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Shared Wisdom: Words from Wise Ones

Here is an eclectic mix of wise sayings that have come from here, there, and everywhere!

 

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”.                                                                                                                                                                                        (Audrey Hepburn)

 

“We all move toward the ego, and we even solidify it as we get older if something doesn’t expose it for the lie that it is: not because it is bad, but because it thinks it is the whole enchilada!         (Richard Rohr)

 

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”                                                                                                                              (Maria Robinson)

 

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it!  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”                                                                     (Howard Thurman)

 

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children …….. to leave the world a better place ………. to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

 

“The greatest challenge of the day is:  how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each and everyone of us.”                                                                 (Dorothy Day)

 

“God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure ……….God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are.”                                                      (Kathleen Norris)

 

“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.”                                                                                                                                             (Herb Caen)

 

“If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people.  It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth.”                                                         (Anthony de Mello)

 

“Do you know why the mighty God of the universe chooses to answer prayer?  It is because His children ask.  God delights in our asking.  He is pleased at our asking.  His heart is warmed by our asking.”   (Richard J. Foster)

 

“In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the couch, talking and wondering where the time went.”                                                                                                               (Anonymous)

 

“She said she used to cry everyday, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful, and life was so short.”                                                                                              (Brian Andreas)

 

Enough, enough or I shall drown in the beauty of words!  Don’t you just love the way they run off the end of the pen in someone’s hand, or appear on the computer screen at the insistence of someone’s fingers flying across a keyboard?  It never ceases to amaze me that the wit or humor or intelligence contained in a person’s brain just flows out onto paper in some fashion or another.  And then, I get to read it, soak it in, and share it on to othersSmile.

Vignette: Paula in Minnesota

In my previous posting God’s Creation-Minnesota, I mentioned that through the trees on Greg and Sherry’s property you could barely make out two other houses – their neighbors.  Connie and Joe live in the closest house, while Deb and Crystal live in the other house along with Deb’s Mom, Mary, and Deb’s younger sister Paula.  Deb and Crystal live in the main part of the house while Mary and Paula share a delightful apartment on the lower level which, because the whole structure is built on a slope, is also on a ground level of its own.

We got to meet all the neighbors because on one of the evenings that we were there we participated in a “travelling dinner”.  I’ll share details of that event in another posting.  Here I want to talk about Paula who is somewhat mentally challenged and is quite a delightful character. She is actually forty-five years old, I believe, but looks like a teenager.

When we entered the kitchen at Deb and Crystal’s, Paula was seated at a table on the far side of the room of the room next to her Mom, Mary.  Paula is not very tall, maybe not even five foot.  She has rich auburn, curly hair that she wore pulled back from her face that day.  Her face is very round and when she smiles her eyes crinkle up, Chinese-style, and she looks like a mischievous pixie!

Richard had stopped at the kitchen island to pick at some appetizers, while I walked around it and went over to be introduced to Paula.  She did not look up at me immediately, but then Deb said, “Look at this Paula”, and pointed to my hair.  At that, Paula looked up at me and her face lit up in pure delight.  She clapped her hands together like a little child and exclaimed, “It’s purple, it’s purple, my favorite color!”  Looking into that innocent, beaming face, I felt as though someone had given me an exquisite gift.  My heart lurched and I fell in love with Paula right then and there. 

She continued to smile up at me and I pointed over to Richard and said, “And that’s my husband, Richard.”  Without skipping a beat, Paula looked in Richard’s direction and once again clapped her hands together.  Her smile widened and, in such genuine innocence, she exclaimed, “Oh, he’s so cute!”  And she chuckled. The whole room seemed to light up and people laughed, not at her, but right along with her, joining in her delight at the situation.  And I fell in love all over again with Paula.

Later on in the evening, Paula brought me a piece of cake.  I thanked her and kissed her cheek.  A dazed look came over her and she slowly put her hand up to her cheek in wonder.  As she returned into the kitchen, I heard her say to someone, “I’ll never wash my face again.”  The person asked her why and she responded, “Because Margo kissed me.”  I felt my throat constrict and my heart welled up with love.

There are moments that I recognize as pure God moments.  I know I experienced the love of God in that sweet pixie of a person, Paula.  I have often heard people question “why” about many things that happen on this earthly journey, including the “why” of people like Paula.  My answer: they help us to experience a special kind of love – if we are open to it. I will remember Paula with great affection and I hope I get the opportunity to see her again.  

Shared Wisdom: Laughter

 

If you laugh a lot, when you get older your wrinkles will be in all the right places.   (Andrew Mason)

The best laughter, the laughter that can heal, the laughter that has the truest ring, is the laughter that flowers out of a love for life and its Giver.   (Maxine Hancock)

One loses so many laughs by not laughing at oneself.   (Sara Jeannette Duncan)

There is an intimate laughter to be found only among friends.  (Maya Angelou)

Good humor is one of the best articles of dress one can wear in society.   (William Makepeace Thackeray)

Laughing at ourselves as well as with each other gives a surprising sense of togetherness.   (Hazel C. Lee)

I dare you to do something today that will make you giggle.  (Luci Swindoll)

A little comic relief in a discussion does no harm however serious the topic may be.  In my own experience the funniest things have occurred in the gravest and most sincere conversations.   (C.S. Lewis)

Laughter is a noisy smile!   (Steven Goldberg)

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh  -  at yourself.   (Ethel Barrymore)

Laugh at yourself before anyone else can!   (Elsa Maxwell)

Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young.  A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everybody around us.  (Orison Swett Marden)

Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place.   (Josh Billings)

There is nothing like a mouthful of laughter.  Get some for yourself.   (Barbara Johnson)

Laughing heartily a hundred times a day has the same beneficial effects as ten minutes on a rowing machine.   (Dr. William Fry)

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.  (Arnold Glasow)

God is at home in the play of His children.  He loves to hear us laugh.   (Peter Marshall

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