Inspiration Content

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful" (Proverbs 15:13).

Abraham Lincoln once observed, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." In 1831 Lincoln failed in business; in 1832 he was defeated for the legislature; in 1833 he again failed in business; in 1835 his sweetheart died; in 1836 he had a nervous breakdown; in 1843 he was defeated for Congress; in 1855 he was defeated for the Senate; in 1856 he lost the race for the vice presidency; in 1858 he was defeated for the Senate; in 1860 he was elected President of the United States and, while president, two of his sons died. Although history has lionized Lincoln greatly, there is little doubt that he climbed to the summit of his Calvary hills. Yet one of his most memorable traits was his lively sense of humor!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22 RSV). "Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers and are famous preservers of youthful looks" (Charles Dickens). The opposite of cheer is worry. Henry Ward Beecher waed us, "It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more upon a man than he can bear. Worry is the rust upon the blade." It also gives us worry wrinkles.

A cheerful heart is a contented heart. Discontent is a poison that spreads through our system when we decide that someone else is brighter, or has more than we do, or is happier than we are. Change only two letters and we go from content to contempt. The word contentious begins with content. Perhaps we need to lop off the I-O-U-S from our life and get back to being content! It's too easy to get bogged down in what we think others owe us.

"What then is this child going to be?" (Luke 1:66).

Zechariah's and Elizabeth's friends and neighbors knew this child John was a special child. But then, isn't every child remarkable? Parental love asks, "What is this child going to be and to do?"

"...Some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work" (2 Timothy 2:20,21). Surely we want to prepare our child for noble purposes so he or she will be useful to God and to others.

�It was the question of the neighbors and of all who had heard the amazing story, �What will this child tu out to be?� Every child is a bundle of possibilities. There was an old Latin schoolmaster who always bowed gravely to his class before he taught them. When he was asked why, he answered, �Because you never know what one of these lads will tu out to be.� The entry of a child into a family is two things. First, it is the greatest privilege which life can offer a man and wife. It is something for which to thank God. Second, it is one of life's supreme responsibilities, for that child is a bundle of possibilities and on parents and teachers depends how these possibilities will or will not be realized.� Anonymous.

So what will our children and our children�s children achieve? Will they understand that life is about honoring God is all that they do? Will they be able to separate the noble from the ignoble? Indeed, can we, their parents and grandparents, do this? It is surely something to send us to our knees in supplication!

In my years teaching people to be successful, I have seen that basically people break their lives down in to two major parts: Wealth-building and the rest of their lives. Having done a lot of reflection on these two topics - wealth and life - I am coming to some new conclusions about how to perceive the two.

Until recently I thought that there was a significant difference in how we should tackle the two areas. In fact, I thought that the two topics should be addressed in almost opposite fashion.

You see, wealth-building is just math. While life -- Life is art.

Think back with me to high school. Most of us were required to take math and most of us probably took art as well.

Now, think about your final exams in the two areas. Your math paper was graded on hard facts:

Ten times ten is always one-hundred
Thirty divided by three is always ten
Seven plus seven is always fourteen
Fifty minus twenty-five is always twenty-five

There is always just one answer in math. The answers are hard fact, set in stone. Math is a science. It is formulaic. You can know the outcome before it happens, every time.

But what about your final art project? Art is much more subjective. "Beauty," they say, "is in the eye of the beholder." There is no one right answer.

Think of the different styles of the famous artists:

Renoir
Monet
Picasso
Rockwell
Warhol

Different people find different styles beautiful, and that is what makes art, art.

So how does this fit with Wealth-building and life? Wealth-building is like math:

If you add $1000 to your retirement account each month and gain seven percent interest over twenty years, you can know now how much you will have then. It is math. If you buy a rental property for $200,000 now and it increases in value by three percent a year, you know exactly how much you will be able to sell it for in ten years. The beauty of math is in the knowing. You can work the system, set it on auto-pilot and the math does the work for you, and you know the outcome.

But life? Life is art. And that is the beauty of life. You do not know how it is going to tu out. Life, like art, is always changing. Different people provide different colors. When you make a mistake you can go back, erase it or even paint right over it. You can change the scenery. Life, like art, is ever evolving, and what looks good to one person is of no interest to another. And that is what makes life beautiful.

Another lesson I think we can draw is that in life we should do our math, of course, but life isn't made up of just wealth-building. Wealth-building should serve our ability to live our lives. Jesus, the master teacher, said that our lives are not made up of the abundance of our possessions. He didn't mean that possessions aren't good, just that wealth isn't what life is all about.

So let me ask you: Are you spending more time on your math or your art? Do your math. Everybody should do their very best at their wealth-building plan so they can take care of themselves and their families.

But life is about the art. What does your canvas look like? What kind of picture are you painting? What kind of pot are you creating? What kind of statue are you sculpting? Take your time, make bold strokes, use brilliant colors, and make of your life the most beautiful masterpiece that you can.

In other words, do your math so you can focus on your art.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn Inteational. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com

We ALL think or have thought about it at one time or another. Revenge! Yes, we plan, we let our minds conjure up ways to get back at someone who we believe has wronged us (at this point you should hear the Austin Power-Dr. Evil maniacal laugh in your head).

I�ve yet to hear a speaker on success really discuss revenge so I thought I take a stab at it (no pun intended) by sharing a recent incident that happened to me.

Let me step back for a moment and tell you that during high school I sprouted over night to my current height of 6�2� and was skinny as a rail. In school I was never one of the cool guys. I was always one who hung out on the periphery hoping to absorb the coolness from my fellow classmates.

I was invited to play on a local YMCA team. I was sucked in by my friends telling me, �Victor, you�d be good at it.� (See the video on my website to see how this tued out). I don�t know what possessed me to say yes since I had the grace of dizzy duck and the coordination of an inebriated flamingo. I was all fowled up! (Sorry, bad joke) I had grown so quickly that I wasn�t use to my height.

On our team there was a guy, we�ll call him John, who was constantly belittling me and took pleasure in finding any opportunity to make fun of my: height, weight or lack of basketball ability. He was shorter, stealthier and could play the game. Given his scoring ability, he was always going at me and wouldn�t let up when it came to ridiculing. I wouldn�t classify him a bully because there was never a physical threat, but he rode me every moment he could.

Every time I saw John my mind would race with all the bad things I�d like to see happen to him. I wanted some type of revenge or satisfaction. But in the end, both never came. I graduated from high school, mentally intact, and went about creating my success. From what I heard, John couldn�t wait to get out of High School and didn�t go on to college.

Let me now fast forward almost 23 years later.

I was invited back to do a keynote speech at my High School in Chicago. I gotta tell ya��going back after so many years was chilling (in a good way). I had so many good memories and enjoyed walking the halls and peeking into the classrooms where I use to sit.

By 10 a.m. the auditorium was filled to the brim with students. As I approached the stage door which led to the stage, coming from the other direction was a familiar face wearing a dark green jumpsuit. Yep, you guessed it, it was John.

John looked at me, paused, looked at me again and said a sense of amazement, �You�re the speaker?�

I nodded my head as he continued to look at me in disbelief; as if a ghost from the past had come to pay him a visit.

It�s funny how we wait for a moment where we�ve replayed in our mind everything we want to say to a person. But guess what happened? Nothing came out. My thoughts, anger and resentment dissipated the moment I started talking to John. I treated him as I would any stranger I�d meet on my speaking tour.

I went to ask him how he was doing, about family and on and on. Before I excused myself to go speak, he mentioned that he was married, had kids and that he was the school janitor. My mind yelled, �Huh! The school Janitor?!� as I stepped inside.

The host introduced me and I took the stage to speak to an auditorium packed with students with A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder). Corporate crowds are tough, but nothing is tougher than speaking to High School students. As I looked into the audience while speaking, I saw John off to the side smiling as he seemed to be enjoying my talk on success.

After my speech, John came by to shake my hand and congratulate me. He said, �Victor, that was great. I was telling some of the students that I went to school with you.� We talked a little longer before saying our pleasant goodbyes.

For the rest of the day, my mind was whipping from the past to the present and how much John and I had changed. I no longer had ill feelings towards John. I no longer wished him harm. I began to reflect on how time changes us all, but yet in our minds we hold onto relics of the past.

Many of us carry some sort of angst towards someone who has wronged us in the past. And yes, some of us may very well fantasize about revenge. Seeing John again reminded once more that revenge is often bitter sweet. It�s never as sweet as you planned or imagined it would be. And bitter when you think on how foolish it was to have wasted all that mental energy on thoughts of getting even one day.

People change over time but our memories of others don�t take that into account. On that day the �old John� died and a new updated memory of him took its place; a more pleasant one at that. I don�t think I forgave John for the past; that would be too trite. I just decided to bury the memory and put a R.I.P. tombstone on it. It was no longer relevant to me.

