The Pink Dress

There was this little girl sitting by herself in the park.
Everyone passed by her and never stopped to see why she looked so sad.
Dressed in a worn pink dress, barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat And
watched the people go by.
She never tried to speak.
She never said a word.
Many people passed by her, but no one would stop.
The next day I decided to go back to the park in curiosity to see If the
little girl would still be there.
Yes, she was there, right in the very spot where she was yesterday, and
still with the same sad look in her eyes
Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl.
For as we all know, a park full of strange people is not a place for
young children to play alone.
As I got closer I could see the back of the little girl's dress.
It was grotesquely shaped.
I figured that was the reason people just passed by and made no effort
to speak to her.

Deformities are a low blow to our society and, heaven forbid if you make
a step toward assisting someone who is different.
As I got closer, the little girl lowered her eyes slightly to avoid my
intense stare.
As I approached her, I could see the shape of her back more clearly.
She was grotesquely shaped in a humped over form.
I smiled to let her know it was OK; I was there to help, to talk.
I sat down beside her and opened with a simple, "Hello" The little girl acted shocked, and stammered a "Hi" after a long stare into my eyes.
I smiled and she shyly smiled back.
We talked until darkness fell and the park was completely empty.
I asked the girl why she was so sad.
The little girl looked at me with a sad face said, "Because, I'm
different."
I immediately said, "That you are!" and smiled.
The little girl acted even sadder and said, "I know."

"Little girl," I said, "You remind me of an angel, sweet and innocent."
She looked at me and smiled, then slowly she got to her feet and Said,
"Really?"
"Yes, you're like a little Guardian Angel sent to watch over all the
people walking by."
She nodded her head yes, and smiled.
With that she opened the back of her pink dress and allowed her wings to
spread, then she said "I am."
"I'm your Guardian Angel," with a twinkle in her eye.

I was speechless -- sure I was seeing things.
She said,"For once you thought of someone other than yourself.
My job here is done."
I got to my feet and said, "Wait, why did no one stop to help an Angel?"

She looked at me, smiled, and said, "You're the only one that could see
me" and then she was gone.

With that my life was changed dramatically.

So, when you think you're all you have, remember, your angel is always watching over you.

"There Are Plenty More Fish in the Sea?"

Today I took a magical journey around the coast of Massachusetts, from Manchester by the Sea, through Gloucester and on to Rockport. The weather was perfect, because it is no longer summertime, the roads and towns were not crowded and I was under no pressure to be any particular place by a specific time. The views of the Atlantic and the various bays and beaches along the way were breathtaking and my camera was never idle for long. In Manchester, I admired the old buildings and particularly the main church in the town and spent longer than perhaps I should in a wonderful bookstore called “Manchester by the Book”. The selection of new and used books was incredible but I steeled my self against buying any of the dozen or so I should have liked to buy! The town had a warm, welcoming feel to it that I liked very much. It was with a little reluctance I moved on to Gloucester, although that was the town I had most wanted to visit ever since seeing the movie “The Perfect Storm.”

The Fisherman’s Memorial is a very simple but impressive monument on the sea front before reaching the Town Centre. It records the names of the thousands of fishermen from Gloucester who have perished at sea since the town was formed in the seventeenth century. It was lunch time by then and I enjoyed a most delicious Crab Roll at one of the many cafés nearby. I have never tasted such sweet crab meat. My next stop was the fishing port, the ‘raison d’etre’ for Goucester’s existence. After being moved by the simplicity of the Memorial and the huge numbers who have given their lives in fishing, I was appalled to see how much the port had shrunk and the number of fishing boats laid up or for sale. I was soon to be left in little doubt about the reason, for on the wall of a Fishing Shed were placards spelling out the dramatic impact over-fishing has had. Factory ships from countries such as Russia and Japan were singled out as the chief villains of the piece but the domestic fishermen were not spared either. Factory ships using marine ‘vacuum cleaners’ sucked up all marine life in their greedy maws, leaving no stock to renew the species but domestic fishermen began using smaller and smaller mesh in their nets, which also prevented smaller, younger fish from escaping and renewing stocks. Between the two the tonnage of fish landed not just in Gloucester but all over the world, shrank alarmingly during a mere 20 or 30 years.

How can humanity be so stupid? Due to greed and total lack of concern for the future, we have made nearly all Atlantic fish species so scarce and therefore expensive, that fish, a very important item in human diets, is now absent from many families’ tables. If the reason had been that the growth in population had been such that we had to have more and more fish to feed them, it might have been more understandable but that is not the case. Much of the fish caught by factory ships for instance, was turned into agricultural fertilizer! As if we did not have enough other sources of fertilizer without imperilling the livelihoods of thousands of brave men and their families and removing a nourishing foodstuff from many household menus! Amongst no other species would you find such stupidity and the reason is undoubtedly the complete absence of concern about our own and future generations’ long term well-being caused by the growth in materialism and the compulsion to make more and more money, no matter the effect upon others.

