Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

______________________________________

The “Older” Serenity Prayer
============================

In answer to the issue, “The Changed Serenity Prayer”
The “Older” Serenity Prayer

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do,
And the eyesight to tell the difference.

_________________________________________________________________

The Changed Serenity Prayer
============================

The MountainWings issue, “The Person I Can Fix” moved me to send
my version of the serenity prayer.

I was in Alcoholics Anonymous and took on The Serenity Prayer as
a daily ritual. After some years I realized that the “things”
that I struggled with were other people!

My version became:

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change.
The courage to change the only person I can, myself.
And the wisdom to know the difference between when it is my
problem or their problem.

~ A MountainWings Original by Dane Gravely, Collinsville, VA~

ANTS

Ants
=====

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”

Yesterday on her way out of the house, my wife asked if I could
get the ants off the sofa before I left. I replied “of course.”

I went into the den expecting to get some paper and kill two
maybe three ants. Little did I realize I had to add two zeros
behind those numbers; ants were everywhere!

Every time I would clean one sofa cushion another gang of ants
would emerge from hiding. Eventually I spent over an hour
pulling every cushion off the sofa, cleaning each one twice,
then pulling each section of the sofa out vacuuming in between
and under each one. At first I couldn’t figure out why there
were so many ants until I saw what was under the sofa.

Spilled juice, cereal, popcorn, pop tarts, you name it and it
was under there. From this day forward the kids will do no more
eating on the sofa I told my wife when she got home. Looking at
these ants work I saw what the Bible verse meant.

First of all, the ants smelled their goal from the outside and
they had no respect for modern architecture nor brick
construction, they found a way in.

Second, they didn’t care how little they were and how big we
were, they simply focused on the food.

Third, they didn’t look at how heavy the food was nor how far
they had to carry it. All they did was follow the scent in
front of them, come and pickup pieces that I would have thought
were too big for their bodies and march right back to their home
with it.

Ants think Winter all Summer; because they don’t know how long
Winter will last they gather all Summer.

Ants think Summer all Winter; they know that no matter how cold
and long the Winter is, or the first day of Summer they will be
out in the sunshine. They understand life is a cycle.
There are times when food is scarce, and there are other times
when people have a buffet under the sofa.

An ant not only gathers for itself but for the benefit of its
entire colony. It even has two stomachs, one for its own
digestion and one for storage to take food back to others.

Next time you go outside, take a minute to stoop down and follow
King Solomon’s advice and observe the ant.

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”
Proverbs 6:6

~A MountainWings Original~

Forward this issue to a friend or send them the link below:
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/8147.htm

THE 11th – 20th COMMANDMENTS

THE 11th – 20th COMMANDMENTS

11th. Thou shalt not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all
human activities.
12th. Thou shalt not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never
come to pass.
13th. Thou shalt not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one
has yet succeeded in accomplishing this.
14th. Thou shalt handle only one problem at a time, and leave the
others to the Lord until their turn comes up.
15th. Thou shalt not take troubles to bed with you, for they make
very poor bedfellows.
16th. Thou shalt not try to carry the problems of the world on your
shoulders, for nobody (except for One) has a back that is broad
enough.
17th. Thou shalt be a good listener, for God often speaks to us
through the mouths of others.
18th. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday; for good or ill, it is
forever gone. Live in the now and rejoice in it.
19th. Thou shalt firmly dismiss feelings of frustration, for 90% of
it is rooted in self-pity and will interfere with positive action.
20th. Thou shalt count thy blessings, never overlooking the smallest,
for our biggest blessings are composed of many small ones.

– Author Unknown

four words

FOUR WORDS
===========

A king called all of his wise men and counselors together for a
meeting.  He addressed them and said, “I want you to go and
think, read, and research.  Consult the wisest and most learned
men in the land.  Spare no expense.”

“I want you to find the ONE statement that will get me through
all situations in life.  Whether I am on top of the world or in
the pits, find that statement.”

“Find me a MountainWings Moment statement.”

“I don’t want to learn long and complicated philosophies.
I want one simple statement.  Find it or write it; I don’t care,
just bring me the statement.”

The men left and consulted for months.
They finally returned and handed the King a scroll.

The King unrolled the scroll.  On it was written four words.

“THIS TOO SHALL PASS”

That was it.

The wise men explained.

When you are on top of the world, that is but a fleeting
moment, things change, always remember, this too shall pass.

When you are in the pits, all nights are followed by day, at
your lowest moments remember also, this too shall pass.

All external circumstances and material things change.

