a helicopter as it pecks at a bougainvillea?

Do you still feel the coolness and that little tickle of the grass on
your feet or are you just traversing this planet in pursuit of something
you just cannot get your hands around?

Try breathing in and out slowly and feel the air move through your
body. Do it now! Appreciate this moment and be in gratitude for this
moment. Yes, you can tend to your busy life later, but from time to time stop
and just BE.

Be open to seeing and feeling what is going on around you and really
appreciate the moment for whatever it offers. Let the world take care of
itself for a while. You don't have to always fix everything.

As you get good at being in the moment you will learn how to do this
even when you are busy. You can take on tasks and just be in that task.

You can actually enjoy the task and do it so well that you don't even
realise how quickly time has passed and how efficient you were in
accomplishing and enjoying that task. You can talk to someone and actually
hear what they mean, not just what they are saying.

So pay attention to the moment for this moment will never appear again.
Every moment is a precious gift and the decisions and things we do in
every moment create our reality. Please enjoy this moment and every
moment of your life.
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TALKING FROG

A guy is 81 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat one
day when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up."

He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming
when he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up."

He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, "Are you talking to me?"

The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up. Then, kiss me and
I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll then
give you more sexual pleasure that you ever could have dreamed of."

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up
carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.

Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said?
I said kiss me and I will give you sexual pleasures like you have never
had." He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nah, at my
age I'd rather have a talking frog."
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AND IT CAME TO PASS
--by Steve Goodier

As I stared out the rear window of the bus, I thought, 'What if I die?
This may be my last night ever!'

My son suggested we take an all-night bus through the Peruvian Andes
down to the coast. I was prepared to be driven over high mountain passes
and on winding roads. We live in the Rocky Mountains of western United
States. But I was not prepared for roads so narrow that the bus had to
stop and let on-coming traffic around; or the high speed at which the
bus rounded hairpin curves; or roads that were unpaved for long
stretches, no guardrails and almost vertical slopes just inches from our
speeding wheels. Nor was I prepared to ride in something that passed anything
slower than the speed of sound -- even around blind mountain curves.

I thought that perhaps I could sleep during the trip, but the
excitement and anxiety of what reminded me of an amusement park ride kept my
heart skipping beats and my eyes wide open. I thought, 'What if I die?'
and began to count all the possible ways this bus could slide off the
mountainside, not the least of which was the fact that the driver was
working a 12-hour shift. What if he became sleepy? My mind was just too
filled with "what ifs..." to find rest. I needed an antidote to worry.

Then I remembered five comforting words: "And it came to pass..." Not
coincidently, the phrase is found throughout the Bible. It's an
intriguing phrase..."and it came to pass." I've never read, "And it came to
stay." It's always, "And it came to pass..."

Whenever I have encountered problems over the years, they came to pass.
My anxieties and worries always proved to be temporary. In fact, I have
forgotten most of the fears that once kept me awake at night. I've
learned that most tough times and impossible situations eventually come to
pass. And sufficient strength can be found for those few that may
linger a while.

Besides, what could I do? The bus would either make it or not. Like New
York Yankees outfielder Mickey Rivers once said, "Ain't no sense in
worrying about things you got control over, 'cause if you got control over
them, ain't no sense worrying. And there ain't no sense worrying about
things you got no control over, 'cause if you got no control over them,
ain't no sense worrying about them."

So I rested in the peace that, like most of what I worry about, this
will come to pass. I began to enjoy the rollicking ride, much like one
would enjoy a roller coaster. And before long, the sun rose on a
beautiful Peruvian landscape. It was true, I had nothing to worry about. This,
too, came to pass.

I suspect the same can be said about that problem that worries you.
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RECOGNIZING a STROKE (S-T-R)

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer
severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of
a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three
simple questions:

S: Ask the individual to SMILE.

T: Ask the person to TALK, to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) "Is
it sunny outside?"

R: Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE: Another sign of a stroke is this: Ask the person to stick out
his/her tongue. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side or the
other that is also an indication of a stroke.
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LIGHT - THE MOVIE

http://www.lightmovie.com/
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Peace, balance, & harmony.

Sir Peter of Sedona