A thought for the Day

[EROS]

Welcome to the Ralph Marston LOVE-IN thread . Haven't we heard enough from Ralph????


The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

-- John F. Kennedy,

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by helenabear
....I have said this many times before but I do believe that Ralph Marston is a very wise man!!!

He does have good thoughts so very frequently, Elaine. Good ways, and words, to live by.

Annoying behavior

There are plenty of alternatives to being annoyed. If someone else is doing something that has the potential to annoy you, you actually have a choice. You can choose to be annoyed, but why would you choose that? Or, you can choose to do something else, something more positive and productive.
The behavior of others is largely their problem, not yours. Yet when you choose to let it annoy you, it does become your problem by stealing your time and attention. Instead, look past them. Put the annoying behavior of others out of your mind and get busy on something positive and worthwhile. You have the choice, so use it!

The energy you spend on being annoyed can be put to much better use in other, more productive pursuits. And it's not even pleasant to be annoyed, so why let yourself be?

Refuse to give an annoying person power over your time, your thoughts and your energy. Choose to ignore them. You have much better things to do.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Courteous confidence


What you think of yourself is reflected in the way you treat others. A very effective way to raise your own level of confidence is by acting positively toward the people around you.
Rudeness toward others, whether intentional or not, is a sure sign of a lack of confidence. When you have no respect or consideration for others, it's difficult to have much confidence in yourself.

Ironically, one of the worst things you can do for yourself is to think only of yourself. The more genuine respect, consideration and courtesy you express toward those around you, the more your own confidence will grow.

If someone is rude to you, make every effort to be sincerely pleasant and courteous in return. Just because someone else is allowing rudeness to drain away their own energy, doesn't mean you must do the same.

Have the confidence to be courteous, and the confidence to act with genuine respect toward others. Your positive attitude and positive actions will empower you with even more confidence and energy.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Heather, we will have been all those things eventually.

Ralph does hit it on the head so often.

Feeling great


Wouldn't it be great to feel great? Stop for a moment and think of what it would be like.
There are probably many reasons why you've told yourself you cannot, or should not, feel great. Perhaps others have given you even more reasons. All those reasons may be completely true and valid. Yet they need not stand in your way of feeling great about yourself and the world in which you live.

Pretend for a moment that every disappointment you've ever experienced is now in the past. Pretend for a moment that every reason you've had for holding yourself back has suddenly vanished.

Just consider that it could be possible to feel great regardless of what others think of you, or do to you, or say to you. Consider that it could be possible to feel great, to be filled with joy and with life, no matter what your circumstances may be.

You don't need anyone's permission to feel great. In fact, you don't need anything other than to simply let yourself do it. Accept the overwhelmingly blessed abundance of life that you've been given. All the frustrations, the pain, the disappointments pale in comparison.

Wouldn't it be great to feel great? If only for a moment or two, let yourself do it, and see how truly great it can be.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[helenabear]

Thank you both Heather & Dan... very wonderful words each of you has picked to share. Very much needed thoughts for me to read today

 

[Dan Murphy]

Enjoy peace

Live today in peace. Peacefully accept what is, and work diligently to make of it what you wish. Act with peace toward others and you will be enjoy more peace yourself. Have the courage and strength to spend some time in silence and contemplation.
Let go of fear and guilt. Replace them with kindness and forgiveness. Rather than fretting over what is most impressive or most strategic, put your energy into doing what is right. Use your judgment not as a weapon for putting down others, but as a tool for building your own character.

Look past the things that usually annoy you. Marvel at the beauty of the world in which you live. Stop rushing so frantically. It accomplishes nothing. Make your efforts measured and determined. The results will be undeniably magnificent.

Decide to live this day in peace. See how powerful that can be. In peace there is strength. In peace there is effectiveness, purpose and determination. Experience the power of peace today and understand how very rich life can be.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Keep learning

In a world where knowledge and information are growing at an explosive pace, there is no formal learning procedure that can possibly keep up. The reason? It's almost impossible to discern today what you'll need to learn tomorrow. Yet one thing is certain -- you will indeed need to learn.
The way to keep up is by learning how to learn. Learn how to use the knowledge resources available to you, such as the Internet, the library, media and other people. There are plenty of ways to learn what you need to know. Take responsibility for your own learning. Determine what you need to find out, figure out how to do that, and then learn it.

One of the best ways to learn is to attempt something challenging. Almost anything you set out to do will require that you learn something new in order to get it finished. When the project is completed, not only will you have a tangible accomplishment, you also will have learned something valuable. That knowledge will stay with you.

Challenge yourself to always keep learning. It's essential for success in everything you do.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Spirituality - by Eman8tions

Spirituality is not about being neutral.

It's about integration, not suppression.

We are created with passion and feeling, strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, and an amazing array of abilities, appearances, and history.

Look at what we are and what we've done.

An innovator, an inventor, an artist. All rebel against things as they are.

There is a paradox.

We must accept what is, as it is, in the form it manifests, before we can change it.

Before the light bulb can exist we must face the dark.

Spirituality is the alive energy of the world, exuberant, loving, caring, accepting, changing.

There is a way in which we are powerless, but there is also a way that power is unleashed in us.

Ah....the wisdom to know the difference.

 

[helenabear]

Thank you Dan for those thoughts. You know I like what Ralph Marston has to say but I will admit the last one you shared was really neat


Turn on your light
- an excerpt
by Ben Okri

The new era is already here:
Here the new time begins anew.
The new era happens every day,
Every day is a new world,
A new calendar.
All great moments, all great eras,
Are just every moment
And every day writ large.
Thousands of years of loving, failing, killing,
Creating, surprising, oppressing,
And thinking ought now to start
To bear fruit, to deliver their rich harvest.

Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realisers of great dreams.

You can't remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies.
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.

 

[Dan Murphy]

When we lose God, it is not God who is lost.
-Anonymous

At times any of us can fall into the trap of trying to make deals with
God. The thought seems to be, if I can make a deal with God, then I can
control the outcome that God alone seems to determine.

We cannot make deals with God-not because God is so hard-nosed,
but because we don't need to bargain with God. The good we are trying
to bargain for is already precious in the mind of God. We don't need to
bargain for the benefit of others because God already loves those
people and wants only good for them.

Yet at times we hear ourselves or others say things like, "Why doesn't
God come through for me? I put my money in the offering tray every
week, and I do things for my neighbors and friends. I volunteer for
good causes. Yet I still feel insecure and scared. Why doesn't God
answer my prayers?"

Perhaps the task is not to overwhelm God with all our effort but to
quietly listen and discover that the gift was outside our door all the
time. We were just too busy to pick it up.

---Days of Healing, Days of Joy

 

[Dan Murphy]

The moment is yours

This moment is the greatest opportunity you have. You can fill it with purpose, with love, with joy and fulfillment. In this moment is everything you are, and everything you have with which to work. It is the very real and powerful culmination of everything you have ever been, and you can do with it whatever you choose.
It may seem like an ordinary moment. Yet this moment is unlike any other because it is the only one which is now here. You do not have to wish for this moment as you do for the future. You do not have to regret this moment, and you might for some past moments. What you can do with this moment is far, far better than empty wishes or painful regrets. What you can do with this moment is to act on it and give it as much value as you're willing to give.

That is truly an opportunity with no equal, and it would be foolish indeed to pass it by. This moment is now yours, and its value is limited only by what you choose to do with it. Choose to make it great, then follow through on your commitment. Transform this greatest of opportunities into a magnificent reality.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[EROS]

"One of the proofs of the immortality of the soul is that myriads have believed in it. They have also believed the world was flat".

-- Mark Twain

 

[helenabear]

"Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principals which direct them."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[Dan Murphy]

Did you notice?

Did you notice the sunrise this morning? Did you feel the gentle warmth in your child's heart as she kissed you? Did you stop to marvel at how many good people were doing their best to do their jobs to keep life moving positively forward?
Did you remember to appreciate and be thankful for all the good times you've known, and all the good things you have, and all the great possibilities which are open to you? Did you count your many blessings and look for new ways to share them?

Did you offer a kind word of encouragement? Did you suddenly smile for no reason and then keep on smiling because of how good it made everyone feel? Did you pause and just let your spirit be energized by the beauty and wonder of being alive? Did you say thank you every time you could?

On your list of things to do, be sure to include the things that really matter. By itself, simply being busy won't get you very far. Live, with your thoughts, your efforts and your time, like your life really means something, and sure enough, it will.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.
--Truman Capote

Accepting failure in achieving goals we've set for our job, friendships,
and daily endeavors is seldom easy. We often demand success, if not
perfection, from ourselves and from others. We set standards that can
seldom be met; then, when we fail, we're humiliated rather than
humbled. And with this attitude, no matter how many successes we've
had, they're cancelled by one failure, no matter how small.

Our journey is made more difficult by these impossible expectations.
We seem to find it hard to believe that God does not expect perfection
and does not judge our success and failure by the same unbending
measuring stick we often apply to ourselves. We are successful every
moment that our actions are honest, loving, and consistent with our
values. And when they're not, we are successful when we admit our
shortcomings, make amends, and turn it all over to God.


---In God's Care

 

[Dan Murphy]

Worth every effort

There is something about freedom that always, eventually, lets the best shine through. Though it is regularly abused, neglected and taken for granted, freedom also provides fertile ground for magnificent achievements.
Most of freedom's greatest achievements go largely unnoticed because they are so wonderfully commonplace. Every day, millions of people make the most of their freedom to fashion lives of meaning and purpose and substance.

There was a time when freedom was all too rare. Even then, there were those who knew that freedom would be worth every sacrifice necessary to achieve it. We are indeed fortunate that so many have given so much, and continue to do so, in the name of freedom. And as such we are obligated to live in our freedom with care and diligence, with respect and responsibility.

Freedom requires effort to secure, to maintain and to fulfill the best of its promises. Freedom, when we truly value and appreciate all its implications, can bring out the very best in us like nothing else can. It's worth every effort.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[EROS]

"People say that what we are all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."


-- Joseph Campbell,

 

[helenabear]

I'm Not Alone
While crying out for guidance,
holding that the flesh is weak,
From within a gentle silence,
comes the answers that I seek.

When my days are at their darkest
and the nights produce no rest,
in His spirit there's a stillness,
where He summons up my best.

Since temptations are unyielding
in their attempts to gain control,
His grace provides the shielding,
that protects my mortal soul.

Knowing I can not defeat them;
yet, with Him I'm not alone,
as He goes out to greet them,
soon my troubles will be gone.

I am shielded by His blessing
with this armor that I wear
and safe from life's transgressions
by the powers found in prayer.

My cup is free from sorrow,
it's overflowing at the brim.
I can stand and face tomorrow,
having placed my faith in Him.

~Eddie Moore Jr.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Another nice thought, Elaine. Thanks.

You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind.
Your mind gets bored and therefore tired of doing nothing.
Get interested in something!
Get absolutely enthralled in something!
Get out of yourself!
Be somebody!
Do something.
The more you lose yourself in something
bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.


--Norman Vincent Peale

 

[Princess Michelle]

That is very good advice Dan, I like it.