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Thought for Today

Two Little Deers
Copyright 2013 by R.A. Robbins

“Good health and good sense are two of life’s greatest blessings.” — Publilius Syrus
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“Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.” — John Wooden
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Leaves and Divine Design

With 60 years of living on this earth I am still amazed at the perfection of creation and the way everything is designed to work together for our good… if we only allow it. But we often think we know better. How many of our health problems today are created by bad habits and unhealthy choices? How have we damaged our mother earth by taking charge, tearing down, digging up, relocating and killing? Is the imbalance we see in our bodies and our earth a result of humans trying to redesign creation to meet our own, often selfish, needs?

So what got me thinking about this? Falling leaves. Some of you may know I live in a wooded area. We have trees — old trees and lots of them. Things fall from the trees — nuts, leaves, branches, occasionally an entire tree falls. We also have wildlife. This is their home too. But humans are not always good neighbors.

Right now we’re in the middle of the annual uproar over the falling leaves. There are people who want them out of here and as quickly as possible. I know this is a common practice, but why do we rake leaves out of our yards? And why burn them?

Leaves fall from the trees with a purpose. They cover and protect the ground over winter. They also decompose, nourishing the ground. It’s all part of divine design, But because we want perfectly manicured lawns we rake them up and burn them which causes us to add fertilizer to the grass and makes the air difficult to breathe.

When we mess with creation it pushes back. When we don’t take care of our bodies, they stop working as intended and we become ill. When we don’t take care of the earth it begins to become uninhabitable.

It’s time to come back home to who we were created to be. Only when we stop trying to control nature and learn to co-exist with her will we learn to live in balance and harmony.

Thought for Today

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.—John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thought for Today

“Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” –Marianne Williamson, author

No Act of Service Too Small

One important aspect of following a spiritual path is being of service to our world and our fellow travelers through life. Many times when we think of service we think of large, organized events and much good can be done through some of these events.

But I also want us to look at the opportunities to be of service that are all around us everyday.

Open a door for someone or hold the door for the person behind you.
Help someone who is not tech savvy use a computer.
Reach a jar or box on the top or bottom grocery store shelf for someone with a disability who cannot reach or bend. Those of us who are just short appreciate this as well.
Listen to someone who just wants or needs to talk.
Walk the dog of a sick friend.
Take a meal to a sick friend.
Send cards for any or no occasion. Send them to your friends and family or find an organization that sends cards to sick children or military personnel.
Smile and say hello to people. If you know the person or they are wearing a name tag address them by name.
If you don’t know you neighbors on both sides of you, introduce yourself. If you have elderly neighbors check in from time to time, especially if you haven’t seen them for awhile.
Help those in need as you become aware of individual needs in a way that you can. It may not always involve money. Maybe someone needs a ride, or help finding a job or even just directions when they are driving lost.

Living in an area that is a popular retirement location there are opportunities for service all around. The list above came from my personal experiences. These are the little things we often just do without even thinking about it. There’s no need to have a meeting, form a committee, take a selfie doing the good deed or post it on social media. Just help. Help who you can, when you can, in whatever way you can.

Looking for a way to change the world? Start noticing and acting on those little opportunities to be of service. Spread the love and light of God around, even in small ways. We all need it right now.

Anyone have anything to add to the list?