A MYSTICAL LAW OF NATURE
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Posted:Aug 28, 2012 8:47 am
Last Updated:Aug 30, 2012 3:56 pm 2197 Views
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'There is a mystical law of nature that the three
things we crave most in life -
happiness, freedom and peace of mind
are always attained
by giving them
to someone else.'
- Peyton Conway March
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6
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HOME SWEET HOME
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Posted:Aug 26, 2012 7:30 pm
Last Updated:Aug 28, 2012 8:39 pm 2297 Views
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No matter how small or basic, home is so precious! To come back and put your feet up, read a favourite book, watch TV, sip tea or coffee, chat on the phone or just pop off to sleep… we often take these pleasures for granted and I feel at home today for a change while away from home. The monsoon sun is soft, and my bed is so cozy. I feel gratitude fill my heart, for this day, as I reminisce home.
Felt like jotting down the things that make home so special. Do share your thoughts, too!
1. Your favorite coffee mug or tea set.
2. A pleasant doorbell.
3. The freedom to belt out a bathroom song.
4. A ready supply of cookies and snacks when unexpected guests turn up.
5. At least one cozy chair in a favorite nook.
6. Little things that make you happy—a basket for your magazines, a favourite colour pattern on the curtain, the sun slanting in through a corner window.
7. The scent of cooking.
8. A color scheme that makes you happy each time you walk in.
9. That secure feeling when you’re tucked up in bed and there’s a thunderstorm outside.
10. The smile on a loved one’s face when you step in.
11. A greeting by your pet.
12. Etc, etc, ............................
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7
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SOME ANTI INFLAMMATORY FOODS
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Posted:Aug 26, 2012 7:44 am
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2012 9:04 pm 2290 Views
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Some of the best healing remedies to overcome inflammation also taste fabulous (I can’t say that about any prescription medications). Plus, foods won’t cause the nasty side effects common to regular allopathic medication. Here is the list.
1. Blueberries: Blueberries are also excellent anti-inflammatory foods. They increase the amounts of compounds called heat-shock proteins that decrease as people age. When heat-shock proteins are in short supply inflammation, pain and tissue damage is the result.
2. Cayenne Pepper: Ironically, cayenne pepper turns DOWN the heat on inflammation due to its powerful anti-inflammatory compound capsaicin.
3. Celery and 4. Celery Seeds: James Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy, found more than 20 anti-inflammatory compounds in celery and celery seeds in his research, including a substance called apigenin, which is powerful in its anti-inflammatory action. Add celery seeds to soups, stews or as a salt substitute in many recipes.
5. Cherries: While many people opt for aspirin as their first course of action when they feel pain, Muraleedharan Nair, PhD, professor of natural products and chemistry at Michigan State University, found that tart cherry extract is ten times more effective than aspirin at relieving inflammation.
6. Dark Green Veggies: Veggies like kale and spinach contain high amounts of alkaline minerals like calcium and magnesium. Both minerals help balance body chemistry to alleviate inflammation.
7. Fish: According to Dr. Alfred D. Steinberg, an arthritis expert at the National Institute of Health, fish oil acts directly on the immune system by suppressing 40 to 55 percent of the release of cytokines – compounds known to destroy joints and cause inflammation.
8. Flax seeds and Flax Oil: Flax seeds are high in natural oils that convert into hormone-like substances in the body to reduce inflammatory substances. Add ground flax seeds to smoothies, atop pancakes or French toast, and many other foods. Do not heat.
9. Ginger: Dr. Krishna C. Srivastava at Odense University in Denmark found that ginger was superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Tylenol or Advil at alleviating inflammation.
10. Raspberries, 11. Blackberries, and 12. Strawberries: In Dr. Muraleedharan Nair’s later research she discovered that these berries have similar anti-inflammatory effects as cherries.
13. Turmeric: Research shows that the Indian spice frequently used in curries suppresses pain and inflammation through a similar mechanism as drugs like COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors (without the harmful side effects).
14. Walnuts: Like flax seeds, raw, unsalted walnuts contain plentiful amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids that decrease pain and inflammation.
