A Spoonful Of Comfort

There can’t be enough words of wisdom to balance out all the other kinds of words that we hear. As I said before, these are not my words, so I can say that they are wonderful. They have stood the test of time:

Do not be fooled into believing that because a man is rich he is necessarily smart. There is ample proof to the contrary. (Julius Rosenwald)                                The rich are different  from you and me because they have more credit. (John Leonard)                       Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late. (Marie Beyon Ray)                                     Many people came to this country in different ships, but we are all in the same boat now.

All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.                             If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else. (Booker T. Washington)                            When we know better, we do better. (Maya Angelou)                            Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Elenor Roosevelt)                      The Desire to do right carries with it a great power; you are in harmony with the Omnipotent Plan of the Universe.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. (Anais Nin)                                  If you always do what you always did, then you always get what you always got.                          If you want something different, do something different.                              The nail that stands out gets hammered down.          If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.                                If everyone moved in the same direction at once, the world would tip over.                     Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. (from Desiderata).                             What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you. (T.D. Jakes)                                You have the power within yourself to tap into that which will rise above all your surroundings.

You’ll win if you don’t quit.                            When things go wrong as they sometimes will; When the road you’re trudging is all uphill; When cares are pressing you down a bit; Rest if you want, but don’t you quit. (from the poem Don’t Quit)                            I finally got it all together…, but I forgot where I put it.                               If the grass is greener on the other side, maybe it’s because over there they take better care of it.                           When in doubt, don’t.                              Forgiving helps the forgiver more than the person who is being forgiven. (Marianne Williamson)

When you do good things, good things happen. (Mark Walberg)                                 Love’s in need of love today. Don’t delay, send yours in right away. (Stevie Wonder)

May you live long and prosper.

Claudreen Jackson

If you are familiar with my book “Inspired By Autism”, then you know something has to inspire me to write. Now, I am inspired by old age. The inspiration comes from knowing that with 77 years behind me, I don’t know how many years are in front of me. I am now “the elderly”, a word that I don’t like, but I do like being an elder which is where the word comes from.  I feel great, being an elder who is still “clothed in my right mind’ as they used to say.

Suppose we have gotten the aging situation wrong. Suppose we are supposed to get better with age and not get “old and feeble”.  We have learned many lessons and have  had many experiences that have helped us grow. I heard a story about an island where people were pushed off a cliff when they became elderly. Thank God we don’t live there, though I think the situation has changed. The opposite situation is the countries where the elderly are revered and honored. We are somewhere between these two extremes in America, though I do feel that our age group is not heard from enough. That is why I

want to say something while I still can.

We are a new kind of elderly. 70 is now the new 50.  I feel  better at 70 than I did at 50.We are living in the best of times for people our age because of all the medical advances and arthritis medicines that don’t smell. They even make cute shoes that don’t have heels that are too high for us to walk in. We are living longer, healthier, more meaningful lives in our “golden years”. What are we going to do with our future?  

We have raised families, retired from careers and survived far more than we ever thought we could.  Now that we are past our peak, what are we going to do with the third act of our life? I know that I have been to every party, eaten every delicious meal and  seen everything. I have even bought everything and don’t know where half of it is.  We have lived long enough to know what is important and what is not. Situations and events that used to upset us no longer have that effect on us.

Remember when we used to “knock ourselves out” trying to please everyone? Well, I am through with that. If I haven’t already pleased you by now, you are out of luck. Now, I want to please me and I hope you do, too.  I still love to travel. I won’t live long enough to see all the places that I want to, but I am going to travel as long as I can. We still need to move forward in life as long as it is enjoyable. We also need to “pay it forward” if we can which is also part of my future plans.

I hope you have something that gives your life purpose. For me, it is my son, my book, and the Pervis Foundation. I believe that it is more blessed to give than receive, so I plan on giving when I am able. The Pervis Foundation has helped over 300 people since we began and I plan to continue as long as I can.

Now is the time for us to do whatever it is that we always wanted to do, but didn’t have the time. Now we have the time and I hope we are healthy enough to make plans.

