Dear Reader:
During her writing of Simple Abundance Sarah Breathnach discovered (while researching the Victorian Period) that worldly goods were once viewed as evidence of God’s favor. And even today the author believes this attitude is still part of our American consciousness in varying degrees among our citizens.
Do we really want to be defined by the possessions we own? Or do we believe that our possessions do not define our true selves. Isn’t it what we love that defines who we are, not what we own?
I remember reading an article on Jackie Kennedy Onassis where an interviewer asked her how she enjoyed being placed on a pedestal by so many admiring fans. She blushed, looked away, and then quietly replied: “It’s lonely and cold on a pedestal.”
After her death, her son, John F. Kennedy, Jr said this about his mother’s personal life priorities: “My mother’s most prized possession was privacy. Following this came her love of words, the bonds of home and family, and her spirit of adventure.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to remembered, when our own personal journey ends “As being by love possessed?”
Joan Turner sent me a Facebook article the other day that addresses this same message of living a material life versus a love possessed life.. Thank you Joan for sharing. Here it is:
Life 101
As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that:
Whether we wear a $300 or $30 watch – – – they both tell the same time.
Whether we carry a $300 or $30 wallet/handbag – – – the amount of money inside is the same.
Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $30 or $3 wine – – – the hangover is the same.
Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3,000 or 30,000 sq. ft. – – – the loneliness is the same.
And we realize our true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.
Whether we fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down – – – we go down with it. Whether we fly first or economy class, if the plane reaches its destination – – -everyone arrives at the same time.
Therefore . . . we should realize that when we have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, with whom we can chat, laugh, talk, sing, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth — that is true happiness!
Six Undeniable Facts of Life
1. Don’t educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so when they grow up they will know the value of things, not the price.
2. Best wise words: “Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food.”
3. The one who loves you will never leave you because, even if there are 100 reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on.
4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few folks really understand that.
5. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, you have to manage!
6. If you just want to walk fast, walk alone; but, if you want to walk far, walk together!
Six Best Doctors in the World
1. Sunlight
2. Rest
3. Exercise
4. Diet
5. Self Confidence
6. Friends
And, finally: The nicest place to be is in someone’s thoughts.
………………………
So until tomorrow….Let us set goals to continue to grow and absorb life’s lessons… as lifetime learners. I certainly learned one yesterday. It was that a cookie and a bottle of water (in an area less than five miles from my home) can bring out personal stories of poverty, need, destitution, courage and hope. Poverty isn’t out there…it’s right here in front of us.
It all started when Anne and I met for lunch and she told me that a group she worked for (providing meals for the needy) was dropping the bottle water and cookie project and going in a different direction. Anne was sad and told me that it was amazing what a bottle of water and cookie could do to help raise someone’s spirits!
She went on to further explain to me how a group of small helpers would give out a cookie and bottle of cold water to people leaving DSS/Department of Social Services (in the parking lot) as simply a morale booster plus providing an information sheet concerning the location for free meals each night of the week.
Anne said the stories she heard through the car windows were sometimes sad but also amazing in both courage and fortitude. I told her if she decided to keep this part of the program going to let me know and I would help out.
Around 3:00 Anne called and said she had cookies and bottles of water and was wondering if I could meet her at the DSS parking lot to help distribute the flyers. She had thought about the cost of lunch yesterday and for the same amount (or even less) she could give people a bottle of cold water, a cookie, and a pair of caring ears to perk up their day. Why not start now?
Temporarily stunned….I told her I would see her in half an hour and hung up. Anne also called Mary Lee so the three of us formed the water/cookie/flyer brigade. And it was amazing…the stories we heard through an open car window.
When I gave one woman the flyer and explained that it had a list of all the places she and her family could go each night for a free meal, she looked completely stunned and then exclaimed: “God works in mysterious ways. My husband just called and we are eating the last food (chicken) from the refrigerator tonight.” In her eyes the flyer with the locations of free suppers was nothing short of a miracle.
Later a car Anne had given water and a cookie to….stopped and wanted to give a donation….within a dollar it was the same amount Anne had paid for the supplies. Anne was putting it in the communal fund to buy more supplies for next Wednesday.
Amazing things happen when two or three people are gathered together and let God help them help His children.
(*Anne confessed that the yummy sugar cookies, Shirley, were yours from her freezer….All we can say is they were “light, so-o-o good and put a smile on many children’s’and parents’ faces alike.”) Including mine!
*I had to test-taste the sugar cookies, of course, Shirley….tough job but someone had to do it!
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
What a terrific idea! Leave it to you and Anne to be found helping others. Joan’s “Life 101” piece certainly has some great messages for everyone. I love the phrase, “The nicest place to be is in someone’s thoughts.” Thank you for so faithfully sharing this blog every day: rain , shine, sick, at home or away. You certainly live a life which is “possessed by love.”
A God Wink for sure….when I received this facebook message and then this spontaneous opportunity arose….the two intersected exactly as God knew they would.
Good morning, Becky!
I agree wholeheartedly with what Jo Dufford said: the Life 101 has some great messages! And, yes, it would be so nice “to be in someone’s thoughts.”
Thanks once again, Becky. And, thanks to Joan Turner for sending you the article!!
Have a blessed Thursday!
I love these God Winks when other bloggers or readers are thinking along the same line at the same time…a perfect intersection!
What a beautiful act of kindness! You three ladies are incredible. If this continues when I return to S’ville count me in! Love you all,
Honey
It opened my eyes to the level of poverty right here in Summerville…in my community!
That is the most wonerful idea with the water bottle and cookie….a beautiful act of kindness!
Joan….Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful Facebook message….everyone loved it….among the hundreds we get…wasn’t that one quite special…I want to write down and remember some of the thoughts in it…so beautiful and so true! Love the picture of you and W.T! what a good looking couple!