One   of   our   biggest   flaws

in day to day

l               i               v               i               n               g  

is    N  O  T

n        o        t        i        c        i        n        g

what  we

r   e   c   o   g   n   i   z   e.        .        .

The   Sun   Shines.     .     .

on   Raining   Days

even   if

especially   if

you   n o t i c e

you simply r e c o g n i z e

or better still.          .          .

m  a  n  u  f  a  c  t  u  r  e—

C             R             E             A             T             E    

I    T

The  truest  WEDDING DAY

isn’t when two people come together

to pledge their devoted/dedicated love

it’s when they realize

that there’s never been a moment

T   H   A   T

hasn’t   existed

when   they   first    became

a  h a v e n

S   H   E   L   T   E   R

to each’s

other

.          .          .rain

sleet

snow

sun brightly shining

(especially in the darkest, most stormiest of nights)

YOU

hear it more and more:

IT’S    NOT    A    SMALL    WORLD  

 SO    MUCH    AS    JUST    A    BIG    LIVING    ROOM.       .       . 

I do a Keynote presentation where I hand out of Baggie full of objects

that helps us Understand that very thing:

IT’S   NOT   A   SMALL   WORLD   SO   MUCH   AS   JUST   A   BIG   LIVING   ROOM

One of the small objects I place in the baggie is a puzzle piece;

I tell the audience that the we’re often told to

LOOK     AT     THE     BIG     PICTURE

which is really an overwhelming thing to do.         .         .

It   is

P  I  E  C  E      b  y      P  I  E  C  E

 that our lives are literally put together and

T  A  K  E       S  H  A  P  E
R  E  C  E  I  V  E       M  E  A  N  I  N  G

I give the audience a puzzle piece to remind them just how important

 I  S

T    H    E         M   O   M   E   N   T

I give the audience a puzzle piece to remind them just how

WE       ALL       FIT       TOGETHER.

Mother Theresa once said,

“IF    I    LOOK    AT    THE    MASS,    I    WILL    NEVER    ACT.”

If she thought about just how many suffering victims there were in the World, it would have been emotionally paralyzing and prevented from actually providing help.

I don’t have to help every poor, hungry, down-on-their-luck-no-one-gives-a-damn-about-me-person in the World.        .        .

JUST   THE   ONE   IN   FRONT   OF   ME
JUST    THE    ONE    BEHIND    ME
JUST     THE     ONE     BESIDE     ME

J   U   S   T        T   H   E        O   N   E !

We really do have the World in our Hands.        .        .

It’s not so big

T H A T      W A Y,

is  it?

Very  manageable;

I don’t know the 12 Mystical Ways to Open your Soul

I don’t know the 21 Magical Ways to open your Heart

I      do      know      that     when

I    LISTEN    WITH    MORE    THAN    MY    EARS  

I    RESPOND    AND    NOT    SO    MUCH    REACT

I    REPLENISH    MY    SOUL    TO    REFILL    ANOTHER’S

I    REMEMBER    THE    WHOLE    PERSON

I    SUFFER    WHAT    OTHER’S    HAVE    SUFFERED

I    GIVE    MYSELF    A     PASS    FOR    BEING    TOO    HUMAN

I   know

that my Puzzle Piece becomes a little bit more important

I know

that the World becomes a little bit more smaller in my Hands.       .       .

More, uhhhh,

H           A            N            D            A            B            L            E

for    me
for    you
for    us
A      L      L

I’ve got to

H      A      N      D           I      T

to you.        .        .

no pun intended!

Really.       .       .

It’s never the Hand

you’ve been dealt.          .           .

Go ahead.      .      .

finish the cliche.        .         .

it’s the way you play it!

W       R        O        N        G !

When I do my presentation:

DID YOU HEAR WHAT I DIDN’T SAY,

I always  H A N D  

everyone a card as they walk in

and then I let them choose one on their own.       .        .

Most ask,

“Am   I   allowed   to   look ?” or

“What’s  this   for ?”

