An email received from a friend-When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle..

Like most of us, I get a bunch of emails between my work and those from friends.  It's easy to ignore some due to the pace of life.  I am glad I did not ignore one from a friend this morning, a random act of kindness by sharing.

...When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,


when 24 Hours in a day is not enough,

Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.



A professor stood before his philosophy class

and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly,

He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar

and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.



He then asked the students, if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.



The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured

them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.



He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.



The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'



The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively

filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.



'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,

'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - family,

children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –

Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.



The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.



The sand is everything else --The small stuff.



'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,

'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life.



If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,

you will never have room for the things that are important to you.



So...



Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play With your children.

Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your partner out to dinner.



There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.



'Take care of the golf balls first --

The things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'



One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.



The professor smiled.

'I'm glad you asked'.



It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,

there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

My Big Sister Gwen is Joy!

Please read this note of mine to my Big Sister, Gwen, a belated birthday wish.
She is special, she is joy and I want others to know the blessing I have as she is my Big Sister.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/note.php?note_id=449599240319&id=100000351840270&ref=mf

A brother's act of kindness remembered

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=100000351840270#!/notes/greg-popiel/a-moment-i-will-never-forget-as-long-as-i-breathe-and-a-birthday-thought/448922810319

A favorite quote

To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being.



Sir John Lubbock

An email to a Friend

A friend from Nashville sent me a text sharing a mention of a struggle she is going through.
Not being able to provide support in person, I sent her the following email:

Gail,


In March 1981, I attended a work seminar on leadership in Chicago. I was 24 years old, knew everything, had money, had babes and was living the life.

One morning, the seminar leader started the day off by asking how everyone was feeling. It was 7 am. We laughed and said to table mates that it was too early to be leaders.

The leader then said that each of us was going to face a weighty, personal or workplace struggle in the future. He offered his approach to life and its challenges.
His way of putting things in perspective was so simple, yet so powerful I remember that morning; what I was wearing, who I drank with the night before and who was sitting at the round table as he spoke.

His words..."Each morning, I rush downstairs, open the front door and snatch the paper off the porch. Without hesitation, on the porch, I find the section with the death notices listed and drop the rest of the paper. I search the list carefully. When I discover that my name is not there, I know that it is going to be one glorious day, no matter what challenge is in front of me to deal with this day. I am breathing, I am alive. There is hope."

It took me almost 30 years and several personal struggles to realize how powerful his words were that cold, windy morning in Chicago back in March of 1981.

You are never alone on your journey as the Giver of life is with you.

Greg

An Opportunity to Serve

Early Sunday am is my time to connect with my Source, the Provider of Life to us all.

I am in awe of all of God's creation.

"Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge and forever change their outlook, day or their life."

Let's enjoy this Present, today, God has given us.a moment ago clear

Stopped for a train in a downtrodden area of Detroit

Whatever I attempted to do today was met by a delay of some kind;
-a banker was late for an appointment
-my computer took extra long to boot up
-the gas pump at Sam's Club did not print a receipt and I had to have attendant write one out
-stopped by a train in a depressed, desolate area of the city.

The train delay was long enough, causing us, 3 cars waiting, to turn off our engines.
In my side view mirror, I saw a bulking man approach me from his car which was behind mine.  By his appearance, I was a bit unnerved as he had multiple tattoos on each of his arms which were larger than my legs in girth and strength.  Before I could roll up my window as a precaution, he was in my face.
His words, "Hey man, may I close your gas cap door?"
Surprised and with relief I said, " Go ahead Dude, thanks Man."

A random act of kindness given at a stopped intersection in a desolate, downtrodden area of Detroit by a kind, big SOB.  Whoever you are, thanks Dude.