There is a long overdue need to re-assess our moral, scientific and economic mores. The pernicious doctrine of materialism, supported as it is by so many in the scientific disciplines, is eating away at our ability to live on earth, let alone enjoy this life. I feel the one ray of hope is that Particle Physicists will sooner, rather than later, prove the existence of non-physical dimensions with the dramatic repositioning that will bring about in scientific assumptions.

What Does It All Mean?

Are you searching for a meaning to your life? Does little make sense as you see the apparent unfairness of it all? Good people who reach a time in their lives when they can finally look forward to a few years of relaxation after retiring and then find themselves struck down by a fatal illness. Others where it appears nothing ever goes right; they seem to have one problem after another whereas other people, who seem less deserving sail through life without any problems at all. How do we make sense of all this?

When we look at the trials of life and the varying impact they seem to have on different people, I find it helps to try to remember four things. First, we learn far more quickly and effectively from our mistakes and difficulties. Second, life is eternal and anything that happens in our earthly lives can often only make sense when viewed from the perspective of eternity. Third, we make assumptions about how other people are affected by certain events and they are usually superficial. Fourth, we are what we think. Some people seem to go through their lives expecting the worst to happen, whereas others are always expecting the best.

I want to examine these in reverse order. If you are always or mostly, expecting the worst to happen and things to go wrong, then you attract to yourself negative forces that bring about what you fear and expect. If you are positive in your outlook, always look for the best in others and expect the best for yourself, positive forces will be attracted and the universe will do everything to ensure positive things happen to you. It is not easy at first but if we can train ourselves to think positive uplifting thoughts, even when faced with difficulties, bad things will not happen to us.

It is all too easy to assume when a person appears, on the surface, to be unscathed by a particular event, that they have not been affected at all. Often this is just not true but they have been able to hide its effect from the outside world. Inside it is often a very different story. If we lead our lives assuming earthly life is all there is, we will constantly be misled about most things. How can we make any sense of the comparison of one person born into abject poverty and having to endure a constant struggle for existence with one born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, except by realising earth life is a very small portion of our eternal lives? If, as I am certain, life is eternal, two things follow. There must be a purpose to all aspects of life, especially earth life and the probability is that we choose to come to the earth precisely at the time and into the family we have. The American poet, Robert Frost says it is “for some good perceived”*. It may even be the case that the “silver spoon” person has to overcome much greater challenges to achieve spiritual progress than the one born in poverty.

I think it was Thomas Edison who said he learned far more from his unsuccessful experiments to invent an electric lamp, than from the one when he succeeded. So it is with our individual lives. We learn far more lessons when we make mistakes than when we get everything right. I firmly believe that we come to earth to make mistakes and in doing so and learning (maybe not from the first mistake) from them, we eventually make good. The wonderful thing is we do not get just a single opportunity to profit from our mistakes. If we fail to learn, then we will be presented with different circumstances that will help us learn the same lesson we failed to learn the last time. Even if we fail to learn in our earthly life we will be presented with opportunity after opportunity in our future spirit life, to learn what we failed to learn on earth.

*“The Trial By Existence”

THROWN FROM THE BULL by Steve Goodier

Speaker Andy Sherman tells about learning to ride bulls in the rodeo. At eighteen, he told his father he wanted to be a professional bull rider. His father said, "You want to do what? Why would you want to do that?"

Andy said jokingly, "I don't know - I guess I like the hours. You just work eight seconds at a time. That appeals to me."

His father, concerned about the inherent danger, responded, "I absolutely forbid you to do that!" And, at that moment, young Andy instantly knew his life's calling!

The only problem was - he couldn't ride. Always 7 1/2 seconds away from making the eight­-second buzzer, he decided to enter "Rodeo School."

The first day of school he was told to get on a bull. He got on and was immediately thrown off. The instructor said, "Get on another one." He was thrown from a second bull. Then a third. And a fourth.

He finally asked the instructor, "Are you going to show me how to ride these things?"

"That's how you ride them," came the reply. "Just get on one and ride."

By the week's end, Andy had climbed on, and been thrown off, about eighty bulls. But he learned how to ride.

Experience can be a great teacher. Unfortunately, there is only one way to get it, and that is to fall a few times until you learn. Like the employer who told her new employee, "I hired you to make right decisions."

"And how do I do that?" he asked.

"Experience!" she answered.

"How do I get experience?" he asked.

"Wrong decisions."

But experience will never come if we are afraid to try. And fail. And try again. And maybe fail again. We may have to "get thrown from a lot of bulls" if we are ever going to learn to ride. But that is part of living a full and happy life.

REMEMBER ...anything worth having is worth working for

You can have whatever you want in this life ... provided you are prepared to work hard enough to get it! If achieving what you want requires some special skill or knowledge or attitude or anything else - you can acquire the necessary talent. True - it may require hard work and dedication on your part, but you can do it!

Two Horses

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.



From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing....


Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing.

If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.

It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two friends,
You'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse,
And that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk
To where the other horse is,
Trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns
To the shelter of the barn each evening,
It stops occasionally and looks back,
Making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell...

