Nobody is Self-Made

 

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

"Self-Made" is a Fallacy

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

On the Shoulders of Those Who Came Before

 

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

We Owe Everlasting Gratitude

 

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

Your Talent is God's Gift to You

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

Stay Home During the Pandemic *AND* Try Not To Worry

I want to be very clear that the preceding post refers only to not letting
"experts" stifle your creativity and goals.

PLEASE trust the medical experts
(and not the politicians) regarding the COVID19 pandemic, it is still spreading
exponentially in the United States and Europe, and places like India and Africa 
are going to get hit hard.

Please Stay Home (especially if you are over 60 or have a medical condition)!
Protect yourself, your family, and your community by minimizing all contact.

Take precautions, but try not to worry.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow,
it only saps today of its joy.
- Leo Buscaglia

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.
- Winston Churchill

The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing,
and should be treated with caution.
- J. K. Rowling

It is of the small joys and little pleasures
that the greatest of our days are built.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Light and Joy...
 Jonathan

Don't Worry - Don't Hurry

You're only here for a short visit.
Don't hurry. Don't worry.
And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.
- Walter Hagen

Worrying is like a rocking chair,
it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.
- Glenn Turner

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow,
it only saps today of its joy.
- Leo Buscaglia

Further reading: Small Pleasures

Yes, YOU Can Be Happy

Say NO to Stress: 8 Easy and Powerful Ways
     

Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

Ingratitude often hides behind a mask of independence or self-sufficiency.
An assertion of being "self-made" is a rejection of God, one's ancestors, and society.
Your Genes, Place of Birth, and Upbringing are God's Gift to You.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton

Those who have succeeded at anything
and don't mention luck
are kidding themselves.
- Larry King

Civilization is not a spontaneous generation
with any race or nation known to history,
but the torch to be handed down from race to race from age to age.
- Kelly Millar

If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton

Success is a result of hard work,
plus being blessed with good genes, food,
a good country, an opportunity for education,
and much more which we never "earned"
or "deserved," and for which we owe
everlasting gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Debt to Those Who are Kind

Appreciating Our Blessings

Give Thanks

Gratitude for This Food
     

Love Without Demanding Change

The magic words for a great relationship are,
"I love you just the way you are."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

If you love something, set it free;
if it comes backs it's yours,
if it doesn't, it never was.
- Richard Bach

A loving relationship is one in which
the loved one is free to be himself -
to laugh with me, but never at me;
to cry with me, but never because of me;
to love life, to love himself,
to love being loved.
Such a relationship is based upon freedom
and can never grow in a jealous heart.
- Leo F. Buscaglia

Love allows your beloved the freedom to be unlike you.
Attachment asks for conformity to your needs and desires.
Love imposes no demands.
Attachment expresses an overwhelming demand – "Make me feel whole."
Love expands beyond the limits of two people.
Attachment tries to exclude everything but two people.
- Deepak Chopra

Further reading: Great Relationships

Love is Everything

What is Love?

The #1 Secret of Great Relationships
        

Don't Worry; Smell the Flowers

You're only here for a short visit.
Don't hurry. Don't worry.
And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.
- Walter Hagen

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow,
it only saps today of its joy.
- Leo Buscaglia

Worrying is like a rocking chair,
it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.
- Glenn Turner

Life only appears complicated when one is worrying.
Relax, and life becomes simple again.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Yes, YOU Can Be Happy

Small Pleasures

Say NO to Stress: 8 Easy and Powerful Ways
     

Find Someone Who Makes You Smile

Don't fall for looks, they can deceive.
Don't fall for wealth, in the end it fades away.
Find someone who makes you smile
because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
- Anonymous

Marriage, ultimately, is the practice of
becoming passionate friends.
- Harville Hendrix

A loving relationship is one in which
the loved one is free to be himself -
to laugh with me, but never at me;
to cry with me, but never because of me;
to love life, to love himself,
to love being loved.
Such a relationship is based upon freedom
and can never grow in a jealous heart.
- Leo F. Buscaglia

Love allows your beloved the freedom to be unlike you.
Attachment asks for conformity to your needs and desires.
Love imposes no demands.
Attachment expresses an overwhelming demand – "Make me feel whole."
Love expands beyond the limits of two people.
Attachment tries to exclude everything but two people.
- Deepak Chopra

Further reading: 7 Secrets of Happy Couples

Acceptance Makes a Great Relationship Even Better

Renewing Love

Celebrating Your Differences
   

Your Talent is God's Gift to You

Your talent is God's gift to you.
- Leo Buscaglia

Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you.
- Saint Augustine

God is present everywhere, and every person is His work.
- Saint Francis de Sales

A man's pride shall bring him low,
but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
- Proverbs 29:23

Leadership is an opportunity to serve.
It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.
- J. Donald Walters

Today's affirmation:
I give thanks to God for my physical, mental, and emotional health;
for my intelligence; for my talent; for my parents;
for my rearing; and for my place and condition of birth.

Further reading: Give Thanks and Celebrate

Tolerance, Not Judgement

Helping Others

Judge Not

Rekindling the Light
    

Don't Miss Out On Life

If we wait until our lives are free from sorrow or difficulty,
then we wait forever.
And miss the entire point.
- Dirk Benedict

If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.
- Katharine Hepburn

In your days - things like this happen to you...
You get a tap, a nudge, a gentle shake,
and life whispers to you, "I know you're tired -
but I don't want you to miss this."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Opportunities are like sunrises.
If you wait too long, you miss them.
- William Arthur Ward

Love is life.
And if you miss love, you miss life.
- Leo Buscaglia

Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
- Jonathan Larson

Further reading: Where There is Love, Nothing is Missing - a Parable

We Come This Way But Once

Living Deeply

Enjoy Your Life

Dancing Through Life

Live Fully

Worrying about Tomorrow

Every tomorrow has two handles.
We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety
or the handle of faith.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow,
it only saps today of its joy.
- Leo Buscaglia

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
- Anonymous

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.
- Winston Churchill

It is not work that kills men; it is worry.
Worry is rust upon the blade.
- Henry Ward Beecher

If you believe that a task will be difficult, it will be -
and you will have suffered with worry beforehand.
Approach life with joy and optimism.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Power of Faith

End Overwhelm, Fear, and Worry

The Paradox Of Living In The Moment

Beyond Your Worries

Gratitude and Thanksgiving