Better Than Your Best

Please feel free to use these prayers for your own use in whatever context you feel they are appropriate. 

Invocation

Lord,

Help us to remain true to the self-evident truths so long ago proclaimed but existing from the beginning of time, that we are all created equal, and that we are endowed by You as our common Creator with certain unalienable Rights.

Imbue us with a renewed enthusiasm and respect for these, our mutual rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Cause us to know without doubt that from these rights issue forth genuine responsibilities to work for the common good so that all can truly experience the true fullness of freedom.

We pray the presence of Your Power to be within and among us this evening as we seek to manifest these truths within our individual hearts and within the soul of our nation.

We seek Your guidance as we again pledge our allegiance to the timeless proclamation of individual liberty and our uncompromising independence from any tyranny, foreign or domestic, that would seek to deprive us of any of it.

Steady us in these turbulent times, Lord, so that we will never waiver from our reliance on our faith in Your unyielding love for each of us.

Benediction

We now depart in Your love and with Your peace. But we are no longer the people who earlier gathered; we are now the people who leave to live with renewed passion, filled with infinite power and divine wisdom to be co-creators with You to make all things new.

We leave with deeper commitment to embody the words of the one in whose honor we have gathered this evening:

“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in . . .”

By Ken Wallace

Here are seven simple steps you can take to get done what needs to be done – NOW!

1. Organize: Order your time, records and interruptions so that you know what to expect – and from whom.

2. Get it All Together: Gather all necessary information and tools, such as calendar, telephone numbers and to-do lists, in one place. Never put these materials in any other place – ever!

3. Plan: End each day organizing the next day’s appointments and must-do tasks. Nice-to-do tasks should be written at the bottom of your “must-do” list. Do these in the order you’ve written them only after all your “must-dos” have been completed.

4. Prioritize: Set goals and map a strategy to achieve them. List every step to accomplish each goal and then put them in order of importance. Refuse to do the easiest – and the least important – jobs first. In fact, make it a habit to do these at the end of each day.

5. Decide: Do it, delegate it or discard it. For each of your projects, decide how it will be handled and by whom. Write the steps, the timelines, the deadlines and the names of those who will be assigned each task on a planning capture sheet. Do the step at the top of the list (or have it done) immediately.

6. Clear Your Desk: Workspaces littered with notes, files, phone messages, mail, etc. are enticements to procrastinate. You might be able to manage the clutter for a brief period of time; don’t count on it for the long-term, however. Clutter will eventually consume your intentions, cloud your perspective, dampen your enthusiasm and overwhelm even your best-laid plans.

7. Divide and Conquer: When overwhelmed by the enormity of a project, break it down into smaller tasks to get a more reasonable perspective. Deal with only one task at a time. When tempted to wander in your thinking, say to yourself, “Not now!” Then continue your train of thought and action until you can say, “OK, Now!”

Go for it . . . NOW!

Ken

After hours of frustration trying to get my drain unclogged, I finally broke down and called a plumber. Upon arriving, he asked where the problem pipe was located. I took him to the bathroom and, pointing to the open doors under the sink, I said, "There's your challenge, right there."

He spent a few moments surveying the situation and then took from his toolbox a simple pair of pliers and gently tapped the entire length of the curvy piping. After just a few minutes of inspection, he wrapped his pliers with a bright red bandana he took from one of the many pockets in his tattered blue overalls. With precise aim, he drew back and struck the pipe about halfway between the bottom of the basin and the point where the piping disappeared into the wall. 

It worked! The water flowed freely and all was right with the world. The entire visit lasted a mere five minutes. The plumber wrote on the invoice the following words: "House call . . . FREE; Knowing What to Do (Where to Hit the Pipe) . . . $75.00.

But knowing what and where is not enough. The noted comedian, George Burns, was said to have interrupted a person who was not quite finished asking, "What is the key to comedy?" with his answer: "Timing!" In addition to what and where, you must also know when.

There is such a thing as "putting the cart before the horse:" you wind up having to pull a load you wouldn't have had to were you to have done things in the proper sequence and at the right time. You cannot hope to reap without having sown or to acquire wisdom and solid character without making the daily choices to discipline your baser instincts.

Wisdom comes from understanding what you should be doing with your time. . . right now wherever you are. Getting to the place where your knowledge, skills and experience position you to "move the needle" and succeed faster is the essence of living in peaceful abundance. When you know you know you can make things happen, you become equipped with the power you need to achieve what you want. Furthermore, what you want becomes shaped by what you know you can accomplish rather than merely hoping for something you doubt that you can achieve.

This, indeed, is a peaceful – and powerful – life that emerges from finding your better Self.

The following are comments in response to a standing question I've posed to all readers and participants: "What has been the greatest obstacle you have had to overcome on the way to Your Better Self?"

—————————————————–

If all you are looking at is the obstacles in front of you, then you need to widen your perspective. Zoom out! Look at the bigger picture. Stepping back from the rock lets you see the way around it. I'm lazy, really I am. I am not going to hammer through with a jackhammer when I can step back and go around.

I will admit, though, that I've found that my biggest obstacle is often myself. When working in a group I find this a lot, especially when I'm the leader. I get this, "My way or the highway" sort of attitude occasionally, and I forget that the reason I've surrounded myself with the people I have is because they are the best ones to help me get the job done. It pays to listen to the people around you. I've learned that the hard way many times, and I find myself re-learning it. Here are some things I've written down to remember while working in a group (I've found that they are helpful for working in a group whether I'm the leader or not.):

1.) Listen when someone is trying to express their opinion on how best to get the job done. They may not have the best answer, but all viewpoints let you back up and get a bigger picture.