Like the owners of these two horses,
God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect
Or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives
To help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse
Being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.

Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way....

“For the Beauty of the Earth”

It will soon be autumn here in the United States, one of the most beautiful times of the year when the trees become a blaze of colour. It has already begun in the most northerly states like Maine and Vermont and the tide of glorious colour sweeps gradually south over the next four weeks. The spectacle has been called “God’s Pallette” and it is a heart-warming way that nature has to prepare for the harshness of the winter months.

Unless you are totally without feeling, you cannot fail to be moved by the brilliance of the colours, particularly in heavily wooded areas, where whole mountain sides come alive in the most glorious hues. Even in this modern world where so many of us think we are ‘too busy’ to look around us and see the wonders of nature that abound if we try to see them, most people are stunned by the unique displays of the American Fall. It demonstrates so clearly the contrast between the beautiful way nature builds and changes, compared to the often drab and functional way we humans build today. How often have you seen a beautiful old building torn down to be replaced by a totally utilitarian and ugly structure?

There is so much we can learn from nature. If we allow it to, it will inspire us in every field of human endeavour. Especially the rhythm of the seasons can teach us to appreciate patience – everything has its time – the seasons also mirror the pattern of our own lives. The spring when we are young, enthusiastic, growing fast and our world is full of promise. The summer when we reach our full powers and bloom in many different ways. The autumn when our powers begin to wane, when experience takes the place of enthusiasm, when if we allow it, our lives can take on new colour like the autumn leaves because many of us can follow our hobbies then. The winter when our powers wane more but even then there are the compensations provided by family friends, books etc and we really do have the time to appreciate the natural world. Eventually though the winter brings an end to our lives. However because we then return to our normal dwelling place, the Spiritual world, spring comes again to our souls, just as it comes again on the earth. In that springtime of the spirit we blossom anew, without the cares of earthly existence.

Each season may prompt such thoughts as these but the brilliant colours of the North American autumn do so especially, reminding us not just of the mortality of our physical bodies but also of our immortality of our spirit. Now is the time to open our eyes and see the true glory that is the earth on which we are privileged to live for a short time.

Finding Peace

We have created a world where peace seems impossible to find and stillness an impossible dream. How can we be still when there is so much noise and so many distractions? It has been said that art reflects life. I believe the state of the world reflects the people who populate it and if only more of us could try harder to reach that stillness which lies at the centre of our being, the world would be the better for it. It will not just happen however, we have to work at it and create the conditions where we, as individuals, can be truly still.

In order to make a start, we should try to create an area in our home where peace and quiet are sacrosanct. A place that everyone in the family knows and understands is “our quiet place.” A place they will respect as such. If this is impossible because you just do not have the room, then choose a time when you know you will not be disturbed, turn the phone off, silence the doorbell and sit comfortably. Close your eyes and breathe deeply, pausing between incoming breaths and outgoing ones, do this three or four times and then resume breathing normally but listen to your breathing, become aware of its rhythm. After a minute or two you should start to feel more relaxed and enter a state similar to daydreaming. Try not to focus on thoughts that enter your mind, just allow them to pass through and continue to concentrate on your breathing.

After a little while imagine yourself moving from the room where you are, to a place where you have enjoyed being in the past; it maybe the open country, or woods, or an empty beach, or beside a stream. In your imagination, see everything clearly. Look at the colours, smell the freshness of the air, feel free and either sit there or wander along until you reach a place where you would like to sit. Sit there quietly and feel all the life around you, feel the energy coming from the trees, the earth, the stream, or the ocean. Feel yourself being energised but at the same time relaxed. Enjoy the stillness; allow it to wrap you in a warm, comforting embrace. You may find that sometimes you are joined by someone else who will help you to take the stillness deep inside and use it in your everyday life.

If you do this regularly, everyday, for around 20 minutes or so, you will find after a few weeks that the things in life that used to upset you or make you impatient and even short-tempered, no longer have the power to do so. You will also find that other people will begin to remark on the change in you. That will give you the opportunity to explain to them what you have been doing to make this happen. In that way you will be spreading the good news about the importance of and the ease with which we can be still if we are determined enough. Some of these people will try it for themselves and so it will spread until sufficient people are seeking stillness for it to affect the world and bring about a transformation in human behaviour and understanding. The noise levels will abate, people will begin walking more slowly and have time to look around them and appreciate the beauty that is everywhere but which in our haste we miss.

Logic seems to dictate that if people begin walking more slowly and stop to take in the beauty all around them, important things will not be done when they should be. This is an illusion. Nothing of importance will be adversely affected by us slowing down. Indeed the reverse will happen because fewer mistakes will be made. There is an old saying, “Haste makes waste” and it is so true. When we are rushing around, we cannot concentrate properly on what we are doing and we make big mistakes. The vast majority of people will also be happier because they begin to understand others in a way that was impossible before as well as realising they themselves are now being understood and appreciated in a new and wonderful way. I urge you to try this if you are not already doing it.