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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 24, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved. - Barbara Johnson Source: Carol's Thought for Today, http://users.adelphia.net/~mrs.carol ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R. tells about a magnificent harvest in his book "MORE SOWER'S SEEDS: Second Planting." http://isbn.nu/0809133245 One spring, he and two seminary friends sought permission to plant a garden. He says, "Our house of studies was located in the downtown area of a large metropolitan city. There wasn't much of a backyard. Actually, it was a stone-covered dirt parking lot with no extra space. However, we carefully planned our garden, taking into account the area that received optimal sunshine. "The three of us approached the superior with our plan for a small area to plant some squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. The only real cost involved was to rent a rake, a pickax and a hoe. However, getting the superior's permission would still be difficult. None of us who were involved with this garden project will ever forget his response to our request. With a slightly bored, tilting of his head he glanced at us and abjectly replied, 'You're wasting your time. Nothing will ever grow there! But, go ahead if you still want to.' "We had received permission from on high! So what if it wasn't enthusiastic. We rented tools; raked four inches of stones into neat walls outlining the garden; hoisted the pickax and struck what must have been a former refuse area. A gardener's dream -- dark, composted, fertile soil just sitting there waiting to be discovered. We looked at each other with broad grins and repeated in unison, 'Ah, nothing will grow there.' As you might have surmised by now, things did grow there, in our garden. In fact, twice we re-staked the tomatoes, topping them off, finally, when they were seven feet tall." Have you ever felt that way about your life -- "Nothing will grow there..."? Have you felt discouraged about your life's progress? Worried about crop failure? Disappointed that nothing good ever seems to come up? What do you want to grow? Understanding? Faith? Courage? Optimism? Joy? Love? Or are you nurturing a new project or small business? Don't believe that "nothing will grow there." I like the observation of writer George Eliot, "It's never too late to be who you might have been." You may not always see the potential for growth, but it is there. All the rich compost you need may be hidden just beneath the surface, but can only be discovered after you begin digging. Ralph Waldo Emerson proclaimed, "Oh man! There is no planet sun or star could hold you, if you but knew what you are." You are capable of doing and becoming more than you might imagine! With careful nurture, something WILL grow there. And it will be magnificent. By Steve Goodier Steve Goodier is the editor of The Life Support System, a motivational e-newsletter delivered daily to 85,000 subscribers in over 100 nations. His inspirational newsletter and books are available through his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com Source: Life Support System, mailto:LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: My husband Terry had performed the 6:00 A.M. and midnight wet-to-dry dressings on my abdomen and chest for several months. I battled post-operative gangrene following mastectomies and reconstruction six months earlier. My eight-day hospital stay and single surgery had turned into four surgeries so far, three months in the hospital, and then a nursing home because of the aggressive infections and related complications. Now visiting nurses came to our home twice each day while Terry was at work. I knew I had not been a picnic to live with. The pain and immobility kept me housebound and frustrated. I'm sure he wondered why he pulled so many strings to get me out of the nursing home early. One night we had an argument. It was not over anything significant, but it was the first since the surgeries. We hadn't made up yet, but it was bedtime. However, before bed he still had the complicated dressing changes to complete. Terry had no medical training, but the nurses had taught him how to clean and dress the wounds that covered my front from hip to armpit. Terry helped me recline on my side of our bed. I sensed the tension in the air. I still felt hurt from our disagreement. I didn't know how he felt because he is quiet when upset. That night was no different. I looked up at him and said, "This isn't fair. I feel too vulnerable here with nothing on while you take care of my wounds when you are still mad at me." He walked away. A few minutes later he returned and stood, still silent with a half-smile on his face. He was stark naked. "Terry, what are you doing?" I shrieked with laughter. "Just leveling the playing filed," he smirked - then tenderly changed my dressing. By Linda S. Lee (c) 2000 from Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and LeAnn Thieman, http://isbn.nu/0757301592 ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "U.S. officials have now approved the first anti-obesity drug for dogs. I'm no veterinarian, but if your dog is over eating, try putting a little less food in the bowl. Do we really need to give him a pill? Is the dog taking your car keys and driving to McDonalds?" - Jay Leno Source: Clean Laffs, http://www.cleanlaffs.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: How was aspirin first discovered and marketed as a pain reliever? In 1897, Felix Hoffmann, a German chemist employed by Bayer, came across an earlier recipe for a gentle analgesic. Seeking to relieve his father's arthritis pain, Hoffmann used French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt's 1853 research to synthesize acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a compound less acidic and easier on the stomach than its predecessor, sodium salicylate. In 1899, the product was named aspirin and, after extensive testing, Bayer began marketing it successfully in powder form. The active ingredient of aspirin, salicin, has been prescribed since the 5th century B.C., when Greek physician Hippocrates treated aches and pains, fevers, and inflammations with a bitter powder extracted from willow bark. It wasn't until the 1970s that British researcher John Vane described the precise way aspirin works -- by blocking the production of hormone-like substances known as prostoglandins, which are released in response to human tissue injury. Aspirin (with a capital A) and Heroin (with a capital H) were actually trademarks of Bayer up through the end of World War I. However, following Germany's defeat, Bayer was forced to give up both trademarks as part of the country's war reparations. http://www.askfactmaster.com/Aspirin