No matter what your circumstances, remember,

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

The wise men reminded the great King that this would get him
through his earthly things but the truly wise knew there were
things beyond this earth and life. . .

Things that were eternal.

True wisdom they reminded the King was in the ability to
recognize the fleeting temporal things of the material world
from the truly eternal things.

O Great King they said, “Most of the things that you worry or
gloat about are temporary and our four words apply.”

For most of your situations. . .

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

“Wanna borrow a jack?”

——————————

——————-
MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#5161 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
————————————————-

Wanna Borrow A Jack?
=====================

One day I went to a lawyer friend for advice.

“I’m in real trouble” I said. “My neighbors across the road
are going on vacation for a month; and instead of boarding their
dogs they are going to keep them locked up and a woman is coming
to feed them, if she doesn’t forget. Meanwhile they’ll be
lonely and bark all day and howl all night, and I won’t be able
to sleep. I’ll either have to call the SPCA to haul them away
or I’ll go berserk and go over there and shoot them and then
when my neighbors return, they’ll go berserk and come over and
shoot me.

My lawyer patted back a delicate yawn. “Let me tell you a
story,” he said. “And don’t stop me if you’ve heard it because
it will do you good to hear it again.”

“A fellow was speeding down a country road late at night and
BANG! went a tire. He got out and looked but he had no jack.

“Then he said to himself. ‘Well, I’ll just walk to the nearest
farmhouse and borrow a jack.’ He saw a light in the distance
and said, ‘Well, I’m in luck; the farmer’s up. I’ll just knock
on the door and say I’m in trouble, would you please lend me a
jack? And he’ll say, why sure, neighbor, help yourself, but
bring it back.’

“He walked on a little farther and the light went out so he said
to himself, ‘Now he’s gone to bed, and he’ll be annoyed because
I’m bothering him so he’ll probably want some money for his
jack. And I’ll say, all right, it isn’t very neighborly but
I’ll give you a quarter.

And he’ll say, do you think you can get me out of bed in the
middle of the night and then offer me a quarter? Give me a
dollar or get yourself a jack somewhere else.’

“By the time he got to the farmhouse the fellow had worked
himself into a lather. He turned into the gate and muttered.
‘A dollar! All right, I’ll give you a dollar. But not a cent
more! A poor devil has an accident and all he needs is a jack.
You probably won’t let me have one no matter what I give you.
That’s the kind of guy you are.’

“Which brought him to the door and he knocked angrily, loudly.
The farmer stuck his head out the window above the door and
hollered down, ‘Who’s there? What do you want?’ The fellow
stopped pounding on the door and yelled up,
‘You and your stupid jack! You know what you can do with it!’”

When I stopped laughing, I started thinking, and I said,
“Is that what I’ve been doing?”

“Right,” he said, “and you’d be surprised how many people come
to a lawyer for advice, and instead of calmly stating the facts,
start building up a big imaginary fight; what he’ll say to his
partner, what she’ll say to her husband, or how they’ll tell the
Old Man off about his will. So I tell them the story about the
jack and they cool off.

“The next time I hear from them, one tells me that the partner
was glad to meet him halfway; the gal says she can’t understand
it, her husband was so reasonable she thought she must have
gotten somebody else on the phone; the relatives found out the
Old Man had already been asking a lawyer how he could give
everything to them before he died, to save them inheritance tax.”

I thought, “How true! Most of us go through life bumping into
obstacles we could easily bypass; spoiling for a fight and
lashing out in blind rages at fancied wrongs and imaginary foes.

“And we don’t even realize what we are doing until someone
startles us one day with a vivid word like a lightning flash on
a dark night.”

Well, the other night I was driving home from the city. I was
late for dinner and I hadn’t phoned my wife. As I crawled along
in a line of cars, I became more and more frustrated and angry.
I’ll tell her I was caught in the heavy weekend traffic and
she’ll say, “Why didn’t you phone me before you left town?”

Then I’ll say, “What difference does it make anyway, I’m here!”
And she’ll say, “Yes, and I’m here, too, and I’ve been here all
day waiting to hear from you!” And I’ll say, “I suppose I
haven’t anything else to do but call you up every hour on the
hour and make like a lovebird!” And she’ll say, “You mean like
a wolf, but you wouldn’t be calling me!”

By this time I am turning into the drive and I am plenty steamed
up.

As I jumped out and slammed the car door, my wife flung open the
window upstairs.

“All right!” I shouted up to her, “Say it!”

“I will,” she cooed softly. “Wanna borrow a jack?”

