TOUCHING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE AROUND US

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Mr. Quote Man sent me this today..... to quote
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"Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see,
that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me."
----- Alexander Pope
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Unquote
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That's a beautiful poem, isn't it? It covers about most everything a human being would think... feel.... or do with life and people. I have to admit it that sometimes people can be quite irritating with their flaws and imperfections. Like I have good neighbors and bad neighbors. The good add to my joy and the bad just makes me pull at my hair in utter exasperation. But then again, maybe they also must be exasperated with some of my bad which I may not be aware of. That's how we are.... we think we're doing fine but if you stop and be still for a bit for some quiet retrospection, you might get to see that somebody is quite uncomfortable by what you did. But that's just it........ I have to remind myself often that people are imperfect and so am I. We're all the same in our greatness and our stupidity.
 
.And so it would take some good conscious learning to try to understand that on the broad spectrum of humanity, both good and bad walk side by side. That works true in every person anywhere you find yourself with on this planet. There's no perfection...... yet. What we may perceive as perfect isn't so. With the many layers enveloping an object, thing, or individual.... we only get to see a portion or one side... or several portions or sides.. but not really its entirety. The peeling off of layers is a continuing process orchestrated by Someone up there. Everything or everyone, I believe, is still work in progress... particularly human beings. 
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So I guess what the poem is telling us is to be magnanimous in our dealings with people, in our own inner circle of family and friends .. and outside of it with strangers near and far. Be kind..... kinder..... because somebody is going through a painful peeling off of layers. It's the same road we all are made to take towards perfection. Yes... by God's design. 
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Well, it's a lesson we each have to learn day after day. While there are people around us, there will always be lessons to be learned. Let's be kind to one another. It makes our journey easier.
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Blessings to you and your dear ones, my good friends. Blessings!

EVERYTHING YOU GO THROUGH, GROWS YOU

 

 

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A friend asked me this question.............. 'What do you do when bad happens to you?' .I looked at her and said.. 'You've been hurt bad?' .. 'Hey, I'm doing the asking here.' she retorted in jest.
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As every person is a story you can be very sure that hurt and pain along with other things complete a person's personal history. Each bit did its part to shape the person for better or for worse and this definitely will impact people who come close to the territory or happen to be near it or get drawn to it by some unexplained circumstance. People collide with one another by some mysterious force but its reason not fully or always understood. Not yet anyway. This human collision does get us bruised.. battered... shaken up... wounded and scarred. Unhappy memories are then created which sadly can still prick even long after the experience is gone. Some may say forgiven, but many more will say not forgotten.
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Bad can hurt. We all know it as it comes to us in many different forms, ways, means, intensity, appearances, reason or intent, sometimes unintended, sometimes disguised, but with the sole purpose of hurting us and turning our world upside down--- rewriting our story in its entirety or in part. It doesn't draw a pretty picture, particularly if you can see it in the heart --- torn, tattered, messed up, beaten, weary.
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It made me think ......
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Maybe there is no answer. Maybe one just lives through the experience..... try to respond to it in the best manner possible..... draw strength where strength can be found from within or from without..... become the change which is eventually going to happen anyway like it or not. But something within, something bigger than yourself, makes you want to try to transform this experience into a treasure - your treasure - that would matter for a very, very long time. For you... for your life... Because, truth is, you owe it to yourself to do just that.
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My friend threw me that question but I think she didn't expect an answer. The answer which, I believe, she wasn't seeking but one which she already knew ------ Bad has its way of making us grow.

ESSENTIALLY WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER YOU

Here’s a little story.

I had a dream one night.

I saw myself standing on bare dry ground not a mountain or tree in sight -- nothing there but an odd-looking weighing scale. Odd with huge and I say huge, empty plates. Then out of nowhere appeared an old but distinguished looking man with long gray beard that oddly touched the ground. He looked at me with nary an expression on his old wisdom-lined face and raised his right hand in the air. I followed his hand, looked, but saw nothing there. Then he lowered it pointing to the right empty plate on the scale. Soon enough the plate began to fill with the events of my life – the good memories of my life. One by one it filled the plate now almost overflowing. I smiled at the thought of those wonderful moments of the past I dare not ever forget. The scale tipped down apparently under the weight of its load and thereby raised the opposite empty plate high.

I waited for the old man; I felt the show wasn’t finished yet. The opposite plate was still empty. As if reading my thoughts, he raised his left hand the same way he did with his right. It seemed like he was gesturing something or to someone unseen to begin. And similarly when he pointed to the left empty plate, it right away began to fill with the other side of my past – the sad memories there. As it piled one after the other on the plate, I felt my tears fall. The hurt and pain I could not deny despite leaving it all behind with time. I noticed then that the scale stood with both plates evenly at that point. It stayed there so still.

Then he spoke.

“Both the good and the bad times of your life stand equal on the scale. Neither is greater or lesser than the other; both stand invaluable in the work that they do in you. Be grateful for the good that happens and ... be humble in your misfortunes when they occur because both essentially equally work together to create a better ---you.”

The End.

A GOOD FRIEND IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Oh, don't we all get to meet so many different people in this life journey. I have been so lucky to have met and found good people and formed lasting friendships with them. It can never be disputed that wonderful friendships bring wonderful joys and precious memories to last a lifetime.

And yet on the other hand, one does get some rotten apples mixed in there somewhere in the same social basket. oh yes! admittedly a few have managed to make life miserable for me at some points --- behaved in a manner which caused unnecessary pain, hurt. 'Have no idea if they felt any remorse for their behavior then or if they were ever aware if at all. But they taught me something about bad people in our midst. The rule is stay far away - clear far away from them. They can break your heart.

When I was seriously contemplating possible options of crushing the 'enemy' (lols).... I realized that it wasn't the right approach. Of course I couldn’t let the few rotten ones ruin the rest of the bunch -- the good apples in my basket. And neither have them ruin or snuff-out my enjoyment of a basket full of so much good. Good friends and friendships are a rarity, as everybody knows, and certainly are lovely treasures worthy of keeping. I meant to keep my treasures.

So remembering mom's words -- 'sift through the grains to get to the best', I wrote them off my life with these final words ... "I'm done with you"... turned my back and walked away.

We should choose our friends. But because we do get both good and bad apples in the same basket ... resolve to leave those who you discover cannot measure up. And treasure wonderful people who give genuine meaning - honor - and value to the word 'friend' and 'friendship'. Appreciate and celebrate good people and friends. They are part of life’s treasures and blessings.

A good friend is a gift from God.