ALPHABETS OF WISDOM

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." - Audrey Hepburn 

Wisdom

There's so much wisdom everywhere for every situation sometimes, when we take the time to look into the happenings around us. For instance, take a look at the meaning of the following. Quite insightful.

 

A: ACCEPT - learn to accept others for who they are and for the choices they make even though you have difficulty understanding them.

B: BREAK - Break away from everything that stands in the way of you accomplishing your dreams and/or goals, so you can make a mark with your life.

C: CREATE - Create a family of friends with whom you can share your fears, dreams, sorrows, and happiness.

D: DECIDE - Decide that you’ll be successful and happy irrespective of what happens, and that good things will find you, roadblocks are only minor obstacles along your path.

THE GIFT OF MONEY 11; A BLESSING, NOT A CURSE!

"Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants." - Benjamin Franklin 

Two neighbours; Frank, and Pat lived next to each other. Pat was a poor teacher. Frank was a landlord. Pat used to be very relaxed and happy never bothering about things Frank bothered about; like closing his doors and windows at night. He slept soundly always, even though he didn't have much money - he was a peaceful man. Frank on the other hand was always tensed, and he worried greatly about things; he was always very keen on closing his doors and windows at night - he didn't have much sleep. The thought of always being robbed bothered him; he always felt someone would break open his safes and steal his money. Frank always wished he could have a peaceful life as Pat had; he envied him greatly!

One day, Frank gave Pat a bag full of dollar bills saying, “Look my friend. I'm blessed with so much wealth yet, I find you in poverty. So, take this cash and live in prosperity.” Pat was overwhelmed, he was joyful throughout the day, then night came, and he went to bed as usual but, today, he went around shutting doors and windows, yet he still couldn't sleep. He kept looking at the bag of cash the whole night, thinking many thoughts - he was disturbed. His life as he knew it had disappeared all of a sudden.

Seriously? People Don't Laugh?

"A day without laughter is a day wasted" - Charlie Chaplin

Wisdom Nugget: "Whatever you are capable of doing, do with all your might because there's no work, thought, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave, which is where you are headed"

Joy
Source: Photo Pin

As a young child growing up one of the most beautiful things I appreciated about living was "Laughter". I just loved to watch people laugh hilariously from the heart. For me it made life so beautiful. But as I grew older I noticed that lesser and lesser people laughed. Unfortunately in today's society, as with happiness in general, we seem to have forgotten how to laugh.
Dr. Michael Titze, a German psychologist tells us that,  in the 1950's people used to laugh 18 minutes a day, but today we laugh not more than 6 minutes a day, despite the huge rise in the standard of living Children can laugh up to 300-400 times a day, but when we grow up to be adults this frequency comes down to less than 15 times a day, if at all.

So why has laughter declined? Here are a few answers.  First there's the stress of living in a fast world, which is increasingly dominated by anxiety and fears. Telecommunications have made bad news instantly accessible to millions, thus accentuating the anxiety and fear. People are working long hours, under pressure to move fast. Transport is congested. Cities are crowded. Divorce and family break-ups are high. So negative stress levels are constantly on the increase. Moreover, many people live in the past, feeling guilty or resentful whilst others worry about the future. Often the cause of perceived difficulties is attributed to something or someone else. So we don't take true responsibility and find it hard to live in the moment - which of course is where laughter occurs.

During a trial, in a small Missouri town, the local prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand. The witness was a proper well-dressed elderly lady, the grandmother type, well spoken, and poised. She was sworn in, asked if she would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, on the Bible, so help her God.

The prosecuting attorney approached the woman and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, cheat on your wife, manipulate people and talk badly about them behind their backs. You think you're a rising big shot when you haven't the sense to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper-pushing shyster. Yes, I know you quite well."
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"
She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, has a bad drinking problem. The man can't build or keep a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. Yes, I know him."
The defense attorney almost fainted. Laughter mixed with gasps, thundered throughout the courtroom and the audience was on the verge of chaos. At this point, the judge brought the courtroom to silence, called both counselors to the bench, and in a very quiet voice said, "If either of you morons asks her if she knows me, you're going to jail."

If you are laughing, Laugh out loud my dear. Many people envy you that you can. Besides our wisdom nugget says that when you finally die, there will be plenty of time to keep a straight face void of any emotions in the quiet and lonely confines of your own space, uninterrupted by any intruders, six feet beneath the earth. Now that you can, laugh with all your heart!!!

