Joe´s Attitude
I had been working much too long on this job. I guess things could have been worse. I certainly wasn’t doing hard labor. But going door to door asking questions as a representative of the federal government wasn’t the most satisfying position either.
It was August. It was hot. I had to wear a tie.
“Hello. My name is Bob Perks and we are doing a survey in this neighborhood…
“I’m not interested!
Good bye!”…slam, lock.
You can’t imagine how many times I heard that. I finally caught on and began with, “Before you slam the door, I am not selling anything and I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and the community.”
The young woman inside the doorway, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders, confused by my rude introduction.
“Sure. Come on in. Don’t mind the mess.
It’s tough keeping up with my kids.”
It was an older home in a section of the valley where people with meager income found affordable shelter. With the little they had, the home looked comfortable and welcoming.
“I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and family. Although this may sound personal, I won’t need to use your names. This information will be used…”
She interrupted me. “Would you like a glass of cold water? You look like you’ve had a rough day.”
“Why yes!” I said eagerly.
Just as she returned with the water, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband. “Joe, this man is here to do a survey.” I stood and politely introduced myself.
Joe was tall and lean. His face was rough and aged looking although I figured he was in his early twenties. His hands were like leather. The kind of hands you get from working hard, not pushing pencils.
She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. As they looked at each other you could see the love that held them together. She smiled and titled her head, laying it on his shoulder. He touched her face with his hands and softly said, “I love you!”
They may not have had material wealth, but these two were richer than most people I know. They had a powerful love. The kind of love that keeps your head up when things are looking down.
“Joe works for the borough,” she said.
“What do you do?” I asked.
She jumped right in not letting him answer.
“Joe collects garbage. You know I’m so proud of him.”
“Honey, I’m sure the man doesn’t want to hear this,” said Joe.
“No, really I do,” I said.
“You see Bob, Joe is the best garbage man in the borough. He can stack more garbage on the truck than anyone else. He gets so much in one truck that they don’t have to make as many runs,” she said with such passion.
“In the long run,” Joe continues, “I save the borough money. Man hours are down and the cost per truck is less.”
There was silence. I didn’t know what to say. I shook my head searching for the right words.
“That’s incredible! Most people would gripe about a job like that. It certainly is a difficult one. But your attitude about it is amazing,” I said.
She walked over to the shelf next to the couch. As she turned she held in her hand a small framed paper.
“When we had our third child Joe lost his job. We were on unemployment for a time and then eventually welfare. He couldn’t find work anywhere. Then one day he was sent on an interview here in this community. They offered him the job he now holds. He came home depressed and ashamed, telling me this was the best he could do. It actually paid less than we got on welfare.”
She paused for a moment and walked toward Joe.
“I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don’t think the job makes the man. I believe the man makes the job!”
“We needed to live in the borough in order to work here. So we rented this home,” Joe said.
“When we moved in, this quote was hanging on the wall just inside the front door. It has made all the difference to us, Bob. I knew that Joe was doing the right thing,” she said as she handed me the frame.
It said: If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King
“I love him for who he is. But what he does he does the best.
I love my garbage man!”
So how was your day? Did you give it your best?
Or did your attitude get the best of you?
author unknown
~ ** A New Beginning ** ~
Each day is a new beginning with a chance to try again,
All the memories to erase that seem to bring us pain.
Each day is a new beginning when we can start anew,
To sort out our priorities and know what we must do.
Each day is a new beginning in which to do our best,
If we take the first step forward, God will help us with the rest.
—- Olive B. Elvin —
The House of 1000 Mirrors
Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place
known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little
dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he
arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway
of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears
lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To
his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other
happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as
his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000
great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the
House, he thought to himself, “This is a wonderful place.
I will come back and visit it often.”
In this same village, another little dog, who was not
quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the
house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head
low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000
unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled
at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs
growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself,
“That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there
again.”
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of
reflections do you see in the faces of the people you
meet? What reflection do others see when they look at you?
THE GIFT OF LISTENING
But you must REALLY listen.
No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.
