BritSAL's World

Music/Within My Heart.mp3

Author of Above Unknown

Above graphic from my friend Barb. Thanks Barb!

Being rude doesn't feel very good even while you're doing it. Being genuinely considerate, on the other hand, can leave you feeling more positive and empowered for a long time afterward.
Rudeness and arrogance are unmistakable signs of weakness and insecurity. Kindness and polite consideration are reliable indicators of rock-solid confidence and strength.

How do you treat those whom you have no reason to impress, from whom you have nothing to gain? It says a lot about you, and people do indeed notice.

Those who are truly in a position of responsibility have no need for arrogance. Any positive impression you seek to make through arrogance or rudeness is immediately contradicted by the arrogance itself.

Don't let your own arrogance waste your energy and set you back. Use each encounter as an opportunity to offer genuine respect and kindness.

Lift up the lives of those around you. And you lift up your whole world.

Ralph Marston

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

Christian D. Larson

How nice are you?
by Jane Powell

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

We’ve all heard this saying. It’s something our parents reminded us of constantly. In fact, you my very well be cautioning your own children.

Now that you realize how hurtful words can be to others, have you every thought about the effects your own comments have on your self-esteem? Do you ever hear yourself saying nasty things about someone – that someone being you?

No one likes to be called “lazy,” “stupid,” or “fat,” and calling ourselves these names has a damaging effect on our self-worth. So today, take your own advice and the next time you begin to say something bad about yourself, try to stop. Instead of pointing out how little you have accomplished, why not acknowledge what you have achieved? And try replacing words like “I can’t” and “I won’t” with “I can” and “I will.”

Being churlish never served us when we were young, and that is still true. Be kind to yourself.

Abundance and gratitude are inextricably linked. By living with gratitude, you open yourself to life's immense abundance.
If you are a little bit thankful for this, and a little thankful for that, just every so often, you'll have glimpses of abundance. When you enable and allow yourself to be continuously thankful for every big and little thing, your life will be immersed in abundance all the time.

It may seem strange to feel thankful for those events in your life that appear to be negative. Yet it is precisely by being thankful that you can identify the opportunities for transforming the setbacks and obstacles into successes.

You may not think it's worth the time and effort to be thankful for all the little, seemingly insignificant things in your life. However, without the little things there would be no big things.

Seek to develop a depth of gratitude by seizing every opportunity to be thankful. Make genuine gratitude a constant companion to who you are, in all that you do.

As your gratitude grows deeper and more all-encompassing, life's abundance shines more brilliantly for you. Be truly, constantly thankful, and there is no end to the level of abundance that you will experience.

Ralph Marston

A negative attitude can be contagious. Fortunately, so can a positive attitude.

One of the biggest challenges of staying positively focused can come from the negative people who cross your path. Yet instead of letting them get you down, you can choose to lift them up.

When someone is rude to you, the most powerful response is not to reply with your own rudeness. After all, what would that accomplish?

Your best choice in such a situation is to respond with courtesy, kindness, consideration and understanding. Though it may seem strange and unnatural at first, it can have a profoundly positive impact on the situation.

Most people, when given the chance, will be glad for you to rescue them from their own negative momentum. When you come across someone who is clearly in a bad mood, you have the opportunity to be the best part of that person's day.

Seize that opportunity and make the most of it. When you give a little kindness, it can make a big, big difference.

Ralph Marston

Moving Beyond Ignorance

By Kelly McFadden

Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment.

Proverbs 4:7 (NLT)

When my husband and I were first married, we moved into an apartment that had a washer and dryer. We were thrilled. It was nice and easy, our laundry done in our own home. The machines were hooked up when we got there, and since many items were dusty from moving, we put our prized machines to work. This was when we realized our dryer didn’t exactly dry. We would have to run our dryer at least four times in order to get one medium-sized load dry. With a shrug of our shoulders, we knew what the problem was. We had a cheap dryer. We vowed never to buy that brand again.

A year and a half passed and some friends stayed at our place while we were out of town. The note they left us upon our return said this: “Thanks for letting us stay. We had a great time. And by the way, the hinge to the vent of your dryer wasn’t fastened on properly so your dryer wasn’t working. I fixed it, it should be fine now.” My husband and I looked at the note dumbfounded. A year and a half of a broken dryer was not the fault of the manufacturer; it was a human error – our ignorance.

The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of wisdom. Usually when wisdom is mentioned, the reader is called to action. Seek wisdom, gain wisdom, desire wisdom, ask for wisdom, pay attention to wisdom, etc. Believers are to be active in seeking godly wisdom.

When I look back at the situation with our dryer, I am struck that my husband and I never took action, never asked around about it, never looked online to problem-solve, never even considered for a moment that we were wrong. We simply continued on in ignorance. All along we had blamed the dryer, when in reality, if we had just sought help, we could have fixed the problem easily.

How often do you move forward thinking you have all the answers, only to realize you don’t have the right answer? If you are like me, it happens more than you want to admit. The Bible is clear that we are to seek wisdom. Not just once, but everyday of our lives. It will take determination and desire, but as the Proverbs point out, seeking wisdom is among the most important things you can do!