As we grow older, so does our appreciation for life and humanity. None of us with a true sense of decency can possibly wish any harm or misfortune to befall a fellow human being. We shouldn�t torture ourselves by exhuming the past. Stop it! Cut it out!

Maybe, just maybe, the best way to get even is to simply ignore the past, and focus your time on building a new YOU. Maybe, you should focus your energy on building or rebuilding your success. And if destiny is kind enough to smile in your direction, you may just run across one those old memories on the road to your greatness and create a more pleasant one.

Please forward this on to someone who needs a bit of inspiration today.

Victor Gonzalez, top Hispanic motivational speaker and author of �The LOGIC of Success�. For more info go to: www.thelogicofsuccess.com or by email victor@thelogicofsuccess.com

In the popular movie, "Remember the Titans" most of us most likely can recall our favorite scene. Do you remember this one?

The first challenge of the coach was to get the community to break up the racial divide and pull together. So the head coach (played by Densel Washington) decides to take his players away to camp. Even with the change of environment racial barriers still stood tall and tension were high. After the first few days the coach noticed the communication between the black and white players had not improved in the least, matter of fact it was getting worse. The players were not executing their plays, mistakes were made purposely in order to make others look bad and as a result fights continually broke out. So here is what the coach decided to do.

At lunch one day the coach pulled a particular big fat happy go lucky lineman up to the front of the lunchroom. This kid didn't care black, white, purple, green, he just was happy to be there. The coach asked him to tell the whole team ONE thing about his roommate that he leaed in the few days they were there. This kid rattled on for what seems an hour about his roommate. However, with no surprise to the coach, when he asked all the other players to do the same, none of them could mention one thing about the other. How could they expect to win souls (I mean games) if they didn't believe in their cause and pull together as a team? So as a result the coach made each player lea things about one other between each practice session until each player new something about all other players. In short, if you recall the rest of the movie, that exercise brought the team together and not only inspired everyone, but also they went undefeated that season. However, what if those racial barriers had not been broken down how many souls (I mean games) do you think the Titans would have won that year? Would they have won even one game?

Is there any difference in winning games and winning souls for Christ? Is there any difference in the lack of communication that once paralyzed the Titans and Christians today? Sometimes we just going through the motions of going to church, going to parties and not breaking down barriers? And at the end of the day even years later do we know any more about our friends? Can you count on both of your hands the number of people you hang with that you know things about them deeper than just their name or social status?

The tuing point in the last game of the season came when the coach got angry and serious enough, pulled is defensive players aside and said. "From this moment forward I want you to let no one, I mean no one get past you and make another yard. Let them never forget the day they played the Titans!!!!"

From this moment forward, I challenge you to let no one; I mean no one, get past you. Let them never forget the day you loved someone enough to find out more about them.

Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him� (Luke 15:20).

The father gave the son a kiss before his son said a word. It was given while the prodigal was still dirty and in rags; therefore, it was entirely unmerited. This first blessing was followed by many others. NOT A WORD OF REPROACH IS SPOKEN. How important this is for those of us who speak words of reproach to God's children because they may not do and speak as we do.

This is the story of our Father who runs to us while we are yet far away and when we are desperate after having tasted of the husks of life; when we are tired of searching for what is real and true. The son tells his father that he is not worthy but that does not stop the father from loving him and forgiving him and bringing out the best of what he has, to give to his precious son who has come home. Our Father runs to us and gives us His best--anyway! Can we engrave this bright verse on our sad hearts as a beacon light for those days when we feel that not even the Father loves us? When we feel we don't deserve anyone's love?

Herein we have:
1) A love that is quick-sighted: "He saw him a long way off.";
2) A love that is sympathetic: "He had compassion.";
3) A love that is eager to help: "He ran.";
4) A love that yields its all: "He fell on his neck.";
5) A love that delights to forgive: "He kissed him."

Herein we have:
1) Eyes of mercy: "His father saw him. . .";
2) A heart of mercy: "He had compassion.";
3) Feet of mercy: "He ran.";
4) Arms of mercy: "He threw his arms around him.";
5) Lips of mercy: "He kissed him."

Thank You, Father!

Do you feel like a pack mule carrying around a heavy load? It is no wonder we are always exhausted with the load most of us carry. It�s not only the physical stuff we carry but also the emotional and mental load of the stuff we carry in our heads. Everyday when I go to work I see people burdened down by backpacks, briefcases, laptop cases, purses, bags, rolling carts and more! Why is everyone always carrying so much stuff? Maybe you job is such that you have to take all that paperwork home with you every night. But do you work on it or are you too exhausted? So then what happens? You carry it back to work the next day! We bring laptops home to work on them but do we? You carry your workout clothes, water bottle, cd�s, books, extra shoes and a ton of other stuff �just in case�. Ask yourself how you would feel if you didn�t have all this stuff with you everyday?

How is your home? Lots of stuff there too? Are you a pack rat saving things for a rainy day? Magazines stacking up for the day you have time to read them? Clothes hanging in the closet that you haven�t wo in years? Boxes of stuff packed away that you don�t even know what is them anymore? Junk mail piling up on the counter?

Having lots of stuff around you clutters your mind. It starts to overwhelm you and you don�t know where to start. You start to worry about it, what to do with it, where to put it. Pretty soon you can even think about it anymore and then it just continues to get worse.

Then there is the emotional baggage you might be carrying. Anger, depression, financial conces, relationships, employment can all add to an already heavy load. If you start to deal with these issues you may find it is easier to deal with the other clutter in your life. At the same time you may find getting rid of the physical clutter will help your emotional and mental load.

Start to lighten your load by making a list. What is the number one thing you could do to lighten your load? Next outline the steps you need to take to start reducing the clutter in your life. Break it down into small steps such as cleaning out one closet, not the whole house. Sell off, giveaway or throw out the stuff you no longer need. Have a garage sale or sell off stuff on ebay. Use the money you ea for treating yourself to a day at a spa. Make a vow not to keep carrying the same stuff back and forth to the office.

Once you start to lighten your load you will feel like you have more energy, clearer thoughts and a happier outlook on life. You will no longer have to worry about all that stuff that has been cluttering your life. You will find you can travel farther in life with a lighter load.

To start to lighten your load and help others have a garage sale for charity. Visit Garage Sales for Charity for full information. Helping save the world one garage sale at at time. http://www.garagesalesforcharity.org

This moing at 5:22am to 6am, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed is an understatement considering I am still crying and it's like 7:15am. I am at work typing away.

Kyle Maynard is what overwhelmed me.

Kyle is a congenital amputee. But that is not what is important. What is remarkable is that Kyle can do everything. Kyle is a wrestler, a model and motivational speaker. The guy is either 18 or 19 years of age. The greatest additional is that Kyle didn't grow up in an exceptionally rich home. He was like any other kid in a normal family. But this family had a great and still has a great attitude.

As Larry King was interviewing him I couldn't help but cry. Look at this guy who can do more than most of us and yet he has no legs nor hands...I kept muttering to myself. I thought of all the things I have said I cannot do. Things I have told myself are too hard to do. How could I have an excuse? How can I look myself in the mirror and limit that person I see? If you haven't seen Kyle Maynard's interview on CNN please request for it. If you want a reason never to give up, just watch Kyle.

It's one thing to hear good stories that cause us to go ahead and live out our dreams. But I promise you that it is entirely another thing to see someone push themselves to achieve beyond human imagination. I don't even know why they haven't done a movie on him.

I leat alot this moing about making it no matter what life throws at you. I leat that God has made us stronger than we care to know. But one thing that the parents of Kyle said will stick with me for long. You know, Kyle used to be fed when he was growing up. Sometimes he used to fall on the stairs and of course someone would have to pick him up. But one day his parents realized we will not always be around him to help him. So they begun to allow him to figure out how to pick up or feed himself. And he did. Now a statement they made was this is kinda paraphrased, "We knew he had to lea to do things for himself because the world was not going to tailor things for him." Simply said he had to lea to make the best of what he had because no one was going to stop and make room for him.

Today I wished I could take that program and take it to all the schools of the physically challenged in Kenya and to all who say they cannot make it.

I made a promise to myself this moing as I watched Larry interview Kyle...

LORD EVERYTIME I THINK I CAN'T DO SOMETHING, PLEASE REMIND ME OF KYLE.

I am just overwhelmed. If you watch Kyle you will get up and do everything that is humanly possible to accomplish your goals. And for real, you will make it. Just think of Kyle...

Writing has a way of encouraging other people. That's why I do it...

Sights and Sounds of Inspiration Parable

Wind howling against the thin panes of glass. Electric spikes of guitar emanate from the stereo mingled with muted, distant trumpet � plaintive sound against the winter sky.

Fingers begin moving on the computer keyboard as the drums enter the room quietly, insistently. The colors of sound build as each idea is drawn out of its shell. Working in simpatico with the sounds, ideas begin to generate and ooze from my mind onto the desk.

