Have you ever wondered why you sometimes wake up and sail through your day without any sense of stress, frustration or angst - while on another day stress and angst seem to be the themes of your existence? Is it in the water? Are we just the victim of random events that propel us without choice into unhappiness and stress? Do we have a choice in the matter?
Seekers, including the ancient yogis, have asked this question for thousands of years. Why do some events bother me while others do not? Why is it that the same event on one day seems to pass without a thought, when on another day it seems to become the very source of my entire life's suffering? And, most importantly, what, if anything, can I do about this?
Where does stress come from?
Most of us perceive stress and anxiety as coming from an outside source. You are stuck in traffic going 20 miles an hour on the freeway, and all you can think about is how the traffic is driving us crazy. Outside source to blame for our internal state. You step on the scale and it tells you your weight is five pounds more than 2 days before-your mood plummets. Outside source to blame for internal state. Your daughter announces that she will be moving back in with you indefinitely. You have budgeted the entire year to a penny-for yourself alone-and can finally afford that course you have been longing to take. Well, not anymore. Outside source to blame for internal state. We all have criteria for what we think will make us happy. For some of us, it is losing weight, finding the perfect partner, gaining the approval of our peers, or having lots of money. But there is a hidden subtext to our criteria for happiness that is often the root of the very suffering we are trying to avoid. Implicit in the desire to have money is the fear of being poor. Implicit in the desire to have a partner is the need to not be alone. Implicit in the desire to be thin is the implication that if I'm fat, I am not allowed to be happy.
By becoming attached to the idea that life needs to be a certain way in order for me to be happy, I sow the seeds of my own potential unhappiness. If having money means being happy, not having money means being unhappy. If I equate a partner with happiness, then being alone means being unhappy.
We are all programmed with a random set of criteria-conscious or unconscious mostly programmed by our past experiences, our culture, family-and even past lives-which determines the unconscious "rules" by which I decide whether I can allow myself to be happy and stress-free or not. If my "rules" are fulfilled - if I weigh 125, I am within the parameters of being allowed to feel happy - so I do. But if my "rules for happiness," which I myself have set, are not met, if I should get on a scale and see the number 130, I will not allow myself to be happy.
Do you see how this works? It is each of us-not-life that determines our level of happiness. How our life circumstances measure up to our criteria determines our level of happiness. In essence, each of us decides whether we can be happy or not. No life circumstance, no person, no event determines our level of happiness - we decide for ourselves.
This does not mean that we cannot have preferences. The trap is becoming so attached to our preferences that we cannot let go and allow life to show up as it will. Life has no allegiance to my criteria or me. It will show up how it shows up - like the rain does. The events of life have moved in their own rhythms and ways long before I was born and will continue long after I die.
Things happen. They are not personal. But we take them personally. We take the impersonal events of life-events that are much like the rain - and personalize them. We say, "God, if you love me you will not make it rain today." Then, if it rains, we decide we are mad at God. How is that? God is in every moment as it is unfolding now. How can I put any criteria on how God should show up? And who am I to decide God loves me if one thing happens and that God hates me if something else happens? This is all pure fabrication - another example of how we set up criteria for how life is to show up and then suffer when our criteria go unmet.
Rain will rain when it rains. It will happen when the meteorological conditions are present. We are the ones who put conditions on the rain and say, "If it rains, I will be unhappy." Okay, now I am unhappy - it rained. Whose fault is that? Is it the rain's fault or is it my fault? It's mine. I am the one who decided that reality should be different than it is.
The Reality Management Program
Yogis saw that our "rules" about how life needs to be in order for us to be happy are the root of all suffering. From the point of view of yoga, we have two choices. Choice number one is what I call the Reality Management Program. We spend our life energy trying to get all the people around us to fit our criteria do, say, act, just how we want so that we can feel happy. We train people around us-our close friends and our loved ones. We let them know, verbally or non-verbally, how they need to act in order to get our love. We do it at work as well. We put our entire sense of self into the success we achieve. We try to make reality fit our idea of success-more money, better title, recognition. People spend their whole lives just working on getting reality to fit this picture of "success" so that they can be happy.