I don’t know who said it, but I read that we are not supposed to go to our graves rested and relaxed. We are supposed to slide in sideways and worn out,  having used up all that we were given.

May we live long and prosper.

Love,

Claudreen Jackson 

If you have been listening to the news at all, or seeing what is circulating on the internet,  you know that we need some words of wisdom. As I said before, I can say that these words are wonderful because they are not my words. Some have been written many years ago and deserve repeating. If I know who wrote them, I will give them credit:

Please be patient with me. God is not through with me yet.                                  Being a human being; the continual moving forward of your personal self.                      Try to take the high road; the low road is so crowded.                          It’s the right thing to do the right thing.                                      A soft answer turneth away wrath.                     Faith is not irrational belief, it is super rational belief.                                         Faith is the substance of  things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen . (Hebrews 11:1)                            The world we live in is created by the thoughts we think.                                  Wisdom is avoiding all thoughts which weaken you.

Our words and actions reverberate into the Universe, creating a pathway through which that same vibration returns to us as an experience. (Susan Taylor)                         Darkness is capable of anything.  I will not contribute to this horrifying  twilight; though the terrors of the night be all around me, still I will celebrate the light and glorify the dawn. (Rishikavi Raghudas)                                This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.

There are two ways of spreading Light; to be a candle or the mirror that reflects it. (Edith Wharton)                                  You cannot hold up a light for someone else without brightening your own path.                                       Light can chase away the darkness, but darkness can’t chase away the light.                All major religions believe that each human being contains a light inside which is pure and beautiful, but sometimes this light is covered, hidden by so much dirt. We can work on removing this dirt by making a clean place inside our minds and finding the light inside our hearts. (Susan Fine)                    The cosmic spotlight doesn’t shine on you; it radiates from within you.

 Moving fast is not the same as going somewhere.                                Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders. (Sloan Wilson)                                   You might not remove the irritation, but God can help you to grow past it. That’s how pearls are formed.            Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.                             All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.                                  It’s better  to have our arms linked together than our fists clenched.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)                               It is never too late to become what you might have been. (George Eliot)                               God created you and he can constantly and automatically recreate you. (Norman Vincent Peale)                                  We all have a little “pilot light” inside that never goes out. When we are depressed, or ill, or tired, we may feel that we have no light, but our pilot light is capable of growing into a flame again. (Agnes Sanford)

 We can change our feelings because we can change our thoughts about our feelings. (Wayne Dyer)                         We are capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. (Og Mandino)                    The way people treat you can make you feel like the backbone; or the behind. (Jessie Jackson) And vice versa.                           The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may be only the beginning. (Ivy Baker Priest)                              Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.      

I hope that some of these words are meaningful to you. If not, I hope you can you find your own words of wisdom. We so greatly need them.

May the Power of God protect you; May the love of God enfold you.

Claudreen jackson

Yes, I can say that these are wonderful words of wisdom, because they are not my words. These were not written by me, but I thought I would share some of my favorites that have inspired and uplifted me down through the years. I will give credit if I know who wrote them, but some are so old that the writer’s name has been forgotten. They have stood the test of time. We have  been hearing so few words of wisdom lately that I thought I would do my part by sharing some. I hope you do, too. 

You don’t have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand.                      You can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.                         Never argue with a fool. A passerby won’t know who is who.                     Never wrestle with a pig. You both get all dirty and the pig likes it.                    If we all moved in the same direction at the same time, the world would tip over.                       The DESIRE to do right carries with it a great power.  You are in harmony with the omnipotent plan of the Universe.                        If you don’t feel it, do it until the feelings come (T.D. Jakes)                          He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. (Proverbs 16:20)

When in doubt, don’t.                            It is not the problems in your life. It’s how you react to them. You can’t chose your circumstances, but you can choose how you react to them. Once your perception changes, the situation changes. (Dr. Norman Vincent Peale).             Growth comes when we aim for our ideal and not necessarily when we achieve it. (Sheryl Towers).                      A pessimist is an optimist with experience.                           People are like plants. Laughter is our sunshine, tears are our rain  and the _______ we take off others is our fertilizer.   