Life Isn't

Life isn't about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you're alone.
It isn't about who you're dating, who you used to date,
How many people you've dated, or if you haven't been
With anyone at all.

It isn't about who you have kissed,
It isn't about who your family is or
How much money they have
Or what kind of car you drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on,
Or what kind of music you listen to.

It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown,
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get how smart you are, how smart
Everybody else thinks you are, or how smart
Standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you're in or how good
You are at "your" sport.
It's not about representing your whole being on a piece of
Paper and seeing who will "accept the written you."

Life just isn't.

Life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposely.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or as a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
It's about starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why.
And who your judgments are spread to.

It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow
And spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or poison
Other people's hearts in such a way that could have
Never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those
Choices are what life's all about.
Author Unknown

Overcome the Fear of Rejection
by Jane Powell
Never please to appease.

Do you go to great lengths to please others or cover up your feelings, because you fear abandonment or rejection? If so, why?

The truth is, you run less risk of rejection if you offer others your true and unembellished self.

When you’re up front your real opinions, feelings and interests, you stand on solid ground. Being genuine offers others the real you, right from the get-go, and they can choose to take it or leave it. Just as you can choose to take or leave them!

When you know others are responding to the real you, you no longer have to worry about letting down your guard or being rejected later. This is a position of great strength.
Try living as the real you! When you do, others are naturally attracted to who you really are!

Sal : I love this article. I was told just this morning that I do too much to please others all the time, and am way too soft hearted. I know we can't help who we are, but basically I feel there comes a time for everyone, when we have to sometimes think of ourselves instead of always putting others first. In fact, if we can't look after ourselves, who else will?

( An exerpt From ) The Butterfly Effect
by Andy Andrews
Not long ago, I finally told the story of when, at the age of twenty-three, homeless and scared, I was given guidance in a most unusual fashion by an old man named Jones. What the old man told me did nothing less than change my life and my future. He said..."With a little perspective you can live a life of permanent purpose."
When I asked what he meant, the old man answered with a question. "Do you sometimes find yourself unconsciously judging your actions by level of importance?" I frowned a bit, not certain I understood. "For instance, "he continued, "the time you spend with friends is important, but the time you spend with family, is more important. You might rank an hour fishing as very important, thirty minutes visiting a sick friend in the hospital much more important than the fishing, and a sixty second conversation with a convenience store clerk as not very important at all."
I nodded my understanding and he returned to his initial point. "When you know that everything matters - that every move counts as much as any other - you will begin living a life of permanent purpose. A life of permanent purpose will make you a better parent, a better spouse, and a more valuable friend. Your productivity and financial success will soar to new heights while the old days of uncertainty, doubt, and depression fade into the past."
Of course, that conversation with Jones changed me. But even more, it became the guiding force that produced the kind of speaker and author I have become. You see, I understand fully that my very value as an author and speaker must ultimately be judged by the success you achieve. And as I consult with companies or speak to organizations and teams, I am keenly aware that much of my client's (your) ability to succeed beyond imagination depends upon my ability to prove this very concept!
When a sales organization sees proof that casual conversations in town matter just as much as an arranged meeting with a major prospect -
When the second string right-guard sees proof that his every action on and off the field, whether he plays or not, is as critical to the team's successful season as everything the starting quarterback does -
When a teenager sees and understands proof that every choice made in leisure today will affect the choices that will be available to him in more pressing times ahead -
When one lives a life of permanent purpose, sales figures soar, team chemistry thrives, and teenage decisions become wiser and more cautious. And these are just a few examples of what will happen... Simply put, when we understand that every action matters, every result of our actions immediately improves!
In these pages, I know you will find hope and direction for yourself, but I am most excited that you will now be equipped to lead others to their own life of permanent purpose! My hope for our families, our places of worship, our businesses, our nation, and our world is an incredible life of permanent purpose that can be achieved when at last we understand:

Every move we make and every action we take, matters not just for us, but for all of us...and for all time.

You have the opportunity, right now, to make today mean something. Instead of just getting through this day, you can live it in such a way that it positively transforms your life and your world.
There is an essential part of you that longs to make a difference. Underneath all the superficial comings and goings of daily life, there is a driving purpose that is your life.

Whatever you may be doing on the outside, there is a way to express the purpose that lives on the inside. The more you discover, explore and stay connected to that purpose, the more rich and fulfilling your life will be.

You can make real and lasting meaning out of the smallest, most seemingly insignificant moment. In this day there are countless chances to do so.

Unknown

You Are

You are loving... When your own
Pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
You are wise... When you know
The limits of your wisdom.
You are true... When you admit
There are times you fool yourself.
You are alive... When tomorrow's
Hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.
You are free... When you are in
Control of yourself and do not wish to control others.
You are generous... When you can
Take as sweetly as you can give.
You are thoughtful... When you see me
Just as I am and treat me just as you are.
You are merciful... When you forgive in
Others the faults you condemn in yourself.
You are beautiful... When you
Don't need a mirror to tell you.
You are rich... When you never
Need more than what you have.

- Author Unknown

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Bible

To email the owner of this site please use the form on the Contact Page.

Wisdom