Realizing that the Reality Management Program is an uncertain strategy for lasting happiness is something that each of us has to recognize for ourselves. After many years, lifetimes even, of struggling to find contentment in this way, some fortunate people start to realize that for the amount of energy they are putting into the Reality Management Program, it is not producing lasting happiness. It is a dead end. Only when the individual realizes this, can the spiritual journey begin.
If Reality Management doesn't work, why do all of us do it?
Take a look at some of the criteria that regularly operate in your life. The ones that you say, "If only _ then, I would be happy." Now imagine that you have that thing that you so yearn for. Imagine how you would feel. Happy? Content? My guess is that, for a moment at least, you would experience a state of "not wanting anything more." A state of contentment in which, for that moment at least, you feel complete. Nothing needs to be different than it is and you can completely be at rest. I would call this state the state of Being in which we experience-everything is okay, nothing needs to be different completion or wholeness.
I suggest that the reason we all stick so fervently to Reality Management is that in our own convoluted way, we are searching for the state of Being. We are searching for the experience of completeness, of not wanting anything more, of integration. We are searching for that which is the purpose and meaning of yoga-wholeness-could we but realize it.
With the Reality Management Plan, we are depending on outside circumstances to create an inner state. Since outside circumstances have a life of their own, this is a gamble. With choice number two, the Way of the Yogi, we begin with the assumption that the state of being we are looking for is already present. It is not a state that can be added to or found by achieving anything outside since it already is here.
Choice number two, the Way of the Yogi, comes down to this.
Be free from the need for anything to show up differently than it is in order to be happy.
If anything you do has a subtext of "in order to," you are in reality management. In the Way of the Yogi, we sincerely devote our lives to letting go of any conditions we have about how life needs to show up. We practice relaxing into the moment no matter what is taking place. When we face situations that we normally would react to, we catch ourselves and say, "Can I relax with this?" "What about this?" It is not about perfection, it is like a game. Watch what catches you can pull you back into reality management. By and by you will notice that just by putting your attention on this intention you will be able to relax with more and more things happening in your life.
How does the physical practice of Hatha Yoga tie into this? The physical practice of yoga is useful in two ways. First, the practice is intended to put demands on the body and mind in laboratory conditions so that we can see our habitual tendency to try to manage reality. We try to escape from the discomfort, physical, mental or emotional in the pose in much the same way we do in life. As we learn to better allow for all sensations, emotions, thoughts to be present without needing to comment, fix, judge, rationalize, or change the experience in any way, we are in practice for life circumstances where we are called on to do the same. Second, as we progressively learn to bypass the tendencies of the mind to manage reality, we drop into the state of being that is always present. In the absence of striving to achieve anything or make anything happen we experience the Being that we are. Yoga becomes the practice ground for learning to live from choice number two-the Way of the Yogi.
________________________________________
This article was originally published in Sacred Pathways Magazine
Thursday, July 29, 2010
With Age Comes Wisdom: Midlife Brains Sharper Than Younger Minds
Aging has long been a popular excuse for becoming scatterbrained. But new research suggests that memory and the mind improve as we get older, peaking as late as in the 60s.
Though the common belief is that brain cells die as people age, making them more forgetful, the reverse is actually true, according to a just-published book based on several recent studies.
In "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain," New York Times deputy science editor Barbara Strauch says that not only do human beings keep their existing brain cells intact throughout their middle-age years but new ones also continue to form, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
Strauch bases her arguments on a mountain of compelling research, including the Seattle Longitudinal Study -- which has tracked about 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years, and is the most expansive survey on the subject.
That study has shown that participants tended to score higher on cognitive exercises in their 40s and 50s than they did in their 20s, the Mail reported.
