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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 8, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Look after yourself every day and put forth your best effort to love yourself enough to do what's best. - Oprah Winfrey Source: Early Sunday Funnies and Thoughts ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "ARE YOU HAPPY?" By Bob Perks, Copyright (c) 2002 mailto:Bob@BobPerks.com "Dadd y, are you happy?" the little girl asked. Her father surprised by the question replied, "Why yes, I believe I am." "How do you know?" she asked. "Well, because I am here with you and that makes me happy," he replied. "So when you are not with me are you still happy?" Now, thinking this to be a trick question, the father pauses for a moment and says, "Yes, I am happy then, but even more so when we are together." "So being with someone is all you need to be happy?" she asked. "No, there's more to it than that," he replied. "Why are you asking all of these questions?" "I was watching television while you and Mom were at work and the lady asked that question, "Are you happy?" So I thought I'd find out what it meant to be happy. I've been asking people all day." "You have? What did you learn?" "Well, Mom says she's happy when she is at home. Mr. James next door is happy when he is working in his garden. Grandmom says, she's happy when she's singing with the choir." "You see, everyone is happy with different things," Dad added. "Except for Mrs. Drake. She said she'll be happy when God calls her home." "That's her faith and love of God." "But if those things make people happy, then they are only happy when they are doing them." Dad thought about what she said and then added, "Well, people can't be happy all the time." "Why not?" she asked. "Well, what makes you happy?" Dad asked of her. "Are you happy all the time?" "I am happy all the time, because I'm happy to be alive," she said looking up at her father. Her statement hit him hard. He was nearly breathless. He reached down for her hand and kissed it gently. Then running his fingers over the top of her pale, nearly hairless head, he stopped for a moment, reached down for her chin and gently kissed her on the cheek. He had forgotten. He wasn't looking at the world through her eyes, the eyes of a child fighting for her life. Cancer had stripped her of all the things a healthy young child takes for granted. The irony of it all is the child had learned the greatest lesson of all. The lesson it normally takes a lifetime to learn. There is nothing more valuable than life itself. Most of us who are blessed with good health our entire life search for happiness in the stuff of life. We are unhappy when we don't have the things that make us happy. I discovered this when my own son, Keith had cancer. I remember there was this invisible line drawn between us. Up to that point when he had cancer I could share my fatherly wisdom with him. My own experiences helped me to relate to his. That is until he faced life and death. There I stood on one side of the line and he on the other. I could not say, "I know what you are going through." I learned to look at life through his eyes and still do to this day. For he has been down the road a bit ahead of me, not by years, but by the reality of almost losing his life. Ask him, "Are you happy?" He'll reply, "I'm alive!" Everything else are gifts. You can't get much happier than that! "Are you happy?" "I believe in you!" Bob Perks, Copyright (c) 2002 Please don't remove my name and contact info! If you are about to copy this story to share with your friends, please leave my name, email address. It is a copyrighted story and cannot be edited in any manner. Thanks! Bob Perks is a professional Speaker, Trainer, and author of "The Flight of a Lifetime!" For information on Topics, Products, how to book Bob for your next program or to receive FREE weekly messages "I Believe in You!" visit http://www.iwishyouenough.com/BobPerks.htm or visit his home page at http://www.BobPerks.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: When I Grow Up . . . I Want to Be a Pilot When I grow up I want to be a pilot because it's a fun job and easy to do. That's why there are so many pilots flying around these days. Pilots don't need much school. They just have to learn to read numbers so they can read their instruments. I guess they should be able to read a road map, too. Pilots should be brave to they won't get scared if it's foggy and they can't see, or if a wing or motor falls off. Pilots have to have good eyes to see through the clouds, and they can't be afraid of thunder or lightning because they are much closer to them than we are. The salary pilots make is another thing I like. They make more money than they know what to do with. This is because most people think that flying a plane is dangerous, except pilots don't because they know how easy it is. I hope I don't get airsick because I get carsick and if I get airsick, I couldn't be a pilot and then I would have to go to work. . . . from the eyes of a child. Source: Colorado Comments, http://coloradocomments.com/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The pastor of a small country church was preaching against sin. Deacon Jones on the back row had fallen asleep. Wanting to make an emphatic point, the pastor played the devil's advocate. "All those who love your sin, STAND UP!" he shouted. The startled deacon heard only the last two words, and shot up from his seat. Blinking his eyes and looking around, he declared, "Well pastor, I don't know what we're votin' on, but it looks like you and me are the only ones fer it." Source: Bill's Punch Line, http://www.tcmr.com/billspunchline.html ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Fat and Your Stress Level Ohio State University tested how quickly an injected triglyceride solution cleared the blood streams of 70 adult volunteers. The triglycerides were eliminated more quickly during a restful session, 3.2 percent per minute, than a stressful session, 2.8 percent per minute. The longer fat circulates in your body, the more likely that it will be deposited in your arteries and contribute to heart disease. From: Psychophysiology Source: Vibrant Life, http://vibrantlife.com/ Submitted by Nancy Simpson |