Story Library

Start the Year Right

Backstory:

2020 – A year when we got broadsided faster then we could get upright from the last calamite. A time when the truth of every spoken word was questioned and no written word seemed to pass muster either. How do we set a stage for entering the complexities already obvious for the new year? A lot will depend on attitude.

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Start the Year Right – #490

Every morning, when you wake up, you have a big decision to make. You can decide whether to be happy . . . or sad.

It may not hit you in the head like a brick – “Hey there, do ya wanna be happy today?” So it’s important to KNOW that you have that choice. Something wonderful is totally in your control at that moment. YOU can decide!

Don’t put any reservations on your decision –

If my lottery number comes in today, I’ll be happy.
If he calls for a second date, I’ll be happy.
If I get on the scale and find I lost another pound, I’ll be happy.

You can CHOOSE to be happy, regardless of what you will face that day, or what outside interests have their hold on you.

You can’t control who will call or how lucky you will be or whether that éclair took its toll on your hips. But you CAN control whether you will be happy. It’s a decision you make for yourself.

It’s very selfish, because it involves nobody else but you. When you look in the mirror, over the bathroom sink, you can smile or you can frown. You can assume your day will go badly today . . . or decide to be happy even if it does.

Don’t let outside influences decide. It’s YOUR choice. Set your tone and attitude to welcome a day in which you will be happy, joyful and make good decisions for yourself. The choice is yours. What will it be?

P.S.

There! With that attitude set in place, go out into the world. Be a problem solver. Provide the glue that keeps things together. Bring the wisdom of experience to the table. Be the spokesperson for those with no voice. Bring calm into the room that leads to compromise. Happy New Year.

[Show #490]

Christmas Sermon

The young pastor was pacing. He was totally perplexed. Here it was Christmas Eve and he had no sermon for the midnight service. People would come to the church full of Christmas cheer. They would expect to be inspired and he lacked inspiration. He was so tired of the commercial aspects of Christmas that he feared the real meaning of the season was being lost forever.

He wandered by the life-size nativity scene outside the church and noticed a brightly wrapped gift package by the manger. Curious, he reached out and opened it. Inside he found a pair of tiny baby booties and a card. It read, “This is a birthday present to keep your baby feet warm. Happy Birthday, Jesus.” It was signed, Cheryl, age 4.

The pastor smiled. He could envision young parents teaching their child the true meaning of Christmas in a way that she could understand.

That night, he read the card and based his sermon on it. The card became the core of his sermon every Christmas Eve.

Fifty years later, two elderly parishioners smiled at each other as they listened to the story yet again. Cheryl’s parents had heard it every year. They both agreed that to have inspired this Christmas message over all of these years was the best Christmas gift they ever had.

[Show #121]

When Christmas Is Sad

Backstory

On my sad Christmases, I would write. The keys on my computer would fly. It might be spilling all my sorrow, putting my anger into words, shouting out the injustice of my circumstance. Others shed tears to cope. Some go away, avoiding the setting of their last happy holiday. Others return to that special place. Some folks are lost, seeking a means to calm the hurt.

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Christmas Sad – #123

There are times when Christmas is sad. You may be missing a loved one, or you may be far away from home, on your own, or you may be the one left behind with your loved one serving of a battlefield halfway across the world. Sometimes it helps to remember not only this sad Christmas, but all of them, stacked up in a row from childhood until now.

Considering all of the holidays in our lifetime, some are bound to be better than others. But, ah, the good ones were really fine. Think about them and you’ll simply HAVE to smile as you remember words and actions, laughter and love.

Take out photos and relive those times, so warm and loving. No one can take those precious memories away. They may be the greatest gift we were given. Once a good thing happens, it can always be conjured up again in your mind. It can always make you smile as you remember, relive and enjoy it all over again.

So this Christmas, whether it’s one of your best or not, may you have the comfort of memories of Christmases past and may you smile and enjoy them all over again.

Wishing you a Christmas with a peaceful heart.

P.S.

It’s so easy to become sour when holiday plans go awry or you are sad. You want to blame someone or take it out on somebody. Instead, do something for someone else – or a lot of elses.

Take over someone’s job so they can be home with family on Christmas.
Serve at a soup kitchen – dressed up nicely for the holiday.
Sit with someone who is ill, so the caregiver can be with family.