Splat, splatter, splash of colorful ideas arise, arise, arise. The howling wind, searching music, and a me, willing partner, allow the ideas to be captured like ants in honey � one tantalizing, sweet, textured taste at a time.

Principle

Inspiration is everywhere. We don�t have to wait for inspiration. We set the circumstances to make inspiration arise by being open to the possibility that we might be inspired by anything at any moment. We choose the entry point, yet the entry points are infinite and omnipresent.

Practice

i. What simple steps are you taking to allow inspiration to arise in your life? Do you have access to beautiful music and art or are you choosing television and other distractions?

ii. Do you walk out of the door first thing in the moing and breathe the fresh air, notice the outline of the trees against the sky, and revel in it?

iii. Practice being inspired. Smile sincerely even if you don�t feel like it. Give an idea to someone even if you don�t feel like it. Write something, anything, even if you don�t feel like it. If you are like me, pretty soon you will end up �feeling like it!�

Paradigm

We can live each moment inspired and filled-with perpetual, self-generated, and renewing ideas by not waiting for permission to be inspired. We can participate in circumstances in which to be inspired by creating powerful inteal and exteal triggers for inspiration. To be inspired means living a life of simple, powerful ideas that generate joy.

� Rob Levit

http://www.roblevit.com
410-263-8779
roblevit@roblevit.com

"Some people call the still, small voice insight or intuition�Our insight is a gift from God, not to be taken lightly or for granted... If we acknowledge that the voice doesn�t just pop up in our mind like some haphazard jack-in-the-box, that it is available to us always, we have the most important source of assistance in building our dreams. We can tu random intuition into regular inspired insight." From Building Your Field of Dreams by Mary Manin Morrissey

Inspired Intuition - Following Your Inner Voice

I have a wonderful story to share with you - one that comes from a client who has given me permission to share her story. This client (Jenny) was on a jouey of self-discovery, acknowledging her life�s dream (working with plants and landscape design), and being open to the possibility of exploring her dream. A natural fear that kept popping up was how to pursue her dream and generate income at the same time. Along the way Jenny got her answer and if she had ignored her intuition, she might have missed it!

Here�s what happened: Jenny always received a quarterly newsletter from her alma mater which she normally tossed without reading. One quarter,when the newsletter arrived, an inner voice (intuition) told her to read this particular newsletter. In the newsletter was a request for a sorority house mother. Reading this, Jenny got very excited, because she also dreamed about being a house mother and working with young people (something she is very good at by the way). Quickly her mind kicked in and said �Oh, why bother to call? They've probably filled the position�. But following her heart and intuition, she called anyway and was immediately asked to come for an interview. The sorority loved her and hired her on the spot.

Now here�s the best part � she received a salary, a fuished apartment in the sorority, all meals, cleaning service, holidays and summers off, a chance to work with young people, and time to take all the courses she wanted in landscape design right there at the university! And all because she followed her intuition (reading the newsletter) and acted on the synchronistic event (the opening for a sorority mother). This is a perfect example of SynchroDestiny � trusting one�s intuition, acting on synchronicities, and following one�s natural path (destiny). When we do this, we are on the path of least resistance, and resources line up to support us.

How many times have you had a hunch, inkling, a gut reaction or other display of intuition and failed to act on it? Sometimes our intuition is a waing; other times it�s a nudge to do or follow something. What happens when you don�t follow your intuition? Do you regret it later and say: �I knew that would happen!�? Here's a personal example when I am playing golf: I am ready to play my approach shot to the green and my intuition (first reaction) is to take a 9 iron for the shot. But then my mind takes over and says, �What are you crazy? You�ll never get the ball there with a 9 iron! You need a different club.� And so I talk myself out of the 9 iron, reach for an 8 iron, and hit the ball over the green! Then I say: �I knew the 9 iron was the right club! Why didn�t I trust my intuition?� I find that the golf course is an excellent place to practice listening to my inner voice!

How do we know when it is intuition? Things happen synchronistically; there is a feeling of effortlessness; there is a feeling of elation or inspiration; it just �feels� right; and it keeps coming up. (Remember the story).

Are you paying attention to your intuition? If not, what�s an area in your life where you could start listening to and following your inner voice? Pick one area and over the next week listen to your inteal guidance. What is it telling you to do or not do? Take a chance and follow the guidance. The more we pay attention to and act on this guidance, the clearer it becomes. And with clear guidance comes more synchronicities leading you on your natural path. Voila! SynchroDestiny!

Copyright June 2003 by Vicki Miller

As a Life Transition Coach I work with clients to identify what's most important to them and prioritize around these values. I help my clients identify and remove obstacles in the way and bring clarity and focus to their dreams. What is your dream? Are you undergoing a major transition and not clear where to tu? Call (972-306-4489) or email me, (coach.v.miller@verizon.net), to set up a complimentary, no obligation 30 minute coaching session. Download my FREE e-Book, 12 Fun Ways to Change Your Life, or sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter at http://www.thrivingthroughchange.com

One of the keys to being successful in anything you do is persistence. Lets clarify the word �persistence� :- It is ability to be persist on instances. And one of key element in this instances is your main Objective in life.

Persistence is success formula made up form the grouping of: confidence+ sustainability +Will power + endurance + self-esteem +patience & optimism.

Take an instance of building a muscle. If you have never exercised before, the first time you go to a gym, chances are you will not be able to bench press 100 lbs. However, if you are persistent, and you consistently go back to the gym, you will find yourself getting stronger and closer to your goal / objective with each and every visit.

It signifies that once you have realized & determined exactly what it is you want to achieve, you must take Significant & considerate action using good plan on a consistent, persistent basis in direction to succeed.

And on success path Obstacles are the natural roadblocks, our job is to be persistent and work through those obstacles. If you find little or no obstacles along the way, chances are you are not really challenging yourself coz person realizes his potential when he is on peak of his performance & ability.

If you see any successful person, you will lea that the vast majority of them have had more 'failures' than they have had 'successes'. This is because successful people are persistent; the more they stumble and fall, the more they get right back up and get going again. For example, India got freedom because of the persistence & patience of great revolutionaries on their objective to make India free.

Just spend some time to lea persistency form others experiences, OBSERVE ANTS, funny isn�t it; factual it is. They are much smaller than us, and teaches us Unity � Discipline � Team work -Hard work � Persistency & killer instinct to achieve their goal.

Keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly, its self-deceit! At times you have to modify, multiply & magnify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you lea from it, and therefore find a better way to do it.

Its very interesting to tell you about holy �SAI BABA�, who given message �Shradha Aur Saburi� (persistence & patience) I saw his posters having gesture of �raised palm� along with his message. Raised palm has 5 fingers which having variation of sizes & shapes; and this is what exactly he wanted to suggest form his gesture & message :: Life / Success is full of ups and downs with the intensity of variation � what you require is to be persistent & patient to overcome panic situations.

There is something we can�t change, there is something we can maintain; what we can maintain � is the process of what we want to attain.

Visit - http://www.brendynamics.com/gr

Nilesh Gore

About Author Name : NIlesh B Gore Profession : Graphologist(Hndwriting Analyst) & SW. Eng. Email : ng411002@rediffmail.com Web : http://www.brendynamics.com/gr Country : India, Bhusaval, Ms Copyrights : � Nilesh B Gore.

Start Investing in Yourself today and feel healthier and more in control of your healthcare costs and finances. The first step is to take the Invest in Yourself Challenge. It is time to examine your life and what you term your "comfort zone". Now ask yourself if your "comfort zone" is good or bad for your overall health. Everyone likes to feel comfortable but have you leaed to be comfortable doing things that may be contributing to compromised health. Do you overeat when you are feeling an emotion? Are you comfortable with your present weight? Do you know what your body mass index is and if you are in the normal or risky category? Do you know your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels? Do you know what your family history is? I know alot of questions and why are they so important?

Your lifestyle does affect your health and compromising health costs you money. Hopefully you have health insurance but the average person still needs to pay some of the balances not paid by your health insurance. Do you know the average middle income person who has health insurance and develops a single disease, such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease, approximately 46% of them will have to claim bankrupcy. Yes, it is hard to believe but true. The associated costs of an illness can deplete your savings in no time. But, according to national research the average person is saving o% these days. The average out of pocket expenses are rising as we speak to approximately $2100 per year and that is up from $1200 last year. Healthcare is not going to be getting any cheaper so the only way for you to control and contain these costs is to Invest in Yourself and implement these strategies for life: take time for self,maintain height/weight ratio,motion, life ergonomics, 5 food group menu planner , destress daily and positive body image.You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to be the best you can be. Maintain your independence,optimal health and finances and Invest in Yourself right now. Do not waste another precious moment. Your Life, Health and finances are dependent on it.

