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QUOTE: “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” (Lao Tzu)
We hope this next step will enrich your soul and give you the energy to introduce more wisdom and practical philosophy into your life…
ALLOW THESE SHORT WISDOM STORIES TO ILLUSTRATE THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND LIFE… We have over 500 similar stories upon this site.
SELF DEVELOPMENT:
Why do we choose to accept a first impression?
It seems that we have grown up with accepting them and therefore it becomes a habitual act. This accepting a habitual act alone proves how many other aspects of our life can be clouded by judgements made from assumptions.
Is accepting a first impression actually the first impression? More often than not it is the second impression. The first impression is a gut feeling that we discard incorrectly.
I was out shopping with the family over the weekend and walked passed a tramp. The children stared intently at the tramp and after we had passed they gave me a barrage of questions. At eight and six years old my two girls were wondering was he a nice man or a naughty stranger, and why was he sitting on the floor?
I explained the reasons for his need to sit and beg, but also continued with that we all would assume that he is a horrible person, because of his unshaven and unwashed appearance. Then I followed with, the way he appears on the outside doesn’t mean that it is the way he is on the inside. He maybe able to laugh about his misgivings and have learnt some very valuable lessons in life, his soul maybe enriched with love and affection.
We are better to reserve judgement than fill in the gaps and complete our first impression without all the facts. Yet, nevertheless as with our life, we seem to be making decisions with fewer facts than should be advised.
To improve our self development we need introduce a goodness that prevents the proverbial first impression being accepted. Making assumptions means that you are taking risks, and taking risks causes heartache and problems.
When you first see a tramp you show immediate empathy and sorrow; and only then do you put up your guard and make the recognizable ‘first impression’.
The more you assume the more you are making decisions without the full facts. This leads to inaccuracies in your life; you’ll be continually going over ground you’ve already trodden.
Spot the two first impressions accepted in this story. Watch also for the gathering of people who act as though they were sheep and follow everyone else’s lead and make the same assumptions.
HIS NAME IS JOHN
His name is John. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day John decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so John starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.
John gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behaviour at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward John. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-grey hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, “You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?”
It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, “The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.” And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to John and sits with him so he won’t be alone.
Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.”
(Unknown Author)
QUOTE: “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Highest Laws, 1854)
THE LOVE OF WISDOM:
QUOTE: “In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”
(Anthony Robbins, Author and Speaker)
In the United Kingdom there is a saying, “If you look after your pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.”
In WISDOM the same applies. If you become habitual in the process of looking after your smaller actions, as Anthony Robbins puts it, ‘your consistent actions’; you will automatically through habit approach your bigger actions in the right manner.
To start over, to start again is never too far away. If for example you begin to have a few poor actions. Pause, gather your energy and start once more. Try to make your every action pure and correct.
What about your family and friends? Do you tell them the truth? You do not need your memory as much if you tell the truth, as you can always quote the truth easily. Today’s story is about a first impression. How you perceive something to be before you get there may not be how it appears. Try not to expect all of the time as too many disappointments are sure to follow.
Expectations can steer you away from happiness, because over 80% of the time your expectations are wrong. Stay with your instinct, your gut reaction and the need for expectation is reduced.
AN OLD MAN AND HIS DOG
An old man and his dog were walking along a country road, enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to the man that he had died. He remembered dying, and realized, too, that the dog had been dead for many years. He wondered where the road would lead them, and continued onward.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall, white arch that gleamed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He was pleased that he had finally arrived at heaven, and the man and his dog walked toward the gate. As he got closer, he saw someone sitting at a beautifully carved desk off to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, “Excuse me, but is this heaven?”
“Yes, it is, sir,” the man answered.
“Wow! Would you happen to have some water?” the man asked.
“Of course, sir, come right in, and I’ll have some ice water brought right up.” The gatekeeper gestured to his rear, and the huge gate began to open.
“I assume my friend can come in…” the man said, gesturing toward his dog.
But the reply was, “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t accept pets.”
The man thought about it, then thanked the gatekeeper, turned back toward the road, and continued in the opposite direction. After another long walk, he reached the top of another long hill, and he came to a dirt road which led through a farm gate. There was no fence, and it looked as if the gate had never been closed, as grass had grown up around it. As he approached the gate, he saw a man just inside, sitting in the shade of a tree in a rickety old chair, reading a book. “Excuse me!” he called to the reader. “Do you have any water?”
“Yeah, sure, there’s a pump over there,” the man said, pointing to a place that couldn’t be seen from outside the gate. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”
“How about my friend here?” the traveller gestured to the dog.
“He’s welcome too, and there’s a bowl by the pump,” he said. They walked through the gate and, sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a dipper hanging on it and a bowl next to it on the ground. The man filled the bowl for his dog, and then took a long drink himself.
When both were satisfied, he and the dog walked back toward the man, who was sitting under the tree waiting for them, and asked, “What do you call this place?” the traveller asked.
“This is heaven,” was the answer.
“Well, that’s confusing,” the traveller said. “It certainly doesn’t look like heaven, and there’s another man down the road who said that place was heaven.”
“Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates?”
“Yes, it was beautiful.”
“Nope. That’s hell.”
“Doesn’t it offend you for them to use the name of heaven like that?”
“No. I can see how you might think so, but it actually saves us a lot of time. They screen out the people who are willing to leave their best friends behind.”
(Unknown Author)
QUOTE: “Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere wholeheartedly, one-directionally, without regret or reservation.”
(William H. Sheldon)
LOVE:
It has been said that to LOVE others you must first be able to love yourself. But how is that achieved?
Start small, understand small, then move bigger…
If your self esteem is low we need to immediately recognise what is good about ourselves. Our plus points don’t just disappear!
We may be standing in line at a supermarket and the person behind has only two items. Do we think we are busy or do we let the person through?
If we let the person through, we are caring and considerate. If we can see a little of this each hour we have enough to start building a foundation of love.
If we catch a bee in the house, do we stamp on it or do we catch it and let it out of the back door? If we let it out of the back door or a window, this is another sign of consideration, love and caring.
These small things add up.
So… Let’s assume we had hit rock bottom; perhaps a few bad days tagged onto each other. It doesn’t mean that we loose our character and determination, it just means it isn’t engaged that’s all.
You cannot SEE anything of value when you’re at rock bottom; that is when we need to be reminded of the beauty of PAUSING. When you pause you can let go of where you are at. In effect it allows a shift of perspective and you can SEE the light once more. To pause allows you to see the truth and generate energy, allowing you strength to make changes.
If you’ve loved others once you can love others again, but first you must clear the way to LOVE yourself. Take a look back into your past and see a few moments that love was clearly evident. SMILE… You can do it again. You do not need to find new skills, you’ve had them before, you just need a reminder on how to use them again.
Today’s excerpt whilst written for women applies to men also. Each line has a major instruction within it. In being able to accept these guidelines is a sign that you have LOVE in your soul. If you can nod in appreciation of the message they give, you’ll be oozing love.
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
How to fall in love without losing herself…
How to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship…
When to try harder … and when to walk away…
That she can’t change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents…
That her childhood may not have been perfect… but it’s over…
What she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…
How to live alone … even if she doesn’t like it…
Whom she can trust, whom she can’t, and why she shouldn’t take it personally…
Where to go … be it to her best friend’s kitchen table … or a charming inn in the woods… when her soul needs soothing…
What she can and can’t accomplish in a day … a month … and a year
(Unknown Author)
QUOTE: “Exercise alone provides physical benefits of which we know. However, if you also adopt a strategy that engages your mind while you exercise, you can get a whole host of psychological benefits fairly quickly as well.”
(James Rippe, M.D.)
