Our kind words can make a big difference in other people's lives

Greetings!

If you haven't read What if you are at the Receiving End of your own Wrath?, please click to view the post.  This post is the second part of the story.

First of all, let me tell you the name of the speaker.  He is Mr. Paul Elder of Canada. He had been a TV news announcer, a politician, and a mayor.  He is an international known speaker, a Monroe Institute remote viewing workshop facilitator, and an author.  I haven't read his book 'Eyes of an angel'.  I only learn about his book recently when I go online to look up the information as I want to write about the life lessons he shared.

Again, I want to point out I do not have a copy of Mr. Elder's talk, and I am not good in remembering details.  Please excuse me for the discrepancies.  However, I am trying my best to relate the important life lesson that he has kindly shared with us.

When he had his third near-death experience, he was the mayor of a small city.  He had a heart attack, and was rushed to the hospital.  It was during that time he had a flashback (i.e. a life review) of all the events that happened in his life.  He said two minor incidents stood out in his life review.  Until the life review, he had forgotten the second incident because the incident seemed so insignificant / unmemorable in his days as a mayor.  This was his story.

One day, the mayor was on his way out of the building where his office was.  A man stopped him and began talking to him.  The mayor recognized him.  The man was a drunkard.  The police and the local people knew him well because he abused his wife and beat up his children all the time due to his drinking problem.  The mayor did not walk away to avoid talking to him.  As a mayor, he felt he had an obligation to greet his constituents.  So there they were, the mayor and the man talked.  It was nothing special.  The mayor asked about his family and how he was doing.  Then the mayor wished him a good day and left.

The next scene in his life review surprised him.  He saw the man went back to his own house.  He told his wife that "The Mayor" had taken the time to talk to him.  The few simple, kind words from the mayor had meant a great deal to him for he regarded the mayor as a man of importance.  For the first time in his life, he felt he was worthy, and was not just the drunkard that everybody looked down on.  The mayor saw in the life review that -  

On that day, the man did not drink liquor, did not yell at his wife, and did not beat his kids.  There was peace in his house.  The wife found herself in the company of a husband that she had not seen for a long, long time.  His children lived in the presence of a father instead of an abusive drunkard.

   

The speaker paused while recalling this profoundly touching scene.  Meanwhile, we were all touched by his life lesson which was not only his but ours too.

In a simple conversation with some positive, kind words, the mayor had made such a big difference in the man's life.  Can we imagine what it means if we treat one another with loving kindness!

Many blessings,
Q of D

What if we are at the RECEIVING END of our own WRATH?

Greetings!

Outside of a school, Alex, a boy in his early teens, stood by the wall talking to his classmates.  Another boy who had always been unfriendly to him walked by with some of his friends.  He wanted to embarrass or humiliate Alex.  Without warning, he threw a ball with tremendous force at Alex.  The ball hit Alex's face hard causing his nose to breed and the back of his head to hit the wall.  For a brief moment, Alex stood there in pain and shock.  Meanwhile, the boy who threw the ball laughed out loud.  Some students laughed too.  They thought it was funny.  Enraged, Alex lunged forward and knocked the other boy down.  The two boys fought.  Alex, in wrath, punched fiercely until the other boy broke down and could not fight back.

Now, let us roll back the time as if we were at the similar age as Alex.  

What would you have done if you were Alex?

Would you be enraged and hit the other boy as hard as Alex did?

How would you feel if you were a bystander?

Would you do nothing since it did not involve you, or you were afraid to get involved?

Would you try to stop the fight or call for help?

Would you laugh thinking it was funny as some students did? (I heard it was not that uncommon for young people to laugh at other's misfortune.  For instance, some laughed when they saw someone tripped and fell hard in the hallway instead of reaching out with a helping hand.)

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Many of you might have heard a similar story told by an international known teacher and speaker.  In fact, I wrote the above based on his story.  I did not have a copy of his talk.  I was not good in remembering the details.  Therefore, I wrote a scenario using "Alex" as the boy's name.

Some years ago, our church invited this known speaker to come and speak during Sunday service.  Our Sunday service liked most churches lasted for 1 1/2 hour.  The speaker had about 20 to 30 minutes for his talk.  The speaker had gone through a few near-death experiences.  In his third near-death experience, he had a life review during which he went through all the events that happened in his life.  With the limited time for his talk, he chose to share with us two personal incidents that stood out to him during his life review.  He said, from the human point of view, those two incidents were very unimportant and could easily be forgotten.  However, they turned out to be two significant life-changing lessons that transformed his life.

The first incident he shared was similar to the fight I described above.  As an adult, he thought he had forgotten about the fight that happened in his teens.  In his life review, he saw the same scene and found himself back into his own body feeling the shock, pain, and rage.  THEN, he was in the other boy's body feeling how that boy felt.  Other than the physical pain, the other boy was surged with FEAR for he actually believed he was going to die!  The speaker said it felt very terrible, and he would never do that to another human being again.  (As he recalled this part of his life review, we could hear his voice cracking with emotions.  Our hearts were touched.)

