Words of Wisdom

Good Wolf, Bad Wolf (folk tale)

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.”

- Viktor Frankl

Good Wolf, Bad Wolf (folk tale)

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.” -

Viktor E. Frankl

30 Life Lessons

1 Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, listen to your gut feelings.

3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Save for things that matter.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

9. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

10. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

11.   Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

12.   When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

13.   Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

14.   When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

15.   Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

16.   Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

17.   The most important sex organ is the brain.

18.   No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

19.   Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

20.   What other people think of you is none of your business.

21. Forgive but don’t forget.

22. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.

23. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

24. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

25. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

26. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

27. Appreciate what you already have, not what you think you need.

28. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

29. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

30. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Thomas Edison

30 Life Lessons

1 Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, listen to your gut feelings.

3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Save for things that matter.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

9. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

10. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

11.   Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

12.   When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

13.   Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

14.   When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

15.   Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

16.   Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

17.   The most important sex organ is the brain.

18.   No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

19.   Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

20.   What other people think of you is none of your business.

21. Forgive but don’t forget.

22. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.

23. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

24. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

25. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

26. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

27. Appreciate what you already have, not what you think you need.

28. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

29. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

30. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

"I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Thomas Edison

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

By Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is between you and yourself.

It is an internal process where we work through the hurt, gain an understanding of what happened, rebuild a sense of safety, and let go of the resentment. The offending person has nothing to do with this process. We can forgive someone we don’t see anymore, or someone who has no intention of apologizing. So an apology is nice to have but is not necessary for forgiveness.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is between you and the offender.

It is an interpersonal process where we discuss with the other person what happened, express the hurt, they own their part in the hurt, express remorse, and apologies and then we begin to restore a friendly relationship.

It takes one person to forgive; it takes two people to reconcile.

"Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past."

- Lily Tomlin

Words of Wisdom

“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.”

- Viktor E. Frankl

“A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke

“If it costs you your peace, it's too expensive.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

“Did you ever notice how difficult it is to argue with someone who's not obsessed with being right?”

- Wayne Dyer

“The two most unnecessary emotions in life are guilt and worry.”

- Wayne Dyer

“The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.”

- Wayne Dyer

“Things turn out the best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

- Art Linkletter

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

- Mark Twain

“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 that has been opened for us.”

- Helen Keller

”Comparison is the thief of joy.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

“One of the highest places you can get to is to be independent of the good opinions of others.”

- Wayne Dyer