My gift from Heather!
In her own words, she said: Let’s spread Christmas cheer, all throughout the year.”
I was reading her column on Friday last, and I keep telling myself that this was not my idealistic, out of the world column. It was realistic Heather. She summarized what I have said and continue to say in my columns. I am not talking about a quick fix to solve the ills of this society. If our editor gets my aim for this unique community, that is all that I can wish from her this season. I hope that you will take some time to think about this message: Christmas is not a date but an attitude. It is the way we encounter our brothers and sisters every time we meet. Deepak Chopra gave me some advice several years ago, advice that I will now pass on to you. “Give a gift to everyone you encounter in your life.” That is crazy! I cannot give something to each person I meet!
Pause. Take a deep breath! Is this an impossible task that Chopra is asking of us? Take a few minutes to think about this. Can you give another person a smile, a wave, a flower, a compliment, a note, some money, a silent prayer, a handshake, a ride, a card, a song, a poem? You now get the idea. I am sure you can think of many other creative ways of giving a gift to every person you meet. You may be doing this during this season, but as the editor encourages, let us do it all through the year. Yes, I am proud that we are the ideal fishing spot. I like us to be the Salmon Capital of the world. But all of this is insignificant to the title. THE LOVING CAPITAL OF THE UNIVERSE! There he goes off the earth again. I hear voices saying to me, Make no small dreams, they have no power to stir the blood of men! Go for the gold! Some men see things as they are and ask, why. I dream things that never were and ask. WHY NOT? Remember Martin Luther King. He had a dream! This is my dream in this little paradise that we encounter, that from this moment, we set our sights in making this pace. THE LOVING CAPITAL OF THE UNIVERSE! WE CAN AND WE WILL!
THANKS TO THE FRIENDSHIP CENTRE: One of my goals after I retired was to teach a course in human development. I started teaching the course “Adventures in Attitudes.” Many people in Port have taken this course, but I wanted to teach my own course, and that is where the Friendship Centre came it. They have been employing me in teaching several groups of students over the past years. I taught Adventures in attitudes for several years, and eventually, I started my own course. Adventures in Living, her and now! I had a final class on December 22nd, and I thank all the members of this class for helping themselves and helping me. It has been said that every moment, we can be born anew, and this comes about by our CHOICES. You have also heard that we become what we think about. Napoleon Hill said that whatever the mind of man (or woman) could conceive and believe, he or she can achieve it. Then it was Churchill who told us ...”The empires of the future will be the empire of the mind." One of the most valuable sources of our country is the quality of mind of its inhabitants. All these ideas remain dormant unless we choose to act on them. Another very important ingredient of this course is based on the Japanese word…KAIZEN..continuous improvement in all aspects of our lives. We had no text books. The learner is the text.
Each week, each member of the class discussed ten changes he or she made during the week. The responsibility was placed on the students and not the teacher. Human beings are immortal, but human behaviours are changeable, and this is the part of our selves that took up our time and effort. How does one decide on the success of the course? Did you make continuous improvement in your behaviour? Are you committed to total person changes for the rest of your lives?
FOOD AND FILOSOPHY..Coming on January 10th at 5:30 p.m at Dolce Vita.
Guest speaker Richard Girling will be talking about the History of the English Language. We use it all the time, but few of us know of the interesting history of this linguistic tool. It is a vast topic, but Richard wants to whet our curiosity, and leave us with an endless quest to know more and more about our language.Here is the outline that he has given me. Things you might not know about the English Language. (1) Introduction: 10 facts about the English Language. (2) History (Old English, Middle English, Modern English) (3) Modern varieties of English. (U.S vs. Canadian. Vs UK vs. other. Which version of English is “correct”? (4) Learning English. (a) How come children learn before they can even tie their shoelaces? (b) If a child could do it, why do so many adults find it so hard to learn a second language? (5) The future of the English Language? (6)
Questions. On behalf of this community, I thank you Richard for taking the time to share this valuable information with us all.
YOUR MANTRA FOR THE COMING YEAR..Quote from Martin Luther King: If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the street even as Michelangelo painted, ever as Beethoven composed, even as Shakespeare wrote. He should sweep the streets so clean that the heavenly host will say. There was a street sweeper who did his work well.”