Up stairs romp

Dog, cats, birds, have a wonderful sense of humor.  Ask anyone who has lived among them.

People have a great sense of humor too.  Here creativity, originality, a sense of fun, delight in the unexpected -- all come together in Stockholm.  

Some bright folks created an experiment to see if people would take the stairs, rather than the escalator, if walking up the stairs could be made fun.

Gentle out-of-the-box humor that makes everybody smile.  What a gift!

Who confirms your worth?

This fun little flick goes straight to the heart of the questions, “Who are we?” and “Why are we here?”

Do you agree with the conclusion?

Motherhood

Mothers come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.  Everyone of us has had one or, if we are particulary fortunate, perhaps more than one nurturer has been important in our lives -- grandmothers, aunts, neighbors. 

The best mothering expresses the motherhood of God -- patient yet firm, caring yet wise, nurturing yet willing to let go. 

God's mothering goes a little further, insofar as God is never on a coffee break, never out of town or out of touch, never too busy.

Hope you enjoy the wit and wisdom of an experienced, everyday mom in this video.

Interactive joy

These monks, it is said, have taken a vow of silence, but wish to be obedient and to make a joyful noise to the Lord.

The appreciation of the audience for creativity and precision adds to the joy.

Hope you enjoy this too.

Communicating

Before my grandson could speak "our language," he spoke an amazingly musical baby language, that I wish now I had recorded.

Here's a delightful little girl, communicating earnestly in her own wonderful way. She expects to be taken seriously. She seems puzzled when the adults find her amusing.






Real communication is from the heart, whatever the language. Dogs, cats, birds, horses, whales -- all communicate. The rest of us have a wonderful opportunity to listen as creatures speak with their eyes and their body language.

I believe the Mind of the universe intended us to communicate, that is, listen to one another for the purpose of understanding.

Stress relief

An office worker urgently needed a few days off work, but realized the Boss would never give him time off. So he hung upside-down from the ceiling in his office and made squeaking noises.

His equally over-worked co-worker asked what he was doing.

He explained that he was pretending to be a light bulb, so, that the boss might think he was crazy and give him a few days off.

A few minutes later the boss came into the office and asked, "What in the world are you doing?"

He told him he was a light bulb.

The boss said, "You are clearly stressed out." Go home and recuperate for a couple of days."

The man jumped down and walked out of the office. When his co-worker followed him, the boss asked her, "And where do you think you're going?"

She said, "I'm going home too. I can't work in the dark."

____________________________

There is a deeper peace than pretending to be a light bulb, that transcends pressure. It's found by connecting with the higher Authority -- God, Allah, Goodness, Truth.

Peace is discovering life is not all about us. Life is about serving this greater Authority; peace is finding that unselfishness is natural to us.

Intelligent caring about others yields peace. Then, either circumstances change, or we leave for something more suitable.

Smiles in Chicago

Larger than life Sculpture

by J. Seward Johnson

Coe College in Cedar Rapids Iowa, featured some of native son, Grant Wood’s paintings. During my years at Coe I grew fond of his stylized trees, gently rolling Iowa farmlands, and Paul Revere’s ride.

I still smile at the endless parodies of his classic “American Gothic” featuring the famous couple with their props: kitchen apron and clunky shoes, bib overalls and pitchfork. Have you seen the one with the faces of Miss Piggy and Kermit?

So here I was in Chicago, walking along Wacker Drive towards Michigan Avenue. I looked across the river and saw... "American Gothic" in bronze! And it is way larger than life.

Iowa on Michigan Avenue

I had to cross over and look up at those very serious faces. And yes, it's OK to touch. Everyone was grinning as they took turns having friends snap their pictures in front of the farmer's lower legs. Yes, he's that tall.

What a gift, a happy surprise to see these old friends. The sculpture represents beauty – a faithful reproduction of the characters. It’s also humor –the quirky delight of finding 1930s rural Iowa plunked among 21st century Chicago's skyscrapers. In addition the sculptor has added his own touch – a well-traveled suitcase.

To me there is something beyond human planning when the city and two artists (one past, one present) come together and succeed in creating a continuing collective smile on passersby.

How important is it that "they" like us?

One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, “I'm not going.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“I'll give you two good reasons,” he said. “One, they don't like me, and two, I don't like them.”

His mother replied, “I'll give YOU two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church: one, you're 59 years old, and two, you're the pastor!”