Patricia McGowan is a RN,BSN,CSHE and has been a professional nurse for over 20 years. I am a wellness and health professional and certifed in health ergonomics. I have counseled many clients with positive results. I am an author with my partner, Sonia Heandez, and our first book in our Invest in Yourself series is Invest in Yourself, Health is the New Real Estate. Our website is http://www.investnyourself.com

I�ve been to 64-countries, and yes money comes in handy, and goes quickly (and is useful and has its influence), I�ve had a ton of it at one time or another and an ounce of faith, and I�ll take faith any day�why? I�ll explain. Anybody who has been in a combated zone, under fire will tell you: ��keep the money, I need faith right now.� In a like manner, when I was in the hospital, had a stroke that paralyzed me, a heart attack also, and bypass surgery, they said I was a Fruitcake. But three days later I got out of bed, and when I did, for three weeks they called me �The miracle of the ward.� Even the atheist doctors were spellbound. Money walked away, as faith took over.

There was a doctor standing at the end of my bed, for three days. I remember him as I�d wake up, look at him, look at the clock, it was 5:00 AM, couldn�t dial a phone I was so bad. Then I fell back to sleep. And when I got better I asked who that doctor was. The nurse said, there was no doctor, he comes a noon and with two nurses. I thought about that for a moment, and said, ��no, it was a large man with a long white jacket, broad shoulders.� She commented, ��have you seen him since?� And I had not. Then she told my doctor�s name, and I checked out his picture and it wasn�t him.

Seeing is believes, and I didn�t make this up, nor am I responsible for the invisible world either; so I can�t blame anyone, but facts are facts. Does a blind man believe there is a moon, I�d think so. All the doctors and medicine in the world did not bring me back to reality. Anyhow, the same goes for battle. I saw things in Vietnam that cannot be explained by the physical moon and sun beaming down on us; because it is not of this physical world: simple as that; and so much for that.

Most of the people that say God doesn�t exist are simply expressing a cheap way out of acknowledging the obvious. I mean, who made the moon and sun; if by accident, it is the biggest accident in all creation. It is like me saying one day I woke up and there was New York City, all built to please my eyes. Now you know someone built it. Who?

Not having a heaven or hell is most convenient for a sinner, and then you can sin and not worry about it. Like Plato commented: most people would go next door and rape his neighbor�s wife, knowing there is no consequence.

Dennis Siluk
http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Each night, when I put my head on the pillow and tu my thoughts to things ethereal, I am hopeful that the world is a little better place than when I awoke that moing. I hope that the dissidents, extremists, murderers, plunderers, bigots, philanderers, cheaters, molesters and others of mean-spirit find that their chosen path is not a beneficial avenue. I hope they see that they themselves are not truly benefiting from a mean-spirited philosophy.

It is because I am addicted to Right Action and Positive Thought that I see the Light shining on our sorry world. I believe, with the very essence of my Soul, that mankind will evolve from the hate and bitteess to a place of peace and contentment. Admittedly, that hope requires a very positive attitude!

It is essential that we lea to live with each other as those of different religions have done for thousands and thousands of years. A tall order these days with the conflicts precipitated by a shrinking globe, economic competition, changing demographics and the convoluted social structures produced by technological advances. That, in a nutshell, is a statement of the problem as it has existed for many years, now exacerbated by the intensity of extreme views, tued militant.

Spirituality does not require a church. Goodness does not require a pew. Compassion and Right Action are part of the Spirit. And if that Spirit can be bridled within all of us, then the work of God is being done.

Politicians will tell you that geopolitical influence ... the territorial imperative ... is the causal culprit for today's ills. Economists swear that if you trace any problem to its source, you will find money as the reason for the problem. Those are both half-truths. If you carefully study the emotions involved, you may conclude, as I do, that the major factor in today's conflicts is the intolerance of the belief system of others.

Clearly, religious differences have caused (and are causing) the disruption in the world today. Territorial and economic factors are essentially without emotion ... religion is central to the Soul and devastating in its importance when extremists prevail. It is only with the hope of Inter-religious Dialogue (IRD) that a fundamental and permanent understanding can be achieved. That path is long and difficult ... but as the gentle fingers of night pull back the curtain of dawn each day, new hope is bo, and each of us must make this world a little better place than we found it.

The primal religions have some bizarre examples at which we might scoff, were it not for our respect for all belief systems. And Dialogue requires of us, if we are serious about it, to accept even these primal notions as being valid and worthy paths to God. I have in mind the worship of airplanes in the South Pacific ... seen in the sky as a part of a deity, the primal mind is clear that the large object could not possibly "fly" unless it was God driven. And crashed planes on the ground become sacred shrines. Totally believable! I do not scoff at this at all ... in fact I admire the primitive mind and its devotion to an idea that manifests in their culture as a sign of God.

It is true that materialism has become a way of life in our time ... witness even the Communist China phenomenon, edging towards economic growth rather than communal existence. And the emphasis on wealth and position in our country is a well established condition. None the less, the Spirit prevails, and the buing desire within each of us to commune with the God of our choice dwarfs the call of materialism. Everyone wants to do the right thing.

Respect for others is central to the human condition and a basic tenant of rational and peaceful existence. It is one of my pet peeves (I should have none) when I see a human being not respecting others. I believe that this lesson, which needs to be leaed by many, is the root beginning of a peaceful planet. Most certainly, on an individual basis, respect and compassion are fulfilling, satisfying and rewarding. Respect for parents, ancestors, teachers and clergy ... all find powerful support as a virtue in the world's religions.

The Alchemists of old worked over many years ... centuries ... in their quest to tu base metals into gold. At least that is the popular notion. In fact, alchemy is a blend of science and philosophy. It has been so since before the Common Era, when the ancient chemists did attempt to tu inexpensive metals into expensive ones ... but always with the underlying thoughts that their work was also symbolically related to the perfection of life.

Through the power of the Spirit and Positive Thinking, do your best to disallow depression ... tu, instead, to happy thoughts. Look for the Light, the "good side" of an issue. Visualize a happy and positive outcome of whatever it is that is causing you some mental grief. I promise you that if you think positive thoughts, they will manifest into the reality, in ways that will surprise you.

Dr. Malkin holds a B.Sc. in Business and a Masters and Ph.D. in Religion. He has made hundreds of visits to schools with a moving and effective motivational presentation, urging teens to do their personal best. His mentoring programs have empowered many, many children. His quest for years has been to teach the power of Right Action, working towards the goal of a better world.

Excerpts from "Looking for a Better World" By Stuart J. Malkin, Ph.D. Go to: http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/description.asp?ISBN=0-7414-2134-8

The blaring sound leapt under Jerry�s skin and strangled him awake in an instant. His eyes popped open in terror and for a darkened moment he forgot where he was.

�Oh, Jeeze,� he exclaimed in sudden realization��the freekin� alarm.�

He slammed his wrist on the snooze button and flopped back on the bed.

Nine minutes later the blare cried out again though the awareness came much quicker. Jerry smacked the clock and rolled his feet off the side and out from under the sheets. Slug-like, he dragged his sagging carcass into the bathroom and looked at the face that stared back at him in the mirror.

�Ugh,� he muttered. �Nice breath,� he added as he frowned and reached for a crusty toothbrush.

Only the growling in his paunch kept him from crawling once more beneath the covers, coupled with the painful knowledge that without a paycheck the cupboard would stand ever more bare and stay that way indefinitely.

�Life blows,� he mumbled, scratching peanut butter onto the last nub of bread from a week-old loaf.

Throughout the day, as he most often did, Jerry ran the gamut of emotions, up, down, high, low, from the heavens to the depths, like a yo-yo.

His burst of creativity left him giddy only to morph into a morbid employment dread when the boss shot down his idea.

Jerry rode hard, dominated by one feeling after another, unable to separate or manage or compartmentalize�a black and white tango that left no room for gray.

Upon arrival at home, Jerry walked straight to the mailbox and stood in ritual, leafing through the daily arrivals.

�What?� he exclaimed, a sudden burst of exhilaration.

The envelope read U.S. Treasury across the top.

He ripped it open and began a disjointed funky chicken on the sidewalk.

�Pay to the order of ME�you know that�s right,� he grunted as he spied his income tax refund.

His bliss came to a jarring halt as he recognized the handwriting on an oversized card beneath the check.

She hadn�t retued his calls in several days and though he had tried not to over-analyze, the sinking torment in his gut spoke volumes of his suspicions.

He tore the flap.

Dear Jerry,
This is the hardest thing I�ve ever done�

He sank to the ground, sat on his front lawn with his head in his hands, frozen. Numbness tued to anger tued to denial, to sorrow and into frustration, to a desire to regain numbness and a quest for his favorite bottle. The unexpected funds mattered little if at all.

Jerry found himself on the couch, alone, with no more company than his misery and his muse.

�Why does this always happen to me?� he questioned.

�Why can�t I catch a break? Why can�t I spend some time in cruise mode�live a normal space, mellow, stable, even keel�for at least a minute?�

He knew himself well enough not to expect an answer.

