For as long as I can remember, my aunt had stained glass hanging in her window. She had pieces from all over the world, each one hand crafted by a stained glass artist.
She loved them all, but there was one piece that hung in her kitchen window and she often referred to it as her "motivational stained glass". She told me that she hung this particular piece in her kitchen window where she would see it every day.
The stained glass piece, which she was referring to, was a rainbow. And on the rainbow someone had written the saying:
"Remember, to make rainbows you need sun and rain."
The motivational stained glass piece was one of the smaller pieces of her wonderful collection, and was not particularly well done. I asked her why she kept it there. She said it gave her motivation on days when life presented challenges. It reminded her that we need to have some bad times to appreciate the good times. And, on the days when life was good, it always reminded her that life doesn't get any better than this.
I was at our local farmers market and found a stained glass rainbow similar to the one my aunt had hanging in her window. The one I bought did not have the saying on it, but every time I look at it I can remember my aunts words and the saying ….
There are times in our life when we don't take action because we feel the action is too little, that it wouldn't make a difference. However, sometimes the smallest gesture can make a huge impact on someone's life. There are many different ways we can show kindness to others, and it doesn't have to be in a big way.
The simplest of things may make the difference. A smile, a door being held open, a handwritten note, a kind word, the list can go on and on.
I was recently reading some of Aesop's fables and came across the story of The Lion and The Mouse. While this story has been around for a long time, it still has wisdom in its words. Below is the story:
One day a Lion was asleep when a little Mouse began running up and down his back; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.
"Please don't," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?"
The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go.
Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, he pulled with all his might, but the ropes were too strong. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight, in which the Lion was, went up to him, and with his sharp little teeth gnawed away the ropes, setting the Lion free.
"You once laughed at me," said the mouse. You thought I was too little to do you a good turn. But see, you owe your life to a poor little mouse."
While you may think the story is far fetched, the point I found in reading the story is not the size of the action that is important, but the difference that a small action made.
Odd as it may seem, thousands of people have found solutions to problems or have been able to see their way through difficult choices at the strangest times. You may think that the best solutions to challenges or issues come from spending consistent and dedicated time focused on the issue or challenge in order to find the answer but you may be surprised.
Countless resolutions, to what may have seemed an insurmountable problem, haven't been born through intense brainpower. Take, for example, the person who says that their best thoughts come when they are out walking their dog in the park, or during a long and leisurely shower, or when taking a drive through the countryside. So, why is this?
For those of you who have a burning issue where the solution or tactic eludes you, or when you have been working on a task that just seems to have gotten the better of you and you can't make headway, take a mini zero vacation. A what, you ask?
In simple terms, it is sometimes better to let your mind go to zero where you are not consciously trying to arrive at an answer or solution. In order to take this mini zero vacation, you probably will best be doing something totally different from whatever it is you are attempting to overcome or resolve. Take yourself away from your normal surroundings and engage in an activity that, at least on the conscious level, involves your mind in something pleasurable, different, unusual, or physically challenging. It is when your conscious mind is involved in a different or rewarding activity that allows your subconscious mind to work on whatever it is that is giving you a particularly difficult time.
Going to zero doesn't have to mean going on a long vacation to some remote island or exotic getaway either. Going to zero can be as close as a nearby wind swept beach, or tranquil lake where you can put a line in or go for a canoe ride, or simply skip stones across the water. An activity can be physically engaging like tennis, roller blading, swimming or jogging.
The point is this: give yourself permission to let your mind go to zero where it concerns whatever task, issue, or challenge you face and are struggling with. You may just find what you have been searching for.
A—"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz
B— "Believing in yourself is not for you; it's for every person who has touched your life in a significant way and for every person your life will touch the same way five minutes from now, or five centuries from now." Jaye Miller
C—”Change is as inexorable as time, yet nothing meets with more resistance." Benjamin Disraeli
D—"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the action stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living." Anais Nin
E—"Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do." Norman Vincent Peale
F—"Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don't give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life's problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works." Yanni
G—"Goals are like a map. They help us determine where we want to end up, and give us personal direction on which to focus our energy." Catherine Pulsifer
H—"Happiness depends upon ourselves." Aristotle
I—"Ideas won’t keep; something must be done about them." Alfred North Whitehead
J—”Joy is not in things; it is in us.”Richard Wagner
K—“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.” Samuel Johnson
L—"Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects." Arnold Glasow
M—"Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups." Peter Davies
N—"Nature does nothing uselessly." Aristotle
O—"Opportunity dances with those who are ready on the dance floor." H. Jackson Brown Jr.
P—"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." John Quincy Adams
Q—"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." Anthony Robbins
R—"Results! Why, man I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work." Thomas A. Edison
S—"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo DaVinci
T—"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend." Diogenes Laetius
U—"Use your unique abilities to shake the world." Wendy Hearn
V—"Victory belongs to the most persevering." Napoleon Bonaparte
W—"Wisdom is the daughter of experience." Leonardo da Vinci
X—"X-ray your life, are you where you want to be, if not set your goals, take action." Catherine Pulsifer
Y—"Youth teaches, age puts what we have learned into practice, teaching us wisdom." Catherine Pulsifer
Z—"Zone into your comfort zone, and, then zone into where you want to be. Be all that you can be." Catherine Pulsifer