As the holidays rush upon us, don’t become the Grinch who stole Christmas. Help bring peace on earth to your little corner of the world, no matter what.

[Show #123]

Regifting

Backstory

At one of our girls’ lunches, someone sheepishly admitted to regifting. That opened an avalanche of confessions from those who did indeed pass along to others something that had been gifted to them. Some justified their transgressions. A few told stories of getting caught in the act.

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Regifting – #122

Have you ever dabbled in regifting? You know – passing along a gift that someone has given to you. Oh, admit it. You receive a gift that’s just not something you would use or enjoy. Or that color just does not do you justice. But you know, for sure, that someone else would just love it. So you pass it along.

Now the trick is to regift with panache. There are some rules to follow, if you want to be a real success at regifting. These were passed along to me by some of the world’s greatest regifters. So here are the key tips to Christmas regifting:

Make sure the gift card TO YOU has been removed before you wrap the regift. It’s not a good idea to leave that in there.
Make sure the gift has not rusted while it sat there in the garage, particularly if it has been there for five years or more. That’s definitely not cool.
Make sure you are not passing the gift along to the person who gave it to you in the first place. Keep a list.
Okay, so regifting can be tricky. But when you’re planning to give fruitcake, know that the recipient will always think it us a regift.

So take heed and be sure to have fun this Christmas. We sure are.

P.S.

Is regifting tacky? Etiquette experts suggest that it is acceptable, as long as the item is nice, is in new, unused condition and is something you would have bought for the person if you were paying for it.

Our family plays a game on Christmas for which every prize is a flagrantly admitted white elephant or regift. It’s brought lots of laughter to our holiday and some pretty neat stuff.

[Show #122]

Be Thankful

Backstory

This is a real-life story from fifty years ago. It was a seminal moment in how I looked at things from then on. See if you can relate to what happened.

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Be Thankful – #191

“Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.” I first heard that mantra back in the 70’s. Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.

At the time, we were living in our first house. It was a nice 3-bedroom split level in a residential development. But somehow, after a few years, the house seemed small. We needed more garage space, more bedrooms. I wanted bigger, better.

Then the recession hit. Security became very wobbly. The things I had assumed I deserved and would always be mine were being challenged. I might not have a job; my husband might not. Oh boy, how I wish I had those hundreds of dollars we spent on last year’s vacation.

Suddenly I looked around my beautiful, perfect, plentiful home and said, “Please God, just let us keep up the payments. Let us keep this roof over the heads of our children.”

Well, we did survive. The whole country did. Things turned around and we did eventually move on. But I never forgot the lesson I learned then. It may help you too.

Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.

P.S.

In this time of pandemic lock-down, you might hear whining about the claustrophobic aspects of sheltering at home. Take another look. There are places where shelter is a tent or a ripple of tin. If yours is better than that, you know what to do.

[Show #634]

Choose Not to Worry

Backstory

Mom set the tone for my theory about worrying. Each time I had a teenage bout of mourning, she would make detailed notes of my sorrow. A month or so later, she would drag out her notes so we could check what benefit was derived from all the hours of teenage angst. Confronting the evidence of the time wasted on worry was grounds for a cure.

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Choose Not to Worry – #113

Why is it that some people seem laden down with worry and others just smile right through the potential calamity? If you read the newspaper or watch television these days, you can be overcome by news of what has already gone wrong, what’s at risk of going wrong, or what has the potential to bring us harm and doom.

Meanwhile, if you look around you, chances are that very few of those cataclysmic potentials have already affected you. Your home has not been foreclosed. You have not lost your job. Your teenagers actually love you and hold their own.

So how do we balance reasonable adult concern with worrying ourselves to pieces? Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can happen?” Figure out how you would deal with that happening and then move back into the world of here and now.

Don’t fuss about trifles; keep yourself busy, go smell the roses. And if your yard has dandelions instead of roses, go out and pick some. Gather a bouquet and consider them Mother Nature’s gift to you for not worrying today.

P.S.

In her blog, Positivity Tree, Ella Miller posts messages of inspiration, calm and contentment. Visit her at https://www.facebook.com/ThePositivityTree

[Show #113]

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