________________________

Have you ever felt the world didn’t like you, and you didn’t much like the world either?

The mom in the story is right. We all have something worthwhile to give, whether we feel inspired at any particular moment or not.

The reason is not in ourselves, but because we have been created by a very intelligent and infinitely wise Mind to support and encourage one another. It’s second nature – or maybe first nature.

Selfishness, greed, self-centeredness, fear – whatever would tempt us to withhold our caring, would have us not help someone when it is within our power to do so – isn’t our nature at all.

We all have had moments when we have listened to an intuition, gone out of our way to follow through on that intuition, and realized afterwards what a right idea that had been. While this could apply to business, in this context it applies to our relations with others.

Those intuitions are angel thoughts that come to us because somebody needs what we have to give: our cheer, a friendly word or helping hand.

There are two good reasons we can leap out of bed in the morning. One, God loves us unconditionally. Two, as we accept that love as real, here and now, we discover we can pass it along without being depleted. We can pay it forward, regardless of whether or not "they" like us!

Appreciating men AND women

First it was Polish jokes. When poking fun at cultures became politically incorrect, blonds picked up the brunt of appearing empty-headed. Close after came humor bashing men. Lawyer-knocking jokes still make the rounds. Wit making seniors look foolish enjoys popularity as well.

While I confess to having chuckled at the novelty of each appearing joke group, it dawned on me that bashing people groups isn’t friendly. And, even though some of the jokes are really funny, I don't want to be part of putting others down.

This is because I tremendously value what the women in my life (Polish, blond, and otherwise) share – empathy, concern, wisdom, joy, encouragement, nurturing, honesty, helpfulness, flexibility.

And I love what men bring to the mix – breadth of vision, spontaneity, adventure, quirkiness, humor, dependability, respect, thoughtfulness, generosity.

I have a dear lawyer relative, and his stability, kindness, caring and goodness mean all the world to me.

And seniors -- those gentle, wise, active folks who have been around the block a few times, are always there with help and advice. Even the curmudgeons have marshmallow hearts.

For that matter, I treasure my Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, Christian Science, Baptist, agnostic, and other friends whose worship I may not know, for the honesty, cheer, and daily dedication they bring to our relationships.

Since I credit God as the source of all that's good in life, I thank Him/Her for this wonderful variety of people who so enrich my days and years.

I take heart in the diversity with which God expresses His love and comfort for letting us help each other. This world isn’t always an easy one, and we need one another to strengthen our journeys with hope, courage, joy, and the confidence that we each have something worthwhile to contribute.

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Keep out of debt altogether,

except that personal debt of love

which we owe one another.

If you love your fellow man

you have carried out all your obligations.

Paul to his Roman friends

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Ten Commanments - Jackson County translation

This email came with such down-to-earth simplicity, perhaps even Moses would smile.

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Seems some people in Tennessee have trouble with those "shalts" and "shalt nots" in the Ten commandments. Folks just aren't used to talking like that. So, some folks in middle Tennessee got together and translated the "King James" into "Jackson County" language.

The Hillbilly's Ten Commandments (rearranged per Moses)
(posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro, TN)

(1) Put nothin' before God

(2) Just one God

(3) Watch yer mouth

(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'

(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa

(6) No killin'

(7) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal

(8) Don't take what ain't yers

(9) No tellin' tales or gossipin'

(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff

Angels - according to kids

On the lighter side, here are kid comments about angels. So enjoy a good smile. And when you get to the bottom, click on Comments and share your own special angel thoughts or angel experiences.

• I only know the names of two angels. Hark and Harold. Gregory, 5
• Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it. Olive, 9
• It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die. Then you go to heaven, then there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes. Matthew, 9
• Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else. Mitchell, 7
• My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science. Henry, 8
• Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from holy cows. Jack, 6
• Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who's a very good carpenter. Jared , 8
• All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it. Antonio, 9
• My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start on helping me while she was still down here on earth. Katelynn, 9
• Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the kid get over it. Vicki, 8

And here is Eddy's perspective, “Angels are God's representatives. These upward-soaring beings never lead towards self, sin, or materiality, but guide to the divine Principle of all good, whither every real individuality, image, or likeness of God, gathers. By giving earnest heed to these spiritual guides they tarry with us, and we entertain ‘angels unawares.’" (Science and Health)

What are angels to you? What are your angel experiences? Click on Comments below.