Adapted from Arthritis-Proof: The drug-Free Way to Beat Pain and Inflammation by Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD.
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THE OLD MAN
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Posted:Aug 24, 2012 4:45 pm
Last Updated:Aug 28, 2012 8:51 am 2299 Views
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This is a true story,
This is a C/P.
"It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.
Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier.. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.
Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of shrimp.
Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier.
Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank you.'
In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave.
He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place.
When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away. And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.
If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, 'a guy who's a sandwich shy of a picnic,' as my might say. To onlookers, he's just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp.
To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant .... maybe even a lot of nonsense.
Old folks often do strange things,
at least in the eyes of Boomers and Busters.
Most of them would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida . That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better.
His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero back in World War II. On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.
Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were.
They needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle. They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft..
Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap.
It was a seagull!
Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck.. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal - a very slight meal for eight men - of it. Then they used the intestines for bait.. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait.......and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued (after 24 days at sea...).
Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank you.' That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.
Reference : (Max Lucado, "In The Eye of the Storm",pp..221,
225-226).
PS: Eddie started Eastern Airlines."
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AN UNTOLD STORY - DELTA FLIGHT 15 ; GRATITUDE
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Posted:Aug 20, 2012 4:57 pm
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2012 10:54 pm 2510 Views
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I know everyone here has a big heart -
.... here is an amazing story from a flight attendant on Delta Flight 15, written following 9-11. I had never heard this story....just amazing.....this is unity, compassion and gratitude.:
"On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic . All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain.
As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination."
"No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander , New Foundland.
He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately--no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.
"While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message
arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings.
"We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander , New Foundland to have it checked out.
"We promised to give more information after landing in Gander . There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander . Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM! .... that's 11:00 AM EST.
"There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S. After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground control in Gander told us to stay put.
"The Canadian Government was in charge of our situation and no one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near any of the air crafts. Only airport police would come around periodically, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so more planes landed and Gander ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, 27 of which were U.S. commercial jets.
"Meanwhile, bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones, but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada . Some did get through, but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the U.S. were either blocked or jammed.
"Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 52 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.
"We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.
" Gander had promised us medical attention, if needed, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.
"About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.
"After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 10,500 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander ! We were told to just relax at
the hotel and we would be contacted when the U.S. airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while.
"We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.
"Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the "plane people." We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time.
"Two days later, we got that call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days. What we found out was incredible.
" Gander and all the surrounding communities (within about a 75 Kilometer radius) had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up.
"ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the "guests." Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 kilometers from Gander where they were put up in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes.
"Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility. There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration.
"Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone once a day. During the day, passengers were offered "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers.
"Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. Finally, when they were told that U.S. airports had reopened, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single passenger missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about the whereabouts of each and every passenger and knew which plane they needed to be on and when
all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully. It was absolutely incredible.
"When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a chartered party flight. The crew just stayed out of their way. It was mind-boggling. Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging , addresses, and email addresses.
"And then a very unusual thing happened. One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said "of course" and handed him the mike. He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte.
"He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, and addresses, the total was for more than $14,000!
"The gentleman, a MD from Virginia , promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well. As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $1.5 million and has assisted 134 students in college education.
"I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a far away place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them. It reminds me how much good there is in the world."
"In spite of all the rotten things we see going on in today’s world this story confirms that there are still a lot of good and Godly people in the world and when things get bad, they will come forward."
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CONFUSED LITTLE ZONGMIT
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Posted:Aug 19, 2012 7:45 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2012 10:45 pm 2181 Views
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My little girl, Zongmit (7 plus years), is confused.
We have two dogs - a female named Toffee (she is sweet) age about 6 years and the other, Toffes's , MoMo about 2 plus. the picture that is here is that of Toffee and MoMo alongwith his two siblings - Mama Toffee is easily recognised by her size. MoMo is next to her on the extreme left in the siblings. The picture is about 2 years old. The dogs are a mixed breed between Apso (or Lhasa Apso) and Cocker Spaniel.
