Take a moment…

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The
Chinese have a saying “In every crisis there is opportunity”, but
does that mean we have to seek out a crisis in order to find an
opportunity?
Why
is it that modern man seems to limp from crisis to crisis trying to
find that non-existent pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?
Perhaps
it’s because we cannot live without the constant rush of adrenaline
this quest produces? Our “fight or flight” reflexes have
atrophied to a point where they no longer serve to protect us; they
are merely there to enable us to separate the good times from the
bad. And make no mistake, we need bad times in order to know what the
good times are.
It
seems to take a major change in our lives in order to realize that
all opportunities need to be seized with both hands. We tend to wait
like a beggar at a street corner with palms outstretched waiting for
the Universe to provide us with what we believe we need.
Ignore
what any major organized religion will try to tell you, you don’t
have to be religious in order to request aid from the Universe.
Spiritual
perhaps, but neither is a necessity.
But
do we need organized religion to reach or dreams and aspirations?
I
don’t think so. I believe in the saying “What you sow, so you
shall reap”. This is not an easy credo to live by in today’s
modern society. We are all reaping the whirlwind as we sow our own
seeds of destruction. Wars, floods, famine and a variety of other
ills of our own making are turning the planet on which we live from a
heaven to a hell. Forget the fact that once the Rain Forests are
gone, they will never come back. We treat our natural resources with
the same disdain that we throw away leftover garbage.
Why
am I so angry? It’s because I, like many of us, have wasted
opportunities that I did not recognize as such.
I
have often said, in jest, that when my ship comes in I will probably
be at the airport
If
you want to win the Lotto you have to at least buy a ticket…


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At
a recent book launch I met a friend that I did a Hospice course with
more than two decades ago. We had lost contact for over a decade,
with us each of us following our own path after we completed the
course. I have to add that I did not really want to attend the book
launch. But if I had not gone then he and I would not have
re-connected. It was an emotional meeting for both of us, as I was
devastated to find that he had cancer and that this once vibrant man
now had to get about in a wheelchair. 
Visiting with him a few days
later made me realize that I almost let another opportunity slip from
my grasp. I was truly humbled when he gave me a 3 CD set of
inspirational talks that he had done over the course of several
years.
Following
this visit,I was going to be driving back from Cape Town alone, and I
told him that I would listen to the talks during the journey. I also
promised that at various points along my route home I would stop and
shout out his name. I know that it may sound “cheesy” but I did
it and it strengthened my resolve to try and live a more positive
life.
Do
not criticize, condemn or complain”: says Dale Carnegie…but we
all do.
We
complain about the fact that our power grid is unstable, we complain
about the potholes, the traffic lights that are out of order. We
complain that it is too hot, too cold, too wet, and too dry. We even
complain when we have nothing to complain about
We
condemn ourselves to a life of negative re-enforcement and we seldom,
if ever, praise work well done. Neither do we reward any initiative
that we see as being a threat to our position in the work place. We
criticize the Government and everyone else we can think of instead of
looking at ourselves in a mirror and asking the question “Am I the
best me I can be?” If we are really honest with ourselves, the
answer is without a doubt “NO”…but do we try to change?
No,
we fall back to the safety of the 3 C’s. We are often happy in our
misery because it is our habour where we feel safe.
Are
the wealthy happy? Are the very religious happy? My view is that they
are not. Their stress levels might be different because they have
money or belief, but I do not believe that they are happy in the
child-like sense of the word.
Watch
a child at play. They are totally focused on what they are doing and
their faces show every nuance of what they are feeling. Give them a
box and they will invent a game around it. Give an adult a box and
the first thing they want to know is what used to be inside, and why
is it empty.
We
have lost our ability to play without being competitive at any level.
Even at school level it is win at all costs.
I
would be a hypocrite if I did not take my own advice and try to get
something positive out of all these rantings.

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This is my 12-step plan to re-kindle and reawaken the essence
of who you are or who would like to be.
1]
Do not align yourself to negative thinkers
2]
Learn something new every day, no matter how insignificant it seems
to be
3]
Jump in a puddle, stand in the rain.
4]
Call or visit a friend you have not seen for a while
5]
Sit in your garden, or if you don’t have one go to a park or open
space
6]
Introduce yourself to your neighbours
7]
Smile and say hello to a total stranger
8]
Buy yourself flowers
9]
Do at least one random act of kindness a week (every day would be
pushing it)
10]
Give yourself a pat on the back
11]
Make up your own 12 step list
12]
Tell someone special that you love him or her.



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