What would you have done if your house is on fire and you are trapped on the second storey? Probably you would have done exactly what 81 years old Jim Hodkins did, he broke out of his second storey window and jumped out. According to the fire crews at the scene, Jim broke his leg in the jump and yet he crawled back into the house to save his wife. According to the Examiner, they are both expected to be okay. I am just glad that both of them are okay. That was truly a remarkable act by Jim and I hope that couples can be inspired by such timeless love.
A friend of mine would say that this is only a rare cases as he recently went through a divorce. I told him that there are many such cases around me as well as from many comments left previously on this blog and on Symphony of Love’s page in Facebook of happy marriages. He simply brushed off what I said and said that a lot of people are hypocrite; they only act loving in front of others.
There are always two sides to a coin and yet when one’s foot is firmly on one of the sides, one would only see his/her side of the coin.
Do you still remember the story of the blind men who came to an elephant? They each touched a different part of an elephant and each gave his description of the elephant. The one who only touched the leg said the elephant is like a pillar. Another man said, ‘The elephant is like a husking basket.’ This person had only touched its ears. Similarly, he who touched its trunk or its belly talked of it differently.
So who gave a right description of an elephant? As much as we might be tempted to say they were all wrong, we have to admit that they were, in fact, all right in each own way. How you are looking at marriage now, depend on which side of the coin you are standing in. If you are standing on the same side as my friend, you would believe that marriage doesn’t work out, Well, you are right and you will probably notice all the stories and examples around you to support your viewpoint that marriage doesn’t work out.
What I sincerely hope is for you to have an open mind and view the elephant from another perspective. Og Mandino once said, “Love doesn’t sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread: remade all the time, made new.”
This is the same for marriage. To be frank, marriage can be boring; imagine living with the same person every day for the rest of your life? Many found that marriage wasn’t as sweet as they have thought it was. Marriage never mentioned sweetness for the rest of our lives. Remember the vow … in good times and bad times? Yes, there are ups and downs in marriage and we have to constantly re-make love to create new sparks and fires to rekindle the connection with our spouses. It is supposed to be hard yet enjoyable work. If you are not ready for this part of the package, don’t get marry. And if you are, start re-making love! Marriage is just the start of the exciting race together, and we are not even talking about children yet! Buckled up!
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Photo by sraburton
Just come across this video in Facebook, shot in Malaysia, about Autism which I would like to share with you. According to Wikipedia, although there is no known cure to autism, there have been reported cases of children who recovered. And as the message in the video, I believe that if we are patient with autistic children, we can discover their strength and the keys to their lives; they too, will Shine and become successful in life. A good reminder to all of us.
Music by Pasquale Catalano “Cuore Di Sabbia” and Images by Monica Sheehan
As from the video:
1. Be Happy – People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be. – Abraham Lincoln
2. Show up
3. Follow your heart – There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart … pursue those. – Author Unknown
4. Find a new perspective
5. Have a sense of wonder – There are two ways to live your life – one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
6. Find people you love … and I would say loving all the people around us regardless of whether we know them in person or not.
7. Set Goals – Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives. – Viktor E. Frankl
8. Help others – If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them. – Dalai Lama
9. Dance – Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass … It’s about learning to dance in the rain. – Vivian Greene
10. Pamper yourself …
11. Face your fears … – Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
12. Go to a museum
13. Exercise – It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. – Mahatma Gandhi. Besides exercising, we do have to focus on eating healthy too; most health issues are directly related to the food we are putting in our mouths.
14. Limit Television
15. Get in touch with Nature
16. Lighten up
17. Get a good night’s sleep
18. Read books
19. Buy yourself flowers
20. Don’t compare yourself with others – Each of us is unique and special in our own way; do not seek to be like others and do not afraid to be different.
21. Don’t beat yourself up – Loving others start from first learning to love ourselves.
22. Be open to new ideas
23. Don’t focus on negative thought
24. … Focus on creating what you desire
25. Make time just to have fun
26. Keep the romance in your life
27. Make a Gratitude list
28. Love Your Mother Earth
29. Want what you have – Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get. – Ingrid Bergman
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CEO of the People, Haruka Nishimatsu of Japan Airline truly brings leadership to a while new level of meaning. “If management is distant, up in the clouds, people just wait for orders,” Nishimatsu told CBS News through a translator. “I want my people to think for themselves.” Nishimatsu says a CEO doesn’t motivate by how many millions he makes, but by convincing employees you’re all together in the same boat.
According to the CBS News report, his salary for running the worlds 10th largest airline: not millions, but one year as low as $90,000. When he was forced to cut salaries for everyone else, he also cut his own.
How many CEOs out there were doing that in the recent crisis? Here is one who was leading by example. I am one who not only believe in walking the talk but also in being the change I want to see in the world; these were exactly what I could relate to immediately when I first saw the video. Haruka Nishimatsu is truly one who can inspire his team and I believe that with him heading Japan Airline, the company would continue to fly through the turbulence ahead.
In a world where many seek to lead, not many are willing to serve. I believe that a great leader is the best servant; one who is willing to bring himself down to serve anyone.
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What would you have done if your house is on fire and you are trapped on the second storey? Probably you would have done exactly what 81 years old Jim Hodkins did, he broke out of his second storey window and jumped out. According to the fire crews at the scene, Jim broke his leg in the jump and yet he crawled back into the house to save his wife. According to the Examiner, they are both expected to be okay. I am just glad that both of them are okay. That was truly a remarkable act by Jim and I hope that couples can be inspired by such timeless love.