He had made this query many times before.

�Why can�t I balance better? Why can�t my pain and pleasure co-exist? Not like she hasn�t discarded me before�why does the rejection so over-shadow my good fortune? Why don�t I have any control?�

Still, he persisted, like a dog on a bone.

�If I�m me, then I need to accept me, feast or famine Jerry, the good and the bad, over the top to rock bottom�that�s me.�

A slight smile retued.

�Yup. That�s me,� he reassured himself. �In my sorrow, I�ll find joy. In my hurt, I�ll dig up some love. That�s me, yo-yo Jerry.�

He stopped nursing the bottle, set it on the coffee table and picked up the stack of mail, all except the card.

�Yup,� he repeated. �Not bad, not bad.�

He grinned and started laughing.

�Yeah, baby. Pay to the order of��

That�s A View From The Ridge�

About The Author

Author Ridgely Goldsborough invites you to subscribe to The Daily Column, a heart-felt collection of stories that inspire hope and courage. Please do so at www.aviewfromtheridge.com.

ridge@aviewfromtheridge.com

There is a story about a little girl who suffered from a serious disease. Her best chance of recovery would be to receive a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother.

The doctor explained the situation to the little brother. He asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

The young boy hesitated for a brief moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save my sister's life."

During the transfusion, the boy lay in the bed next to his sister. He smiled when he saw color retuing to her cheeks. Then his smile started to fade, and his face grew pale.

With a trembling voice, he looked up at the doctor and asked, "Will I start to die now already?"

The little boy had misunderstood the doctor's explanation. He thought that he would need to give all of his blood to save his sister, and he would have done so.

Moving from Resolution to Commitment

The realization of our goals, dreams, and deepest desires depends greatly on commitment, stepping from the familiar into the new. It requires putting our faith on the line to honor our purpose, our personal contract with life. We make resolutions and carry them with us until we commit firmly. Once we commit and begin taking the necessary actions, resolutions become unnecessary.

Without commitment, we remain chained to resolutions and visions, living perpetually beyond the present moment. Though we need to envision with gratitude our goals and their attainment, it is now we must take action. Only in the present moment will we realize the soul's tremendous courage to follow our own true north -- to manifest the reason we are alive.

The Courage to Serve

Rollo May wrote, "The aco becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary...But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day to day. These decisions require courage."

Commitment is the beginning of service to others. Making a commitment often requires that we release fear. We need to look clearly at things we would rather not see or accept. I believe courage arises ultimately from love. The courage to serve is inspired by the faith to serve not only the self but also all of humankind.

In the words of Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), "Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed." Faith and commitments to service can inspire the hope and confidence in each other that our human family needs.

An Outpouring of Love and Compassion

Today, we are witnessing a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion for those in Asia who have endured unimaginable, heartbreaking devastation and loss. Tears flow and prayers are spoken for people we have never met.

Commitments to service and selfless acts of love are taking place globally on an unprecedented scale. Even in extreme tragedy, our "courage of the soul" that Henry van Dyke mentioned flourishes around the globe as many nationalities join together to help those in need.

At a human level, we do not understand why we must suffer. We cannot remove the pain or reunite all of the grieving families. Only God will do that. However, our commitments can make life-changing differences.

Commitments that Make a Difference

We must first be acutely aware that we are not guaranteed the next ten minutes on this earth. We can grow in appreciation for the sanctity of life and realize how capable we are of reaching out with empathy and authentic compassion.

We can also commit to honor the worth and dignity of all fellow humans, serving and supporting them in times of need. All of us can serve -- if not with donations, with acts of kindness and prayer. It is a choice we must make for the future of our planet. It is a commitment to serve and be responsible for the welfare of each other.

� Copyright by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve coaches people to help them revitalize their inner spark, access their natural talents, and design strategies to reach their personal and professional goals. Get the next issue of Steve's ezine, Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, by visiting http://AchieveEzine.com

Do you start out with faith in God or do you have to be inspired to search for Him? Where does the inspiration to believe in God come from? It seems everyone has an answer, but which answer is right?

I believe it depends on who is asking the question. If you are a person that is well grounded in your religious beliefs then faith probably comes first. If you are searching for God, then perhaps you need to be inspired to help you find your way.

I like to believe that we are all inspired to find our faith in God. To me it is a natural human instinct perhaps facilitated by an inbo genetic code or gene. I like to believe that the inspiration to find God comes from the Almighty Himself.

I think the inspiration comes from our need to experience God�s grace, to find inner peace, and to develop a sense of serenity. I think it comes from our need to seek God�s help in coping with our problems. I think it comes from a desire to believe that there is something more to our lives than the short span of our own mortality. I think it comes from a need to be assured that there is a Heaven.

Whatever inspires us to find our faith in God; the fact is that we do have the need to believe. Most of us have to believe in a higher power to make our lives tolerable. We want to have faith because it helps us achieve inner peace of mind. We are inspired to have faith because we want to succeed in our jouey to find God.

May God grant us the strength and the inspiration and the faith to succeed in our search on a jouey that never ends � the search to find God. ***

Arthur Levine is the author of the Faith Patch Manual and The Magic Of Faith. Please visit his Web sites to get inspired to continue your search for God at: http://www.faith-patch.com and http://www.Faith123.com or his blog at: http://searchfor-god.blogspot.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arthur_Levine

Inspiration for a better future lies in a secret experience from your past which will energize your present and clearly define your future.

You've been busy lately. You've sought for a new direction, because for the first time in your life you really want the years ahead to count. My hope for you is, as you read of my experience, you will be inspired to take a similar path and make your future years the most meaning-filled of your life.

In keeping with the biblical direction to "Ask and ye shall receive" I have recently given time to finding real meaning in my life, eventhough I should have completed this task years ago.

I've made an amazing discovery.

Your life, and mine, is filled with a series of what I have called Refining Moments. In the middle of these is one KRM or Key Refining Moment. When discovered this KRM brings a flood of understanding of the meaning for your life and enables you to release a special talent to be a blessing to others.

In my moing prayer time in the forest at the back of our home I had been asking the Lord, for some months, to reveal the meaning and purpose for my life. Once I was prepared to wait forever for an answer,it came. In a most unexpected way. Some have said that you should be careful what you pray because sooner or later you will get what you pray for. I did.

I was reminded of an experience I had just after my fourth birthday.

Filled with expectation my mother was taking me to the State Fair. A visit to the Animal Nursery was promised and once again I'm back there, getting off the tram, with a beaming smile, being led by the hand to the ticket office where my Mother purchases our tickets.

I can see the bulls in the main arena and the colored tents in sideshow alley. I hear the drums summoning patrons to new and exciting experiences inside the tents.

And now I see a group of kids. Some in wheelchairs. Some standing. But all with bodies twisting and twitching in ways I had never seen before. Noticing my rising alarm, my Mother tells me they are the special kids from the Spastic Center.

As she explains that they will always be that way I begin to sob. Buckets of tears cascade down my little pink cheeks as I think of their suffering. I fall to the ground sobbing even harder unable to control myself.

I feel a pain deep on the inside and I want to get away from this place. I plead with my Mother to take me home. It seems to take a long time but eventually she walks me back to the tram terminus.

As we begin the jouey home one thought floods my mind.

I want to help make them better.

As I retu, across 53 years of life experience, from my time of reflection on the past, I realize that my central desire is still to help make them better.

I havn't done it yet but I want to. There is a fire in my desire.

I have been a bank teller, an economist, a teacher, and a youth worker but still I havn't gotten started. I'm sad I've yet to start. I guess that's a common experience for a babyboomer. However I am glad I discovered why I'm here on this planet.

In this Key Refining Moment I have understood my reason for being and the only action that will add real meaning to my life.

I have been inspired to fulfill my calling to "help make them better".

You can have your own Key Refining Moment. In eaest prayer ask and you will receive. Once you've received make sure to follow through and complete your special calling.

You will get inspiration for a lifestyle improvement .Use your secret experience from your past and it will energize your present and clearly define your future with wave upon wave of meaning.

You will finally have an answer to the age-old question, "What is the meaning of life?"

Kenneth Little is a success coach and the publisher of a re-released classic, in a revealing ebook, that will show you how to get the best of health and wealth out of all your future years. True success will be yours no matter what your age.

Amazing "How I Became Young at Sixty" brings renewed strength to your body, hope to your mind and increased prosperity to your lifestyle.==> http://www.Young-at-Sixty.com

There are discoveries all around us—small gifts of joy that bring moments of peace and renewal.

Yet it is easy to miss the small things of uncommon value and inspiration—the cycles of life in a thriving forest, the perfection of a brilliant flower, the purposefulness of a delicate butterfly, or the spiritual beauty within another soul.

If we would stop for only a moment to marvel at this blessing of life, we would find many heart-stirring discoveries where we least expect them.

A small shift in the way we view a situation can make a life-changing difference.

