Honesty is the Best Policy

One day, when a seamstress was sewing, while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river.

When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "My dear child, why are you crying?"

The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband make a living for their family.

The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble, ringed with pearls. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, "No."

The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed with sapphires. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

Again, the seamstress replied, "No."

The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, "Yes."

The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.

Many years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water.

When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, "Why are you crying?"

"Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!"

The Lord went down into the water and came up with Brad Pitt. "Is this your husband?" the Lord asked.

" Yes!" cried the seamstress.

The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is untruth!"

The seamstress replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Brad Pitt, you would have come up with Tom Cruise. Then if I said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S why I said 'yes' to Brad Pitt."

The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it's for a good and honorable reason, and in the best interest of all concerned. That's our story, and we're sticking to it!

COURAGE

"Fear is the opportunity for courage, not proof of cowardice."

- John McCain -

FRICTION

We have a big inflatable water slide for the girls. They love to slide down and to splash around in the pool of water at the bottom. Of course, they can slide on it at any time, but if there is no water flowing, the friction on the skin makes the sliding tough (and the skin sticky). Water works as a great lubricant, making the trip down a lot more pleasant, even fun.

We take a lot of trips every day. Sometimes it is worth doing things the hard way, when we can see measurable benefits to ourselves and to people we love. But so often we choose to do things the hard way, especially if you have a stubborn streak as I do. Why? Why? Why? So often there is just no need to create all that extra friction. It just creates extra stress.

When the friction brings no benefits, why not just throw some water in your path and slide?

YOU

"Please place the oxygen mask over your own face before helping your seat mates with theirs." If you fly frequently, this note or something similar will sound very familiar. The basic principle is that you can best help save other people's lives if you don't let yourself die part-way through the process. It's not about being self-centered or selfish; it's common sense about being effective.

It's not just up in the air that we have to take care of ourselves first. Your friend might need your help, your guidance, your understanding, but if you are an emotional wreck, you won't have very much to give. At least, not very much useful.

To do good friend-help, first do good self-help. The best way to make other people happy is to be happy. The best way to make someone else smile is to smile. So help yourself to a better you.

Opportunities

"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment, it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone."

- Orison Swett Marden -

LUCK

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird, and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
U.S. President

Going Fishing

"Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish."

- Ovid -

"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

- Grace Murray Hopper -