My Best Self by Dane Allred

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Welcome to Abundance, a program of 1001 Thanks.  This is a celebration of the good things happening in your life and the world.  I am your host, Dane Allred.  I believe you can change your life and the world by celebrating the joy, the happiness, the positive parts of this wonderful journey we call life.

In just a moment, we'll be discussing a presentation I give called “My Best Self”.  In ten parts, I document how we know when we are being our best selves.  Each of the letters of the “My Best Self” phrase represents one of the qualities which helps us be our best selves.

How  do we know if we are being our "Best Selves"?

The “M” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Makes a difference.

Now you need to know that you , individually you; the person I'm talking to right now; you do make a difference.  There is a reason you are here at this time and this place.  Someone once said it this way, “Being you is so difficult that no one in the universe has ever attempted it before.”  Now when you find the purpose for your life, you will see the difference you can make in the lives of others and in this world.  And now that I think about it, since I’ve injured myself so many times, the purpose of my life may only be to serve as a warning to others.  If I can make that difference, it may save you from stabbing yourself in the hand with a spading pitchfork, getting a free bath in the carwash, or from being stranded on a windsurfer overnight on Utah Lake.

That's why the “Y” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Yearns to be better

We all yearn to be better, to be more than we are.  We may measure our success against the successes of others, but the person we really need to be compared to is ourselves – the person we were yesterday.  Can we ask ourselves, and answer this question honestly, are we better today than yesterday?

It would seem to me that this journey of how to be better would have an ending, where we end up being our best selves, but due to the vicissitudes  of life, we become better at some things.  We lose our ability to do other things.

So your yearning to be better might need to be associated with limitation.  Like the time I saw a student do a back-flip on-stage I remembered that I could do back flips when I was young.  Now smacking my face on the stage halfway through the flip reminded me I am 30 years older and 50 pounds heavier than my back flip days.  This isn’t to say I couldn’t do back flips again, but that time may have passed.

You know what you want to be better at.  You really do, and that nagging guilt and conscience that tells you "I need to work on this"; that's what you're yearning for, and you probably also know what you need to do to get to that point.  If you aren’t sure what you want to be better at, you might want to find someone who can point out to you your talents.  Then decide how to be better; you can get a coach, take lessons, go back to school, just focus and do it.  You know what you want.  Get out there and get it done.  That's why we're blessed with all this abundance.

Now the “B” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Believes in my potential

Once you know what you want to do or what you can do, believing in your own potential is the next step.  Self-doubt has shot down many more dreams than someone saying “no” to your idea.  A lot of times we'll say no to ourself thousands of times before we actually give somebody else the opportunity to say no, in the fear that they may say "Yes".  Believe in yourself, because no one else has your potential, your goals, your vision.  Who else can accomplish what you are here to do?

The “E” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Entertains new ideas

To be your best self, you may have to entertain some new ideas.  For example, I was the first in my family to graduate from college.  That new idea gave me the opportunities I have today, and since I believed in myself and my potential, there really never was a time when I didn’t think I would graduate and be gainfully employed.  Again, there were challenges to that, called job interviews, and I did wind up working out of state for a couple of years because I had to go where the opportunities were.  But there was a time when it became a new idea to me, and I can even recall when this happened.  The ASVAB test is given by the armed services; I believe it stands for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.  This test  predicted I had the mechanical aptitude to be in the service.  So I got lots of mail from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and that's one of the reasons they give the test is so they can get recruits.  But thanks to that test, which also included an interest survey, I was told I could be a lawyer.  This new idea had never occurred to me, and once planted, I knew I could do it.  But that would involve college, and so I had to finagle my way into an AP History and AP English class.  That way I could get some college credit while I was still in high school.  Combined with the College Level Education Program tests, the CLEP tests I took in college, I tested out of a year of school.  I finished my undergraduate degree in three years.