A purposeful change in perspective can spark a sense of freedom, spiritual vision, and peace of mind. It can uncover a life purpose that has gone undetected. It can heal a hurt that has burdened someone for years.

Take time to listen to the emotion in the voice of a friend, feel the warmth of the sunshine, or view the perfect design in the smallest leaf or a cluster of stars.

Become still.

Listen to the voice inside your heart without judging its message. What does it tell you?

Notice and acknowledge your feelings around any situation that might trouble you.

Then ask yourself, "How could I view this situation differently? What new perspective might tu this into a blessing for me or someone else?"

You will be pleased with the sense of freedom and peace it brings to you.

A lifetime of rewarding discoveries is waiting for all who will stop, look, and listen with faith.

� Copyright by Steve Brunkhorst. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular ezine bringing great stories and inspiring thoughts to brighten your day. Find many colorful inspirational nuggets to share with your friends by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com/nuggets/

I never thought I would get a personal audience with God, and then it happened.

I couldn�t believe it when I got the message emblazoned on a rainbow of my dreams. God had decided to grant me an audience.

Oh the joy of it. I trembled in anticipation. I have been longing to have a personal meeting with God, and now it was happening.

My mind seemed scrambled in anticipation. What would I ask Him? I had so many questions. Here is a short list I came up with. One doesn�t want to take too much of God�s precious time:

1. Dear God will I be accepted in Heaven?

2. Dear God will you protect me from evil?

3. Dear God have I been a good person in your eyes?

4. Dear God will you hear my prayers?

5. Dear God will you grant me my wishes?

6. Dear God can I count on your blessing?

7. Dear God will you grant me good health?

8. Dear God will you help me defeat my enemies?

9. Dear God will you keep me from being lonely?

10. Dear God will you accept me as a Person of Faith?

God smiled at me and chuckled. He wanted to know why I assumed that he had all the answers?

I didn�t know what to say. I stuttered and stammered and finally in a hoarse voice that sounded more like a mummer I managed to tell Him that it was because I believed in Him and believed that He had all the answers.

At this point God laughed. The whole night�s sky seemed to light up with his merriment, and he told me that He would answer my questions as follows:

1. If you believe in me you have assured yourself of a place in my Heaven and of your dreams.

2. If you have faith in me as all-powerful, I will protect you from evil.

3. If you believe in me, how could I conceive of you as being anything other than a good person?

4. I hear your prayers and know your fears now as I always have, and those of all people who believe in me.

5. I will grant your wishes if they are in the public good.

6. You have my blessing as do all people of faith.

7. I will grant you the health and strength to believe in me and in your future.

8. Your enemies will be my enemies and since I love all mankind, I know no enemies, and neither will you.

9. You are not alone any more, for now you have found me, and I am always with you.

10. I accept you as a Person of Faith if you can lea to believe in me and be inspired by what you cannot see or understand.

And with that last statement God was gone and my audience was over in a flash of blazing glory.

But I accept that God is never gone from our midst and believe that he is always with us, do you? Are you a Person of Faith?

Do you believe in what you cannot see or comprehend?

Would you like a personal audience with God?

Do you have enough faith to believe in his presence?

Hurry, God may be waiting to hear from you!

Please feel free to use this article as long as credit is given to the resource box. (C) Copyright Arthur Levine 2006

Arthur Levine is a columnist for the Religion and Spirituality Forum of United Press Inteational, and the author of the Faith Patch Manual. To discover seven secrets of how to find more faith and preview the book, please access: http://www.faith-patch.com/stp/10answers

Are you ready for a change? Is it time for those plans that you've been thinking about for so long? Now is a good time for making plans, for lifestyle changes, starting over, finding new directions and developing as a human being. Now is a very good time for creating your own personal lifestyle and a life that you have chosen to live.

Let there always be cross-roads!
Let me tell you what I think about cross-roads. There will always be new cross-roads. And I really hope they will be many. How boring life would be if there weren't any new directions to choose. We would just be walking straight ahead and never find out what else there is to know. We would never discover the narrow paths that lead into something new and unexplored. If we always choose the straight long road we will not develop as human beings. We will not realize all the qualities and possibilities that we all possess.

Some cross-roads can be tough on us. We can be forced to change directions. Something happens unexpectedly and we move into a crisis. This will happen to us all sooner or later. The changes that we choose consciously are "better" than the ones that hurt, of course. But we develop and grow as a result of both.

I have experienced both kinds of cross-roads. I have lost near and dear ones, and I had no choice but to see it happen. I have also made choices of my own - choices that have changed my life in many ways.

By making conscious choices we are able to make positive lifestyle changes. Instead of letting things happen we can take control. We have the power to make changes.

I would like to encourage you in your decision to build something new, something better! I want to inspire you to see the possibilities, and I am convinced that you have the power to make positive changes in your life. It�s a choice. You can build a better life! You have the possibilities and the power to make positive lifestyle changes. No one else can make the right choices for your life. But you can.

It's time to start feeling better! You deserve it! Reduce stress, start exercising, change career, or lea something new and different for your own personal development. Start today by taking that first step to a more fulfilling lifestyle!

Remember: The only ones that never fail are the ones that never try.

About The Author

Ingela Berger started her own Inteet business Lifestyle Plans in 2003 out of a desire to inspire and encourage others to make reality of their dreams of a personal, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. Ingela has studied theatre directing, acting, history of art, history of ideas, health communication and leadership psychology. After some years working with art exhibitions and the theatre she went back to college and is now a health and lifestyle consultant.

Inordinately fond of history as I am, I�ve decided to write about it. Not about my first love--from an historical perspective, I mean--Medieval European History, or my second love, Russian History. Not even about the bloodiest day in American History, the Civil War Battle of Antietam, which should have brought the Union cause close to victory, but, due to incomprehensible blundering, ended in a strategic draw, breathing two more years of life, at least, into Lee�s Army of Northe Virginia. No, the history I want to write about is microhistory, i.e., MY history. Specifically, I wish to analyze, evaluate and discuss my recent struggle with cancer, and its meaning and consequences, if such may be found in that experience.

The B.C. to which the title refers is Before Cancer (or Before Chemo, if you like) and the A.D. stands for After Deconstruction. Those concepts and their respective meanings will take up the bulk of this essay.

But first, the salient facts: on February 28, 2005, just after my family�s retu from a ski trip in Lake Tahoe, I woke up at about 2:00 a.m. with an unstoppable case of the hiccups, followed by an attack of almost unbearable abdominal pain. An ambulance took me to the emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital, where the doctors diagnosed a �perforation or hole in my stomach,� perhaps caused by an ulcer. They needed to operate immediately in order to save my life, but hoped that the surgery could be done laproscopically, so as to be minimally invasive. As the anesthesia was administered (for which I was deeply grateful), I could not have known that everything up to that point was, for me, B.C.

A day or two later (my memory is still somewhat hazy on the chronology of this period), when I was still heavily drugged, but able to speak and concentrate, I was told what the rest of my family already knew: that I had a poorly differentiated stomach cancer, known as linitus plastica, a cancer which, oddly enough, is more common in the young, and most prevalent in Japan. The cancer had been removed, as had my lymph nodes, and the lab testing was underway, with the results to be forthcoming in a few days. Just a few years earlier, my beloved father-in-law had died of stomach cancer, so I suppose I could be forgiven for some lack of optimism at that moment.

My recovery from the surgery (which was not only non-laproscopic, but required, in fact, the removal of every millimeter of my stomach, and the attachment of my esophagus directly to my intestines) was surprisingly quick and quite satisfactory, but as I was about to be discharged from the Hospital, my surgeon informed me that the lab work had confirmed his worst fears: that the cancer had infiltrated my lymph nodes and that, although he had removed all of them, the chances of metasticization were great. He informed me that my life expectancy without treatment was about three months, and that, with aggressive treatment, I might make it for as much as two years (although he had rarely seen that). In so many words, he suggested that I put my affairs in order and prepare myself emotionally for the jouey from which there is no retu (with all due respect to my believing Christian brethren, even He whom they believe DID retu, stayed only for a short visit).

This conversation with my surgeon marked the beginning of my A.D. experience. It is an experience, I expect, more or less common to anyone who has been told that he or she has a fatal disease, and it forces one to contemplate not only death (indeed, for me, that was the easy part), but more importantly, a world and a future, in which he or she will have no part. Suddenly, and without waing, I found myself crying. Not about dying. Not about suffering. Somehow, those things did not seem real, or tangible, or even important to me. But rather, what I found devastating was the prospect of not being able to visit colleges with my younger daughter, as I had done with my older one; of not being able to dance (and, as importantly for me, to pontificate) at my daughters� weddings; of not being able to attend my nephew�s Bar Mitzvah in Israel (then ten months in the future). And finally, of not being able to visit all those places all over the world which my wife and I had promised one another we would get to someday.