MoMo is a young active adult now indulging in all the active adult games. His two siblings are gone taken charge of by my two nephews and are happy there but MoMo stays on happily with us. Both Toffee and MoMo receive a lot of love from little Zongmit who is now rather worried.
She was a witness to MoMo and Bubbles, a female of Chhungku La, my niece. Bubbles, in this mating season, got rather attracted to MoMo and MoMo is head over heels in love with her or whatever its equivalent (tale over nose ??? ) in dogs. Bubbles started coming to visit MoMo and they started their love game which was not found quite amusing, especially the aftermath of it, by my little Zongmit. She constantly complained and one fine day, when both Lady S and I were away, she hit Bubbles with a stick.
MoMo is usually not to be found in the house; totally a home person otherwise, he has not been seen these last few days, often to be discovered in the company of Bubbles in the mornings when I go for my walk.
That is when a knowledgeable friend of Zongmit, Dechen (9 plus), informed Zongmit, that she had been told by an elder, that MoMo and Bubbles are now married.
My worried little Zongmit is now full of questions - she says she never wants to get married if she is expected to behave like Bubbles and MoMo after she gets married.
Her other confusion is whether Lady S and I or her own parents also behave similarly as married couples ??
Lady S is going to have a little chat with Zongmit tomorrow  .
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LIVING A BETTER LIFE - POSITIVITY
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Posted:Aug 15, 2012 5:55 pm
Last Updated:Aug 20, 2012 6:00 am 2113 Views
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Do our negative emotions hold the key to living a better life?
The obvious answer may seem to be, no—what could be good about feeling bad?
However, John Sharp, M.D., psychiatrist and author of “The Emotional Calendar,” points out that, it’s impossible to deny that negative emotions play a significant role in the life of every human being.
“It would be nice if we could live in a world where there’s no cause for negative emotions—but that’s not the world we live in. The key is figuring out how we can see them as potentially positive and useful,” he says.
Embrace the undesirable :
No one wants to feel sad, anxious, afraid, or angry. This can make it difficult to tease out the advantages of being subjected to these emotions.
The first step to finding the positive in the negative, according to Sharp, is not to let the unpleasantness of an emotion deter you from feeling it fully.
Some people try to evade emotional aches by drowning them with food, alcohol and drugs. Others simply try to deny the existence of painful feelings. In either case, it’s never healthy for a person to reject their natural reactions. “Trying to avoid pain seems like a good idea, but if you’re always running from it, you can make a lot of trouble for yours]elf,” Sharp says.
Advantages of the emotional unholy trinity
Three of the most common negative emotions are: anxiety, sadness and guilt. Each is painful in its own way. Yet, when experienced in moderation, each can also convey certain benefits:
• Anxiety: Worry and fear are emotions that spring from one of mankind’s most basic instincts: the “fight-or-flight” response. Sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, and rapid breathing are all physical manifestations of this reaction. Even in the modern world, where one no longer has to be on the lookout for lion attacks, anxiety can still be helpful. Their risk-averse nature can make anxious people more organized and better at planning. From an interpersonal perspective, people who tend to be more apprehansive may also be less judgmental, more reliable, and more empathetic than those who experience less worry.
• Sadness: Some experts suggest that feeling blue—or even a little bit depressed—is the mind’s way of getting people to slow down and examine their lives. People who are depressed often find themselves thinking constantly about the same problem or experience—they can’t seem to think about anything else. Proponents of the benefits of sadness argue that this rumination helps people focus on their problems so that they can find solutions and healing. However, too much unfocused reflection can be unproductive—even harmful. Sharp says that the downside of depression occurs when a person starts feeling as though things in life will always go badly for them, or that they personally are a failure.
• Guilt: Psychologists argue that guilt can enrich relationships between people who have reciprocal feelings of concern for one another. Research conducted by psychologists from Case Western Reserve indicates that a healthy amount of remorse can compel people to fix the problems in their relationships. Guilt may foster intimacy between people by forcing them to consider one another’s feelings and emotional needs. It can also help even out the distribution of power in relationships where one person is subordinate to another in some way.
