Sweet Delights

While walking through our neighborhood mall, I went into a candy store that sells current and nostalgic candy bars like Big Hunk, Bit-O-Honey, Sugar Daddy and Clark Bar. It brought back such great memories of my childhood.

Remember “penny” candy? It actually cost a penny. Now it’s like nickel candy. While walking down the aisles I was transported back to our neighborhood store. I could not believe that some of the candy I grew up eating was still being sold. It brought me so much Almond Joy to see all the candy, I began to Snicker(s). One of my favorite candies is the Chick-O-Stick. Even as I write this post I feel so good! Isn’t amazing how little sweet delights and some good memories can make a not-so-good day better if only while you consume them?

That brings me to the point of my story. Every day I speak to individuals who are struggling with the issues of day-to-day life. They express to me how difficult it is to overcome failure, disappointment, and anxiety. As they attempt to deal with the issues they are facing, they feel overwhelmed and hopeless.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying a candy bar will make all of your troubles go away, but focusing on the good things can help you overcome the doldrums that life can bring. As people, we tend to focus on the bad and ignore the good things in our lives. I recently shared with a group that it is easy to jump in the river of despair and hopelessness and let it overwhelm you. If that’s where you find yourself, let me throw you a lifeline of hope.

Whether it is enjoying a piece of your favorite candy (in moderation), or taking in the beauty of a flower or feeling the rain on your skin or enjoying the memory of your favorite vacation spot, think on the good things in life and recall great memories. I am not suggesting that you live in denial, but I want to encourage you to focus on the thing you do have control over, and that is how you respond to the challenging events in your life. Your attitude can play a tremendous role in your happiness and bringing happiness to others. When you focus on others outside yourself, you will be surprised that although your problems are still there, they are not as intense. Why? Because you are thinking about and serving others.

So, when you feel down why not enjoy one of your favorite sweet delights!

There is Power in a Hug

A hug delights and warms and charms,

that must be why God gave us arms.
~Author Unknown

Today I had the opportunity to serve people at an organization called World Impact.  One of the services the organization offers is a hot breakfast to inner city residents.  This morning with all of the wind and the rain coming down, residents came to partake of the blessings of God in the form of a meal.

As I walked around the room I met a man who admitted to me that he had not taken a bath in over three days.  As he extended his hand, somehow we found ourselves in a hug; it was true—he had not taken a bath for over three days!  The amazing thing is, as we spoke the odor dissipated.  I felt Christ in that hug!  Many of us, me included, love to hug who we believe to be the beautiful people, the ones with the nice clothes and good smelling cologne or perfume.

The truth is that there a lot of people who may look good and smell good, but lack love and character, which makes them smell like they have not bathed in three days.

Over the years I have come to be known for my hugs.  As I speak to various groups, invariably I will find myself in a hug.   There is a group that I speak to regularly and when someone is down they will come to me and ask for a hug.   After the hug they always say that it makes them feel better, maybe because they can sense that it is authentic.   There is power in a hug.

My wife and my kids love to hug each other every day.  When things are going well or not so well a hug seems to make everything better.  I love it when my daughter sits on my lap and hugs me so tight that I am about to burst.  I also love to see my son standing over his mother giving her a hug around her shoulders and neck that makes her light up with the love of a proud mother.  There is power in a hug.

Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you.  ~Jacques Prévert

A genuine embrace that comes from the care and love for another human being is a powerful thing.  I am not talking about the shoulder bump, but an embrace where both of you feel the warmth of the other person.  There is power in a hug.

Do you need a hug?  Have you hugged someone today?  If not, reach out and hug someone, there is power in a hug! 

Life Happens

The rain pours, sun shines, and the wind blows, but life goes on.

Robert Louis Stevenson was bedridden with tuberculosis for most of his life. One day, his wife heard him hacking violently and said,” I suppose you still believe it’s a beautiful day.” Turning toward a window ablaze with sunlight, Stevenson responded, “I do! I will never allow a row of medicine bottles block my horizon.”  Circumstances are uncontrollable. Life’s events happen. Our responsibility is to choose our responses—our attitude. Situations may color your view of life, but you have been given the power to choose what the color will be.  Glenn Van Ekeren

How is your day going?  Is everything going your way?  Maybe you are like Norm the character in the old television series Cheers, “it is a dog eat dog world and I am wearing milk bone underwear.”  Whatever you are going through, life goes on.  I always say, where there is life, there is hope.  Even in adversity there are opportunities to change your circumstances, by changing the way you think about what you are going through.

One of the opportunities for change is to serve other people.  There is something powerful that happens when you get out of yourself and focus on helping others.  You will find that the issues and challenges you face are lessened when you help someone else.  Helping the elderly, the poor, and those who are less fortunate than yourself can be tremendously rewarding.

The amazing thing is when you are engaged in helping others, good things seem to follow.  Emotionally, you feel that you are a contributor to the well-being of others.  Seeing people smile or express their gratitude for you taking an interest in their lives is priceless.

Remember, the rain pours, sun shines, and the wind blows, but life goes on. 

Smile a Little Smile for Me

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. “  H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

How do you feel when someone smiles at you?  Even if you don’t know the person, there is a connection that happens for most, if only for a few seconds.   For some it gives hope in a world that seems hopeless.

There is something powerful and uplifting when someone smiles at me, especially if it’s genuine (not the cheesy smile that seems forced).  I remember when my wife would take pictures of our kids when they were very young.  She would ask them to say cheese.  They would then give her this toothy smile, and although cute it did not look authentic.

It is amazing what happens when you cast a genuine and heartfelt smile at someone.  Unless the person is just totally unhappy with life, I always get a smile in return.  I have made numerous connections with people that started with a smile.

Some people do not even know how to respond to a smile as they see so few of them.  Some might say there is little to smile about these days.  I say that is why we need to smile even more.

When you have trouble smiling, think about things that have occurred in your life that make you smile . . . the birth of your child, a great vacation you may have taken, the smell of a beautiful flower or the loving gaze of the love of your life.  

When you smile at someone it may be the only thing in their life that day which made it worth living.  Smile!J