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I stared at the blank paper and thought about my goals for this year. Looking closely, I noticed the paper wasn't blank at all. At the bottom of the page, Solomon had written his spelling bonus word: BELIEVE.
How appropriate, I thought, because I just read an article about how believing in your resolutions is the most important step to achieving them.
I remember when Solomon was learning how to walk. He was a late walker, hesitant of his own ability, always leaning on tables and chairs until he found himself with nothing to hold onto and then he'd drop to the floor and revert back to crawling.
One day Solomon picked up his boots and not realizing he had let go of the couch, he took his first steps. He walked around the house that way, holding his boots for what seemed like a terribly long time. And then one day, Solomon smiled, let his boots fall to the floor as if to say, "I don't need these any more," and proudly walked towards me.
When I think about the future, I think of Solomon walking around our house holding his boots. I know he really wasn't alone as he gained the courage and strength to believe in himself. And like him, I have Someone to lean on, to give me support when I need a hand, to lead me towards my goals and to cushion my fall if I happen to stumble along the journey.
We decided to go to the hotel gym for a workout. The gym was
ultramodern and we were the only ones there. There were five
TV's positioned over the treadmills and exercycles.
She wanted to watch a cooking show.
I wanted to watch a sci-fi program.
She got on the last treadmill on the left, I got on the last
treadmill on the right and we both tuned to different channels.
As we began to run, we both periodically got off the treadmill
to turn up the respective volumes on our TV's. After a few
minutes, both of our televisions were at full volume.
We had clear pictures but the cacophony of noise made it almost
impossible to understand the story.
I now understood why all of the televisions were tuned to the
same channel when we arrived. Too many voices cause you to
misstep and not understand the story.
If you are running (or walking) alongside someone in life, the
story will go a lot smoother if both of you have the same vision
and hear the same sound. When you are on different channels you
both get louder but hear less.
I turned my television off.
Cooking wasn't so bad.
After all, I would benefit from the meals.
Are you on the same channel as the one that you have chosen to
walk through life with?
Let those couples that have eyes see and that have ears hear.
Grief is path we forage, a trail we each must make ourselves.
My sister and Mom got together today and made grave blankets. One for my sister, Maria, and one for her sister-in-law who is buried beside her. (I’ll post a picture soon.) It took a few hours, and turned out beautifully but still it’s difficult to believe that this is what life has turned to.
For a long time I misunderstood the stages of grief. I thought you would get through one and then go to the next one, that there was a sequence, an order, progress. I understand now, grief twists and turns. Some days you feel as if you’re accepting this new life, other days, you’re stuck on “I still can’t believe this is what has happened.”
I think about that a lot lately. How mysterious life is, how lasts are rarely known as lasts. Last Christmas, the last time with my sister, the last gifts, the last celebrations. When I was in the attic looking for ribbon and ornaments for the grave blankets, I came across a gift bag Maria had given me last year with the tag, “Love, Maria."
So for now, one lesson among the million that grief has thrown my way is to cherish what we have. Our time together is precious.
Do you know what the number one candy in America is?
What sells the most?
What package of confectionary delight satisfies the sweet tooth
of more Americans than any other?
You probably don't know.
This is just one of those interesting facts that I will throw in
from time to time. You never know what to expect from
MountainWings. If you did, you wouldn't get that little boost
every day.
Remember, an Eagle never has the same air under its wings.
So it is with life, there is something different each day.
So it is with MountainWings.
So what is the number one candy in the U.S.?
I would have said Mr. Goodbars if you had asked me before I knew
the answer. I like Mr. Goodbars. They are full of fat and
sugar, which are not very healthy, but I like them anyway.
Does that sound familiar to you?
Does that sound like you?
Liking something that you know is not good for you.
You probably think Snickers or some other candy bar is number
one.
No. Actually, it's not a candy bar at all.
It's M&M's. M&M's are the number one selling candy in America.
"So what," you say,
"What's it to me if M&M's are the number one candy?"
You can often learn a lesson from number one.
Number one more often than not has done something right,
something very right. No matter what the business,
number one's have found and adhered to sound principles.
So what did M&M do?
They solved a need.
The rumor is that M&M's were developed so that soldiers could
eat candy without getting their hands sticky. Soldiers weren't
the only ones who needed to keep their hands clean while eating
candy. Your hands can get awful messy eating a Mr. Goodbar on a
warm day. You know the slogan,
"Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand."
You don't get messy hands with M&M's.
You would have thought that the best tasting candy would have
been number one. No, it's the candy that doesn't mess up your
hands.
M&M's are the only candy on the Presidential Jet, Air Force One.
The number one man in the country eats the number one candy.
The business principle is this:
Fill a genuine need and people will buy your product.
Every problem has inherent within it a product that provides a
solution. Even religion is like that.
It promises to solve problems.
If you are in business or wish to be, learn to look at the
problems of life as potential best selling products. All you
have to do is identify the solution and figure out how to
package it.
There are greater problems in life than sticky fingers. You may
have the answer to one of them that is a potential top seller.
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:5
One of the most serious and powerful facts in human nature is that you are likely to get what you are basically expecting.
Spend years developing the mental attitude of expecting that things are not going to turn out well, and you are likely to get that result.
You create a mental condition slanted to an unhappy outcome.
If, on the contrary, you develop and maintain a mental attitude of faith and expectancy—hoping, dreaming, believing, praying, working—you will create conditions in which every good thing can and will grow.
Fill your mind with the positive power of spiritual expectancy, and God and His good will flow toward you.
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