The strange thing about this whole process is, remember, this idea led me to college, but then another new idea presented itself to me.  I enjoyed my student teaching so much; I never again wanted to be a lawyer.  That doesn’t mean you can’t be a lawyer if that idea has captured your imagination.  So be open to the new ideas that appear in your life.  Your potential is trying to get your attention.

The “S” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Strives for perfection

Once you have chosen a path, there’s no reason really not to be the very best at what you do.  Being our best selves means not being our second best self.  It doesn't mean we have to be better than somebody else but we're always striving to perfect what we do.  If we dig ditches, there may be some new technique you may discover that will change the world of ditch digging.  Search for the new ways, there's new techniques, there's new approaches.  There's always going to be a demand for those who have new innovations, and if you have that new idea, it may be time to share it with the world.  Remember, you are here for a reason.  Find it, and perfect yourself, and perfect the world.  We all need it.

So how?  How do we do this?  This is where the next step applies.

The “T” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Trusts in the Creative

This is where your higher power, if it's God, Allah, Vishnu, even just a concept of supreme being or creator, even if you have no religious tradition, I believe you can connect with your creative side; this has been called inspiration or the muses.  As you seek new ideas, trust in your inner creativity to connect with this higher power.  It'll give you an inspiring, new or creative idea.

Where did that idea come from, is what we need to ask ourselves?  If you think it came from you, that’s fine with me, but I believe each of us is a channel for the creative process to manifest itself in this universe.  If you talk to authors, lyricists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, and other creative people, you'll often hear of the process of creativity described as a collaboration and sometimes even just "notation-taking".  The end result is often much different than anticipated by the artist, and this creativity is an exciting chance for you to connect with whatever it is that guides our creativity.

Now I'll give you an example.  I once wrote a murder mystery which was hi-jacked by one of the minor characters.  It was supposed to be about a high school teacher, but instead the teacher ends up being a minor character in the plot and the local police officer actually becomes the hero and center of the story.  Writing is an amazing process which I enjoy immensely, but I would never take all the credit for what I write.  It’s not just me.  I will never take the credit for the collaboration I have as I create, and I don’t know how; I don't know why it works, but I am grateful to receive the help because most of the time I really need it.

So if you'll just trust that creative ideas will come to you; ways and means to implement the reasons, the ideas, the purposes you have for being here; I actually believe it will be manifest in your life.  I know it sound really short-sighted to say it in such a simple way, but I really have no other way to describe it besides, "Go out and do it.  Try it and see if it works for you."

The “S” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Succeeds and celebrates success

This second "S" may seem like a contradiction.  If we credit a higher power with help in creativity, why would we celebrate a success that is not wholly ours?  Think about the last person you tried to compliment.  Did they accept the praise, or did they try to deflect it?  Celebrating success means taking credit for the successes you've had up to this point.  You need to think about what has led you to this point.  There is a string of success trailing behind you.  To deny those minor and major victories cheapens the work you've done so far in this life.  Remember, to be alive and kickin' today when there's people in this world who weren't alive and kickin' this morning when they tried to wake up.  These are victories we need to celebrate along the way.

Reward yourself and accept that praise.  Even if you don't believe it, just say, “Thank you.”  That small validation really goes a long way to help you on your way to your future success.  We don't want to deny the compliments of other people.  It's a really bad human tendency.  If we can accept compliments and give compliments, I think celebration of those successes are very, very good.  If I can just figure out a way to stop celebrating my successes with food, I'll be in really good shape.    When I have a success, that's one of my favorite things to do; is to buy something and eat it.

The “E” in “My Best Self”, the second "E", stands for:

Expects great things to happen

An expectation of success is really key to achievement.  Self-doubt short circuits the path you need to follow to make ideas succeed, and doubts usually involve some kind of past failures.

So rather than doubt yourself, think about this phrase.  When they say “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”, this means this new day is the only day given to you to use.  This day.  You can’t access tomorrow yet, and to let the past shackle today is to deny the miracle of waking up another day.

