Food For Thought:

A nation is never finished - it is recreated by each generation - by caring and committed men and women. By John Gardner


If we believe enough and our solution is bold enough, then nothing can stop us. By Unknown


People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the only ones who ever do. By Steven Jobs


If we can imagine a future, we can create it; if we can create that future, others will live in it. By Unknown

Each person is uniquely made in the sight of God. If you find someone just like you, one of you is unnecessary.

A river never struggles to flow, and a star never struggles to shine; therefore, living should never be a struggle.


Remember not to create waves where there is no water.

Guide to Leadership: A Time for Everything
Christian Bible; Ecclesiastes 3; New International Version (NIV)

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

As you lead in various ways and capacities, always remember that there is an appropriate time for each move you make.

Creatures of Habbit

This is a short story that illustrates some challenges we face when dealing with Habitual Creatures such as you and I.

The story goes this way: Once upon a time, in the beautiful land of animals (humans), rain fell very hard and the river grew and flooded the banks where most of the animals habited. The animals decided to cross to the other side of the river where there is higher ground. Some of the animals that could not cross on their own got assistance from their peers by sitting on there backs or flying on their wings. The Scorpio was the only one that had a hard time getting assistance. All the animals were afraid the Scorpio will sting them if they tried to help. The Scorpio started to beg the tall animals, and promised them that he will not sting any of them. A peaceful Giraffe decided to believe the Scorpio and help him out.

Before he put the Scorpio on his back they had an intense conversation that went something like this 'Giraffe - are you sure you will not sting me? Scorpio - how can I do such a thing to the one person that agreed to help me? Besides, if I sting you, both of us will drown as we cross the river.' The Scorpio's statement was very convincing that the Giraffe leaned down and asked him to climb up unto his back. The Scorpio did so, and the Giraffe started crossing the river. Half way through the river, the Scorpio stung the Giraffe. Right before the Giraffe fell, he asked - 'why did you do that', the Scorpio responded - 'stinging is what I do even when it is against my best interest.'

The leadership question here is - what do you do with those creatures of habit in your circle that you need to manage and lead. I recommend bullet-proofing yourself against their destructive habits. The Giraffe should have wrapped himself up with a strong protection (such as fiber glass) to mitigate the effects of the Scorpio’s sting, because STING, the Scorpio must.

Recommended Reading

The joy of life is often found in our daily challenges and triumphs. For some of us, the journey could be more challenges than we think we can overcome, and for others the meaning of life is often lost in the art of daily living - but thoughts are seldom devoted to analysing those challenges. The one thing we all understand is that life is a giant River meandering through the desert of our hearts. Read the book at this link http://careofstrangers.blogspot.com/ and see how your other half tackles with life's challenges.

Your Edge

The Rules of Being Human

You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it,
but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take
care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous
difference in the quality of your life.
You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a fulltime,
informal school called Life. Each day, you will be
presented with opportunities to learn what you need to
know. The lessons presented are often completely different
from those you think you need.
There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a
process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn
as much from failure as you can from success. Maybe
more.
A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will
be presented to you in various forms until you have learned
it. When you have leaned it (as evidenced by a change in
your attitude and ultimately your behavior) then you can go
on to the next lesson.
Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of
life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live
there will be something more to learn.
“There” is no better than “here”. When your “there”
has become a “here” you will simply discover another
“there” that will again look better than your “here.” Don’t
be fooled by believing that the unattainable is better than
what you have.
Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or
hate something about another person unless it reflects
something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted
to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.
What you make of your life is up to you. You have
all the tools and resources you need. What you create with
those tools and resources is up to you. Remember that
through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort you can
have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.
The answers lie inside of you. The solutions to all of
life’s problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is
ask, look, listen and trust yourself.

From the West Hartford Counseling Center, published in the Ann Arbor Masonic News

The Edge

How do you get the edge in the daily discuss of your existence? What is it that you do that sets you apart from the challenges you tackle? The mind could be a tricky weapon that turns very quickly on the user if not fully understood.

Think about the story of the salt merchant who used donkey transportation to get his salt bags to the market. This merchant lived in a remote village and used the only one route available to get his salt to the market. The beautiful thing about his experience is that on the route to the market lies a beautiful river where he and his donkey always stopped for a drink of water before continuing on their journey. One day, when they got to the river, the donkey felt over heated by the sun and went deeper into the river for a drink. When the donkey came out of the river, he discovered that his load has become lighter, but did not know why nor did he care. The simple fact was that when he went deeper into the river and came out, his load was lighter.

As you can see, the donkey has learned a beneficial behavior to the extent that everyday they come out to the river on the way to the market, the donkey will go deeper into the river for a drink leaving the merchant with little or no salt for the market. The merchant was beside himself having been subjected to the continued loss of market ware and income to feed his family. He did not know what to do to the donkey to change the donkey's behavior and there was no other route to the market. He thought about changing to a different product but found that option impractical for his state of being at the time.

The question is - how does the merchant get an edge over his challenge? It is a case of understanding the mind as a weapon it is. After several days of agony, the merchant decided to fully engage his mind. It then occurred to him that the donkey is practicing a learned behavior and the only way to change that is to learn a new behavior that would be beneficial to the merchant. The next day, the merchant decided to load the salt bag with sand. He put the bag on the donkey's back, and they set out en-route to the market as usual. When they got to the river, the merchant waited as the donkey went deep into the water for a drink. When the donkey came out, his load felt much heavier as he walked slowly to the market. The next day, the merchant loaded a salt bag on the donkey and they set out again to the market. When they got to the river, the donkey did not try to go deeper into the water; rather he drank close to the banks and proceeded diligently to the market. I am sure you have been in the merchant's position in several encounters in your life. The question still remains, how do you get the edge? A mind is a terrible thing to waste!