When we find our best

"When we face the worst that can happen in any situation, we grow. When circumstances are at their worst, we can find our best.” ~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. (1926-2004); psychiatrist

Get off your high-horse

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." ~Hemingway

Talk about your feelings

This cracked me up so much, I had to share it. Circa 1969 or 70 too! My kids didn't believe me that Kermit used to be on Sesame Street. I wonder if they'd believe that Cookie Monster used just be "Monster?"

Friendship unnecessary???

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." ~C.S. Lewis

Father's Day

…mentoring often involves telling people what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear.

..mentor is both a verb and a noun. It is simultaneously something you do and something you are.

What matters is what you do with the lessons those mentors teach you.

~John Wooden

Not everyone has a loving Dad who's around. But If you look around, you can probably find someone who'd make a good mentor. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have kids and be a dad, but anyone can be there for someone younger or less experienced than them.

I've been really blessed with a wonderful dad who's also been a great mentor for me. If you're as lucky as me- make sure to tell your dad how much he means to you today. If you can't, maybe tell someone who's been a mentor to you how much they've mean to you.

All good things

“Fear less, hope more; 

Eat less, chew more; 

Whine less, breathe more; 

Talk less, say more; 

Love more, and all good things will be yours”

~Swedish Proverb quotes

Breaking Through

"I've studied deeply in the philosophies and religions, 

but cheerfulness kept breaking through." 

~Leonard Cohen

A little Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

ADHD Behavior: Banishing Bad Moods

ADHD behavior advice: Self-calming strategies children can use to put “mood monsters” in their place.

by Carol Brady, Ph.D.  ADDittude magazine 

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/3268.html

Chase away bad feelings.

Relaxation, breathing techniques, and visual imagery can help kids fight off depression and anxiety. Practice these in the evenings (they’ll also help your child unwind before bedtime). Once he’s mastered a calming technique, he can use it to stop a bad feeling in its tracks.

• Relax: Have your child lie down and focus on and relax one body part at a time—hands, arms, chest—until his entire body is calm and anxious feelings have been crowded out.

• Breathe: Teach your child to breathe in deeply, count from one to three, then breathe out. As breathing slows, the body becomes more relaxed. If your child focuses on each breath, he won’t be able to focus on the bad thoughts, moving them from the center of his attention.

• Visualize: Ask your child to think about happy times or a good feeling. One boy I worked with would imagine himself “being licked by a whole bunch of puppies.” Another child pictured walking through a cool forest. If your child is fearful of a particular situation, such as a test, he should picture himself successfully completing the test.

“Time's fun when you're having flies.”

~Kermit the Frog

How do YOU make others feel?

I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.
~Maya Angelou

Even bad girls can be positive

"Like I tell the help,
if you can't see the bright side-
polish the dull side."
~Disney's Sharpay

Look around you and enjoy

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.

~E. B. White

Make the world a better place than you found it

"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."

~Abraham Lincoln

You Deserve Dignity

"Martin," by Ted Mallory, Acrylic on paper, 2003

"A man can't ride your back unless it's bent."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sense of living

"Emily" by Ted Mallory, Oil Pastel, 2010

"Find ecstasy in life;
the mere sense of living is joy enough."

~Emily Dickinson

Why can't we be friends?

"Friends, genuine friends, have much more to do with whether we have a warm heart, not money or power." ~Dalai Lama


Watch the 'Why Can't We Be Friends' video by 70's funk band, War on YouTube

Make up your mind

"Lincoln in Red, White, and Blue" 
by Ted Mallory, watercolor, 2004

"Most folks are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

~Abraham Lincoln

Faith & Laughter

"Jovial Martin" by Ted Mallory; 
oil on canvas, 2009

"You have as much laughter as you have faith" 

~Martin Luther

Great Motto

"Bully" By Ted Mallory; 
Tempra on board, 1997

"Look up, not down-
Look out, not in-
Look forward, not backward-
and lend a hand."

~Teddy Roosevelt

Lighten Up

"At first, I only laughed at myself.
 Then I noticed that life itself is amusing.
 I’ve been in a generally good mood ever since."

~Marilyn Vos Savant, columnist

Have a Nice Day!

"I made a circle with a smile for a mouth on yellow paper,
because it was sunshiny and bright."

~Harvey Ross Ball, inventor of the Smiley

Want people to like you?

"If you would be loved,
 love and be lovable"

~Benjamin Franklin

B+

"B+" (Be Positive)
it's not just a blood type,
or a grade on a report card,
it's an attitude!

It’s what you do for others

All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself.
It’s what you do for others. ~Danny Thomas

Be someone others can lean on

One of the more inspirational movies for teachers has to be Lean on Me from 1989 starring Morgan Freeman loosely based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, a real life inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey- a school that was about to be taken over by the state because students standardized test scores were too low.

Bill Withers' song was a number one hit in 1972. He had moved from a small town in West Virginia to inner city L.A. and was missing the strong, supportive, almost familial ties offered by his home town. This song really speaks about what communities can and should be, encouraging, supportive, and nurturing. Principal Joe Clark let kids know that he wanted their school to be safe and supportive- but that it would also have high expectations of students.

Whether you're a teacher or not, you can be available for others. Maybe as a mentor to someone younger, a mentee for someone older. Maybe as a sibling or cousin, niece or nephew. Maybe just as a friend or a neighbor. Can you listen? Can you be patient and positive? Do you have compassion or empathy? Then you can be some one that others can lean on.

Incidentally, it also turns out to often be one of the first songs kids learn to play on the piano because they don't have to change fingers. You just put your fingers in one position and go up and down the keyboard- so if you have a piano, maybe you want to give it a try!

Glass Half Full

"Some people think of the glass as half full. Some people think of the glass as half empty. I think of the glass as too big." ~George Carlin

Freedom from anger

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” ~Catherine Ponder*

*I hesitated to post a quote from Ponder, because I'm not much for her prosperity theology, I really consider her a greedy charlatan who feeds on our greed and fears- be that as it may, what I appreciate about this quote is what it says about what forgiveness does for the forgiver. Some people look at forgiveness as something they need for what they've done wrong. Some think of it as just another religious duty they grant to others because it's part of piety. Some think it's something that only God can grant, some figure they're beyond being forgivable.

What this quote points out is that forgiveness not only benefits the recipient, but also the giver. Think about it. If you hold on to anger and resentment, you continue to be a victim of whoever wronged you. If somehow, you can manage to forgive them, you are freed from that indenture. It's not just a good idea spiritually, religiously, doctrinally and theologically. It's healthy emotionally, psychologically, and socially. 

This quote may make forgiveness seem kind of selfish, but bottom line, it frees you up to move forward and ideally, it helps permit and repair relationships to move forward. I don't know about you, but I believe that God is all about healing and healthy relationships. Relationships with God and with each other- this all that love thy neighbor stuff.

Tom on Mental Attitude

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from acheiving his goal;
nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." ~Thomas Jefferson

Seize the Day

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in the quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.”

~Mary Jean Irion, writer, poet

Celebrate today

Just in case you didn't know; today, June 1, is both "go barefoot day" and "say something nice day!" Spread the joy.