To make the right choices in life, you have to get in touch with your soul. To do this, you need to experience solitude, which most people are afraid of, because in the silence you hear the truth and know the solutions."
- Deepak Chopra
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'
He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
Had to share this message I received from a friend....
" Throw your heart over the fence and the rest
will follow."
~~Norman Vincent Peale
To keep from being disappointed,we sometimes lower our
expectations or avoid taking chances. There can be good reasons for this, but it can limit what we experience.
When we follow our heart, even at the risk of disappoiontment and pain, a world opens up we might not otherwise have entered: a job that takes us in new and exciting directions;
friends we wouldn't have guessed would "fit" in our lives; experiences we didn't expect.
I will keep my expectations high and look for what
excites me. I will risk disappointment to follow my heart.
This post was modified from its original form on 10 Mar, 8:46
This post was modified from its original form on 10 Mar, 8:47
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after her, while he so normal, nobody paid attention to him. ~~~ At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised, but due to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, she thought, please, let me go home.... suddenly he asked the waiter. "would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red, but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. ~~~~~ She asked him curiously; why you have this hobby? He replied: "when I was a little boy, I was living near the sea, I like playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there". While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched . ~~~~~~ That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home. ~~~~~ Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. ~~~~~ They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee! ~~~~~~~ Then the story was just like every beautiful love story , the princess married to the prince, then they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee e, as she knew that's the way he liked it. ~~~~~~ After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said: "My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee. ~~~~~~~ Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.I never thought that could be the start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.. ~~~~~~ Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste.. But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. ~~~~~ Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life,even though I have to drink the salty coffee again". ~~~~~~~ Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her: what's the taste of salty coffee? ~~~~~~ It's sweet. She replied. ~~~~~~~ Love is not to forget but to forgive, not to see but to understand, not to hear but to listen, not to let go but to HOLD ON !!!! ~~~~~~ Don't ever leave the one you love for the one you like, because the one you like will leave you for the one they love. ~~~~~~
“No one can convince you that there is a thirst in you.
I can tell you I have felt a thirst, and you must find your own. When you have found the thirst, then and only then, the process of quenching can begin. Self- Knowledge can help; it can allow us to connect to the world within where the joy is.
Whether it is a waterfall, whether it is a river, or whether it is a stream, approach it with a sincere thirst in your heart and a little humility, a little wanting to know. Let the heart be the judge.”
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.
Henry Ward Beecher
Only the wise man is strong enough
To give up desire and aversion.
How rare he is!
Knowing he is the Self,
He acts accordingly
And is never fearful.
For he knows he is the Self,
One without two,
The Lord of all creation.
-Astavakra Gita 4:5-6
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."
I Thessalonians 4:11&12 (NIV)
... . . the church is within yourself and not in any pope nor preacher, nor in any building but in self! For thy body is indeed the temple of the living God, and the Christ becomes a personal companion in mind and in body; dependent upon the personality and individuality of the entity as it makes practical application of the tenets and truths that are expressed.
Edgar Cayce Reading 5125-1
“What we are looking for, we are looking for outside.
And where did so many say it was? Within. This is not a small thing.
That which we are searching for is within us. We may call it God, we may call it happiness, we may call it peace, or we may call it true love.
All of these things are names of only one thing. And this thing can be found within.” maharaji
Often you will hear people speak about faith as if it is something that is built into the character and if you don't have it , ...well, it looks like your pretty much hopeless; or not good enough somehow.
If I ask you for a penny and you do not have a penny, How could you give me one? The same goes with faith. Someone forgot to tell us that Faith is a gift from God That You Must Ask For.
There is an omission that faith is merely a tool to use. There is a failer in our systems to teach its work and power.
One must only ask for this gift and then one must place this gift within his heart, and when he hears a hopeless cry; One must only open his heart, show his heart seed to his friend, and then place this heart seed back into his own heart.
The true gift is that the heart seed becomes bigger each time one shares it with a friend. If he stops sharing it with his friends, it dies.
Spread the faith and Love around Today.
Joanne Cooper
This post was modified from its original form on 16 Jan, 7:55
The Essence of Love
In My Prayers I ask God to Give Me the Eye's to See Love and its Essence through the Lense of my My Camera. I often find things around the house that remind me of my loved ones. It has helped me to find Christ in others.
I think that Love resides in the is~ness of everything.
My Girl Meg
Joanne Cooper
If you knew that there was a jewel at the center of your heart, You would stop at nothing to open the package.
Joanne Cooper
Sara Paddison, Hidden Power of the Heart
You'll discover that real love is millions of miles past falling in love with anyone or anything. When you make that one effort to feel compassion instead of blame or self-blame, the heart opens again and continues opening.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was talking to her sisters and said,
"Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting...Give them not only your care, but also your heart."
"Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if only we can open ourselves to it"
~ Emily Hilburn Sell