So expect some great things.  There's a reason you woke up today.  Expect that great things will manifest themselves in your life.  Write them down.  Contemplate them.  Improve them.  Expect those things, and do things in your life to make them happen.

The “L” in “My Best Self” stands for:

Learns from everyone

Without a human connection, and without admitting that we can learn from everyone, I think you have sold short your biggest asset in this universe.  If it was just me, if it was just you that was here to do stuff, there wouldn't be a reason for all these other people.

I know there are people who think they know it all.  I think this is a really sad attitude, because  I have learned something from every person I have ever met, if I was paying attention.  Now if I’m not paying attention, I might miss one of the major lessons about to be given to me that day.

For the last few days, it's been my great blessing to notice many other people succeeding with what some people would call a handicap.  These are people who are "handicapable" if that's your choice of words.

I'm not sure why all of these people were presented to me this week, but in an amazing collection of “coincidences”, the dozen people I saw during this last week inspired me to think about how blessed my life really is.

I have full use of all of my limbs; which may surprise some of you who have listened to my “adventures”.  My health is good.  I have a good diet.  I have access to medication.  I have  doctors if I need them.  And again, we take more things for granted each day than anyone in the ancient world ever could have imagined.  It’s time to start paying attention and learn from the person standing in front of us.

What can we learn?  What's the lesson being taught by the words, actions and life of the people we meet each day?  Some of them may just be negative lessons, and we'll determine that's something we don't want to be in our life. Have we learned what they are trying to teach us?  I believe they must be in our lives for some reason.  This includes people you may  not be happy are in your life.  Let’s take some time and learn from them and maybe we can get on to the next lesson.

To get a little less serious for a second here, I'm going to summarize "My Best Self" by going to the “F” in “My Best Self”.  I'm not sure why it came out this way, but the "F" in "My Best Self" stands for:

Fearlessly forges forcefully forward

I really believe the old axiom, "If you're not moving forward, you're going backward,"  so fearlessly forge forcefully forward.

While the frequent use of the letter “F” may be the only thing you notice about the last part of “My Best Self”, this may be one of the most important parts.  Fear really is something that paralyzes us into inaction.  We're afraid to approach someone; we're afraid to try a new idea; we're afraid to do whatever it is that's causing that fear.  Fear paralyzes us into that inaction, and how can we be our best self if we are unable to act on the ideas we are given?

Here's a few other "F" words to try and help you understand how to forge fearlessly and forcefully forward.

Ferociously facilitates foresighted, foundational, futuristic, flawless focus; forever.

Which to me means don't get distracted.  There's plenty of things in this world to help us be distracted.  Surprisingly, a lot of those things tend to be on television, and on our computer, and on the Internet, and on the radio.  Focus and don't get distracted.

I also believe furthermore, feverishly factoring future fundamentally feeble-minded frugality is important.  We realize that everyone in the world does have a budget and you're going to have to understand what's available to you; what you can do and can't do because of frugality; maybe the frugality of somebody else; maybe your own frugality.  Maybe our income is only limited by the amount of money we think we should make.  Maybe our potential is only limited by the potential we feel we really have.

Also, I think some "F"'s that would help us are

we "Foresees favorable feedback which fosters fertile futures."

I really seriously believe in being positive.  It really is more than just my blood type.  If you're positive, and you think about  favorable, fertile futures, I think those things tend to manifest themselves in your life if you'll give them a chance to take root.

Negativity, doubt, all of those things can really short circuit a lot of this process.

I think you should "forecast fumbling, fanatical, fixated ferocity from formidable factionaries."

To me that just means,  anticipate some opposition.  Be glad for that opposition, because unless we bounce our ideas off someone else and they make us defend what we're thinking about embracing in our lives; maybe their feedback is really what we need.  But again, we are not going to let their negativity stop us from doing what we need to do.

