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WIT & WISDOM

"Choose: The single clenched fist lifted and ready, or the open hand
held out and waiting; for we meet by one or the other." --Carl Sandburg

THIS LITTLE WORM

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to
his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol. The second worm was
put into a container of cigarette smoke. The third worm was put into a
container of chocolate syrup. The fourth worm was put into a container
of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following
results: The first worm in alcohol - dead; the second worm in cigarette
smoke - dead; the third worm in chocolate syrup -dead; and the fourth
worm in good clean soil - alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation: What can you learn from this
demonstration?

Maxine was setting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said, "As
long as you drink, smoke, and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"
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ONE of LIFE's LESSONs

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to
judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to
go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son
went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and
the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to
describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The
second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that
smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he
had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and
drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because
they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them
that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that
the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are
up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your
spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the
pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by
one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and
better times are sure to come with the help of your Higher Self.
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THE DOG, LEOPARD, & MONKEY

A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa. He took his
faithful pet dog along for company. One day, the dog starts chasing
butterflies and, before long, he discovers he is lost. So, wandering about, he
notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction, with the obvious
intention of having lunch.

The Irish Setter thinks, "Man, I'm in deep shit, now!" Then he noticed
some bones on the ground close by, and immediately sits down to chew on
the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly, "Man,
that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around
here?"

Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid stride, as a look of
terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees. "Whew", says
the leopard, "that was close. That dog nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby
tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for
protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog saw him
heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that something must
be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and
strikes a deal with the leopard. The cat is furious at being made a fool
and says, "Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to
that conniving canine."

Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back, and
thinks, "What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog
sits down with his back to his attackers pretending he hasn't seen them
yet.

And just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says, "Where's
that monkey? I just can never trust him. I sent him an hour ago to bring
me another leopard, and he's still not back!"
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WORK IT OUT
--by Steve Goodier

It may be true! I heard a story about one woman who seemed to have no
reason behind her anger. The story goes like this:

A man read, in the want ads, of a sports car for sale. It had only
3,000 miles. "Like new," the ad boasted. "Mint condition. $75.00."

He laughed to himself, and he said, "There goes the newspaper, making
another mistake." But he decided to call the number anyway and he asked
the woman who answered about the car.

"Nothing is wrong with it. You're the first to call. I supposed nobody
else believes the ad."

He decided to look at it. She let him take a test drive. The car looked
exquisite and ran perfectly. He just couldn't believe his luck!

"The car is yours for $75.00," the woman said emphatically, "on one
condition. I want the money now and I want you to drive it away so I never
have to see it again."

He paid her and took the keys. "Please tell me, lady," he persisted.
"You could have sold this car for thirty thousand dollars. What is going
on?"

She told her story: "I bought this car for my husband on our fortieth
wedding anniversary. Two weeks later he ran off with somebody else. Last
week I got a card from him. They are in a resort in Miami Beach, Florida. The card said, 'Need money, sell car, send cash.' I did."

You may smile at her way of expressing anger. But what do you do when
you are angry?

Some people "act it out." They break something. Or they say something
they later regret. They strike back.

Other people "take it out." They kick the dog or scream at the kids.
They lash out at the next unlucky person they come across. Still others
"talk it out." They find someone who will listen. They know they have to
bring it up if they want to get it out. And after they've talked it out
they usually know what to do and generally feel better.

Once you GET IT OUT you can WORK IT OUT and your relationship will work
for you!
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