All of these considerations are deconstructing, to be sure. The prospects I mentioned were daunting to face, but, oddly enough, strangely liberating at the same time. Everyone�my friends, family, colleagues and law partners told me not to worry about anything, other than getting well. I seized onto that and instantly felt freed from the shackles of my career, the need to pursue professional success and ea money (I was, later on, to pay dearly for this extended holiday from reality). My wife and I, together with my brother-in-law, who had (God bless him) flown in from Israel at the drop of a hat and a few close friends, had begun some surreal discussions of emergency estate planning, including the desirability of an immediate sale of our home, the creation of various insurance trusts, and the like. My older daughter had been asked to fly home from college without being told why. My younger daughter, not generally being given to displays of emotion had, I was told, been crying into her pillow for several nights straight. My wife put up a brave front�she is, after all, an Israeli�but was plainly devastated. The rest of my family members, my mother, brother, sister, aunt, cousins, together with my family, by marriage, in Israel and their respective families, reacted as one would expect: with varying degrees of worry, disbelief and fear.

In the meantime, I was, mercifully, functioning on a copious supply of opiates, to deaden the post-surgical pain. It worked some benefit on my psychic pain, as well, and I was able, through the haze, to become inured to the idea that I was about to embark upon a fight for my life in which, it seemed at the time, I was unlikely to prevail.

People visited me both at the hospital, and later, during my convalescence at home, in droves. I simply do not know how I could have coped without the support of my family and friends, both here and in Israel, and in particular, the support of friends and people whom I took to be mere acquaintances from my synagogue, Kehilath Jeshurun, in New York, together with its professional staff of Rabbis and others who visited, called, wrote and prayed for me. Cousins in Chicago sent out e-mails to their yeshiva friends to put my Hebrew name on their mi-shebeirach (prayer for the sick) list, and my daughter�s Chabad Rabbi in Buffalo, together with my own Rabbi in New York, Haskel Lookstein, still pray for me regularly. I cannot even imagine how anyone gets through an experience like this alone, yet I know that people do. Part of the deconstructing experience was the realization, not only of how much I meant to people, in a way of which I was completely unaware, but of how much they meant, and still mean, to me. The support of this myriad of people has had a salutary effect on me, in that I try to take friends and family less for granted.

After much research, both by me, and by friends and family members, I began to interview oncologists, and narrowed the field down to two. Both reviewed my files and ran tests on me and, to my surprise, and immeasurable relief, advised me of their strong disagreement with my surgeon�s prognosis. They agreed that, although my type of cancer was serious and, indeed, life-threatening, the surgery, coupled with an aggressive treatment of chemotherapy and radiation gave me good reason to hope for a complete recovery. After deconstruction comes reconstruction. I underwent the recommended treatments, and, 14 months A.D., am, as far as my tests can determine, cancer-free. I attended my nephew�s Bar Mitzvah in Israel this past January, and have taken my daughter to various college visits. As to whether I will dance at my daughters� weddings, or take the �Grand Tour� of the World with my wife, well, that�s very much in God�s hands, on a great many levels. I do not, and cannot know whether I have beaten this thing, but I do know that if there is more adversity to come from this disease, that I mean to go down fighting.

The difficulty now, lies not only in being vigilant about a retu of my disease. That is, of course, self-evident. The trick is to take from this experience the lessons it has afforded me about priorities, and to live those lessons. Easier said than done. The path of least resistance, of course, now that the immediate threat has receded, is to go back to old pattes of B.C. thinking, which focused on making money and engaging in material pursuits: A nice house, nice car, nice clothes, expensive vacations, etc. My personal relationships, B.C. were certainly important to me, but as much (I am somewhat embarrassed to say) out of a chronic and childish need to be loved, admired and approved of, as out of more altruistic motivations. A.D., I still like nice material things. If anything, I am now more interested in nice clothing as, at 165 lbs., (80 lbs. less than my all-time high) I have the physical attributes to look much better than before in off-the-rack outfits. But I would like to think that my love of things material is somewhat more in perspective now. I approach those desires more in a carpe diem sort of way, than as goals in and of themselves. As for my personal relationships, I try to appreciate my family and friends more. I do not always succeed, as my wife, above all, will attest to. Reconstruction, after all, (particularly MY reconstruction) is very much a �work in progress.� But I keep in touch (e-mail makes that extremely easy), and have grown much closer to some people whom I have known for most of my life. I find myself in the synagogue on a daily basis. Many around me don�t understand what they see as something of an obsession, but for me, it suffices that I understand; I NEED to have a daily conversation with the Almighty, both to thank him for my recovery to date, and to ask for its continuation. Moreover, it is a mechanism for seeking the well-being of my family, my friends, the Jewish People, my Country, the State of Israel and humankind, all of which have now seemingly become infinitely more important to me. I don�t know of anywhere else where one can hope (or dare) to place so tall an order.

I am working hard to rebuild my professional life. My illness and resultant inability (or unwillingness) to focus much on being a lawyer for the better part of Year 1, A.D., cost me, and I need to redouble my efforts just to get back to where I was. I mean to do that, and quite a bit more. Luckily, I have recently joined a firm, in which a number of the partners are old friends, supportive, professional, and understanding. I have no doubt that I will land on my feet. Also, luckily, I am very good (I apologize for the immodesty, but this is truth time) at what I do. My clients, and potential clients will be well-served by me, and will be lucky to have me representing them.

So, can cancer actually be good for you? It seems a flippant, and ultimately, perhaps, a stupid question. But the answer, I think, is that it can be, provided, of course, that it�s the kind you can recover from. That�s obvious. What is less obvious is the beneficial qualities of the lesson or lessons one can take from such an experience. I can attest, of course, only to my own experiences. I now celebrate a second �birthday� on February 28, the dividing line between B.C. and A.D.

Even the most fleeting glimpse of the Angel of Death can teach us something about priorities, if we are observant enough to lea the lesson, and are wise enough to �walk the walk� on an ongoing basis. May God grant me both the strength and the perspective.

Warren R. Graham

Copyright 2006

Warren R. Graham is a New York attoey with the Firm of Cohen Tauber Spievack & Wagner LLP. He is a frequent writer on a variety of topics, including legal matters, political and religious affairs. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his firm or its members. Additional information on him may be found at http://warrenrgraham.blogspot.com

"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25).

We have all encountered what we feel is injustice. We only perceive what is happening at this moment, and that is colored by our own prejudices. God works in the whole of human history--past, present and future--so what we see or feel happening right at this moment that seems so outrageous and unethical is set in a panorama of sacred history. It helps so much to remember this.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). God originates good and controls evil, and that is the essence of His justice. We could go insane--indeed, some do--if we didn't believe that somewhere there is ultimate impartiality. "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny" (Psalm 73:16,17). Only God knows the end from the beginning.

He understands because He experienced the greatest injustice on earth. Still He could say, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Perhaps this is the most ethical utterance made by Man for man. It certainly spotlights man's inhumanity to man. Yes, Father, forgive them...and forgive us, too.

"The Lord is a God who knows and by him deeds are weighed" (1 Samuel 2:3b). Only God can possibly know motives, a knowledge necessary for honorable judgment. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). Since we can't be everywhere and see everything, it is best that we leave the judging to God. He is holy and therefore incapable of judging from any wrong reason or rule. Our righteous God is farsighted and sees all, while we are so nearsighted, so spiritually myopic, that all we see is what is happening right now and its seeming unfaiess.

Oh my God, I'm not immortal anymore! What happened? Where's my neverending youth? My long summers? My bright future?

Gone, gone, and... wait a minute, there's still future left!

Repeat after me:

I refuse to fall over and let the wagons pass me by on this dusty trail through life, so I'm going to hop up, brush off the dirt and get going! I can still catch an exciting ride and spend some great time with interesting folks who share this long, winding trail.

Sometimes I get confused, with no focus, no specific goal. I find my time being wasted by bad little habits. I can empty my pockets of all those time-wasters and let them fly in the breeze like bits of useless paper. They'll drop and be forgotten, trampled by wagon wheel and hoof. Ground back into the dust where they belong, nevermore to travel with me.

I'll look ahead with optimism. I'll lea to adapt. I'll ride INTO the possibilities of the future, not UNDER the uncertainties of today.

I have time to see my dreams come true, time to make them real. I can see the horizon, the destination of the sun, the vastness of my life ahead. So much land I can cover, so many places to go.

I will move in sync with time. It will never pass me by. My heart will beat as the seconds tick, and my wheels will roll as hands of time tu. Time to do, time to be, time to see.

Some things will pass, others will remain. I remain, and while I remain I will try things that no one else has tried, do things people say I can't do. Succeed in ways I was told I couldn't succeed.

All is not lost. Nothing is gone except my fear and uncertainty. Those are the things I do not need. I shed them off and settle into the saddle of my life, in control of my tus and my steps.

I pull my hat down to shelter my eyes from the setting sun, not setting on my life, but illuminating the trail ahead, preparing the way.

