From the many choices of inspirational sayings out there, my friend Sue reminded me last night of this well-known one: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

We were discussing what I could write about, and she mentioned not being judgmental. Then she stated that quote I just mentioned.

Sue continued by saying that people need to know that they are loved. They also need to know that what they do is okay and that you care.

Acting upon what Sue said, I researched the Internet about inspirational sayings, focusing on the quote about not judging a book by its cover. And I found a quote that I like so much better.

This quote by Mother Teresa relates directly to what Sue said…

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Image via Wikipedia

It was last Saturday morning when I got back from a very unexpected weeklong trip to upstate New York. As a result, I’ve been playing catch-up since my return.

Instead of traveling I had expected to be home alone while Brian and Natalie drove her fiancé Dan’s car to upstate New York to Dan’s parents’ home. That’s where Natalie and Dan will reside for a few months while he continues his recovery from his disabling accident in Thailand. (Read about the accident)

My plans changed quickly when on the Friday before their scheduled departure on Monday, Brian received a phone call from his brother. Mike told him that their mother, Julia, had been hospitalized and not expected to live much longer. Her blood pressure was way out of whack and her body was cold.

Just a few days earlier Brian’s sister Anna had told us how well Julia was doing in the nursing home. So Mike’s news was a surprise.

I knew Brian wanted to be with his mother again before she passed away, so I told him that I would take his place to drive with Natalie, and I would book a flight for him to leave as soon as possible.

Very early the next morning I drove Brian to the airport.  When I returned home, I continued preparing to leave the following morning for the long drive to New York.

Meanwhile, Julia’s children and grandchildren gathered in her room in upstate New York to be with her during her final hours.  During that time, Brian’s sister Anna was moved to ask forgiveness from her brother Peter and from Peter’s son, Peter. They hadn’t spoken in many years because

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been a month since Natalie and Dan’s accident. The best thing about this is that Dan is a month closer to walking again.

Another good thing is that when tragic events occur, it gives people the chance to show how much they care.  Natalie and Dan’s accident is no exception.

At the hospital Natalie got to spend nights in Dan’s room on the little vinyl couch instead of alone somewhere else. And when Dan’s meals arrived, there always seemed to be extra for Natalie.

Dan had no health insurance because he had too many expenses already with huge student loans to pay while he was trying to build up his acupuncture practice. So he and Natalie were surprised and grateful at how low the hospital bill was.

No wonder so many Americans go to Thailand for surgery! As my brother, Robert, says “A passport is the best health insurance.”

Travel can be rewarding in other ways. You never know who you’ll meet and how. Sometimes you make new and wonderful friends.

When Natalie and Dan flipped off the motorbike, a French couple behind them stopped to help.  Several days later this very nice couple rode for two and a half  hours each way on a motor bike to the hospital to visit with Natalie and Dan for 30 minutes. And they brought Dan a gift!

In the Thai hospital the nurses were so cheerful and friendly. Because they liked Natalie and Dan so much, the nurses invited them to dine with them on their last full day in the hospital. Each nurse brought delicious homemade Thai food.  What a treat that was for Natalie and Dan!

More treats followed  as they traveled the next day. With Dan’s leg needing to be kept straight and elevated, his mom bought business class seats for them. That meant much more comfortable seats than coach class and also the use of special lounges in the airports. In the lounges they got lots of good food and beverages for free.

The day before they were to arrive at the airport in Los Angeles, my friend, Debbie, called me. She had been keeping Dan’s car at her home until they returned to drive back to San Diego. Debbie felt moved to buy almost all of an air ticket for me to Los Angeles so that I would be there for Natalie.

Given such a heartfelt offer, how could I say no?

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The love doves compelled me to write this story. The past couple of days I’ve seen them many times outside my office window, side by side, nestled in the grass by the ginger plants or on the patio, fence or second story windowsill of my neighbor’s house.

Suddenly it came to me. The love doves are telling me to write about all the love in the air following the accident of my daughter and her boyfriend in Thailand during their vacation.

Following that revelation, the song “Love is in the Air” quickly entered my mind.

I found a video for you with the song and lyrics as well as meaningful pictures:

Did you watch it?

Don’t you just love the melody and lyrics?

I’ve been receiving love and care the past couple of days from people who are concerned about how I’m doing. And I’m amazed at that, because I’m not the one in distress. It’s my daughter and her boyfriend who are in a hospital in Krabi, Thailand.

Here’s the story…

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It seems that every time my husband, Brian, goes out of town, something unexpected goes wrong. This time was no exception, maybe because my subconscious mind power was taking control, recalling past times.

While Brian was far away in San Diego, California, I was driving on the Interstate 10 freeway in Houston, Texas to my next stop on a Saturday afternoon. Traffic was okay.

Then I heard honking to my right.

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Another post for you about positive thoughts.  It’s been awhile since my last post, and there’s a very good reason for that.