I think that things like this fascinate future feckless, feeble-minded, fickle, fawning, full-blooded freaks.

If you can make it interesting I think there's are a lot of people who are going to try to find out what's going on with that.  For some reason, things that are interesting give us some distraction, but also give us some enjoyment.  So, I can't think of another reason why, as I was pursuing one of my great distractions this week, cruising around on YouTube, why a website called Brainiac would explode watermelons with dynamite in slow motion to classical music.  It was very interesting to watch, but again, there's a lot of things people will watch just because they want to see it.

We're talking about "My Best Self" and focusing on finally the "F" of "My Best Self".  This program is meant to emphasize the positive and I hope we're having a good time today raising your spirits on Abundance with Dane Allred.  Today we've been talking about "My Best Self" and we are about to finish up what is the "F" in "My Best Self".  I've been tossing around a few "F" words, but not the kind you're thinking of.

I think that if you are your "Best Self" you would frequently foster formal, full on, full out, full-tilt, full-circle, full blown, full-bore, forward-looking freedom for faithful fellows.

What that all means is I think you would really encourage others.  If "Your Best Self" is not encouraging the ideas of other people, I'm not sure that is "Your Best Self".

We've already discussed distractions so you do need to factor frequent fantasies from fumbling, flabbergasted fools. Watch for those fantasies, don't let them distract you.

Fanatically feature familiar face-to-face fictions, which means you may need to tell your story to somebody over and over again to help inspire them.  We used that word inspire earlier in the program and if you think about the way we use the word inspiration, we not only use "inspire" and "expire" as a way to describe breathing in and breathing out.

But, a breath of fresh air, "inspiration", can be something that comes and rejuvenates us.

So make sure you are inspiring and rejuvenating those people who are supporting you.  Fervently, fervidly, foster fantasy, fluency, faithfulness, familiarity, fastidiousness, fearlessness, fortitude, forgiveness, felicity, friendliness, functionality, and forthrightness in those friendly followers.  In other words, help them be their best selves.

Even though I don't like to get into negative talk too much, I would ask you to forbid fright, fumbling, fear, fatalism, fuming, foreswearing, forsaking, feigning, frustration, flouncing, fleering, flashiness, forlornness, fraudulence, flippancy, frailty, flattery, foolishness, and fearfulness.

I believe those all short-circuit your reason for being here.

As we sit and talk about our best self, I'm going to finish up explaining maybe why some of my adventures might seem really foolhardy to some of you out there.  In future editions of Abundance we'll be discussing how to be our best self, but I would discuss just briefly why it is maybe you can dismiss all the things I talk about because when you have no brain you have no pain.

I flunked the same English class twice, and that's another reason why you could say, "Well, this guy can't even pass an English class, I'm not sure why I'm listening to him."

But this may be the best reason for you to go ahead and discount any of this that may be inspiring to you, but you don't really want to go act on it.

I used to be the victim of frequent sinus infections.  I would go in to the doctor once or twice a year and get some antibiotics.  The doctor wanted to try and figure out what was exactly wrong with my sinuses.

I wouldn't recommend this because it really has changed  my life.  If the doctor asks to x-ray your head, put some serious thought into that.

What he had me do was tip my head back, my chin up in the air, and he took an x-ray of the top of my skull.  If you feel up above your eyebrows, your sinuses go to about that part of your head.  If you've had a sinus headache, you've had pain right there, and you know what I'm talking about. They're pictured on television with all of these sinus remedies and all the different kinds of things that can help you with those.  I have to tell you that I am personally acquainted with nearly every kind of anti-histamine and allergy medications ever been made.

Once the doctor took this picture, he came back shaking his head.  He had this picture in his hand of my skull, and he said, "This is the picture of your sinuses."

And I said, "Well, what's wrong?"

He said, "Well, you know how most people have sinuses up to their eyebrows?"  He said, "You've got sinuses all the way up to your receding hairline", which explained quite a bit.