The older subjects performed better on vocabulary, spatial orientation, problem solving and verbal memory tests. They did worse when quizzed on perceptual speed (how fast they were able to push a button) and on their numeric abilities (how quickly they could calculate simple math).
"What we have learned from studying the time we call 'middle age' is that the changes that take place as we age give us the best brains of our lives," Strauch writes on her website.
Other occupational studies analyzing on-the-job performance have found that middle-aged employees have stronger skills than their younger counterparts.
In two separate trials, pilots and air traffic controllers were placed in simulators mimicking the real-world task of monitoring planes and keeping them a safe distance apart. The experienced participants did the job as well or better than the younger subjects, even though their reaction times weren't quite as fast.
So is the old adage true? Does wisdom really come with age?
"The elderly brain is less dopamine-dependent, making people less impulsive and controlled by emotion," Dilip Jeste, a professor at the University of California, said during a conference in Scotland. "Older people are also less likely to respond thoughtlessly to negative emotional stimuli because their brains have slowed down compared to young people. This, in fact, is what we call wisdom."
Researchers have recently discovered that though unused brain connections deteriorate or are lost, people retain most of their brain cells for their entire lives, the Mail says.
That could be in part because levels of myelin, the fatty material that protects brain cells and speeds up neurotransmissions, rise through midlife, according to several U.S. studies.
In one survey, authors found that myelin reached its highest levels in men who were 50 and in some instances in their 60s. Myelin bolsters brainpower by up to 3,000 percent, according to a neuroscientist who spearheaded the research.
Another possible explanation is that people develop the ability to use both sides of their brains as they get older rather than only one as they do when they're younger, according to the Mail.
Long-term memory also stays the same with age, while short-term memory declines. Researchers from New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine studied rhesus monkeys' brains, finding that the receptors in charge of long-term memory remained unchanged in the older animals. Half of the receptors responsible for remembering new information were lost in the aging monkeys, however.
Though the common belief is that brain cells die as people age, making them more forgetful, the reverse is actually true, according to a just-published book based on several recent studies.
In "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain," New York Times deputy science editor Barbara Strauch says that not only do human beings keep their existing brain cells intact throughout their middle-age years but new ones also continue to form, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
Strauch bases her arguments on a mountain of compelling research, including the Seattle Longitudinal Study -- which has tracked about 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years, and is the most expansive survey on the subject.
That study has shown that participants tended to score higher on cognitive exercises in their 40s and 50s than they did in their 20s, the Mail reported.
The older subjects performed better on vocabulary, spatial orientation, problem solving and verbal memory tests. They did worse when quizzed on perceptual speed (how fast they were able to push a button) and on their numeric abilities (how quickly they could calculate simple math).
"What we have learned from studying the time we call 'middle age' is that the changes that take place as we age give us the best brains of our lives," Strauch writes on her website.
Other occupational studies analyzing on-the-job performance have found that middle-aged employees have stronger skills than their younger counterparts.
In two separate trials, pilots and air traffic controllers were placed in simulators mimicking the real-world task of monitoring planes and keeping them a safe distance apart. The experienced participants did the job as well or better than the younger subjects, even though their reaction times weren't quite as fast.
So is the old adage true? Does wisdom really come with age?
"The elderly brain is less dopamine-dependent, making people less impulsive and controlled by emotion," Dilip Jeste, a professor at the University of California, said during a conference in Scotland. "Older people are also less likely to respond thoughtlessly to negative emotional stimuli because their brains have slowed down compared to young people. This, in fact, is what we call wisdom."
Researchers have recently discovered that though unused brain connections deteriorate or are lost, people retain most of their brain cells for their entire lives, the Mail says.
That could be in part because levels of myelin, the fatty material that protects brain cells and speeds up neurotransmissions, rise through midlife, according to several U.S. studies.
In one survey, authors found that myelin reached its highest levels in men who were 50 and in some instances in their 60s. Myelin bolsters brainpower by up to 3,000 percent, according to a neuroscientist who spearheaded the research.
