Just for this morning

Just for this morning, I am going to smile when I see your face and laugh when I
feel like crying.
Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and smile and
say how perfect it is.
Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and
take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink,
and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.
Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone
and keep the computer off,
and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles..
Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once,
not even a tiny grumble when you
scream and whine for the ice cream truck,
and I will buy you one if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon, I won’t worry about what you are going to be
when you grow up,
or second guess every decision I have made
where you are concerned.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies,
and I won’t stand over you trying to fix them.
Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald’s
and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys..
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story
about how you were born and how much I love you.
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.
Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and
count all the stars.
Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours,
and miss my favorite TV shows.
Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray,
I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.
I will think about the mothers and fathers who are searching for their missing children,
the mothers and fathers who are visiting their childrens’ graves
instead of their bedrooms,
and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms
watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside
that they can’t handle it anymore.
And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer.
It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask him for nothing, except one

more day…………..

THE BRICK

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, ‘What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?’

The young boy was apologetic. ‘Please, mister…. please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,’ He pleaded. ‘I threw the brick because no one else would stop…’ With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. ‘It’s my brother, ‘he said ‘He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, ‘Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.’

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. ‘Thank you and may God bless you,’ the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

‘Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!’ God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It’s our choice to listen or not.

~ Author Unknown ~

Tolerance

From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: tol·er·ance: 1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. 2. The capacity to endure hardship or pain.

I made a promise to myself that when I started writing articles for my website I would focus on what issues currently were being raised in my personal life. Lately, I’ve been getting strong indications that tolerance, or my lack of it, is something I clearly need to look at. So, I’m delving into it with fear tossed aside, knowing that if I don’t look at it now, I quite possibly face an even more painful lesson on it in the future. I’m presenting this article to you in hopes of sharing insight you may find useful in developing coping methods for yourself or others.

Conceptually we know the importance of remaining tolerant to the diverse attitudes, behaviors, and cultures we find ourselves experiencing nearly every day. Does that stop us from instantly losing our cool when another driver suddenly pulls into our lane, cutting us off so that we have to slam on our brakes and slow us way down? Then we patiently wait for the driver to pick up speed, enough to do the speed limit, only to find they continue to putt along at 35 m.p.h. in a 55 zone. That’s when we really lose it. I know, because I’ve been there several times. And I don’t even drive in commuter traffic on a regular basis. But I’m sure the millions who do commute fight a mounting level of unhealthy stress as their tension builds up after one tolerance-testing incident after another. (I cite an example of driving in commuter traffic because I personally feel this activity is a clear, repeated test of tolerance in our society!)

“By taking revenge, a man is even with his enemy; but in passing over it, he is superior.” Francis Bacon

So now you’re asking, how do I deal with these everyday situations? My guidance shows me that in these situations we tend to take things too personally. It is obvious that the other driver doesn’t know you personally, so why would they want to be hurtful to you? One coping method for the above-mentioned situation is reminding yourself that you can’t possibly know the whole story of why the person is acting the way they do.

There can be many circumstances influencing their behavior: (1) perhaps they’re driving home from work, where they just got chewed out by their boss and are allowing their anger to be displayed in their actions on the road; (2) they could have just received bad news about a loved one’s illness and are in despair over it, inhibiting their mental functions to properly execute rational driving behavior; (3) or 100 other reasons unforeseen which I can continue on about. But I’m sure you see the point I’m trying to make here.

Their actions are caused by strictly personal issues which are affecting their behavior, inadvertently affecting others in their external world. Simply reminding ourselves that we can look at this from a higher perspective by acknowledging we don’t know the whole story and that this person may be going through difficult times can be enough to relax about it and develop increased tolerance.

This way of thinking can apply to not only mundane experiences such as commuting, but in bringing peace to perplexing relationships with others at work, family matters, and in our interactions with others in our community, not to mention on a global scale with those of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Instead of struggling to change unchangeable situations, an easier solution is to adjust our own perspective.

In addition, the following technique is immensely healing for those tolerance-testing circumstances. Immediately after a tense, anxiety-producing situation, take a deep breath and mentally blow out all of the tension to which you are holding on.

You can imagine this tension as an unpleasant color, such as gray, and mentally watch this gray energy leaving your body through your breath. With each in-breath, picture a calming color entering your body, eventually filling it to overflowing. Continue to repeat this until you feel calm once again. This helps you to return to a state of mind where you can then look at the situation from that higher perspective I mentioned above.

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” Dalai Lama

It’s helpful to understand why we react in an overly sensitive manner to begin with. We are conditioned by past experiences to respond with strong emotions when we perceive possible harm toward our bodies or emotions. Feeling vulnerable, we feel the need to be further protected from hurt, so in response we activate our learned defense mechanisms.

If we continue to respond with anger to the slightest perceived annoyance, however, then the cause may be deeper than we first thought. Anger can act as a cover-up emotion, and may signal that a suppressed fear is persisting in our lives which we need to take a look at. If this is the case, be sure you have support, perhaps a therapist, who can assist you in discovering this underlying fear, and openly and effectively deal with it.

“Tolerance implies a respect for another person, not because he is wrong or even because he is right, but because he is human.” John Cogley Commonweal

An important strategy for developing tolerance under certain circumstances is forgiveness. Forgiving others that have acted hurtful toward you in the past brings about immense feelings of release and freedom from old resentments that are keeping you stalled from growing in your life. In hypnotherapy sessions I have witnessed transformations created by the simple act of forgiveness, either of someone else or of themselves.

By allowing this process a person can form greater self respect by refusing to allow the resentment to continue grow and fester inside them, holding them back from finding peace and satisfaction within themselves. As an aside benefit, forgiveness eliminates obstacles in a person’s life. There’s a good chance that the other person may not even be aware of the harsh feelings you bear toward them, so what purpose is your bitterness serving?

When you understand that maintaining resentment only hurts yourself, and not the other person you feel strongly toward, you can then let go of the old pain and give yourself permission to experience joy and positive growth.