Then I forget about it.         .         .

almost until the middle to end of my talk;

I tell them to take their cards and ask:

“W   H   O       W   O   N ?”

It’s amazing to me how many people

tell me that they have won and why.       .       .

.       .       .Say’s Who ?

“Why did you win?”

I  ask,

don’t we know what game we’re playing and more.         .         .

here’s the clincher:

W   H   A   T         A   R   E           T   H   E           R   U   L   E   S ?

We play

U        N        A        N        N        O        U        N        C        E        D

G a m e s

e          v          e          r          y          d          a          y

and as if that’s bad enough,

what’s worse,

we’re trying to   F  I  G  U  R  E

out the rules

let alone being willing to play by them;

Each person,

friend,

family,

stranger

deals up a set of cards for us

and the  Game  is  O N !

The most important Language you’ll ever Speak

or Hear

is the one you’ll never utter or detect by sound,

but begging to be understood.        .        .

Pssssssssst of the Day:

It’s never the Hand you’ve been dealt,

or the Hand you’ve had

or are currently holding right now.       .       .

It’s Not the Hand you’re playing—

It’s      the      Hand      you      are      Extending.         .         .

the hand you are Sharing.         .         .

the Hand you’re Giving.           .           .

and yes, most importantly,

the      Hand      you’re      holding

(THAT’S       ATTACHED       TO       ANOTHER       ARM)!

NEVER   let the hand you’re dealt

interfere with the

H  a  n  d        y  o  u        E  x  t  e  n  d.           .           .  

The problem with

H     A     N     D     S

is not that we all have them.          .          .

it’s that they are not always joined;

Our hands   c a n

and have done so much on their own.          .          .

but when they are joined together with other hands

the imagination isn’t vast enough to comprehend

what can be accomplished;

Could have   H  A  N  D  S   joined together

stopped the tragic,

senseless violence that takes place all to often in

Anywhere, USA.         .         .         ?

P        E        R        H        A        P        S

We will never know.            .            .

but   H A N D S   joined together can go along way in

providing the

H       E       A       L       I       N       G

What to do.        .        .

Imperfect hands in an imperfect world.        .        .

S     I     M     P     L     E :

H   E   A   L        I   T !

I’m often.         .         .

too often reminded

Of the story of a Rabbi who prayed daily that God would make a perfect world in which there would be no hatred, jealousy, pain, disease, pain or problems.  One night, God appeared to the Rabbi in a dream and took him on tour of the world made perfect.  The Rabbi saw his house, his synagogue, his town.  Lions and lambs laid together.  Still, the Rabbi was troubled. . .something was missing.  “Where am I in this perfect world?” the Rabbi asked.  God offered an apologetic answer: “This is the Perfect World you requested.  You must understand that you are not perfect, so you cannot be included.”

Now, this is where

I would usually plug in some

facts,

figures,

data

scientific studies

that would prove

K       I       N       D       N       E       S       S

is not just an option

it’s a healthier life style.     .     .

but

sometimes you just don’t need a study

to tell you

what you already know.       .        .

F        A        C        T :

Terrible.         .         .

most horrible things take place in our lives and in our World

but they have no relationship on how we live our lives of

Care and Compassion.        .        .

F        A         C         T :

Expecting the World to treat us fairly

because we  are nice people

is like expecting a Bull not to gore us

just because we’re vegetarians.        .        .

F        A        C        T :

We may never be able to prevent horrible events from happening again.           .           .

but by coming together

by joining hands

by Unconditionally Caring

by Unrelentlessly being Compassionate

we lessen pain and make the World a better place

N  O      M  A  T  T  E  R     W  H  A  T

F        A        C        T :

The   Future   isn’t   a   place   we   go   to

It’s   a   Place   we   Create

F        A        C        T :

By joining hands in Care and Compassion

the Future becomes a much better

P    R    E    S    E    N    T

a more hopeful

N     O     W

Join me

p      l      e      a      s      e  

oh please oh please oh

p      l      e      a      s      e