I mean if you think about it, if you've got more sinuses, then you're going to have more sinus infections, more ability to gather all kinds of the nasty stuff that gives us infections.  But the reason I'm really not going to encourage you to have your doctor inform you about your own head x-rays.

Think about this.  I have extra sinuses, and I don't have a fantastically huge head, so logical reasoning follows that I think  I have less brains than everybody else, too, because there's only so much space up there.

Stabbing yourself in the hand, getting stuck on a windsurfer in the middle of Utah Lake, skiing down a mountain-side on rocks, skiing down a mountainside in snow without any skiing instruction, and all the various ways I've hurt myself probably have good reason now.  If you think about that, it doesn't take much brain to throw yourself into the air and flip your body around and land on your cheekbone because somebody you saw is doing a back flip and you "used could do those, too".  I "used could", too .

As we think about our abilities and freedoms, I really want you to think about what you need to accomplish this week.   Confront those fears you have about doing those things. I need you to go out and find all the reasons we have to be thankful for this abundant life.  I believe you can change your life and the world by celebrating that joy, that happiness and those positive parts of this wonderful journey we call life.

Abundance is a way to emphasize what we like in our life.  We want to eliminate the negativity and pessimism; we're really trying to accentuate the positive.

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The Lion and the Mouse

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The lion finds out how valuable a small friend can be, in this retelling of the Aesop fable.  Dane Allred has rewritten and narrates this version of the fable.

The Lion and the Mouse

by Dane Allred

As the King of the Forest, the Lion knew he needed the help of no one. He could hunt and capture his own food, send invaders away from his territory, and have whatever he wanted. After a long day of hunting, the Lion was hot and tired, so he relaxed under a large tree, stretched out and fell asleep.

The mice who lived under the tree in the deep roots heard a snoring sound from above. They cautiously crept out of their home and saw the Lion, the King of the Beasts was sleeping, just inches away from them! At first, they were frightened since they knew the Lion ruled this part of the jungle, and no one dared challenge his authority. After creeping slowly closer, the mice realized the Lion was sound asleep.

At first, one of the bravest mice reached out and touched the Lion.Then he ran back to his brothers and sisters, who laughed at his foolishness. When they realized the Lion was still deep in sleep, all of the mice began to climb and play on the Lion.

As the bravest mouse tickled the whiskers of the great Lion and he awoke with a start. The mice scattered, but the Lion was quick and slapped his paw over the brave little mouse. Squeaking with his little voice as the Lion pinched his tail and lifted the mouse towards his mouth, the mouse said, “Great King of the Jungle, you do not want to eat me!! I am such a little mouse. “

The Lion laughed, but the mouse was still dangling over the large mouth of the Lion.

“I know, “said the mouse quickly. “Spare my life now and I will repay this debt by saving your life.”

This made the Lion laugh even louder. “You cannot save me, the master of this land. You are such a little mouse and I need hope from no one. You have given me a great laugh, and since I have had a good long day of hunting, my stomach is full, and such a little morsel as you, well, it is not worth the trouble even to chew you up.” He dropped the mouse and went back to sleep.

The mouse ran back to his home, grateful to be alive.

As the Lion slept, hunters walked by and wondered at their good fortune to see a lion asleep under a tree. They threw a net over the Lion quickly.

The Lion struggled under the net, and could not believe he was being captured by these little humans. But there were too many of them, and soon he found himself tied to the tree. The men left to find a cage for the lion.

The Lion could not understand how all of this had happened so quickly. He roared a loud roar, and the brave little mouse emerged again from under the tree.

“Little mouse!” roared the Lion. “Men have captured me. What am I to do?”

The mouse crawled bravely up the rope and said, “I promised to save your life, and I am happy to chew through this rope so you may go free. But who thought I would be able to repay the debt so soon!!”

The mouse chewed so quickly, the Lion was free in an instant.

The lion turned to his new little friend, and said “You have taught me a great lesson this day.”

