Wednesday’s Child Is Full of . . . Hope

The theme for the month of November (on Sundays) is still Gratitude. But for this particular Wednesday, I’ve decided we need a change in the words of the nursery rhyme. I’m going to squeeze a little hope in alongside gratitude. Don’t you think they’ll do well together???

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe  hope,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonnie and blithe and good and gay.
[1]

autumn_oak_park_2014_056-1

A Life of Gratitude

The theme for the month of November is Gratitude. This continues a practice on this blog over the years I’ve been posting quotes, reflections, and photos.
Thank you for reading and viewing!

autumn_river_forest_2013_035

A life of gratitude accepts the bad with the good. Genuine gratitude is not a zero sum game in which thankfulness increases the more fortunate you are and decreases the more adversity you experience.

– Dan Clendenin

Suggestions for Committing Random Acts of Kindness

Surprised by Beauty
Surprised by Beauty

Have you ever been surprised by love? Surprised by beauty? Surprised by kindness? It is always a good time to share that kind of loving surprise with others. Here is a short list of ways to commit random acts of kindness. You could probably add to the list!!

~ The next toll booth you come to, pay for a car behind you.

~ Send a thank you letter to a teacher you once had, letting him or her know the difference the teacher made in your life.

~ Ask an older person to tell you a story about his or her youth.

~ Order a mail order gift anonymously for a friend or co-worker.

~ Give another driver your parking spot.

~ Let someone merge ahead of you, smile and wave at that person.

~ Write a note to the boss of someone who has helped you, thanking the boss for having such a great employee.

~ Praise the work or attitude of a co-worker to someone else in the workplace.

~ Write a note to the owner of a house or garden in your neighborhood whose beauty gives you pleasure.

~ Say, “I love you” to 20 people for whom it’s true.

 

– Source unknown

Expect the Unexpected

Path to "The End" at Montauk Point
Path to “The End” at Montauk Point

..there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.
– Mark Nepo

Where Do We Find Opportunity?

Opportunities are also everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by.
– Og Mandino

Fisherman at Target Rock on Long Island
Fisherman at Target Rock on Long Island

Wisdom from the Dalai Lama

Grand osprey
Grand osprey near Target Rock on Long Island

Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.
– His Holiness the Dalai Lama

A World Full of Gifts

You have given me Your love, filling the world with Your gifts.
– Rabindranath Tagore, The Heart of God

Sunset at Oyster Bay, Long Island
Sunset at Oyster Bay, Long Island

Wisdom of Imagination and Art

What if imagination and art are not frosting at all, but the fountainhead of human experience?
– Rollo May, The Courage to Create

salesianum_2016_227

Wisdom of Perspective

Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember, “For my sake, the entire world was created.
-Baal Shem Tov

guest_house_2016_065

Wisdom of the Long View

If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work but rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

touring_sf_2013_073a