THE GIFT OF AFFECTION
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.
THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you”.
THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE
It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.
THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT
A simple and sincere, “You look great in red”, “You did a super job” or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.
THE GIFT OF A FAVOR
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.
THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.
THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION
The easiest way to feel good is to make other feel good.
I believe in nudgings
Gentle reeminders to hold our hands
guide us toward the unknown
murmur away our fear.
I believe in nudgings
Soft words to open our hearts,
Lead us from despair,
Whisper to us of hope.
I believe in nudgings
Lullabies to soothe the child within,
awaken us to new beginnings,
sing to us of joy.
I believe in you.
Mitzi Chandler.
I. Thou shalt not be perfect, or even try to be.
II. Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people.
III. Thou shalt sometimes leave things undone.
IV. Thou shalt not spread thyself too thin.
V. Thou shalt learn to say “no”.
VI. Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and for thy support network.
VII. Thou shalt switch thyself off, and do nothing regularly.
VIII. Thou shalt not even feel guilty for doing nothing, or saying no.
IX. Thou shalt be boring, untidy, inelegant, and unattractive at
times.
X. Especially, thou shalt not be thine own worst enemy. But, be thine
own best friend.
Do not undermine your worth
By comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different
That each of us is special.
Do not set your goals
By what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted
The things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life.
For without them, life is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers
By living in the past nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,
You live all the days of your life.
Do not give up
When you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over
Until the moment you stop trying.
It is a fragile thread
That binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances
That we learn to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life
By saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love;
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.
In addition,
The best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope,
To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life
So fast that you forget not only where you have been
But also where you are going.
Life is not a race but a journey
To be savored each step of the way.
Smile…. and let the sun shine through. For there’s someone, somewhere, watching over you.
An old legend relates that long ago God had a great many burdens which He wished to have carried from one place to another on earth, so He asked the animals to lend a hand. But all of them began to make excuses for not helping: the elephant was too dignified; the lion, too proud; and so on. Finally the birds came to God and said, “If you will tie the burdens into small bundles, we’ll be glad to carry them for you. We are small but we would like to help.”
So God fastened upon the back of each one a small bundle, and they all set out walking across the plain to their destination. They sang as they went, and did not seem to feel the weight of their burdens at all. Every day the burdens seemed lighter and lighter, until the loads seems to be lifting the birds, instead of the birds carrying the burdens.
When they arrived at their destination, they discovered that when they removed their loads, there were wings in their place, wings which enabled them to fly to the sky and the tree tops.
They had learned how to carry their burdens, and their loads had become wings to carry them nearer to God. Burdens we carry for others may become wings of the spirit, to lift us into happiness such as we have never known.
Author Unknown
Good Things To Remember
Stop trying to please others - it doesn’t work.
Start pleasing yourself.
Make sure your shoe souls are clean when you’re walking through someone else’s life.
Upon awakening each day, use the following quotation.. ” Thank You God, for this day…
let’s get out there and see what wonderful stuff we can accomplish “TOGETHER”.
Always praise a person for a job well done.
Praise your children often.
Words we should say more often: “LOVE YOU”.
Never say good-bye or good night to your husband, child, mother, father, dear friends, without making sure they’ve heard or felt your “LOVE YOU” message.
Remember that the world does not expect you to be more than you are capable of being, but it does expect you to try to live up to all that you were created for.
You can’t turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.
Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter… flying
along in V formation…you might consider what science has
discovered as to why they fly that way:
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird
immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds
at least 71% greater flying range, than if each bird flew on its
own.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get
where they are going more quickly and easily because they are
traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and
resistance of trying to go it alone… and quickly gets back into
formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in
front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in
formation with those who are headed the same way we are.
When the head goose gets tired it rotates back in the wing and
another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing
demanding jobs…with people or with geese flying south.
Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their
speed. What do we say when we honk from behind?
Finally…and this is important…when a goose gets sick or is
wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese
fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and
protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly
or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or
with another formation to catch up with their group.
If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like
that.