“What is that?” said the mouse.

The mighty lion said, “Little friends can be great friends.”

The Lion and the Mouse, as adapted by Dane Allred.

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What is Abundance?

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Welcome to Abundance, a program of 1001 Thanks.  This is a celebration of the good things happening in your life and the world.  I am your host, Dane Allred.  I believe you can change your life and the world by celebrating the joy, the happiness, the positive parts of this wonderful journey we call life.

I thought today on Abundance we would try and define what I think Abundance is -- a couple of words pop into my mind as I try and decide what my life philosophy is and how it's reflected in the things that I do and the things that I say.

I think the Abundance I'm speaking of in this life has a lot to do with compassion for other people, their situations, for all kinds of things that happen in the world and especially for people whose are in circumstances beyond their control.  I think a lot of times that can be helped with humor, and you know humor plays a big part in my life.

I also believe tolerance and forgiveness are excellent ways to make the more abundant life happen in your neck of the woods.

Today, as we talk about Abundance, you may be wondering what does Dane Allred mean when he says "Abundance".

Well, to me, my life is full.  I have an abundance of what many cultures have defined as a full life.  For peoples of the past to imagine our lives would have been impossible.

Think of this.  Most of us have never spent a day in hunger.  When we sleep at night, many of us sleep soundly and securely.  We spend lifetimes that are two, three and four times longer than our ancestors.  We have luxuries unknown in the past.

I am blessed with having a loving wife and children as well as a supportive extended family.  My wife and daughters have opportunities denied to woman since the beginning of civilization.  As a people, we can move freely anywhere we choose;  we can choose where we live; we can choose where we work, and to me, in this world of abundance, it seems our opportunities are only limited by our creativity.

One of the measures of abundance is modern technology and if you think about it, most of the modern technology that we have today are marvels which would have been like miracles to anyone from the past.  For example, I communicate with my family on a cellular phone, which means if my mother is on a boat on a lake and she has her phone, I can contact her.  I can ask how the fishing is today. Think of all the things a modern day cellular phone can do, just by itself.  It has a calendar; it has games; it receives and sends instant messages.  I can compose my thoughts; I can write with a stylus or a small keyboard; those important ideas are preserved; instead in the past maybe lost forever.  On my phone I can access the internet.  I can contact Google or Wikipedia for instant answers to my questions and I don’t have to ask somebody else, and I don't have to go to the library, or continue in ignorance.  The world really is at my fingertips, and not many of us really appreciate the fact that we have such an abundance of information in our reach, but maybe it is because there is so much that we are kind of overloaded.

I don’t fear the dreaded diseases of the past, wondering if they are going to take me or my family without warning.  Even when my wife was diagnosed with stage four bone cancer 15 years ago, the best treatments available were used since I am part of a risk-pool, and so insurance provides the money for the cures.  Now she lives today because we live in this modern world.

Another example, My sister was spared with a liver transplant.  I am the beneficiary of several types of modern medications which regulate my blood pressure, my allergies and even the size of my prostate.  And I know that may be too much information, but if you consider the state of medicine even two centuries ago, blood-letting was the most common and most popular treatment for ailments, and for those who are unfamiliar with the process, blood-letting means you probably have too much blood; let's let some out and see if you get better.

Just think about the marvels of the modern world.  I can speed across counties and states.  I can fly to other nations in hours if I wish, instead of counting the journeys in days or months.  Now, I have visited places in the world most of the present population of the world today will only be able to read about, even if they can read.  I intend to visit many more. 

I am also a citizen of a country which protects the rights of all, not  just a selected few.  So I think freedoms are part of our abundance. I have been given opportunities that somebody in my social position would never have been given in other times and other countries.

Because of college scholarships and grant monies that is paid for by taxes, I was able to go to college, and now I'm a high school and college teacher.