I’ve been busy writing my first book that will soon be published. So for me, that’s really exciting! I get to share my positive messages in a mini book that people can hold in their hands. No internet access required.

Do you have a burning desire to make a positive change in the world?

What are you doing to make that happen?

Is there a better way?

Let me share with you some inspirational lyrics from my song, ‘Uplifted and Inspired’ –

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Several days ago the positive thoughts I had been enjoying were rudely disrupted by an email that aroused my anger. It was from a company representative who obviously had not read and comprehended every previous correspondence I had sent.

Or did she choose to ignore them because she didn’t want to give me a refund?

Maybe she’s on commission?

Or does the company that employs her use an intentionally misleading slogan “…our goal is to exceed your expectations”?

Let me tell you, not only were my expectations not exceeded…They came a long way from being met!

Because of that company’s lack of customer service, this blog was unavailable for 2 days before Thanksgiving. When I paid online, I expected to receive clear instructions of what to do next. But all I got was an email receipt saying that if I had questions to go to their online support address.

Can you believe it? They didn’t even send me a friendly welcome!

The only clear instruction I could find in their online support was to change the DNS, so I did that. Later I discovered that instead of seeing my blog, visitors would see the page this company had put up which mainly advertised their hosting service.

They were getting free advertising while my blog was unavailable! So why should they be in any hurry?

Then when I alerted them that my blog was unavailable, they asked me to re-submit the information I had already given them!

So I knew my blog might be unavailable for a lot longer, especially with the Thanksgiving holiday.

Reflecting on the fact that no clear instructions were given when I paid, I began thinking this was not the type of company I want hosting my blog. But I didn’t want to make a hasty judgment, and Thanksgiving was the next day. I really did want this to work out.

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Change doesn’t come easy for most of us.

Stop Procrastinating

Does it for you?

Isn’t it your time now to stop procrastinating?

Several nights ago I was listening to a New Wealth Experience interview of Ariane De Bonvoisin, an expert on handling life changes. Even though I had never heard of her before, I decided to take the time to listen because her topic of handling changing times with clarity and hope was perfect for me on that day.

I was feeling down that afternoon. My business wasn’t progressing the way I expected. Then while going through older emails, one of them caught my attention.

The email that attracted me was inviting me to listen for free to a series of interviews of 21 thought leaders, including several stars of the movie, ‘The Secret’. These leaders are experts in helping others achieve health, wealth and happiness in their lives, so I decided to register.

As luck would have it, the first call was that same night and was about the very topic I needed that day. That call really helped get me out of my sad state.

Would you like a few highlights of that interview?

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What are you thinking about?

Positive thoughts, I hope.

Why?

Well, for one thing, with positive thinking you’re more likely to come up with a solution to a problem.

I’ve got a little inspirational story to illustrate this.

Yesterday Brian walked into my office with a big smile on his face. He was just about to burst with something to tell me…so, of course, I let him do that… on the spot!

And I’m glad I did!

With excitement he said, “I just saved a bee!”

That’s something he hadn’t had much chance to do lately. Previously, as I told you in my story, ‘Can A Bee Show You How to Find Happiness?’, he used to find a struggling bee in our swimming pool almost every day. But lately, he rarely sees a bee.

Just a day or so before yesterday he rescued a bee from the pool. After keeping that bee on his finger for awhile, he set it on a chair outside in the sun to let it dry off its wings. Unfortunately a lizard ate that bee because it couldn’t fly away.

As I told Brian just now that I was writing about his amazing story of saving a bee yesterday, he said: “Did I ever tell you about the wasp?”

“No,” I replied.

“A wasp raises its wings when it lands in the pool, so it doesn’t get its wings wet like the bees do.”

So those bees that land in our pool get their wings wet and can’t fly. Some of them are lucky enough to be rescued by Brian, if he gets to them in time.

Alright, back to yesterday’s story of the bee that survived….I got a little sidetracked when Brian summoned me to come outside. And I couldn’t resist…it’s such a gorgeous, cool and sunny day.

Brian really wanted to save that bee, even though the bee was really out of it, near death. So he was thinking about how he could save the bee.

Since the last bee he had tried to save was eaten after he left it outside, Brian brought this delirious bee inside.

Then he asked God “How can I give this little bee more help? Lord, I need a miracle.”

And instantly the answer came to him…

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Image by LyricalJoyce via Flickr

This is a follow-up to the inspirational story I wrote last week (my last previous post).

So if you haven’t yet read “How Can You Be Helped by This Inspirational Story?” do it now because it is the beginning of this story.

Here’s the follow-up story.

It was late at night, shortly after I had finished writing the rough draft of that story, when Brian called me to have a look in our atrium.

I couldn’t believe what I saw!

So many snails gathered together on the rocks (See the picture above) in our atrium and, of course, not a snail shell in sight! As best as I could tell, I’d say there were at least fifteen snails.

What did this mean?

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