The Wooden Bowl

Strange heading for a cancer blog, please take time to read it, as it opens one's mind & make us think of those who cared for us while we're young.


The Wooden Bowl
 
I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now,
a year from now.
 
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.
 The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered
 
 The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and
 failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
 When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
 
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
'We must do something about father,' said the son.
 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'
 
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
 There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
 Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
 
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
 Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
 
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.


One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
 He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.
' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work..
 
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
 
That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.
 For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
 neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
 
On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
 
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:
 a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
 
I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'
 
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
 
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back sometimes..
 
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you
 But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
 your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.


I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
 
I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
 
I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
 
People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
 
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
 
I've learned that you should pass this on to everyone you care about .I just did.

I am not going to be the one who lets it die.. I found it believable --
 angels have walked beside me all my life--and they still do
 
This is to all of you who
 mean something to me,
 I pray for your happiness. The Candle Of Love, Hope & Friendship

Best wishes to all for a very healthy & happy life. May God bless you all.

for those interested in vegetarian recipes, you can view my blog

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

 

Story about positive thinking

A Motivational story about  Positive Thinking  

     Read this, and let it really sink in... Then, choose how you start your day tomorrow...
Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When  you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You  choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my ownbusiness. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was  released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'

I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. 
 

Positive thinking the the first step towards a happy life.

Attitude is everything

If everyone  applies  just these, the whole world will live in happiness.