Now I am able because of those opportunities to earn a good living  for my family. I pay taxes.  I support my government, the police, the military, the public services, public education, and I am so blessed to live in a place where I can say and I can write what I wish without government censorship.

So, when we talk about Abundance, it's not just the things we have, the freedoms we enjoy, but also, the ability we have to make a difference.

Believe it or not, I am actually really grateful for work.  Many of us in the modern day define ourselves by our work. I'd be a much different person without my opportunity to work and satisfying day of work is one of the most rewarding parts of my life, and it's because I enjoy my work and I hope you do something that you enjoy, too.

So, basically, as we look at the abundance of the world and the universe, I'm only limited by my imagination how I want to spend my life.  I have leisure time unimagined even by kings  of the past.  I enjoy work so much I have invented other work for myself.  I buy and sell things on eBay.  I have thousands of satisfied customer ratings.  I teach part-time at a local university.  I've written an online public speaking course.  I’ve written quotations books, mystery novels, an auto-biography of the fifty ways I’ve injured myself.  I have a website. 

I have time, because of our modern economy and the shortened work day, I am able to perform things like a one-man show of Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.  I regularly post on a website read by hundreds of thousands of people every day.  I'm paid to perform in commercials, movies, stage plays and musicals and I’ve been in over 30 movies and more than 70 stage productions.  I've been in world premiere shows.  I've sung on an original cast album.  I've won awards as a gardener, a poet, a teacher.

I've run 3 marathons and lots of footraces.  I was privileged to run the Olympic Flame for the 2002 Winter Olympics.  With all the other careers I've had in life as flower and package deliverer.  I've been a gas station attendant.  Most of my life has been spent teaching high school and college students.

And I cannot read the list of these opportunities that I have been given in my life without wondering why I have been blessed when others, and millions and hundreds of millions and billions of others of people live lives of poverty and oppression, sometimes only because they were born halfway around the world from here.

So I know that one of my life’s purposes is to proclaim my thanks for all my blessings.  I'm going to concentrate on the positive and to do otherwise would really be to be an ungrateful recipient of all this bounty.

And that's what really led me to create this show, Abundance, and I have a list of 1001thanks.  It's the 1001 things I have listed that remind me why I should keep a positive attitude and try to inspire others to see the good in the world, instead of focusing on the negative.

My life hasn’t been a bed of roses.  I could complain about my aches and pains.  Like I said, I’ve written a book about the fifty ways I’ve injured myself, and I didn’t do this to catalogue the misery of my short fifty years on the planet.  It's to remind me I am still alive and kicking. I should be grateful for every day that I have been given and I hope to inspire in you this same optimism, to help you realize the bounty of this corner of the universe.  Together there really is nothing we cannot accomplish.

I am not here to urge you to ignore the problems of your life, or the problems of the world.  But I seriously believe carping, negativism and blaming will never solve anything.  So join me on this journey to document our thanks.

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The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

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The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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The War Prayer by Mark Twain

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  The War Prayer
by Mark Twain

 


The War Prayer

 by Mark Twain

 It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener.

It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way. Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender!

 Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation, “God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!” Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!" The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said: "I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!"

 The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think. "God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it. "You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient; the “whole” of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary.

When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory—“must” follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen! "O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!

We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen. "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"

 It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

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The Dog and the Sparrow by the Brothers Grimm

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THE DOG AND THE SPARROW

A shepherd's dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him suffer the greatest hunger. At last he could bear it no longer; so he took to his heels, and off he ran in a very sad and sorrowful mood. On the road he met a sparrow that said to him,

'Why are you so sad, my friend?' 'Because,' said the dog, 'I am very very hungry, and have nothing to eat.' 'If that be all,' answered the sparrow, 'come with me into the next town, and I will soon find you plenty of food.' So on they went together into the town: and as they passed by a butcher's shop, the sparrow said to the dog,

'Stand there a little while till I peck you down a piece of meat.' So the sparrow perched upon the shelf: and having first looked carefully about her to see if anyone was watching her, she pecked and scratched at a steak that lay upon the edge of the shelf, till at last down it fell. Then the dog snapped it up, and scrambled away with it into a corner, where he soon ate it all up. 'Well,' said the sparrow, 'you shall have some more if you will; so come with me to the next shop, and I will peck you down another steak.' When the dog had eaten this too, the sparrow said to him, 'Well, my good friend, have you had enough now?' 'I have had plenty of meat,' answered he, 'but I should like to have a piece of bread to eat after it.'

