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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, June 14, 2010
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"When people are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible.
And when they're not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy."

- Bob Collings (Cited in BITS & PIECES)


ASK "WHY?"

Beginning in the late '60s, a revolution of sorts began in this country. It was a revolution that was irreverent at times, almost always anti-establishment, and it turned many traditional social customs upside-down.

How did it begin? The young, many of college-student age, began to ask WHY? They challenged everything by asking a simple question - WHY? Why must it be so? Why is this or that the "right" way? Why can't I try a new approach? Everything that had been taken for granted by the establishment up to that time was up for grabs.

Voila! The country changed and will never be the same. Was the change all for the good? Hardly. Families suffered. The security blanket of social customs was yanked away. Collectively, we had to find a new direction, new meaning, for our lives. Was it worth two decades of turmoil? So it would seem.

Today's young families seem to be returning to principle-centered living. They are more sophisticated. They understand and adopt good personal money-management philosophies, and they still ask "why?"

The "why" of today, however, is more constructive. It has led to astounding advances in technology. When you ask a "why" today, you can locate the answer in minutes via the Internet. Audio books, motivational tapes, and "online" educational courses make it possible to become enlightened without the need for social revolution.

What about you? Are you asking "WHY?" often enough? Today, the world is yours if you know how to ask the right questions! The "ask why" generation's gift to all of us was the freedom to question and learn, guilt-free. Want to grow as a person? Start asking "WHY?"!

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, November 30, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"There's nothing as constant as change."
~ Unknown


FEELING WIRED?

Feel on edge? Not sure what to expect next? Nerves frayed? Feeling overwhelmed by today's complex world situation? How is it that some people are calm, fearless, and content, while others are frightful, worried, overwhelmed, and uncertain about the future?

In the 1950's there were only three models of Chevrolet, about four dry cereals, two or three types of soap, etc. Mom went grocery shopping weekly. There were no shopping malls, computers, cell phones, portable CD players (or CD's), 401(k)s, Internet, or co-ed dorms. Life was simple and calm - and revolved around the family. Technology didn't dominate daily life.

Today, our choices have expanded exponentially. There are hundreds of vehicle models, 50 different cereals on the shelf, software for every occasion, hundreds of cable channels, and millions of pages on the World Wide Web. Think that might clog your thinking just a little? Want to get back to simplicity, peace, and security?

Try a few of the following suggestions. Begin limiting your choices. Spend less than you earn. Limit trips to the store. Spend the evening at home - with your family - with the television OFF. Go directly home after work. Identify your principles - and live them. Count your blessings daily by entering them in a journal. Read. Treat yourself to a hot bath.

Think of your life as an extension cord with too many appliances plugged-in. Each vies for the limited energy you have available until a short-circuit or fire occurs. Start unplugging all those peripherals now, and you'll notice your life-light begin to shine.

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, November 9, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."
~ Dante


STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!

Think there's any "moral crisis" going on in our country right now? What about in our city? Our schools? Our neighborhood? Where did it come from, and why are we facing these challenges?

We are a country - city - neighborhood - blessed with peace and prosperity. Our daily choices range from which SUV we will drive, to where we will dine next, to how we will redecorate our home this year. Our concerns include our child's upcoming soccer match, whether or not to refinance the house, making "Salesperson of the Year," and taking more time for golf or tennis.

With all the choices complemented by our affluence, we have also become compliant, accepting, and politically correct. We strive to please everyone, avoid "rocking the boat," and prefer the status quo. It's so much easier that way, isn't it?

In doing so, however, we may also abdicate responsibility for teaching our children the value of principle-centered living. What principles should we be teaching - and practicing? Why not adopt and teach the value of courage, diligence, faithfulness, generosity, cleanliness, honesty, encouragement, frugality, humility, industry, justice, moderation, order, resolution, silence, honesty, sincerity, temperance, and tranquility?

Imagine how the world around us would change if we taught and participated in more of these time-honored values. Remember that our country IS our cities, our neighborhoods, and our homes. What begins at the grass roots level - literally in our own backyards - can be spread throughout the world. Abandon neutrality and you can change the world!

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, July 13, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

Men are disturbed not by things that happen, but by their opinions of the things that happen.
- Epictetus (55-135)


LIGHTEN UP!

Ever feel yourself getting perturbed by something that happens during your day? Ever have the urge to say something about it, when silence might be the best approach? Perhaps you feel the need to make a judgment about each situation that arises

Maybe it's time to slow down a bit. As the song says, "Don't worry - be happy!" The truth is - none of us have the right to judge others, nor their actions. We can control only one thing - our own actions. If there is something to be judged, it would be our reaction to things that happen, not the events themselves.

In Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits," Habit #5 says, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." In explaining, Covey states that "People do not see the world as it is; they see it as they are - or as they have been conditioned to be." He goes on to make the simple statement that "When you understand, you don't judge."

Once you take the time to understand each situation, there is no longer a need to judge. Interestingly, when others realize that you no longer make those judgments, you will find that they no longer judge you either.

Want to free yourself from being disturbed about the events of the day? Just follow the advice of Epictetus, who said, "When considering the future, remember that all situations unfold as they do regardless of how we feel about them. Our hopes and fears sway us, not events themselves."

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