A beauty to behold

“I’m a survivor – a living example of what people can go through and survive.”

“It is very strange that the years teach us patience – that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.”

“If it is not to make the world better what is money for?”

~ Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor may have been sassy, but she also said some things that were pretty inspirational too. She was a screen goddess and the admiration of many leading men in Hollywood during her prime. In her later years, she championed finding a cure for AIDS and devoted her life to charity. I share a birthday with Elizabeth which is one reason why I admire her personality and philosophy so much. When I think of her, I always remember how she battled every difficulty in her life with success along with her constant desire to help others who were less fortunate than her. She will always be an inspiration to me and hope she is to you too. Long live her spirit and beauty.

Dare to be a hero!

Victor Hugo

Man’s greatest actions are performed in minor struggles. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment and poverty are battlefields which have their heroes – obscure heroes who are at times greater than
illustrious heroes.

~ Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French Writer

Are you a hero? You are if you’re active in helping people that need care in order to have a healthier, happier existence. To these people, you’re everything to them: their spiritual life support, their hope for a better tomorrow, and/or their daily source of emotional encouragement. These people may not be well-known, popular, rich or beautiful looking. They are just normal people who are struggling or suffering in life in some manner and need some human contact to help them become better people. It takes a lot more courage, devotion and nobility to help those who aren’t admired by many or adorned with wealth than it does to help someone who can bring you some instant benefit or reward. So, go on and continue helping those around you in need and know that you are a hero in their hearts. Who will you be a hero to today?

You want me to do what?

Malcolm Forbes

“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.”

~ Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American Publisher

The hardest thing to do for most anyone is to help others who cannot or will not help them in return. It is human nature to do something for someone with an expectation of getting something in return from them. This is the way we are taught as children and it’s also the way business is done. You receive goods and services in exchange for money. In today’s world, nothing is rarely done for free. When something is done for free, people think there must be a catch attached to the favor. When there isn’t a catch, then they are grateful for the favor. Doing something for someone else without any expectation is one of the greatest experiences you can give to yourself. So, in effect, when doing this you gain satisfaction for yourself and earn respect from others who see your selfless actions.

What are you capable of doing?

Mahatma Gandhi

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Think about this statement for awhile and then think about what sort of things you can do to make the world around you a better place for yourself and for others. For example, give more of your time, energy, money and knowledge to those who need it. It could be your neighbor, colleague, friend, family member or someone you don’t even know. There are many good charities, churches, and well-run organizations like the Red Cross who you can donate any or all of the above personal resources to. Make a change today to do what you’re truly capable of doing and you’ll eventually see a better world around you.

5 secrets to a long life

Walter Breuning

World’s Oldest Man Dies at 114
Walter Breuning was the world’s oldest man. His secret to a long life is:

1. Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. (“Every change is good.”)

2. Eat two meals a day (“That’s all you need.”)

3. Work as long as you can (“That money’s going to come in handy.”)

4. Help others (“The more you do for others, the better shape you’re in.”)

5. Accept death.  It’s a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather:
“We’re going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you’re born to die,” he said.

I was so encouraged and delighted to read this story of Walter Breuning because his secrets to a long life are exactly the habits I have in my own life. I have adapted to many major changes the past 22 years of my life as it has been a rough roller coaster ride since my divorce. The past 3 years of my life, I have been eating only two large meals a day. They consist of natural foods, i.e., vegetables, fruits, meat, 100% natural juices, purified water and some sweets. I work hard 12-hours a day and enjoy my work and plan on always working in some capacity throughout my life to keep my mind and body active. I help people as much as I can by donating my time and energy to teach English to Chinese students who wish to study in America some day. And recently, I have learned to accept that death isn’t anything to fear. In fact, it is a renewal and release from this existence. As long as I live a happy, healthy, and harmonious lifestyle, then death should come naturally for me which should not be feared. I encourage you to adopt and adapt Walter’s habits which I have integrated into my life and see if you become happier, healthier both physically and mentally. RIP Walter Breuning.

Learn more about Walter Breuning here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Breuning

Will you be forgotten or remembered?

“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

Do something noble in your life that others will remember you by after you are long gone from this life. Whether you affect one person or a million while your alive doesn’t matter; what does matter is that you improved their situation, ability, and/or livelihood in some way by contributing whatever you could with all your being.  It is far better to give than to receive.

Do you want to be a leader?

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

~ John Adams

If you’re smart, then tell others how to be smart. If you’re a dreamer and can share your dreams vividly to others, then do so, so they can dream up wonderful things. If you’re active and good at doing something, then teach others how to do it so they will do them to. All it requires is your time, energy and passion. It doesn’t take money or special permission, just the will to be a leader.

Soaked in materialism

“Conservation is the application of common sense to the common problems for the common good.”

~Gifford Pinchot

“The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life”

~Theodore Roosevelt

To be soaked in materialism, to directly and indirectly champion it, I believe brings about guilt. I don’t know if I have a right to the vast quantities of materials and energy I consume in my daily life. Even if I thought I did, I know the planet cannot bear my lifestyle multiplied by 7 billion individuals. We squander millions of years’ worth of stored energy, stored life, from our planet to make not only things that are critical to our survival and comfort but also things that simply satisfy our innate primate desire to possess. This is not the path we should continue on. We need to change our way of life and how we consume.

The past five years, I have given up many things I used to have while living in the USA. For example, I don’t own a car anymore: I use public transportation and walk 100% more than I ever did while living in America. I recycle as much as possible and use very little electricity in my home – all in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint. The only way we can save our planet and ourselves from total ruin is to do with less and do more in preserving our natural habitat. You’d be surprised just how much you can actually do without if you just try. Do your part to save Mother Nature – give up something in your life that you don’t really need but only want.

Thank you for being my friend

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who have made a difference in our lives.”

~ Dan Zadra

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

~ Mark Twain

“Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much.”

~ Erastus Wiman

For me, courtesy and kindness are absolute requirements between friends. It’s easy to be courteous and kind to those you consider your friends and doing it brings much delight to them. Showing sincere and heartfelt appreciation to friends is something money and gifts cannot substitute. In fact, money won’t even buy them. So, since it is free to give and abundantly found, there is no excuse for not being courteous and kind to those you truly appreciate. Try it more often and see just how happy you make others feel. That happiness you give them will fill your heart. Think of someone you can thank for their friendship, kindness or help and contact them and tell them how much you appreciate them for being a friend.

Help yourself by helping others

“If you have not often felt the joy of doing a kind act, you have neglected much, and most of all yourself.”

~ A. Neilen

If you can’t spend some of your time helping others, then what are you living for? If you need reasons for helping others, just think of all the times that people have helped you during your lifetime and where you would be now without their help. Think of someone who needs your help and offer it to them. You’ll feel much better doing it…and so will they!

Give with all your heart

Read the story below and ask yourself, “What if everyone in this world had a heart so giving and caring as this man did?” Even if 10% of the people in the world were as loving as this man was, the world would be a much better place to live in. People like him should live forever in this world and should multiply like rabbits. It’s unfortunate though, this man will never win a Nobel Prize or will his life’s work be enshrined for all to see. Only popular, beautiful or wealthy people get that status. What makes people want to take more in life than they give?

Read the story here.

 

Zheng Chengzhen was from Jinan, Shandong Province in eastern China. He "adopted" and cared for over 400 orphan children by selling his blood and digging through rubbish bins for plastic to sell at recycling centers. He died of pneumonia last week at age 63.