A Stalk Of Fennel

"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." - Terry Pratchet

There is an old Greek mythology story of how man was given fire. It is the story of Prometheus and his yearning to help mankind in spite of the ruling gods.

Prometheus would say, "Ah, how very poor and wretched they were!" He found them living in caves and in holes of the earth, shivering with the cold because there was no fire, dying of starvation, hunted by wild beasts and by one another.

Their lives were not a well lived life.

To accomplish his task, Prometheus created a distraction amongst the gods. He took a stalk of fennel with its center filled with a dry, soft pith which would burn slowly and could keep on fire a long time and stole fire from Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire.

When he returned to the place where immortal men lived, he found them cold and damp in their caves and it was here that he built a fire for them. He then began to teach them how to warm themselves and how to build other fires from the burning coals. Soon all men and women gathered and were warm and happy.

All were thankful for the wonderful gift.

It was not long until they learned to cook their food and to eat their food like men instead of like beasts. They began to leave their wild and savage ways. Instead of hiding in dark places, they came out into the light; into the bright sunlight, and were happy because life had been given to them.

We too can light a fire for other people.

When we inspire others to greater things, the fire we set ablaze in their hearts will warm all of life around them. We can carry the fire to others by the kindness, the compassion and the desire to make life better for all of those around us.

We can be the ember from the stalk of fennel which brings others out in to the goodness of light and a well lived life.

Stay inspired my friends!

What Seeds Are You Planting

"Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later."
- Og Mandino

Yesterday was an opportunity to do something good.
You had an opportunity to plant a thought of kindness.
You had an opportunity to do something good for another person.
You had an opportunity to set the world in motion towards something better.

That same opportunity exists today.
You can plant a thought of kindness.
You can do something good for another person.
You can set the world in motion towards something better.

Plant today and harvest the goodness tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

The Biggest Fish Ever

“The hype cheapens the hyped, as right things are then made wrong by exaggeration.” ― Criss Jami

ex·ag·ger·a·tion: A statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is. The action of making statements that represent something as better or worse than it really is. Other words one could use are; overstatement, overemphasis, magnification, amplification, aggrandizement.

Is exaggeration the simple method of trying to get your point across?

Most of the time it is used to take an innocuous event and describe it in such a way as to prove a point or state a position? In many cases, doing so can make you look dishonest and manipulative to those who see through your exaggeration.

The use of it often times will backfire, causing people to dismiss your point even if it might be true. Yet many times exaggeration is used because the actual truth is not supported by the actual truth. Using hyperbole might create a certain air of belief but in fact it is only a sly attempt to deceive.

Do you post outrageous memes on social media in order to make your political point?
Do you declare every restaurant or meal you have had the most awesome of all?
Do you see your belief as the one truth of all the truth out there?

How many more times will it take before people simply start tuning out and stop listening to you? Will you ever have the capability to give people a reason to change their minds when all you do is bombard them with the hyperbole of exaggerated truth?

In the end, you are more trustworthy if you are more accurate in your stated evaluations. People will listen and consider your argument more often instead of tuning out. You will become better understood in the long run. A simple statement as close to the truth as you can make it will do more than the creation of noise.

Stay inspired my friends!

Who Is My Neighbor

“Neighbors are given to us on the same basis as we are given our families. There is no element of choice involved - none at all.” ― Alexander McCall Smith

Just yesterday, September 11, 2016, a remembrance occurred of tragic and horrifying events which took place fifteen years prior. The 9/11/01 date will remain etched in the minds of many Americans as the day in which the unthinkable occurred.

Nearly 3000 innocent people lost their lives in the initial events and scores of others who have and will likely perish as a result from injuries and exposure to toxins in the attacks carried out. This is something the history books will carry for a long time.

There were hundreds of stories of heroism by the first responders, people within the sites and those who came to the scenes to help those in need. There are also stories of complete strangers helping others in the exodus from the sites of tragedy.

People treating others as their neighbor.

As you read the stories of those fleeing lower Manhattan as the towers began to crumble, your instincts are to run as fast and as far as you can. The mass exodus of people trying to find an escape from the thick and suffocating debris was human survival on display.

Yet one can see in the still images, the videos and stories of people assisting others in their escape. Helping to carry, provide a shoulder or cover them in protection from the fallout. There were stories of people in distress being pulled up and into the safety of closed buildings. Others were sheltered or literally covered by a stranger behind cars to protect them in their distress. So many small acts of kindness among a sea of people who normally pass by each other on a normal day never taking notice.

Who is my neighbor than?

Look around you and you everywhere you look you will find your neighbor. As you drive to work this morning, the guy with the flat tire along the road is your neighbor. The mom trying to get her kids and groceries into her vehicle is your neighbor. Even the broken and homeless on the street who may only want money to support an addiction is your neighbor.

Individually acting as a neighbor, we may never solve the problem, but we can make a small difference. All of us acting together as neighbors, we can certainly do a lot to make a bigger difference in the lives of others. So who is your neighbor? Just open your eyes and you will see them everywhere.

Stay inspired my friends!