~J.P. McEvoy~

Send issue 5161 to a friend Click http://www.ztaf.com/mw.htm

twenty truths

TWENTY TRUTHS TO REMEMBER

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be
still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It’s me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life moves too fast, so enjoy your
precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it’s just
hearsay.

18. It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure
to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals
and dreams you’re seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the
turtle — it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your
character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others
think you are.

– Author Unknown

savor the coffee

SAVOR THE COFFEE

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, were talking at a
reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.
During their visit the conversation soon turned into complaints about stress
in their work and lives.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned
with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups- porcelain, plastic,
glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling
them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
“Notice that all of the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it normal for you to want only the
best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be
assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it
is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously
went for the best cups…and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money, and position in
society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life.
The type of cup one has does not define, nor change the quality of Life a
person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy
the coffee God has provided us.”

God makes the coffee, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don’t have
the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Enjoy your coffee!

– Author Unknown

ABC of happiness

ALPHABETS OF HAPPINESS

* A–Accept *
Accept others for who they are and for the choices they’ve made even if you
have difficulty understanding their beliefs, motives, or actions.

*B–Break Away *
Break away from everything that stands in the way of what you hope to
accomplish with your life.

*C–Create *
Create a family of friends whom you can share your hopes, dreams, sorrows,
and happiness with.

*D–Decide *
Decide that you’ll be successful and happy come what may, and good things
will find you. The roadblocks are only minor obstacles along the way.

*E–Explore *
Explore and experiment. The world has much to offer, and you have much to
give. And every time you try something new, you’ll learn more about
yourself.

*F–Forgive *
Forgive and forget. Grudges only weigh you down and inspire unhappiness and
grief. Soar above it, and remember that everyone makes mistakes.

*G–Grow *
Leave the childhood monsters behind. They can no longer hurt you or stand in
your way.

*H–Hope *
Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you
remain dedicated to the task.

*I–Ignore *
Ignore the negative voice inside your head. Focus instead on your goals and
remember your accomplishments. Your past success is only a small inkling of
what the future holds.

*J–Journey*
Journey to new worlds, new possibilities, by remaining open-minded. Try to
learn something new every day, and you’ll grow.

*K–Know *
Know that no matter how bad things seem, they’ll always get better. The
warmth of spring always follows the harshest winter.

*L–Love *
Let love fill your heart instead of hate. When hate is in your heart,
there’s room for nothing else, but when love is in your heart, there’s room
for endless happiness.

*M–Manage *
Manage your time and your expenses wisely, and you’ll suffer less stress and
worry. Then you’ll be able to focus on the important things in life.

*N–Notice *
Never ignore the poor, infirm, helpless, weak, or suffering. Offer your
assistance when possible, and always your kindness and understanding.

*O–Open *
Open your eyes and take in all the beauty around you. Even during the worst
of times, there’s still much to be thankful for.

*P–Play *
Never forget to have fun along the way. Success means nothing without
happiness.

*Q–Question *
Ask many questions, because you’re here to learn.

*R–Relax *
Refuse to let worry and stress rule your life, and remember that things
always have a way of working out in the end.

*S–Share *
Share your talent, skills, knowledge, and time with others. Everything that
you invest in others will return to you many times over.

*T–Try *
Even when your dreams seem impossible to reach, try anyway. You’ll be amazed
by what you can accomplish.

*U–Use *
Use your gifts to your best ability. Talent that’s wasted has no value.
Talent that’s used will bring unexpected rewards.

*V–Value *
Value the friends and family members who’ve supported and encouraged you,
and be there for them as well.

*W–Work *
Work hard every day to be the best person you can be, but never feel guilty
if you fall short of your goals. Every sunrise offers a second chance.

*X–X-Ray *
Look deep inside the hearts of those around you and you’ll see the goodness
and beauty within.

*Y–Yield *
Yield to commitment. If you stay on track and remain dedicated, you’ll find
success at the end of the road.

*Z–Zoom *
Zoom to a happy place when bad memories or sorrow rear a ugly head.

– Author Unknown

The fern and the bamboo

THE FERN AND THE BAMBOO

One day I decided to quit…I quit my job, my relationship, my
spirituality…. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one
last talk with God.

“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me.

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of
them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the
earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the
bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again,
nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not
quit. The same in year four.

“Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.

Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and
gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a
challenge it could not handle.

“Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you
have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo.. I will
never quit on you.

“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different
purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.

“Your time will come”, God said to me. “You will rise high”

“How high should I rise?” I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned

“Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will
never give up on you.

Never regret a day in your life.

Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are
essential to life.

– Author Unknown

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