Do You Feel Like You Don’t Quite Fit In?…

Quotes and Notes # 289, August 20

A lovely heart-shaped weed that doesn't quite fit in.

A lovely heart-shaped weed that doesn’t quite fit in.

“A weed may be defined as ‘a plant that is in the wrong place’”—Johntheplantman –

My grandmother gave me a Bible for my birthday in 1952. The inscription she wrote on the first page said, “May you grow in wisdom as you grow in stature.”—Well, I did a good quick job with the stature thing, but the other part was slow to develop and I’m still working on it.

I grew tall quickly. I always stood out in a crowd of my peers, but I never quite felt like I fit in. I worried about fitting in for many years, but over time, as I worked on gardens, I found myself pulling weeds and saying, “You just don’t fit in here.” Every now and then, when I found a very nice weed, I would leave it and watch it—or, perhaps, I would dig it up and move it to a place that it seemed to belong in. Sometimes I would nurture the weed and care for it, but most of the time I just left it to its own devices because weeds are strong. Weeds are survivors. A lot of weeds are good-looking and smart.

I am a weed. Now I have learned to look around me and say something like, “I don’t quite fit in here. Maybe if I moved over there I could spread out and reach my potential.”

Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? Do you worry about what others say or think about you? Perhaps you need to re-think your position. Perhaps you need to concentrate on your own growth and your own place.

Grow in wisdom
Share a smile with someone who looks confused
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Smile, Let The Light Shine In…

Quotes and Notes #288, August 19

Open the window and let the sunshine out

Open the window and let the sunshine out

“A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.”–Denis Waitley–

“Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.”–Edith Wharton–

Since I have been writing these articles every day, I have started noticing the reactions of people with whom I share a smile. Sometimes, it’s even a compliment like, “I like your shoes,” or, “Your hair looks good.” I seem to notice that a brightness appears on the face of the recipient of a smile or a compliment. This tells me that I have made a small difference.

This always makes me feel good as well.

So always share a smile
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

I Hope, Therefore I Am…

Quotes and Notes # 287, August 18

Will everything be all right? We'll find out

Will everything be all right? We’ll find out

“Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”–Jean Kerr–

Sometimes, when things are not going well, we put all of our psychological assets in a bag and shake it. When we look into the bag after the thorough mixing, we find—without fail—that the most important one is right on top. That asset is “HOPE.”

Hope is our best friend in any adversity. Hope is the foundation for optimism. Optimism is the thing that tells us…
“Everything is going to be all right.”

I hope that you will share a smile today
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

What Is In Your Secret Garden?

Quotes and Notes #286, August 17

grab the beauty as you are passing through.

grab the beauty as you are passing through.

“Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high.”—William Goldman, “The Princess Bride.”—

“The garden is growth and change and that means loss as well as constant new treasures to make up for a few disasters—May Sarton—

Happiness comes from within. It is closed up in a pretty box labeled, “Attitude” and attitude is adjustable. There are losses and there are new joys. Grab onto the good as it passes through.

And don’t forget to share a smile
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Digging in Rocky Ground…

Quotes and Notes #285, August 16

It requires patience and the proper tools to plant in rocky ground

It requires patience and the proper tools to plant in rocky ground

“The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right. Which one are you?”—Henry Ford—

Sometimes things are not easy. Sometimes the ground is hard and rocky but with the proper tools we can chip away at it until we have a hole big enough to plant a nice plant. With the proper hole, we can add soil amendments and fertilizer. The plant will grow well and give us pleasure.

“It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.”—George Eliot—

Sometimes we have great worries on our minds. We can chip away at them, also, until they are take a form that we can better handle.

Share a smile with a working man
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Who Lives Behind Your Face?

Quotes and Notes #284, August 15

Hello in there

Hello in there

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”—Maya Angelou—

I am about to turn seventy and I have been looking back on the eventful decade of my sixties. It occurs to me that this past decade, I have been occupied with overcoming the defeats of my fifties—of finding out who really lives behind this face.

Who lives behind your face? I’ll bet it is someone who has the courage to rise up quickly after falling. Getting up seems to make the falling less of a problem. Move on.

Someone who is down needs one of your smiles today
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Find a Little Enjoyment as Happiness Flutters By…

Quotes and Notes # 283, August 14

It flies around and doesn't stay very long.

It flies around and doesn’t stay very long.

“With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.”—Max Ehrmann—

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”—R. Buckminster Fuller—

Everything doesn’t have to be beautiful. You don’t always need to be happy. It is good, however, to try and recognize beauty and happiness when it appears and flutters through your life. Find enjoyment.

Share a smile
Everything is going to be all right
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Are You Listening?

Quotes and Notes #282, August 13

Don't say anything, just stop and listen to the pretty.

Don’t say anything, just stop and listen to the pretty.

“Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.”—Dalai Lama—

Yesterday, my mother said, “There are so many talkers and so few listeners.” I’m guilty—we all are, probably. At times, I find myself in a conversation, thinking about what I’m going to say next instead of really listening. I am definitely getting older, though, and perhaps wiser. I am learning to concentrate on what someone is saying to me to a point at which I understand as much as possible. This concentration is then followed by a thoughtful pause, and then by a response—if one is necessary.

Sometimes ego is responsible. We wish to say something that enhances our appearance of intelligence. Sometimes, no answer at all is the most intelligent option.

But we can always share a smile
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Need Help? Ask. Don’t Need Help? Give…

Quotes and Notes #281, August 12

Help each other. Live together well

Help each other. Live together well

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”—Henry Ford—

The lichen is a combination of algae for nourishment and fungus for structure. The residue of the lichen washes down to feed the flower which flew in as a wild seed on a breeze. They all live together. The flower is the philosopher of the group.

If your life is not going as well as you would like, if you are having a hard or otherwise unhappy time, find someone who will share with you and help you to work things out. This makes it easier.

If your life is going well, if you are happy and enjoying yourself, then find someone who needs your help and listen to them. Your listening will be like the nourishment washing down on the flower.

And don’t forget to share a smile
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

Don’t Jump To Conclusions…

Quotes and Notes #280, August 11

Things are not always as they seem

Things are not always as they seem

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.”—Edmund Burke—

Without knowing a persons circumstances, don’t jump to conclusions. Here’s a short story:

You may or may not know that, due to misfortune, I must push a button on my throat to activate my voice device. This means that if I am carrying something in both hands, I am vocally challenged.

I was coming out of the grocery store the other day with both hands holding bags of goods. A man passed me going in the opposite direction and said, pleasantly, “Good morning, have a nice day.” That was nice. I fumbled with transferring my load to get a hand free to answer him but as I was almost in a position to speak, I heard him say harshly, “Well, don’t answer then. That was rude.” And he walked on.

That bothered me somehow. I paused in thought. I thought I could go stand in front of him and embarrass him by replying to his salutation. I thought several thoughts.

Then I realized that he was not actually sharing a smile because he had expected something in return. I shrugged my shoulders, said, “Oh Well,” and I walked on.

Today share a real smile
Everything is going to be all right.
John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”

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