We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from it (Oliver Wendell Holmes)                         If you live long enough, you will make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit  (Bill Clinton).                             I believe that it is  important that our country sail, and not lie still in the harbor (John Kennedy).                             A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.         It’s not the gale, but the set of the sail that determines the way we go.               If  your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it! (Jonathan Winters).

Remember, a chip on the shoulder is a sure sign of wood higher up. (Brigham Young).          I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me (Noel Coward). Conflict cannot survive without your participation (Wayne Dyer).                           Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain (Lily Tomlin).                        I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time (Charles Schultz).              America is not merely a nation, but a nation of nations (Lyndon B Johnson).                 Riots are the language of the unheard (Martin Luther King).

Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery (Jack Paar).                            America did not invent human rights.  In a very real sense… human rights invented America (Jimmy  Carter).                         The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously (Hubert H. Humphrey)                                   It does not take a majority to  prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’ minds  (Samuel Adams).                                   The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm.                                      You can’t help anybody else without helping yourself.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7. If you don’t like any of these words of wisdom, I hope you have some that you do like. We sure need them.

Until next time: May the love of God enfold you; May the power of God protect you.

Claudreen Jackson

(Taking a break from autism).

I don’t have anything bad to say about old age because the alternative is unacceptable. Those of us past the age of 70 with our health intact (mostly) and our mental abilities intact (mostly) are greatly blessed. We should be grateful. I know that I am old, but I don’t have the time to be “Old”, and I can make that decision.  Romans 12:2 tells us “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Once we renew our mind, we can work on renewing and restoring our body.

I have discovered that you are only as old as you feel. When I felt old, I was “old”. Once I decided that I wasn’t ready to be old, I started doing things differently (eating better, yoga, drinking more water, etc.) All the things that the experts have told us to do. The experts on aging say that we are living longer than ever before. They say that we have to counteract the wear and tear on our body by exercise and taking supplements.

I have discovered that the wisdom and experience we have gained through these years will help us manage our future. I have discovered that we still have a future. We have Life in us yet, and we can still make a contribution to Life. We can’t let younger people count us out because we do have wisdom and experience. We are living in the best of times to be old. George Burns said, “You have to get older, but you don’t have to get old”. I know some old people who are “old”,  but I also know some who are young (like me). What makes the difference?

I have been re-reading “The Greatest Miracle In The World”, by Og Mandino. He is one of my Heroes that I mentioned in my book, “Inspired By Autism”.  Mr. Mandino reminds us that our body is constantly renewing itself, even when we are old. Our heart, lungs, brain, skin, etc are created to constantly recreate us. This had such an impact on me, that when Mr. Mandino came to town, I just had to meet him and tell what an impact he had on my life. I was greatly surprised that he mentioned meeting me in one of his books, “The Secrets For Success & Happiness”.  I was greatly honored.

I’ve discovered that we are survivors. Look at what we’ve been through. Look at all the crises that we have survived. Look at all that we thought was going to be our undoing, but we came through it.  Og Mandino says that we can adjust to any climate, any hardship, any challenge. Joel Osteen says that the troubles that come in your life do not come to break you, that God never intended for you to go through something and get nothing from it. Our trials and tribulations have made us stronger and wiser. Think of all the mistakes that we will never make again. Think of all we have to offer because of what we’ve been through.

Think of all the times  in our life that we’ve had to try to  “hold  it together”. We did! Think of all the times that we’ve had to “get it together”. We did! Think of the times when we finally got it together, but forgot where we put it. (that’s me). We know that we have more past than future, so let’s try to make our future count. 

“For we are saved by hope, but hope seen is not hope. For what a man or woman seeth, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then we do with patience wait for it”.  Romans 8:24,25.

Until next time,’May the Power of  God protect you; May the Love of God enfold you.

Claudreen Jackson