Taking Stock...

I’m almost 50 years old. When my mind first dwelled on this, I felt a sense of non-accomplishment. Then I settled down, making peace with the fact that we are, in the words of a well-known poet, “riding on a limited express.” – On a journey, still growing, still learning and incomplete.

Quite by chance I came across an old Scout manual; and read about what to do when you’re lost: Stop. Investigate. Go over everything you know. Continue forward if you’re certain of your route. If you move, leave a note.

This blog is my NOTE… The journey continues (“,)

Lord, I know I’m not the whole person I’m supposed to be; but I Thank You that I’m not the person I used to be ~ Stafford

The following is a collection of insights by Michael Levine; he incidentally arrived at these gems in the same manner I did:

Nothing is as stressful as trying to be a different person from whom you are.

When you stop spending time with real friends, you lose your balance.

Amazingly, people think the things that happen to them happen only to them.

People who don’t work are often more exhausted than people who do.

It is vital to give yourself credit for the agony you have survived throughout life.

The lies we tell ourselves are more pernicious than the lies we tell others: “I’m nothing like my mother”.. . “I’m too busy to exercise” . . . “I don’t want to get married.”

Those who are tentative about making plans are often unsure of their ability to arrive.

If you don’t personally get to know people from other racial, religious or cultural groups, it’s very easy to believe ugly things about them and make them frightening in your mind.

The majority of overweight people I know skip breakfast, and the majority of thin people don’t.

Some men spend more time maintaining their lawns than they do their relationships.

The most absolute dictator’s power is not as great as a typical parent’s power over a child.

I still place emphasis on appearance, even though I’ve run across a few well-dressed idiots.

If you don’t defend your honour, people will assume you have none.

When you make a mistake, write down what you’ve learnt before the week passes. The process of writing it and reading it can help you avoid repeating it.

Three things that children must know; who’s the boss, what the rules are, and who’s going to enforce them.

Some days, for no perceptible reason, I feel scared, lonely and hopeless. After a good night’s sleep or a talk to someone who holds my hand and tells me to keep going, I’m usually just fine.

I believe that people who work 12 hours a day should go home with bigger loaves of bread than people who work eight.

Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals could believe them.

Decide early in any situation exactly what your bottom line is, and then stick to it.

As you look at history, it’s apparent that human behaviour is much easier to predict than the weather.

Far more often than poverty breeds crime, crime breeds poverty.

The older I get, the more heartfelt my prayers become.