The speaker said he also experienced how each of the bystanders felt.  He learned from his life review that though we were individuals in the physical sense, yet we were connected to each other on the other levels.  In the truth of oneness, what we did unto others, we also did it to ourselves.

This speaker, our brother, shared with us one very profound life lesson that day.  I was deeply touched by his talk.  I felt fortunate that I was at church that Sunday.  

Like most of you, I got through many emotions dealing with daily dramas.  Sometimes I got upset.  Sometimes I found myself filled with negative emotions. When this happened, I would remember the speaker's story.  I would smile, and try to let it go.

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What if we are at the RECEIVING END of our own WRATH?

Let us keep our brother's story in our mind.  As we remember that we are one, we may treat one another differently especially in challenging situations.  His story has helped me, and I hope you find it helpful too.

I shall write about the second lesson he shared with us in my next post.  I will tell you the name of the speaker.  In fact, some of you may have attended his lectures or heard his stories.

With love and gratitude,
Q of D

Click to view my next post Our kind words can make a big difference in other people's life 

Love Never Ends

Greetings!

Writing about Mary Ellen's Christmas Miracle story reminded me of an incident that happened during the restaurant years.

One afternoon, a man who was in his 30 s walked in.  My husband was in the kitchen, and I was the only one in the dining room.  The man said he just learned his father was in the hospital, and he was on his way to see him.  However, his car was out of gas.  He did not have any money with him.  He asked if I could lend him some money to buy gas.  He assured me that he would come the next day to pay me back the money.  He went on to say his father was eighty years old, and he really want to be with him in the hospital.

I looked at the man for a while.  I said: "I neither believe nor not believe in what you said.  Here is five dollars (at that time, gas was about $1.50 a gallon).  It will be enough for you to get gas to see your father.  You don't have to pay me back."  He took the $5.  He said: "I am not lying.  In order to prove that I am not lying, I will give you my I.D. card.  I assure you I will come tomorrow with the money and get my I.D. card back."  I refused to take his I.D. card, and told him it was really not necessary. However, he left it on the table, and rushed out of the door.  I put the I.D. card in a drawer, and went into the kitchen to do what I had to do.

As expected, the man did not come back the next day or the days that followed.  It wasn't a new trick that people walked into restaurants to ask for gas money.  On the fourth or fifth day, I took out the I.D. card.  I realized the I.D. card belonged to a young man, and it did not belong to the man who was in his 30 s.  I thought the man might have taken the card from somewhere.  I wanted to return the card to the rightful owner.  I looked up the names in the phone book.  There were six people in nearby cities with the same last name.  When I called the first two telephone numbers, they said they did not have a young man with that first name in their families.

When I dialed the third number, a woman answered the phone.  When I asked if there was such a young man in her family, she seemed to be very surprised.  She said it was her son.  She asked about the situation behind my call.  I told her what happened.  

In a low and sad voice, she said her son had passed away two years ago.  

I was shocked.   I said:  "I am so sorry for your loss."  I felt very bad.  My call must have caused her to feel sad again.  I tried to apologize.  I said: "I am very sorry that I call . . . . ."  

The woman said, "No, no, no.  Please don't feel sorry."  

Over the phone, I seemed to hear the woman talking to a man.  Then the woman said: "It is no accident that you call.  Today is our son's birthday.  We are talking about him when you call."  She paused for a while, and said: "We miss him.  In fact, we are glad that you call.  Thank you."  

I only looked at the name and the picture of the young man.  I had not noted the birth date on the I.D. card.  Life was (is) full of surprises.  I believed the young man's love for his parents must have played a role in inspiring me to call on that particular day.   

Love never ends.  Love Is.

Peace,
Q of D

Mary Ellen's Wonderful Christmas Miracle Story

Greetings!

Last May, I subscribed to Mary Ellen's Pet Tips 'n' Tales newsletter.  Since then, I have read many wonderful true stories.  Her newsletter is read by people all over the world. It is free, and anybody can sign up via email.  If you would like to sign up, email the following address and type SUBSCRIBE on the subject line.

                              Pet Tips 'n' Tales        tipsntales@aweber.com      

                                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I loved her "Holden" On To A Christmas Miracle story.  I had emailed Mary Ellen for her permission to share her newsletter in my blog.  She was kind enough to say 'yes'. Originally, I tried to transfer her email newsletter to my blog, but I did not know how to do that.  So I shortened the story.  By subscribing to her newsletter, you may read her original newsletter where there were more interesting details.

Mary Ellen wrote about a miracle which happened on Christmas 36 years ago.  She learned her stepfather had terminal cancer.  So she and her husband together with their pets went back to her childhood home to visit her mother and stepfather.