Another possible explanation is that people develop the ability to use both sides of their brains as they get older rather than only one as they do when they're younger, according to the Mail.
Long-term memory also stays the same with age, while short-term memory declines. Researchers from New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine studied rhesus monkeys' brains, finding that the receptors in charge of long-term memory remained unchanged in the older animals. Half of the receptors responsible for remembering new information were lost in the aging monkeys, however.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Death Valley
Death Valley, Nevada is called that because nothing grows there and the reason nothing grows there is because it never rains in Death Valley.
In the winter of 2004 it rained in Death Valley. It got seven inches of rain.
In the spring of 2005 the floor of Death Valley was covered with plant life.
People came from miles to witness this phenomenon that they may never see again, plant life in Death Valley – proving that the plant life has always been there, Death Valley was alive.
It was just asleep. It just needed the right circumstances to blossom. The seeds were there waiting for the right circumstances to flourish. People are like this.
If the conditions are right they will flourish, they will find their true calling and begin to live, not just exist. We need to think about Death Valley when we’re teaching our children.
They have the creative seeds in them. They just need the right conditions to flourish, to grow, to become something special and it’s up to us to make those conditions just right for them.
It’s also important to realize that no matter what age you are, you have the creative seeds in you; you just need the right conditions to let them flourish.
Thomas Edison said, “People would be astounded if they did all the things they were capable of doing.”
Let your creative juices flow. Challenge yourself, do something with your life. Don’t die with your music still in you.
In the winter of 2004 it rained in Death Valley. It got seven inches of rain.
In the spring of 2005 the floor of Death Valley was covered with plant life.
People came from miles to witness this phenomenon that they may never see again, plant life in Death Valley – proving that the plant life has always been there, Death Valley was alive.
It was just asleep. It just needed the right circumstances to blossom. The seeds were there waiting for the right circumstances to flourish. People are like this.
If the conditions are right they will flourish, they will find their true calling and begin to live, not just exist. We need to think about Death Valley when we’re teaching our children.
They have the creative seeds in them. They just need the right conditions to flourish, to grow, to become something special and it’s up to us to make those conditions just right for them.
It’s also important to realize that no matter what age you are, you have the creative seeds in you; you just need the right conditions to let them flourish.
Thomas Edison said, “People would be astounded if they did all the things they were capable of doing.”
Let your creative juices flow. Challenge yourself, do something with your life. Don’t die with your music still in you.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Money Can Buy Happiness
Money might buy "happiness," but it doesn't seem to contribute to people's enjoyment.
To answer the question of whether money makes people happy, researchers looked at a Gallup poll of 136,000 people from 132 countries, a sample representing 96 percent of the world's population. Survey respondents disclosed information including their income, standard of living, what kind of things they owned and which of their psychological needs were being satisfied.
While there was a clear correlation between personal and national income and respondents claiming general life satisfaction, having more money was only weakly linked to enjoying day-to-day life. Instead, other factors, such as having friends, being independent and having a fulfilling job, proved much more essential to positive feelings at any given moment.
Nevertheless, there is probably some wisdom in the old saying: "Those who think money can't buy happiness just don't know where to shop."
www.worldwidebc.com
To answer the question of whether money makes people happy, researchers looked at a Gallup poll of 136,000 people from 132 countries, a sample representing 96 percent of the world's population. Survey respondents disclosed information including their income, standard of living, what kind of things they owned and which of their psychological needs were being satisfied.
While there was a clear correlation between personal and national income and respondents claiming general life satisfaction, having more money was only weakly linked to enjoying day-to-day life. Instead, other factors, such as having friends, being independent and having a fulfilling job, proved much more essential to positive feelings at any given moment.
Nevertheless, there is probably some wisdom in the old saying: "Those who think money can't buy happiness just don't know where to shop."
www.worldwidebc.com
Wally The Cab Driver
Everyone needs to stop quacking and to soar like Eagles.
