Thursday's Thought for the Day....

Wishing you and yours a day filled 

with peace, the love of family and friends,

and gratitude for our abundance of blessings!

Wednesday's Wisdom....

  Pope Francis offers wisdom in the form of  "Tips for a Happier Life"  based on his personal experience - which is where I believe some of our greatest wisdom comes from.

The following was posted on Facebook. 

"In a recent interview with the Argentine publication Viva, Pope Francis issued a list of 10 tips to be a happier person, based on his own life experiences.

The Pope encouraged people to be more positive and generous, to turn off the TV and find healthier forms of leisure, and even to stop trying to convert people to one’s own religion.

But his number one piece of advice came in the form of a somewhat cliche Italian phrase that means, “move forward and let others do the same.” It’s basically the Italian equivalent of, “live and let live.” You can check out the full list below.

The Pope gives a thumbs up to an audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: CSV)

The Pope’s 10 Tips for a Happier Life

1. “Live and let live.” Everyone should be guided by this principle, he said, which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, “Move forward and let others do the same.”

2. “Be giving of yourself to others.” People need to be open and generous toward others, he said, because “if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”

3. “Proceed calmly” in life. The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist — gaucho Don Segundo Sombra — looks back on how he lived his life.

4. A healthy sense of leisure. The Pope said “consumerism has brought us anxiety”, and told parents to set aside time to play with their children and turn of the TV when they sit down to eat.

5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because “Sunday is for family,” he said.

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. “We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs” and be more vulnerable to suicide, he said.

7. Respect and take care of nature. Environmental degradation “is one of the biggest challenges we have,” he said. “I think a question that we’re not asking ourselves is: ‘Isn’t humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?’”

8. Stop being negative. “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, ‘I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down,’” the Pope said. “Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”

9. Don’t proselytise; respect others’ beliefs. “We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyses: ‘I am talking with you in order to persuade you,’ No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytising,” the Pope said.

10. Work for peace. “We are living in a time of many wars,” he said, and “the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive” and dynamic."

Courtesy of the Catholic News Service.

Tip for a Tuesday....

My Top 5 Tips for Christmas/Hanukkah Preparations

1. Keep a list.
Write down the gifts purchased in a notebook, under the recipient's name.
I've been writing in the same book since 1999.
I also noted teacher gifts and tips given out during the holiday season.

2. Wrap as you go along.
Try to set aside time and wrap a few gifts as you go.
Make note in your notebook where you have hidden them.
Trust me, you won't always remember where they are!

3.  Use an ironing board for a wrapping station.
I have found my ironing board to be the perfect height so as to eliminate back strain.
It also provides a solid surface on which to work.
I keep tape, scissors, ribbon, wrapping paper and tags next to it.

4. Shop early - preferably online - for discounts, while supplies are plenty.
Learned this lesson when we tried to buy birthday gifts for daughter #1's first birthday, which fell in January.  The toy shelves were practically bare.
I kid you not.

5.  Buy yourself a gift.
A wise woman gave me this advice over thirty years ago.
Be sure to get a little something for you- whether it be a bottle of sparkly nail polish, a new sweater or a glossy magazine.
While you're busy doing for others, it's important to also do something for yourself.
Why?  As the ad used to say, "Because I'm worth it!"  

A Monday Memory....

Slow news day?

For the past two days I have received emails and Facebook notices that at there is a "Winter Storm Watch" for Wednesday and Thursday of this week, which could impact Thanksgiving Day travel.

What? First of all - it's not officially "Winter"  
Secondly, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..." You know the rest.

I've decided I'm not going to play this game - this, "Will it snow, won't it snow" game.
Been there, done that.

Way back in the early '70's, when my sister and I were in high school, the weatherman made similar dire predictions one Sunday afternoon.  According to him, there was going to be a HUGE snowstorm, dumping at least six inches, reeking havoc and closing schools.   We jumped for joy (literally) and ceased any efforts on getting our homework done.  Why continue - hadn't the trusty weatherman offered us a one day reprieve?  Staying up past our regular bedtime, we finally drifted off to sleep, confident that the morning would offer a leisurely rising, thanks to the snowstorm.

Imagine our surprise - and horror - when my Dad shouted for us to get up and get ready for school.  "Away to my window, I flew in a flash..." as the story goes.  Pushing the curtains aside I gazed out and saw.....nothing.  

No drifts of snow.  No tree branches bending under the weight of the packed white mass.  
Not one single flake had fallen.

In addition to finding I did not in fact have a day off, was the realization that there was still the matter of my unfinished homework.  I quickly thanked God for the 45 minute morning bus ride I had, which would give me the chance to get most of it done.

So no, I'm not getting myself all twisted up about the possibility of falling snow this week.   Weather reports are as frequently wrong today as they were back then.  For instance, this morning, the rain was merely misty, not pouring down and the wind was minimal, not the 50 mph gusts they predicted.  

Bottom line? There is absolutely nothing I can do about the weather.  
If there were, the sun would shine all this week.  (Fingers crossed!)

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

A Bit of Joy

Days run into nights, nights into days;
we adapt, we adjust,
to ever-changing challenges.

A stranger once said to me,
"I pray you may find a moment of joy
in each day."  That loving bit of wisdom 
has inspired me to search for that gleam
of unexpected joy which lifts me up again.

Faith sustains...
Family stays close...
Friends uphold...
Music soothes...
Books can bring respite...
For all that, I am grateful.
Each may bring that moment of joy in what may be
an otherwise intense day.

~ Betty Ann Leavitt

from gratitude prayers  Prayers, Poems, and Prose for Everyday Thankfulness by June Cotner

Tip for a Tuesday....

So, you've earned enough "points" for a free turkey from your local supermarket.

  Problem is, you are not the chef this Thanksgiving and will be guest, rather than host.  

What to do?

Stop by the courtesy counter of your supermarket and ask to donate that free turkey to the local food pantry.  The nice person behind the desk will ask to scan your store card and write your signature in a notebook, under the names of several other donors.

You'll feel great because you're helping someone.  
That someone will feel great because their stomach will be full!

Easy Peasy.

A Monday Memory....

Comfort Food

Ever have that experience, when you bite into an old familiar food item, and it's as if you've been transported back in time to your childhood?

While munching on Ritz Crackers, which accompanied my soup today, I found myself back in the 1960's. A "sick day" home from school found me tucked up in bed, two pillows stacked behind my head and shoulders.  Watching Father Knows Best on the portable black and white television my mother would have wheeled in on its cart from the kitchen.

Lunchtime would arrive and my mother would carry in that familiar silver tray 

 settle it carefully on my lap, then kiss my forehead.

Before me, as always, was a steaming bowl of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup, 

with a stack of Ritz Crackers beside it.  There was a lot of love on that tray too!

When my own little girls would be home sick, it was dry Cheerios and stirred up ginger ale (to remove the bubbles), followed later by Lipton Noodle Soup - hold the chicken, Mom!

Growing up, I had felt that the routine of being served the same comforting foods each time I fell ill helped the healing process for me.  Now, whether or not that was actually true really doesn't matter. What mattered was that I believed it.  I hope my girls did too.