On Christmas Day, Mary Ellen woke up at 7 a.m. while the rest of her family were still in bed.  She decided to make a long distance call to a childhood friend.  A woman answered the phone.  Somehow the wires of the switchboard must have gotten crossed.  She was connected to a different phone number.   Mary Ellen apologized for waking up the woman.  However, the woman whose name was Faith was glad that she called.  Faith was 80 years old.  After her husband passed away, she lived alone for they had no children.  She felt she had no reason to wake up early on Christmas Day because she had no one to share Christmas with.  Therefore, the phone call was like a Christmas gift to her.

As they talked, Mary Ellen found out Faith lived only a few miles away!  Meanwhile, Mary Ellen's mother had woken up.  She asked her mother if she could invite Faith over.  Her mother said 'yes'.  Anticipating the arrival of their "mystery" guest, their home's atmosphere was transformed from gloom (because of her stepfather's illness) into joy.

After dinner, Mary Ellen was going to drive Faith home.  Then, in Mary Ellen's words...........something miraculous happened!

Mary Ellen's mother asked Faith: "What is your last name?"

Faith said: "Holden."

"No! That is my last name.  What is your last name?" Mary Ellen's mother said.

Faith, looking confused, repeated: "That is my last name.  Holden.  H-o-l-d-e-n."

All of them were in shock.  They sat down and talked again.  Faith and Mary Ellen's mother found out both of their husbands came from England and migrated to Winnipeg, Canada.  Furthermore, there were many more similarities as if they were reading from identical books of life.  Mary Ellen wrote - Obliviously, the universe was saying, "Family is not by birth alone, but also by Divine appointment.  We are all one!"

At the end of her newsletter, Mary Ellen wrote - How was it possible to dial a long distance number on Christmas morning but end up connecting with a "local" person who needed us as much as we needed her?!  Unbelievably mysterious - God obviously works overtime on Christmas; how else could I have possibly connected to a "stranger" who is actually "family" with a last name of Holden?!........And the clincher: Faith revealed that her phone number is UNLISTED!  So, even if we had wanted to locate her, we could not have, adding even more mystery to this Christmas Morning Miracle!

Thank you, God.  Mary Ellen, thank you for sharing with us your incredible story.

I enjoy reading Mary Ellen's pet tales and angel messages.  I hope you will too.

Love and blessings,
Q of D
  

A Matter of Opinion

Greetings!

I love Lee Ann Womack's "I hope you dance".  The lyrics by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers are thought provoking and inspirational.  It is truly a great song.

Recently I listened to the song on You Tube.  One person wrote that the writers should have used the word "big" instead of "small" in the song.

                  I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
                  I hope you still feel   big   when you stand beside the ocean

I found the comment interesting.  I could see where the comment came from as well as the song writers point of view.  It was a matter of opinion.  There was no right or wrong.  In Dec. 2007, we lived in a state by the ocean.  Our younger son and daughter-in-law visited us during Christmas.  All of us went for a walk on the beach one day.  At one point, we stood there looking at the boundless ocean and the vast open space above.  For a brief moment, I was totally absorbed by the greatness of nature, and lost the sense of self.

My husband and I are quite different in personality and temperament.  As a result, we see things differently, and handle things differently.  For instance, the other day we came out of a store, he said, "We buy very little.  How does it cost so much!"  My immediate response was, "What?!  I was just thinking 'Wow! We buy that many things, and it does not cost much!"  As the words came out of my mouth, I realized our opposite views.  I looked at my husband, and acknowledged our difference with a joyful smile.

It was a good thing that I could smile about our different opinions now.  Honestly, there had been many times that we got upset over our difference in opinions.

In our earlier years, my husband always wanted to park close to the entrance of a store.  He drove round and round just to find such a parking space.  During busy shopping days, it could easily mean 20 to 30 minutes.  I saw it as unnecessary.  We were healthy.  We could walk if we parked a distance away.  When I voiced my opinion, he got upset and said I was unappreciative.  He said he did it for me so that I did not have to walk far.  In his view, it was better to let the car 'do the walking'.  He continued his way of looking for a parking space while I got annoyed occasionally over the driving around.  Eventually, I felt that it was so minor that I should not get mad over it.  So I decided to let it go.

I did not remember how long he went on this way.  One day, he had to park farther down the lane.  As he turned off the engine, he said in a way of explaining to me or himself, "It is alright.  We can walk.  Walking is good for us, isn't it?"  Since that day, he was not that fixated on where to park anymore.

In life, it is our lesson to learn to accept how the others are and move on in our relationships from there especially with those who are close to us.  It is in divine order that we are all unique and different.  It is alright to have a different opinion, and we do not have to agree on everything.  However, when we come together as a family, a society, a nation, and the world as a whole to work on our common goals for the betterment of all, we do need to put aside our differences or 'my way is the only way'.  In our case, no matter how different we may be, we love our family, and, we never lose sight of our priorities.

Many blessings,
Q of D