When is Enough Ever Enough?

The secret of life is to know when enough is enough.

This was my father's favorite saying in his final years, and one of the last thing he said to me before he died. I was contemplating selling my house and moving to a smaller one, and that was his pronouncement on the subject.

It was kind of ironic, since there he was, a family doctor for forty years, gasping and wheezing over the phone, barely able to speak, dying from smoking too much.

But the fact that he learned the lesson late doesn't negate the truth. And it goes straight to the heart of the issue of gratitude; namely, that gratitude makes us feel like we have enough, whereas ingratitude leaves us in a state of deprivation in which we are always looking for something else.

That's why the idea of cultivating "the gratitude attitude" is so popular among twelve-step programs. As Emmet Miller notes in "Gratitude: A Way of Life".

"Gratitude has to do with feeling full, complete, adequate - we have everything we need and deserve; we approach the world with a sense of value."

Addictions of all sorts come from a sense of deprivation, a feeling of lack that the user believes can be filled with a substance or activity, whether it's drugs, shopping, alcohol or food.

Caught up in lack, we feed the need but never feel truly satisfied because our substance of choice can't fill the lack. Consequently we continue to want more and more.

As many people have pointed out, our consumer society owes its very existence to its ability to fuel a sense of never being satisfied.

If we were happy about the way we looked, for example, why would we spend billions on cosmetics and plastic surgery?

Or on expensive cars that supposedly convey a certain image that we don't have?

An attitude of gratitude gets us off the treadmill and out of the rat race. As we cultivate a true and deep appreciation for what we do have, we realize that our sense of lack is, for the most part, an illusion. No matter our material circumstances, the richness of our soul is ultimately what brings happiness, not another Martini, bigger breasts, or the latest video game.

In the words of Lao Tzu, "He who knows enough is enough will always have enough."

-Written by Dr. Vincent Ryan- 

The most amazing moments in life...

Leave Office On Time

  

     

A Tale of Motherly Love from Mother Nature

The bar is set higher and higher for awesome African game shots that we are privileged to see.

Clinging on for dear life to the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully for help.

His mother arrives at the edge of the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The females start to clamber down together but turn back daunted by the sheer drop.

Eventually one single factor determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster – motherly love.

The drama begins: The mother arrives at the edge of the cliff as her son cries out for rescue after being trapped when he slipped

On the brink: Four lionesses look over the edge before aborting their rescue mission because of the sheer drop

Slowly, agonisingly, the big cat edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.

One slip from her and both animals could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.

Just as the exhausted cub seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is snatched up in her jaws.

She then begins the equally perilous journey back to the top. Minutes later, they arrive and she gives the frightened creature a consoling lick on the head.

The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.

Despite the presence of wardens to deter poachers, day-to-day life for the lions is not without its dangers … as the cub learned the hard way.

Rescue mission: The mother inches her way down the cliff face to rescue the terrified cub before locking him in her jaws and making her way back up the cliff face

Motherly love: The mother gives her son a lick to say that all is well in the pride following the drama

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?

God's Rosebud

 

 

A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day.

Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.

The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.

The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry.

But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.

It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do.

Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem...

"It is only a tiny rosebud,

 A flower of God's design;

 But I cannot unfold the petals

 With these clumsy hands of mine."

 "The secret of unfolding flowers

 Is not known to such as I.

 GOD opens this flower so easily,

 But in my hands they die."

 "If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

 This flower of God's design,

 Then how can I have the wisdom

 To unfold this life of mine?"

 "So I'll trust in God for leading

 Each moment of my day.

 I will look to God for guidance

 In each step along the way."

 "The path that lies before me,

 Only my Lord and Savior knows.

 I'll trust God to unfold the moments,

 Just as He unfolds the rose."

The Lotus Truths

These Lotus Truths have been sent to you from the Anthony Robbins organization.


ONE.  Give people more than they expect and do it  cheerfully. 


TWO.  Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as  important as any other.



THREE.  Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or  sleep all you want.


FOUR.  When you say, 'I love you,' mean  it. 


FIVE.  When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the  eye.



SIX.  Be engaged at least six months before you get  married.



SEVEN.  Believe in love at first  sight. 



EIGHT.  Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.



NINE.  Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.  


TEN..  In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.



ELEVEN.  Don't judge people by their relatives. 


TWELVE.  Talk slowly but think quickly. 


THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'


FOURTEEN.  Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.


FIFTEEN.  Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.



SIXTEEN.  When  you lose, don't lose the  lesson. 


SEVENTEEN.  Remember  the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for  others; and Responsibility for all your actions.



EIGHTEEN.  Don't  let a little dispute injure a great friendship.


NINETEEN.  When  you realize you've made a mistake, take  immediate steps to correct  it. 


TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone.  The caller will hear it in your voice


TWENTY-  ONE. Spend  some time alone.  

 

A Great Nature Story

The bar is set higher and higher for awesome African game shots that we are priveleged to see.

Clinging on for dear life to the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully for help.

His mother arrives at the edge of the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The females start to clamber down together but turn back daunted by the sheer drop.

Eventually one single factor determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster – motherly love.

 

The drama begins: The mother arrives at the edge of the cliff as her son cries out for rescue after being trapped when he slipped.

 

On the brink: Four lionesses look over the edge before aborting their rescue mission because of the sheer drop

Slowly, agonisingly, the big cat edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.

One slip from her and both animals could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.

 

Just as the exhausted cub seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is snatched up in her jaws.

She then begins the equally perilous journey back to the top. Minutes later, they arrive and she gives the frightened creature a consoling lick on the head.

The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.

Despite the presence of wardens to deter poachers, day-to-day life for the lions is not without its dangers … as the cub learned the hard way.

 

Rescue mission: The mother inches her way down the cliff face to 

rescue the terrified cub before locking him in her jaws and making 

her way back up the cliff face

 

Motherly love: The mother gives her son a lick to say that all is well in 

the pride following the drama

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?