Make our emotions work for us :
Sharp offers three steps we can take to help identify and harness the positive potential of negative emotions:
1. Stop: Before we can tease out how you’re feeling, you need to stop the runaway train of thought that often accompanies negative emotions. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, Sharp suggests quieting you mind by envisioning a literal stop sign.
2. Name: Once we have regained a bit of mental clarity, we need to put a name to our emotions. According to Sharp, many people have trouble accurately describing how they feel. “Try to name the feeling in the most nuanced way possible,” he says, “Feelings are gemstones - multi-faceted.” For example, we might be feeling disappointed, but also pretty sad and angry, with a hint of tiredness. All of these feelings are contribute to our current mood and need to be recognized before they can be dealt with properly.
3. Recognize: Feelings can be so powerful that it can be hard to separate ourselves from them. Sharp says that there are two important things we need to recognize about our emotions: a) feelings are not fact, and b) we are more than this one particular feeling. Emotions are temporary - we will not always feel angry, sad, etc.
Whether they’re positive or negative, Sharp feels that it’s important for everyone to accept and learn from their emotions. “Emotions are a way to cast light on your experiences. They help you analyze how to do things better - how to have a better outcome next time,” he says.
However, if your emotions become too strong or constant, they can be detrimental. If w reeach the point of being overwhelmed by a particular emotion, we may need to seek help from a professional (psychologist, therapist) to help us cope with and sort through our feelings.
- Care 2 with thanks
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WE CHANGE AS WE AGE !?!?!?
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Posted:Aug 10, 2012 5:20 pm
Last Updated:Aug 15, 2012 4:02 pm 2274 Views
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A group of 40 year old buddies discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the waitresses there had low cut blouses and were very young.
Ten years later at 50 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the food there was better than most places and the wine selection was extensive.
Ten years later at 60 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they could eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant had a beautiful view of the ocean.
Ten years later, at 70 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the restaurant was wheel chair accessible and they even had an elevator.
Ten years later, at 80 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they had thought they never had been there before!
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THE 'SHAY' DAY
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Posted:Aug 9, 2012 12:05 am
Last Updated:Aug 12, 2012 5:37 am 2261 Views
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This is possibly one of the best mails (forwards) that I received - sharing it with all my SFF friends - have some tissues handy and put on your specks if you need them plus get yourself a drink, whichever variety you like.
Of course, some of you may have already come across it !!!!:
"Two Choices
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.
Yet my , Shay, cannot learn things as other do. He cannot understand things as other do.
Where is the natural order of things in my ?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that .'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
Run to first!'
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.
By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Ignore
2. Share it with others .............
MAY YOUR DAY BE A SHAY DAY !!!
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IS THIS LOVE ??
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Posted:Aug 7, 2012 6:45 am
Last Updated:Aug 12, 2012 5:37 am 2103 Views
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Sharing my read of this morning with all. Many thanks for reading, my friends.
The love you pray for is trying to reach you at every moment. So pray for the highest love. Then when it reaches you, your blessing will be infinite. Purity is the secret of fulfilling your desires. The purest heart brings the highest love.
To know what love really is, you must discover that you are love.
The force that makes life expand is desire.
When a desire follows the flow of love, it benefits all of life.
When desire is blocked, growth cannot happen naturally.
What does it mean to grow? It means letting life be new at any moment.
Desire is the heart’s way of reaching into the unknown.
When you cherish the unknown—in yourself and in others—you have become a lover.
For everyone love is the journey. Those we call lovers realize that this is true.
Love is constant. The journey is our way of experiencing an illusion: that love can change.
Love is everywhere and nowhere at the same time—like Being. Like God.
Today your love depends on how you feel and act. Tomorrow, if you are fortunate, it will depend on nothing.
When love comes, it feels as if it has found you. In truth you remembered to look for it.
Love isn’t fickle. It only comes and goes because we do.
Universal love is the expansion of personal love. Personal love is the concentration of universal love.
Loving someone else is the same as loving God. One person is a wave; God is the whole ocean.
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