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar -
No one can make you serve customers well.
That's because great service is a choice.
Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.
He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.
He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver.
While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'
Taken aback, Harvey read the card.
It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee?
I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'
My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'
Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.'
Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'
Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'
As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.
Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts..
'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'
Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always: In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard on the radio one day that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''
That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'That was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.
'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'
Wally was phenomenal.. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.
I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.
Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
How about us?
Smile, and the whole world smiles with you... The ball is in our hands!
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar
Have a nice day, unless you already have made other plans.
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar -
No one can make you serve customers well.
That's because great service is a choice.
Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.
He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.
He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver.
While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'
Taken aback, Harvey read the card.
It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee?
I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'
My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'
Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.'
Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'
Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'
As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.
Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts..
'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'
Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always: In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard on the radio one day that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''
That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'That was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.
'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'
Wally was phenomenal.. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.
I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.
Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
How about us?
Smile, and the whole world smiles with you... The ball is in our hands!
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar
Have a nice day, unless you already have made other plans.
Everything You Do Matters
Most people don’t realize the power of those words. They don’t realize that everything they do, everything they say, every choice they make matters to someone, somewhere, and they may not even know it. And I can prove it.
When I was twelve years old I used to sell popcorn at the baseball games in my hometown. I didn’t make any money for it, but I love baseball, so it worked out. I’d put the concession box around my neck and shout, “Popcorn, get your hot popcorn.”
One night during a game I noticed a couple at the top of the stands having an argument. It was getting heated, about to turn ugly. I walked past them going, “Hot popcorn, get your hot popcorn.”
I stopped right in front of them, too the box off, sat it down in front of me and I checked every box of popcorn. Then I put it back on and went, “Popcorn. Get your popcorn.” I left out the word ‘hot’ because every box I checked was cold.
And the way I did it made them laugh so hard they forgot what they were arguing about. I walked past them thirty-minutes later and they were snuggled up enjoying the game.
They left that night holding hands. The point of the story is this: I ran into that guy seven years later. He knew my family and he knew of me. And he said that what I did that night saved his marriage.
He said they were on the verge of breaking up for good until I made them laugh so hard they realized that what they were arguing about wasn’t worth breaking up their marriage over.
They were still married seven years later and had three children.
Today they’re both in their seventies, still married; they have six children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren – None of which would have happened if I hadn’t done what I did that night at the baseball game.
Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will never know me, but they owe their very existence to what I did that night when I was twelve years old. EVERYTHING YOU DO – MATTERS. Don’t forget it.
www.worldwidebc.com
When I was twelve years old I used to sell popcorn at the baseball games in my hometown. I didn’t make any money for it, but I love baseball, so it worked out. I’d put the concession box around my neck and shout, “Popcorn, get your hot popcorn.”
One night during a game I noticed a couple at the top of the stands having an argument. It was getting heated, about to turn ugly. I walked past them going, “Hot popcorn, get your hot popcorn.”
I stopped right in front of them, too the box off, sat it down in front of me and I checked every box of popcorn. Then I put it back on and went, “Popcorn. Get your popcorn.” I left out the word ‘hot’ because every box I checked was cold.
And the way I did it made them laugh so hard they forgot what they were arguing about. I walked past them thirty-minutes later and they were snuggled up enjoying the game.
They left that night holding hands. The point of the story is this: I ran into that guy seven years later. He knew my family and he knew of me. And he said that what I did that night saved his marriage.
He said they were on the verge of breaking up for good until I made them laugh so hard they realized that what they were arguing about wasn’t worth breaking up their marriage over.
They were still married seven years later and had three children.
Today they’re both in their seventies, still married; they have six children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren – None of which would have happened if I hadn’t done what I did that night at the baseball game.
Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will never know me, but they owe their very existence to what I did that night when I was twelve years old. EVERYTHING YOU DO – MATTERS. Don’t forget it.
www.worldwidebc.com
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