'Come with me then,' said the sparrow, 'and you shall soon have that too.' So she took him to a baker's shop, and pecked at two rolls that lay in the window, till they fell down: and as the dog still wished for more, she took him to another shop and pecked down some more for him. When that was eaten, the sparrow asked him whether he had had enough now. 'Yes,' said he; 'and now let us take a walk a little way out of the town.'

So they both went out upon the high road; but as the weather was warm, they had not gone far before the dog said, 'I am very much tired—I should like to take a nap.' 'Very well,' answered the sparrow, 'do so, and in the meantime I will perch upon that bush.' So the dog stretched himself out on the road, and fell fast asleep.

Whilst he slept, there came by a carter with a cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of wine. The sparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but would go on in the track in which the dog lay, so as to drive over him, called out, 'Stop! stop! Mr Carter, or it shall be the worse for you.' But the carter, grumbling to himself, 'You make it the worse for me, indeed! what can you do?' cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poor dog, so that the wheels crushed him to death. 'There,' cried the sparrow, 'thou cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend the dog. Now mind what I say. This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth.' 'Do your worst, and welcome,' said the brute, 'what harm can you do me?' and passed on.

But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked at the bung of one of the casks till she loosened it; and than all the wine ran out, without the carter seeing it. At last he looked round, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty. 'What an unlucky wretch I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up and kicked. When the carter saw this, he drew out his hatchet and aimed a blow at the sparrow, meaning to kill her; but she flew away, and the blow fell upon the poor horse's head with such force, that he fell down dead. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' cried he.

'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow. And as the carter went on with the other two horses, she again crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked out the bung of the second cask, so that all the wine ran out. When the carter saw this, he again cried out, 'Miserable wretch that I am!' But the sparrow answered, 'Not wretch enough yet!' and perched on the head of the second horse, and pecked at him too. The carter ran up and struck at her again with his hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and killed him on the spot. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' said he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but killed his third horse as he done the other two.

'Alas! miserable wretch that I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' answered the sparrow as she flew away; 'now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.' The carter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go home overflowing with rage and vexation. 'Alas!' said he to his wife, 'what ill luck has befallen me!—my wine is all spilt, and my horses all three dead.' 'Alas! husband,' replied she, 'and a wicked bird has come into the house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure, and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a rate!' Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst of them. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' cried the carter; for he saw that the corn was almost all gone. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow; 'thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life yet!' and away she flew.

The carter seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went down into his kitchen; and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sat himself angrily and sulkily in the chimney corner. But the sparrow sat on the outside of the window, and cried 'Carter! thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life!' With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet, and threw it at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke the window. The sparrow now hopped in, perched upon the window-seat, and cried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life!'

Then he became mad and blind with rage, and struck the window-seat with such force that he cleft it in two: and as the sparrow flew from place to place, the carter and his wife were so furious, that they broke all their furniture, glasses, chairs, benches, the table, and at last the walls, without touching the bird at all. In the end, however, they caught her: and the wife said, 'Shall I kill her at once?' 'No,' cried he, 'that is letting her off too easily: she shall die a much more cruel death; I will eat her.'

But the sparrow began to flutter about, and stretch out her neck and cried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life yet!' With that he could wait no longer: so he gave his wife the hatchet, and cried, 'Wife, strike at the bird and kill her in my hand.' And the wife struck; but she missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so that he fell down dead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.

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