2.) Plan, then be prepared for the plan to fail. Trust your team members to do what they do best as you all pick up the pieces and start anew.

3.) People won't follow a plan/path they haven't agreed upon. Make sure that everyone agrees, or if they can't, that they agree to follow the leader.

4.) This is a team effort, and working as a team is the only way to get the job done. Everyone's skills, no matter how small in comparison to others in the group, should be recognized.

5.) Don't overextend yourself, if your work suffers the whole team suffers. Your failure can cause the whole team to fail.

6.) Don't be afraid to ask for help. It doesn't make you seem weak.

7.) If you must criticize, make sure it's constructive. Criticizing someone viciously is not the way to motivate them. It's entirely unhelpful.

8.)

Did you notice number eight is blank? Well that is because I just know I'm going to learn more later. Recognizing that fact now will, hopefully, allow me to be more open to learning the next thing to come my way.

- Christine Knight

Your better truth is what distinguishes you from all other living creatures. Your inner voice is that which always speaks in every experience you have but which is often overwhelmed by mental clutter that clogs our conscious awareness. Cut through the cloudy and  murky mass of confused thinking and listen for your still, small voice of uniqueness and beauty. It's yours alone. Only you can hear it.

But when you do hear it and listen to what it's saying to you, you'll discover that you are not alone in seeking your soul outside yourself. You'll see that your previous journey was like the farmer who sold his land because he believed it was worthless. He went off pursuing riches in other lands, finding none. He soon learned that the person who bought his property had discovered diamonds in the stream that flowed through it. He found nothing outside what he had already possessed. He simply failed to search more diligently what he already had. Had he done so, he would have discovered the wealth he believed only existed elsewhere.

You'll find your better truth happily waiting to be discovered when you listen to what it's been saying to you for years. It whispers, "Here I am – all you need – all you want – already yours!" Then your soul will smile and your heart will be warmed in a way that will satisfy your longing for peace.

If we took $5 Trillion dollar bills and placed them end to end, how far would they go?

Take a guess:

1. From St. Louis to Chicago

2. From St. Louis to Hong Kong

3. From St. Louis to the moon

4. None of the above

The answer is 4. The line of bills would stretch 473,484,848 miles. That enough to encircle the earth 19,048 times. It would make it to the moon and back 991 times (it's 238,857 miles from earth to the moon).

The interest on $5 trillion dollars, using current rates, is almost $400,000,000,000 (count those zeros!) per year. That's over $1 billion per day!

This is for ONLY $5 trillion.

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 16 Nov 2009 at 09:53:02 PM GMT is: $12,006,580,141,918.41 (that's over $12 trillion). So the figures above need to be over doubled to account for our current debt and interest obligations. By the way, the national debt is expected to double in ten years, by 2019.
 
The estimated population of the United States is 307,299,348 – so each citizen's share of the November 16, 2009 (the date of this posting) debt is $39,071.28. Do have that laying around to give to the government? What this means is that the government needs to get this money from you in some form or fashion – the sooner the better. What are your plans to give the government what it has already taken from you – without asking you?

Another little tidbit of gloom: The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.85 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

For an up-to-the-minute tracking clock of the U.S. debt, click here.

I was going through my mother’s things today and came across a clipping from a newsletter long ago from some source unknown. It’s entitled, “Twelve Rules for Happiness.” I like them. Maybe you will, too. Here they are”

1. Live a simple life. Be temperate in your habits. Avoid self-seeking and selfishness. Make simplicity the keynote of your daily plans. Simple things are the best.

2. Spend less than you earn. This may be difficult, but it pays big dividends. Keep out of debt. Cultivate frugality, prudence and self denial. Avoid extravagance.

3. Think constructively. Train yourself to think clearly and accurately. Store your mind with useful thoughts. Stand porter at the door of your mind.

4. Cultivate a yielding disposition. Resist the common tendency to want things your own way. Try to see the other person’s point of view.

5. Be grateful. Begin the day with gratitude for your opportunities and blessings. Be glad for the privilege of life and work.

6. Rule your moods. Cultivate a mental attitude of peace and good will.

7. Give generously. There is no greater joy in life than to render happiness to others by means of intelligent giving.

8. Work with the right motives. The highest purpose of your life should be to grow in spiritual grace and power.

9. Be interested in others. Direct your mind from self-centeredness. In the degree that you give, serve and help will you experience the by-product of happiness.

10. Life is a daylight compartment. This means living one day at a time. Concentrate on your immediate task. Make the most of today for it is all you have.

11. Have a hobby. Nature study, walking, gardening, music, golfing, carpentry, stamp collecting, sketching, voice culture, foreign language, books, photography, social service, public speaking, travel, and authorship are samples. Cultivate an avocation to which you can turn for diversion and relaxation.

12. Keep close with God. True enduring happiness depends on close alliance with God. It is your privilege to share God’s thoughts for your spiritual nourishment, and to have a constant assurance of divine protection and guidance.

The source of these pearls of wisdom appears to be pretty old, judging from the yellowed paper on which they were inscribed. Nevertheless, they sound pretty up to date to me.

What do you think?