“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

—Marcel Proust

 In the daily business of living we are each thrown in with a wide cast of others, some of whom bless our lives immeasurably by tiny acts of kindness that impress and change and help us make a difference in the world. When we spend just a moment or two out of any given day expressing our appreciation to those who have gone out of their way to help us, we not only make them feel better, we change our own vibration, as well, raising it to reflect the goodness for which we are grateful. The first step in making the world a kinder and gentler place to be is to acknowledge the kindness and gentleness we’ve already been shown.

May you always be willing to show your appreciation.

 Love

 Bill

“People who are optimistic see a failure as due to something that can be changed so that they can succeed next time around, while pessimists take the blame for the failure, ascribing it to some characteristic they are helpless to change.”

—Daniel Goldman

 Most, if not all, of us are aware of the old saying that the pessimist sees the glass half empty, while from the optimist’s perspective, it appears half full. Far too few, however, realize that optimism is actually a key building block to a brighter future.

May you always be willing to see the glass half full.

Love

 Bill

“There was a man that hated his footprints and his shadow, so one day he thought that if he ran fast enough, his footprints and shadow would not be able to follow him and then he would never have to look at them again. He ran and he ran as fast as he could, but the shadow and the footprints had no problems keeping up to him. And he ran even faster and all of a sudden he fell dead to the ground. But if he had been standing still there wouldn’t have been any footprints and if he had been resting under a tree his shadow would have been swallowed by the tree’s shadow.”

—Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

 Many times we hate our problems and do our best to run away from them, but no matter how fast we run or how far we go, our problems follow, appearing behind us like footprints and shadows. Little do we realize that if we will just stand still and wait, breathing deep and relaxing both body and mind, the solution, in similar fashion to the shadow of the tree, will swallow up the problem whole and leave us free to celebrate.

May you always be willing to stand still and wait.

Love,

 Bill

What is Cold A young boy comes to the side of a brook and sees an old man bathing in it. The brook is high in the mountains, near the snow line. The boy asks the old man Is the water cold?. The old man does not answer and continues to shower himself with buckets of water. The boy asks the old man again, Is the water cold?, —Is it very cold, Sir? The old man does not answer, but he does smile and acknowledge that the boy is there. The old man finally comes out of the brook to dry himself off. The boy asks the old man again, Is the water cold, Sir? . The old man says nothing but takes his bucket over to the brook, fills it with water and douses the boy with the water. The boy is startled for a moment and then asks the old man, Why did you do that, Sir?. The old man answers. How can I tell you what cold is to you, cold can not be described, it must be experienced. Many things in life cannot be described to another, they must be experienced. Sobriety is but one more example. Many people have tried to describe sobriety to the newcomer in many different ways but become frustrated when the newcomer does not understand. Sobriety is something that must be experienced.

Love

Bill Martuge

At a time of challenge or opportunity, I am given a boost past my own thoughts of limitation when someone says to me, “I believe you can do it!”

And that person is right, for I will get past the challenge and on to the achievements. Yet how can another person know more about me than I know about myself? It must be that the one who encourages me knows I have potential because the presence of my Higher Power is within me.

This is the truth I need to know for myself at all times, and I need to know this truth for others as well. With an encouraging word, someone else can confirm what is true: You can accomplish amazing things, because within you, is your wisdom, your strength, and your creativity.

My answer is this: “Yes, I believe I can, because I believe He is within me!”

Love

Bill Martuge