Life's Loving Memories

  THE BLESSINGS OF SILENCE " We have a truly awesome reminder of the Divine Intelligence behind all creation when we contemplate the Universe that surrounds us,and the multiple Universes beyond that." Life's Garden of Weekly Wisdom ,    --Sandra Lindsey Smith  When I taught high school, I would have my students write about this quote, "Alone in a crowd is lonely, alone by yourself is powerful." It was an amazement to me how their responses were so insightful. One student said, "You are never alone wherever you are, only you can make yourself lonely."  As a "latchkey" kid (before a name was given to it), I was home by myself quite a bit. I actually loved the silence. Reading has always been my favorite addiction ( I guess that is probably the best addiction one could have). Very often, when I am waiting in line, sitting in a dentist office or at the airport, I think to myself, what a lucky person I an, I have time to get in a few more pages of

  THE PRESENT MOMENT "Life is a blessing or a curse, according to the use we make of it. In the long run, no one judges us but ourselves. We believe in a law that governs all things and all people. If we make mistakes, we suffer. We are our own reward and our own punishment." - Ernest Holmes Are you grateful at this precise moment? In my late forties, I discovered that doing exactly this made my life easier. I started realizing that everything that that happens isn't good and isn't bad, it just is. Something may happen that seems horrible at the time, it may seem like a giant road block, but eventually you may look at is as a stepping stone. Getting divorced, going through an illness, growing up in an abusive environment all pales when you have gone through a challenge and come out wiser as a result of it. All that I have been through in my life allows me to be more loving and compassionate with others. When I allow myself to be free of perceived injustices, I release

  BE SURE YOU'VE GOT IT RIGHT “ The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place .”   –  George Bernard Shaw What is the difference between receiving a phone call, and receiving an email or text? For me, a phone call allows me to ask a question to make sure that what I am hearing is correct. On a few occasions when I read a text or email, I am getting a different message than the one that was intended. Sometimes good old spell check is to blame as it autocorrects stranger into stangler. On occasion, we read something that was meant to be a joke or pun, but it was taken as a slight. Luckily in a text you can reply back to make sure you understand  what was written, correctly. Words when they are spoken or written can never be taken back, so question what you think was said and avoid being slighted. Do you have trouble understanding what was written to you in a text or email?  Did you think someone was angry by what they said, and only when you ques