Self improvement vs. others improvements

The picture above is worth million words, and I do not think that I could have summed it up better than what this caricature shows.

I just wish we could concentrate more on solving our own problems instead of analyzing other people's. I hope that whatever we preach to others, we practice ourselves as well. I pray that when we get to the same situation, we do not do what we see and think that other people do wrong.

This time, I hope we concentrate more on ourselves than others, and that we make it about us. No more unwarranted advice from me to others, unless it is requested. Of course this rule does not apply to 4teen and hubby chubby and .......

Real miracles or fake ones?

I really do believe in miracles. The miracles that have happened in my life were not as grand as the parting of the Red Sea, but a miracle nevertheless, in the most dire moments of my life. So, as I am writing this piece, please bear in mind that what I said about miracles is heartfelt and I know that it happens in our daily lives all the time.

This morning was a late one for me. I needed some extra time just in bed to pull myself together, so I turned on TV and religious program got me interested. This English speaking person was among a gigantic crowd, trying to heal the deaf, the mute and to recover lost senses of smell and taste. Apparently there was a long line of people waiting to seet him, and he on the stage in front of the micro phone asked every individual who approched him about the ailing. The translator would translate for him and he would put his hands on the ear or the mouth or the nose, depending on the part that he wanted to heal, and would command the healing to begin in the name of Jesus and they would suddenly hear, talk (not perfectly, because he said that they needed therapy) and would start tasting and smelling. He had boxes of cookies and bottles of perfume very handy.

I watched this charade for 45 minutes with repetitive incident and prayers and the hocus pocus that this man did. I could hear the crowd cheering, but there was something missing that made me wonder about this whole circus.

Let's say that I had lost my hearing in the left ear for 10 years now ( a real case on the show). It must have been important to me to get in such a long line to go see this man to restore my hearing, or at least that is what I think. I must have had faith in him, otherwise I would not subject myself to this long day. Then when my hearing is restored, shouldn't I be just a tad bit emotional? Just a tid bit grateful, or in a rare case a tear or two? Maybe jumping up and down, or hugging someone, or relating the gratitude in a more sincere way? I watched 20 some people being healed and not one, not even one got emotional. There where young ones, old ones, white ones and black ones, not even one demonstrated some kind of emotion or indication of it.

The way I see it, is that either they got paid to appear on TV with this Reverend, or they must have a very very miserable life that the healing prompted no real happiness in their daily chores. In that case, I pray that the Reverend can heal and bring them all some sort of miracle to restore happiness to these people. Maybe in their happiness, they will not get sick this much.
And if they are getting paid so well for what they are doing, I hope they advertise how to apply for this job, I bet many people would benefit from that.

Secret Views

The book”Secret” is on the bestseller list in both Washington and New York Times for quite a while now. I checked several book stores and they were all out and the recommendation is on-line shopping for the book. The libraries have a long waiting list time for both the book and the video. The jest of the book is that through positive thinking and imagining yourself having the object of your desire, you do get it. And this seems to be a message that many people need to hear right now.

Many people swear by the empowerment of the words of the book, and those were mainly looking for things that were not materialistic in particular. Many are big critics of this old book and think that the idea is simply ridiculous and very farfetched. And it works like real life, one thing works for me and not for you and vice versa.

I was reading a few negative reviews from regular people who have read this book and reviewing is not a paying job for them. Those who have read this and thought that it is absolutely a waste of time even reading it, forget about buying it. One particular review prompted me to writing this piece, because despite what she wrote, I think at the end she proved that the book actually works!

This lady said that per the contents of the book, if we want a million dollars, we should write it down and keep telling ourselves repeatedly that we want that money and to remind ourselves of that on a daily basis. She also said that this is the authors scheme to make a million dollars for herself by selling these ideas to people.

The way I see it, the author really did want a million dollars, and the author did exactly how she preached, visualized herself having that, and probably wrote it down too. The only difference is that she did actually focus on the goal and did something to make the million bucks, by writing a best selling book!! And I guess this is the real message. If you want something in life, focus on it and do your best to get it, and get it you will.

Think about a pair of shoes that you really want; even if you know that you can not afford it. If you really and badly want the shoe, then you will find a way to pay for it. The key words are focus and working hard to get it, not writing it on the paper and just looking at it on a daily basis. The looking part should be a reminder that this is your goal, do not forget it and go for it.

Then again we all see what we choose to see, and I know a few people that needed to hear it from this book to shape up their lives and it seems to be working. And that is all it counts. I am just sorry that I did not think about writing a book like that, may be because the million dollars is not on my list YET!

What day is today? April's Fool Day!!

Well this is my favorite day, The April’s Fool Day, and one of my 4teens is constantly a victim of this day. This 4teen is Pretty Street smart and hopefully one of these days he can relate the date and the unbelievable story and draw the right conclusion!!

April 1st 2007 prank of 4t+:

I got up in the morning pretending to be very sick and nauseated. 4teen was a bit concerned and wanted to know if I had the stomach flu. I said: “no sweetie, I am just pregnant.” 4teen looked at me in horror and asked: “You what?” and I repeated that I was pregnant and he went bananas as in nuts as in crackers and as in out of control! The look on the face was priceless, except that in the middle of all this reality theatrical show, I started laughing and my prank was exposed. This was a good one, maybe one of my best, but that is another story.

In honor of this great day, I have found a few of my favorite pranks for Aprils fool day from the Yahoo News. You have to admit that the stories are pretty hilarious! Enjoy.



NEW YORK (AFP) -
 In 1957, a BBC television show announced that thanks to a mild winter and the virtual elimination of the spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. Footage of Swiss farmers pulling strands of spaghetti from trees prompted a barrage of calls from people wanting to know how to grow their own spaghetti at home.

 In 1998, a newsletter titled New Mexicans for Science and Reason carried an article that the state of Alabama had voted to change the value of pi from 3.14159 to the "Biblical value" of 3.0.

 Burger King, another American fast-food chain, published a full-page advertisement in USA Today in 1998 announcing the introduction of the "Left-Handed Whopper," specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new burger included the same ingredients as the original, but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees. The chain said it received thousands of requests for the new burger, as well as orders for the original "right-handed" version.

 Noted British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on the radio in 1976 that at 9:47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event, in which Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, would cause a gravitational alignment that would reduce the Earth's gravity. Moore told listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment of the planetary alignment, they would experience a floating sensation. Hundreds of people called in to report feeling the sensation