Shining on my future.

My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Drew Vics

Drew Vics is an artist, writer and musician living in New Jersey. He writes for Myeyez.net -- A Webzine, part time, and released a self produced debut CD, No more waiting.

My eldest son phoned me the other night to let me know that he and his partner was going to have a baby. When I got the news, I was more excited then he was. He seems to be in a state of shock trying to come to grips with the can of worms that had just opened.

For me the news was a mix of joy and a realization that time was catching up with me and that the *financial* success I have crave for, for so long is still a dream. I, like so many others out there are looking for that pot of gold to make life more comfortable. I use to consider *money* as a gauge to determine my success in life. I and like many of you; have tried over and over again to increase my eaings to provide a better life style for my children. I was determined not to grow up like my parents, always struggling.

Don�t get me wrong, I had I good childhood except I never saw much of my dad. He was always working. I did not realize until I had my own kids the reason he worked so hard. When Justin was bo, I made a personal commitment to provide my children with the quality time that I missed with my dad and at the same time tried to be a financial success.

My wife Tracee and I have seven children, three boys and four girls. We agree early in our relationship that I would be the main bread winner and she would stay home and care for the children. As the kids were growing up, we would encourage them to play sports and I would help coach their team. This would give me the opportunity to spend more time with them.

My pursuit for financial success still eluded me; I have tried nearly everything to be rich. I have tried most of them and still going through the process. It did not occur to me until recently that the efforts I put in raising my children had produced its rewards. My kids are well adjusted, they are healthy. Justin is going to be a dad at the age of 25, when he was bo when I was 20. Jasmin, the eldest daughter is a school teacher. Ashley, my number two son has just settle into an apprenticeship as a panel beater. Sharee, who had just tued eighteen, is a free spirit. She has a job but no ambition, nothing seems to faze her and I worry about her a bit. The other three children, Alysha, sixteen, Crystal, fourteen and Jordan who is our baby boy will tu twelve in September.

I now look at success with different eyes, I might not be rich when it comes to money but I am very rich and very successful and I am going to be a granddad. Hoo! Hoo! Life is wonderful.

Copyright 2005 Nasri Bale

Nasri Bale, novice writer and father of seven children would like to share his life experiences he has had with his kids. He hopes that the articles will touch and inspire, also to let other dads know that they are not alone. You can contact me at, nazri04@hotmail.com

"Now do it!" (2 Samuel 3:18); "Do not leave any of it till moing ..." (Exodus 12:10).

Putting off duties is a shortcoming that brings us up short of the perfection God wants of us. Emerson wrote in his Jouals (1834), "We are always getting ready to live, but never living." Perhaps we can amend that to, "We are always getting ready to work, but seldom getting to work." "Eventually" never becomes "actually" and the sweet by-and-by becomes the bitter never. Procrastination is not only a thief of time but finally a thief of self-respect and a robber of the good we can do for others, as well.

At thirty, man suspects himself a fool;
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan;
At fifty chides his infamous delay;
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve;
In all magnanimity of thought
Resolves, and re-resolves; then dies the same.
Edward Young.

Procrastination is a killer of time and motivation. It borrows on tomorrow's time. Today is yesterday's tomorrow, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow. When we are inspired to do what we need to do, then we can't waste a minute of irreplaceable time in getting on with what we need to do, while we have time and health to do it. We have many unwarranted reasons to put off what God wants of us, too. Felix told Paul, "Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you" (Acts 24:25). There is no record of Felix ever finding the time to summon Paul!

John Ruskin is said to have taken for his great life-motto the simple word, "Today." In his library he had before him the text, "Work, while it is yet called today." There is a time for everything and it is indeed today, while we have the Light. "The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure, for there is a proper time and procedure for every matter..." Ecclesiastes 8:5,6. We are to redeem God's irredeemable time: "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 4:15,16)

I remember when I was just a little guy probably about 4 or 5 years old, I was fascinated by snakes. Not any particular type of snake � just snakes in general. I remember being really curious about how they could move around so easily without any legs or feet. I remember liking the colors on the garter snakes that slithered through our Nebraska summer garden.

And � I remember one day picking up one of those fascinating garter snakes and holding it right in front of my face so I could get a little better look at the colorful markings on its head. It was at that moment the unthinkable happened. In mere seconds, that wonderful, fascinating creature had transformed itself into a writhing, ferocious monster with a flickering, forked tongue and hypnotic eyes. What happened next? I dropped it, of course. Actually, it may have been more like a toss � that part gets a little blurry. But I got rid of the monster as fast as I could! I let it go!

Obviously, the poor snake didn�t really change into anything different from what it already was. But my perception told me it had, so I reacted to what I saw as a significant problem. I let it go.

Since then, I�ve leaed that �monsters� � real and perceived � come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Most of them we can�t physically see but we do experience the results of their presence � and they are very, very real.

Our monsters have names � common names. Here are a few: Fear, Guilt, Hate, Self-Doubt, Jealousy, Insecurity, and Anger. They�re all slime-balls. They all have the potential power to control our lives and destroy any chance at a truly happy life. Any one of these monsters can freeze us in our tracks and until we recognize it and get it out of the way, we�re not going to be able to move on toward whatever better life we have waiting for us.

OK, do we need to stop for just a minute here? Yes, I just said �whatever better life we have waiting for us�. No, I�m not talking about only a �special, select few� folks who might accidentally be lucky enough to get doused with one of God�s super blessings. I�m referring to everybody who lives in a reasonably free society and has access to at least a smidgeon of printed or verbal information. That would probably include you, huh?

Yes folks, there is a better life waiting �out there� for every one of us. And this is certainly an oversimplification, but basically all we need to do is visualize it � and then do stuff to get us there. Sure, some of that �stuff� will possibly include doing some personal reprogramming of our thought processes (there�s plenty of information available to help do that), getting assistance and guidance from some experts (plenty of that available, too) and some level of investment of our time and energy.

However (speaking of reprogramming), unless we recognize and take care of any monsters that we may be clutching tightly to our bosom, we�re not going much of anywhere � other than maybe sliding backward into our own personal snake pit. Hmmm, wonder why I just used that analogy? Probably a reason in my background somewhere.

Back to the monsters. How do we get rid of �em? The first step is to recognize that we got �em. Makes sense, huh? If we don�t know one of these stinkers is hanging onto us and dragging us down, there certainly won�t be any way for us to get rid of him. Take another look at their names and then take a close look at your thoughts and subsequent actions. See anything that rings a bell? I know, sometimes it�s really hard to have an objective view of ourselves so get an outside opinion or two from someone who you know will be absolutely honest with you.

Then once you�ve identified your own personal monster(s), the next step of course, is to get it (them) off your butt and out of the way. Now there�s no way in the space of this article to talk about the various techniques for �monster slaying�. But here are a few quick helpful hints. One of the things you�ll likely need to do is take a real close look at your thought processes (there�s that danged programming thing again) and lea how to change them. Again, there is a wealth of information available to you to do exactly that. Books, videos, CD�s, self-improvement programs, and personal help in the form of numerous counselors and coaches. It�s all �out there� waiting for you. All you need to do is just go get it.

Part of the modification in your thought processes will probably include leaing how to face � as in �stand up and confront� � your monsters. You may need to dig deep into your better self to find your personal cache of courage that you�ll be using as your ultimate weapon of monster destruction. OK, let�s be a little more honest. You really don�t need to �destroy� these stinkers and I don�t know that it�s even completely possible to do that. What you will need to do though, is at least take away any power that they have had over you in the past. You see, the only way any of these guys can restrain you is if you give them permission (the power) to do so. Withdraw that permission (let �em go�) and they�re about as much threat as a wad of discarded bubble gum.

One way to neutralize a monster is by leaing to know it by a different name. A name that can be much easier for us to manage. For example, with a bit of mental manipulation, Fear can become simply �Apprehension� or �Uncertainty�. It shouldn�t be a major problem being able to handle either one of those guys. Guilt can be transformed into �Regret� or �Disappointment� (as in past perceived misdeeds). Hate can be downgraded into �Dislike� or �Disapproval�. Self-Doubt can become a productive �Self-Questioning��well, you get the idea.

So if you�ve been stuck in a rut and are about ready to climb out and move on toward your better life, be sure to take the time to check your personal mental wardrobe for monsters. Then let �em go � or at least transform them into a less threatening simple irritant - and move on to the life you truly deserve. It really is there waiting for you!

Oh, and the snake? Just another big ole� worm�

About The Author

Gene, through NuPathz.com, provides an easy reading self-help blog, articles and links along with affordable books and materials written to help folks find the road to a more enjoyable lifestyle, to pass on some of life�s �secrets for survival� in a chaotic world & offer a few smiles along the way. It's a down-to-earth, simple approach to discovering a better life. You can visit Gene at http://www.nupathz.com/

gene@nupathz.com