The Most Amazing Personality

Helen Keller

How is it possible that a woman who was blind
and deaf from the age of 1 1/2 can be so full
of encouragement and love of life? How is it
that we who don't suffer her afflictions don't see
life in as positive a light as she did? Her beautiful words and motivational perspective are hard
to match, and her love of life shines as a model
for us all. If I can feel half as positive about
life as her words speak, I'll be a very happy
person indeed. Thank you, Helen.

True happiness is not attained through self-gratification,
but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but my chief duty is to accomplish humble tasks
as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along,
not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes,
but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker".

"Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge--broad deep knowledge--

is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low.

To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man's progress

is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries;

and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving,

one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life".

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength undef eatable".

"The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. I have met people so empty of joy
that when I clasped their frosty fingertips it seemed as if I were shaking hands
with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them,
so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child's hand,
but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others".

"I believe in the immortality of the soul because I have within me immortal longings".

"When one door of happiness closes another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door
that we do not see the one which has been opened for us".

"I have walked with people whose eyes are full of light
but who see nothing in sea or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books.
It were far better to sail forever in the night of blindness with sense,
and feeling, and mind, than to be content with the mere act of seeing.
The only lightless dark is the night of darkness in ignorance and insensibility".

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. "My friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges, and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation". Being a Person is not Enough; just think!

A POEM ABOUT GRATITUDE

THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE

Perhaps the best gift that you can give to yourself

Is to have gratitude in your heart

When others complain that life is a strain

Remember a prayer of thanks is a better start

Say a prayer of thanks for the day ahead
The safe night that just has been
Be comforted that no matter what comes next
You will have victory in the end.

This poem about gratitude and hope that was shared with me by one of my visitors. If you have written inspirational or motivational poem, I would be happy to feature it here.

Perhaps since I grew up in a home that provided the bare essentials of life, expressing gratitude comes easily to me. When I see all of the blessings that surround me I am virtually amazed at the richness of my life but I am so thankful that I didn’t get so much early on that I am ungrateful. Today’s kids are being cheated by their parents because they have so much they don’t know how to be thankful.

As an example, a month or two ago I was in a clothing store that doesn’t carry designer clothes but stocks good clothes for an affordable price. I was behind a mother in line with an eight year old (or thereabouts) child. The sour, disgruntled attitude was pouring off the child because his mom had not taken him to a more exclusive store to buy his school uniforms. He was disrespectful, unpleasant and by no means did he have an attitude of gratitude. This child was by no means thankful or appreciative that his mother was spending her hard earned money on his needs rather than her own.

I can well remember getting excited about school starting in the fall because that meant that we would get new clothes and shoes. Once the clothes were bought, we were told which items were for everyday wear and which ones would be saved for church on Sunday and special occasions. I remember one of my sisters conveniently losing her everyday shoes once in hopes that she would be allowed to wear her best shoes to school one day. Mother, merely told her she would stay home from school to search until she found her school shoes. And in those days, staying home meant doing "special" work for mom if you weren’t sick and unable to get out of bed. Amazingly my sister located her missing loafers within the next few minutes.

Some might look at such an upbringing as being deprived and I suppose in some ways they are right. But what I see is a lesson in. When you have done without and learned to make do you learn to be grateful for things that you might otherwise take for granted.

Take this opportunity to reflect on whether we fully appreciate gifts from our Heavenly Father. Are we grateful for His sacrifice of the greatest gift ever bestowed upon us – the gift of everlasting life? Are we thankful that we woke this morning in good health surrounded by His love? Do we feel the need to express our gratitude to Him who gave us the give of love, peace and grace.

Jesus With Love

                    My Miracle – Working, Power is yours

      I have promised miracles to those who love and follow me, and I can deliver on that promise. My power is limitless. According to your need and the situation, I will do wondrous things for you and through you.
     In order to see these manifestations of my power, only one thing is required of you: faith. You must believe that I am able to work the miracle and ask me to do it, and then expect that I will. When you ask in faith, I am bound by my word to give you what you need.

        It might not always be what you think you need, but I will always rescue, protect, supply for you, or resolve the problem some other ways, as I know is best. Sometimes it will be an over miracle, where there is no doubt that I have answered your prayer, but other times it won’t be so obvious.
        I manifest my power most freely no behalf of those who follow me closest, who do their best to live according to the principles of my word and what they believe is my will for them personally, but anyone who calls on me in faith will get the help they need, according to my will.

      Remember this when the days darken and you find yourself in what seem like hopeless situation: nothing is impossible for me, so anything is possible for you when you ask in faith for me to intervene. I always reward faith, my power is always at the ready, and I put myself at your back and call – all because I love you………
                                                                                                                                - From Jesus with love.

A Spiritual Exercise

Life is seldom problem free, and it seems that many of our problems involve the people closest to us, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and others with whom we interact on a regular basis. Even if those people aren’t the cause of our problems, they are affected by our reactions to them. If we are in the habit of reacting negatively, that can sour life and relationships faster than almost anything else.
One of the secrets to both happiness and success with people is to not allow the relatively small problems and irritations of daily life to cast large shadows. “Keep your eyes to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.” The apostle Paul was more specific when he said, “ Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy- meditate an these things.”
For the next couple of weeks, why not take a few minutes each night to reflect on your day? What were the high points and low points? Did you thank god for the highs? How could you have reacted better to the lows by looking on the bright side? There’s something to be gained from even the worst situations if you look for it. By recasting the events of your day in a more positive light, you condition yourself to react more positively in the future.
This is the way of leading our mind…
- From Jesus with Love.