Why You Should Laugh

Wisdom Nugget: "A merry heart does good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones."

Laughter: Source- Photo Pin

Laughter is good for the heart. Yet, laughter is one serious topic many people take lightly even when we have learned of its tremendous health benefits.

You'll agree with me that in the present world that we live, you won't find much of anything that' can keep you constantly happy. Not in the news, at the office, on the street, in your own environment or even within yourself. Taking yourself too seriously in this period wouldn't do you anyone close to you any good.

It was Bill Cosby, who said that, "Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it." And Mark Twain adds that, "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."

Laughing (to laugh) is an involuntary reaction to certain stimuli; internal or otherwise. It can arise from activities like being tickled, or from humorous stories or thoughts. It is commonly considered a visual expression of a number of positive emotional states, such as joy, mirth, happiness, relief, etc.

According to Dr. Dwenda Gjerdingen, "A good laugh is a wonderful thing. It refreshes, relieves stress, generates positive emotions, promotes communication, strengthens group identity and cohesion, and benefits both the giver and receiver. In addition to these significant benefits, there is also evidence that laughter and humor promote good health.

There is evidence that individuals with chronic or terminal illnesses ... use humor to promote healing, and that humor does have health benefits, such as improved pain tolerance and improved immune response.

Humor is defined as a stimulus that helps people laugh and feel happy, while laughter is a response to humor that involves positive physiological and psychological reactions. During laughter, various muscle groups are activated, but the period after the laugh is characterized by general muscle relaxation, which can last up to 45 minutes.

Possible medicinal benefits of humor were brought to our attention by Norman Cousins'.  He relates how laughter and vitamin C were keys to his recovery from ankylosing spondylitis. Only 10 minutes of laughter, brought on by viewing comedy films, resulted in 2 hours of pain-free sleep.

Humor does have health benefits, such as improved pain tolerance and improved immune response. One small study of cancer patients in the rural Midwest found that over 87 percent were using at least one complementary intervention to cope with the stress of cancer, with the second most popular being humor. In another cancer study, participants identified humor as an important factor for coping with cancer and cancer treatment.

Gratitude Brings Happiness

WISDOM NUGGET: "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
                                                                                                      Gilbert K. Chesterton

Source: Photo Pin

A woman who was getting ready to jump off a 44 story building in New York City. Witnesses said that she did not look like the type of person who would do such a thing. All the attempts made by the police to get the woman off the ledge had failed. One of the officers asked if he could call his pastor in to see if he could help. When the pastor arrived, he asked permission to go to the ledge and talk to the woman. As the pastor neared the edge the woman screamed, "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!" The pastor took a step back and then said, "I am sorry that you believe no one loves you." This got the woman's attention and it got the attention of the police. That was something that you don't usually say to a person who is threatening suicide. The woman took a step towards the pastor and said, "My grandchildren love me and so do my children. My whole family loves me! I have 8 wonderful grandchildren and they love me." The pastor took a step towards the woman and said, "Well then, you must be very poor, maybe that is why you want to take your own life." The woman who was a little overweight said, "Do I look like I go without any meals? We live in a very nice apartment. I'm not poor."

The pastor took another step closer to her and was now 3 feet from her when he asked, "Then why do you want to kill yourself? I don't understand." The woman thought for a moment and then said, "You know, I don't really remember." The story ends with the pastor and the woman walking towards the elevator as she shows him pictures of her grandchildren. Eventually this woman becomes a volunteer on the city's suicide hotline, helping others choose life. What did the pastor do to help this woman? He helped her get her eyes off herself and onto the many ways that God had blessed her. She learned a valuable lesson that day. She learned that thankful people are happy people. If you don't learn anything else today, I hope you learn this valuable lesson. Thankful people are happy people.

If your happiness is anchored on happenings around you, you might as well write your own obituary because I can assure you that the world will inundate you with so much negative stuff, enough to drown you in the waves of one bad experience to  another , until happiness completely eludes you and your face becomes like the Book of Lamentation.

Truth be told, for you to be thankful, you must be thoughtful. In the face of the menacing storms of life, we must learn to take time to reflect, not over the seemingly uncountable things that are not going well with us, but rather on the  many other good things that God has bestowed upon our lives , many of which stuff are not on display on the shelves of any supermarket. In other words, let us count our blessings and not discount the goodness in our lives.  It was Gilbert K. Chesterton that said, "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder".