(43-360) PEARLS...

I feel the need to lighten things up today.  Was that a sigh of relief I heard?  "My Story - Part 1 and Part 2" took a lot out of me - and I suspect you.  So today I wanna share some real pearls of wisdom that for the most part come from a rather unexpected source.

Luis joined Facebook a lil late in the game and even once he did, he rarely got on.  I'm not sure what caused his change of heart but now it's safe to say that he's definitely a fan.  More often than not, he seems to post his statuses while he's at work, so I have no idea where or how he's obtaining the gems that he's been sharing; but for the last week or so - he's had some great ones. 

Now don't get me wrong, Luis is not suddenly a poet or philosopher; I mean he IS the man who posted and I quote, "IF YOU SEE SOME ONE SEXY SAY HEYYYY.. HEYYYY POOH..!!"  ( He was talking to me, when he said "Pooh.")   He was pretty proud of this post and he told me to go look for it before I ever saw it.  He said that it was a line in a song that he couldn't get out of his head.  I later heard the song and determined that he was listening to it with his accent, because that's not EXACTLY what it said; but I was flattered nonetheless.   

The statuses that followed were the ones that I was even more impressed by.  Now he doesn't always give credit to the authors, so to some less knowledgeable Facebook friends, he may appear to be one profound dude (and he is); but my point is, I'm not going to go look the quotes up and credit the authors today.  I'm just going to share exactly what Luis has posted:

"Love others as they are, not as you want them to be."

"Books alone don't make good students. Kids need caring teachers at school and loving parents at home."

"Trust yourself. you know more than you think you do."

"There is nothing wrong by been different!"  (OK, on this one he must have been spelling with his accent because I'm pretty sure it should have said "being" different.)

"Love all. Trust few. Do wrong to no one."

" When I'm sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." 
~ Albert Einstein

"Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly."  (Now that one got varied responses...)

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." 

"Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow."

Rest assured, that I absolutely had his permission to share his musings with you, (my comments and all).  And although I'm certain that it appears like I'm pokin a little bit of fun at him - trust me when I tell you that I am so appreciative of the fact that these concepts are important and noteworthy to him.  Talk about (say it with me) "The Greater good."
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-314) Be Yourself!

When I wrote "Reel Life Wisdom" I told you about the movie quote directory. Writing a daily blog, I often have to go looking for inspiration, and today I've decided to share a quote that was emailed to me a number of weeks ago.

When I first read this quote I though that it had a lot of merit, but I wasn't prepared to expound upon it at the time. But truth be told, there really isn't much that I should need to say. The quote was from the 2007 movie "Stardust" (which I'll admit I haven't seen.) “Why fight to be accepted by people you don’t actually want to be like?”  I like that!

Even though I'm a big fan of peace and harmony, and the "can't we all just get along" mentality; on a smaller scale I think this quote is something that many of us need to remind ourselves of on a regular basis. Let's expand on it too. I believe that we could go as far as to say, why care what people who you DON'T care about think about you? Be YOURSELF! Like YOURSELF! And let everyone else worry about themselves. Don't try to impress people that you aren't impressed by. YOU are a gift, and you should share your time, your thoughts and your uniqueness with those that you choose. Some people may think that they know you based on something superficial or something that they heard about you, or because of how you conduct yourself at work, at school or in social situations.  But they only know what they perceive of you. And no one is to say that their perception is correct.

I try to be kind, courteous and respectful to everyone, but that is not to say that I want to be "friends" with everyone; and I believe that's OK.  If you think about it, I'm sure that you can name a friend of yours who has another friend that you might not have chosen as your own friend. And that's OK. But should you be worried about what that person thinks about you, if they're not someone that you yourself would want be friends with?  No!

Now let me give this disclaimer, before I get in any trouble. This post is not directed towards anyone that I know. It is merely some thoughts that were triggered by the quote that I shared. These are lessons that I attempt to teach my children, in my efforts to help them express their individuality and build positive self esteem and it is something that I myself need to remember. If there is someone who is disapproving of me, and I don't care for them anyway, then why should it matter, what they think of me? It shouldn't! It doesn't! And I hope that you will remember that too.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

                                                                                         

(43-189) Just Like The Turtle

Just as I've promised in the past, that "The Bumpy Ride" is not becoming an all scrapbooking blog, an all soccer blog, an all politics blog, an all feet blog; (I know; I can't believe that's something that I've actually had to promise; but there had been quite a few posts about my feet; so I felt that I had to provide assurances at the time, that there would be other topics in the near future;) but I digress.  Yes, I know; I digress a lot; hence the name "The BUMPY Ride."  Anyway, in addition to all of the things I've assured you were not becoming the main focus of my blog; you can now add to the list, quotes; as I promise that this is not becoming an all quotes blog; BUT, (you knew there was a but, didn't you?)  BUT, today I took a quick look at quotes to find one for my Facebook status, and in no time, I found one that made A LOT of sense to me; so I posted, "Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."
- James Bryant Conant

I have to tell you, in case you don't already know;  I am one who is CONSTANTLY sticking their neck out.  And,  though it's sad to say; I'm starting to question if I can endure the criticism and trouble that I all too often experience, when doing so.  Well earlier today I would have replied "NO," to that question.  I felt beat down.  I felt frustrated.  I felt sad, I second guessed myself and I was anxious; very anxious; and I thought to myself "this isn't worth it."   I thought "maybe it's time for someone else to volunteer.  For someone else to subject themselves to being misunderstood when they had nothing but the best intentions;" BUT; that's just not me.  It's my nature to help.  As difficult as things can be made for me; is as much as I feel the need to provide assistance when it's needed; and that's why, being reminded about the turtle sticking its neck out, had such a profound affect on me.

So, just like the turtle; I will continue on my path.  I will be true to myself; but I will also tread a lot more cautiously, a lot more carefully; a lot more quietly; and I will learn from each experience.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-136) And I Quote...

This past Thanksgiving, I wanted to post something in my Facebook status, that was a little more profound than a mere "Happy Thanksgiving;" so I looked for a quote that I could share and chose the following, by John Fitzgerald Kennedy; "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." I was very happy with the response to this quote; so the next time that I considered updating my status, I decided to look for a quote; rather than just state what I was thinking about or had done that day. I wanted to share ideas and thoughts that meant something to me, and might inspire others; because after all, I'm always looking out for (say it with me,) "The GREATER GOOD." I didn't have a particular quote in mind when I got started. I just Googled happiness, or strength or change; or whatever I was thinking about at the moment; and then chose a quote that I felt adequately represented what I was thinking and what I believed.

My next quote was by Helen Keller and it really spoke to me; so I shared "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." At the same time, I also found a quote by Ms. Keller that I haven't posted yet; but I haven't been able to get off my mind. "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." I thought of this quote several times today in particular, because I was worrying about a number of things having to do with Nicky. I actually told myself (in my mind, not out loud;) that by worrying I was wasting time looking at a closed door; and I could be missing out on something wonderful. And this philosophy allowed me to relax and have faith."He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

I'll tell you honestly that I don't know who Epictetus is; and of course I could look it up and find out; but for the sake of this post, it's not quite necessary at the moment; because whoever he was; I adored his quote

I quoted Henrik Ibsen ‎"A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed." And an unexpected source (at least at the time; to me," Reba McEntire. "To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone." Well at least according to Reba; I'll be a success.
I took a bold leap and quoted Confucius, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do." Only to have my friend Thom comment ‎"He who goes through turnstile sideways, is going to Bangkok." And what does one say to that? I replied only; "Oy Thom! LOL! xoxo"

I quoted Mahatma Gandhi, ‎‎"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." Only to receive the following comment "Happiness is when I look in my wallet and there is still money in there."---Thom the Brilliant Now although Thom is absolutely right; I don't think that he and Mahatma Gandhi were referring to the SAME type of happiness. I responded to Thom by writing "I've got one word for you Thom the brilliant and it ain't accolade. LOL" I said this, because one time in college, I used the word accolade when speaking to Thom and he has reminded me of it, EVERY chance he has gotten. He wrote back "but I'll bet it starts with an A!" Which in my opinion, WAS a brilliant statement. It wasn't the letter that I'd been thinking; because all I was going to say was "OY!" But his response was just SO much better. Nonetheless, given the nature of my quote; I chose not to banter back and forth about his comment because in doing so I would totally contradict the quote.

So last night I began looking at quotes again. I wanted to find something about the importance of being yourself and loving who you are. I never wound up posting anything; but if I had, it would have been this beauty by Dr. Seuss. "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." And I mean that in the VERY best way!!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-35) A Gift Horse Tale

Today I looked a gift horse in the mouth and thoughtfully turned it away.  Now you have to know that with an opening line like that; this is going to be one of those rare cases where I have to be unexplicit; and I do apologize.  Since I need to be discreet, I can't tell you who the gift horse was or what it was offering; but suffice it to say, that as is typical of a gift horse; it presented something that we REALLY needed; but for the sake of sanity and morality we couldn't accept.  Vague, Vague, Vague; I know and I hate it.  I am typically The Queen of FULL DISCLOSURE.  No one has EVER accused me of being short on details and in fact; yes I know, sometimes I say much too much - but not this time.

So, why am I teasing you like this?  You know the answer to that.  (Say it with me,) "It's for the GREATER GOOD."  Even though I have to be unspecific; today was a turning point for me and even in generalities; this is a story that I want to share.

When it comes to a gift horse, it seems that the endowment always arrives at an opportune time and most often there is some question about the benefaction and whether or not to accept it.  Remember, this is a gift horse and NOT just a gift.    "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"  originated back in the day when horses were frequently given as gifts.  As you can tell a horse's age by looking in its mouth; the proverb encourages you not to do so, because it would be in poor taste; as it would seem that you were questioning the integrity of the gift giver.    Not looking a gift horse in the mouth connotes to me that you should just take what's being offered and not question it; but the truth is that there are consequences for our actions and sometimes all that glitters isn't gold.  I find that people often encourage you NOT to look a gift horse in the mouth; and to accept what's presented to you; but for those of us who believe in personal accountability, I think there are certain times when it would be remiss not to do so.  To quote Freud, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar ;" and I believe that's true; but then again; sometimes it's not.

So we've covered a proverb, an idiom and a quote; let's head up hill... The offer that we received today was very unexpected.  It came from someone that Luis and I have tried to distance our family from; and although most people would have jumped at this opportunity; it was one that could also have had serious repercussions for us.
When I first heard from the individual that I've been referring to; Luis was at work and I was caught off guard.  Things happened very quickly, and as gift horses can be; it was extremely persuasive, and very persistent.  I discussed the situation at great length with my devoted, friend Rachel K who is very familiar with this gift horse and the problems it has caused for me (in particular) in the past; and she was able to provide me with a great deal of clarity.  Rachel's advice and wise words were invaluable today and after we took EVERYTHING into consideration; Luis and I decided that it was best for us to keep our distance from this person and stay true to our beliefs.  Luis called the gift horse and declined the "gift" because sometimes there are very high costs for what a gift horse bestows and we were not willing to pay the price.

Now I know that this is probably the most confusing story that I've ever told, (and that's saying something;) and I assure you that I was not trying to be difficult, but to present a real life quandary in it's most basic terms.  You may have to read it again, OK, and again, before it truly makes sense to you; and I hope at some point it does; because it was a very important day for me.  I stood my ground and it was liberating.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING