Thought for the Day

Thoughts for the Day come to you from our RE Teacher Mrs Rostron.

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18th January 2017

Thought I’d go with something a little more light hearted today.

“Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar

into four pieces with your bare hands

and then eat just one of the pieces.”

Judith Viorst

This does indeed take real strength.  I come from a long line of chocolate lovers with a Grandad that would bring BTC ( bed time chocolate) home in the evening for my mum and her brothers and as the years went by  myself.  I remember BTC was always better at my Grandparents as Grandad would bring back Turkish delight or a Frys crème thingy bar, back home it was a KitKat or Penguin!  I am proud to say that I do have the will power to eat just one piece but unfortunately lack the strength to break chocolate and have to delegate this task out.

Have a lovely day

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17th January 2017

Good Morning,

“Whether one believes in a religion or not,

and whether one believes in rebirth or not,

there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate

kindness and compassion.”

~ Dalai Lama

I think the Dalai Lama is fascinating.  I like to think he’d be one of those people that if you were to meet in ‘real life’ he would not disappoint but exceed expectation.  He’d be top of my fantasy dinner guest list.  Anyway I digress…kindness and compassion.  Some people are just naturally kinder than others I think.  I have a friend that is so kind that it actually worries me – I am sure people take advantage.  Can you be too kind?  Sometimes kindness does not look too good, for example, telling someone a difficult truth.  Either way the Dalai Lama is not wrong I’d like to find someone who does not appreciate compassion and kindness.

Have a lovely day

PS who would be on your fantasy dinner guest list?

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16th January 2017

Good Morning,

Another Monday already.  It feels like a long time since Friday.

Since it would have been MLKs birthday yesterday it is a wonderful opportunity to share some of his words of wisdom.  

“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr

(1929-1968)

Hate is like the word ‘love’ in that we use it so frequently that its meaning can be lost and varied.   I love cats and I hate traffic cones – seriously I could probably write a book on my hatred of cones.  Do we use love and hate differently with people?   We say the words.  I am quite sure whilst watching The Voice this weekend I expressed a love for Will.i am  and dislike (I just can’t say hate) for Jennifer Hudson – she’s chapter two after ‘cones.’  I really don’t think that I can hate a person.  Does it really mean like MLK said that it brings you too low?  Even if I was to say the words I don’t think the feeling would really be there. There have definitely been people that I have seriously disliked but I would still never want to see them hurt and I would probably still help if they needed it. Hatred is just too much of a dark place to be.  MLK would have had reason to hate people I’m sure, the same with Gandhi yet they did not embrace it.  Even Malcom X let go of his hatred eventually.  Wise, wise words MLK…

Have a lovely day

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13th January 2017

Happy Friday,

I have always found Fridays to be magical, there is just something about the day that I can’t quite put my finger on. It is not because it is the beginning of the weekend because I have always felt this way about Friday even in my pre teaching days when I worked most weekends.  This Friday has extra magic because it is also Friday 13th.  I don’t think I am especially superstitious but it definitely adds something.  There is also the fact there is snow (well there was in Chorley).  Anyway todays thought….

“Blessed are they,

That can laugh at themselves,

For they will never cease to be amused.”

~ Author Unknown

Good old laughter, can diffuse many a situation.

Hope you have a magical Friday and lovely weekend.

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12th January 2017

Morning All,

No snow yet.  My daughter will be disappointed, she was expecting to wake up to a white wonderland this morning. 

“God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

I should probably dedicate this one to my daughter – Veda love, you can’t change the weather!

On a more serious note is there really anything that we cannot change, except of course natural occurrences like the weather?  Some things are harder to change than others and some may take time and come at a cost. Then am I only thinking about attitudes and rules and not necessary the physical aspects of life too? Would love to hear any thoughts about this one.

Have a beautiful day.

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11th January 2017

 

Good Morning All,

Hope all is well,

Today’s thought is all about perspective, one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure and all that. I try to find the positive in most situations but I admit this has varied success.

 

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau  

Yes I totally agree.  I love how people can all look at the same thing but see something totally different, like those weird 3D posters from the 90s.  The ones that looked like tie dye gone wrong but a dolphin would suddenly pop out of the image.  Honestly,  I never did see anything other than crazy tie dye.  Clouds … looking at clouds.. so much to see there.  Tangled Christmas lights to some are a headache to others a puzzle waiting to be solved.  A long commute to work for some will be tiresome, for others the chance to read more or listen to music or just take 5 minutes to yourself.  In the Rostron house recently damaged flooring to one of us was a nightmare problem with potential problems but to another the opportunity for lovely new flooring.    We all see things differently and is not one of the most amazing things about people and life? How dull would it be if we all saw the same.

 

What will you see today?

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10th January 2017

Good Morning,

Straight in to it today..

What can you do to promote world peace?

Go home and love your family.”

Mother Teresa

(1910-1997)

Despite studying Mother Theresa at school and teaching RE this is not a quote I have not come across before.   There is so much to say or discuss I can feel a future lesson brewing. Do the answers to global problems start within ourselves? Is it that simple? There is a smattering of practice what you preach here too.  I suppose we cannot hope to unite others if we are not at peace ourselves.  

But then are family quarrels on the same scale as world conflict?  You might argue that some family conflicts are as complex and feuds last so long nobody can remember why nobody talks to Aunty Ethel.   Mother Teresa you have started something now… 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, 

Have a wonderful day. 

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9th January 2017

Morning All,

Hope you have had a lovely weekend despite the continuous greyness nature seems to be throwing at us. 

“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” 

~ Maya Angelou 

Despite conjuring images of care bears and another child’s TV programme I can’t quite put my finger on, I do quite like this.  I hope  your day is not as grey as the weather.

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6th January 2017

Good Morning,

Today is the 12th Day of Christmas, the official end to festivities and the day that many will clear away their decorations. Some people have told me that it is bad luck to leave them up past this day.  In the Christian Calendar today is also Epiphany, a marking of Jesus being revealed to the world so it only seems right that today’s thought is centred on this.

“The Wise Men deeply saw the true reality before them. It is in that shift in perceiving and thinking which allowed them to see what was really present, and to be changed by the experience, not changed by their expectations.”   

Christopher Shea

I’m not too sure what Christopher Shea believes the true reality revealed to the wise man to be, this is down to personal interpretation.  What I do find interesting is the idea of being changed by experience rather than expectation.   So often we will have expectations of something or someone only to find that when experienced the reality is far from the expected. This is great if the experience reveals a truth or is so much more than anticipated but can be disappointing if the experience does not meet up to expectations.  Sometimes we can focus way too much on the expectation and indeed not see what is before us or happening right at this very moment. Furthermore, if we are to look back at things that have changed us are they experiences or expectations?  What about the unprompted experiences that have no time for expectation are these more powerful?  

I shall leave you to ponder on this.

Hoping your weekend lives up to expectations.

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5th January 2017

Morning All,

What a beautiful crisp day, I can forgive my car being frozen shut when you are able to look up at a clear sky and see the stars.

To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are. ~ Sven Goran Eriksson

I wish I’d happened across this in my teenage years. So much wasted energy wishing I was ….well a variety of people,  depending on the situation.  I suppose that it is just part of growing and it takes experience to be comfortable and confident with yourself.   

If I’m not mistaken Eriksson is a football coach and I can imagine this as a response to  aspiring players trying to copy players like Beckham rather than make the most of their own talents.   But doesn’t everyone at some point wish they were like someone else, is it not part of being human?   Is it all part of the learning process?  On the other hand it almost seems sad ‘to waste the person you are’  and should we not be embracing our differences and unique talents?

Thanks Mr Eriksson, the advice may be a bit late to save my teenage self but I’m going to keep this one in my pocket for future use.

Have you ever wished you were someone else?

Have a beautiful day.

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4th January 2017

Good Morning,

How was the first day back? Good I hope.  After referring to Tolkien in yesterday’s thought It inspired me for the one today.

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

  1. R. R. Tolkien

A middle earth version of the verse in Matthew about not storing treasures on earth perhaps? It certainly reminds me of this idea.  Does materialism really make you miserable? Certainly there are many teachings /sayings religious and secular warning of greed and possessions as well as story’s where the riches of family, friendship and kindness triumph over wealth. Charlie and the Chocolate factory springs to mind here.  Who doesn’t want a bit of food, cheer and song in their lives I wonder? But then there is the question of, is it not a easier to sing when we have a little gold? Maybe treasures are not the party pooper, it is those too distracted by the treasures that are the ones that forget to sing. 

Is there a song that never fails to make your world that little bit merrier?

Here’s to a day filled with cheer and song.

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3rd January 2017

Good Morning,

I hope that you have had a lovely break over the festive period.
I am writing to introduce something that may be new to you but is something that I have done before in other roles; A thought of the day.  Why am I doing this?  Apart from the fact that it is a task that I have always enjoyed, it is a simple way to share positive and in some cases, spiritual well-being.  I hope this is something that you will give a try.  I can hear the ‘What do I have to do’s?  Simply read the thought, reflect on it if you wish; but that is all.
So without further ado…..

The journey of a thousand miles

must begin with a single step.

-Chinese Proverbs

I wonder how you feel about New Year?  Is it just another day or is it a seized opportunity for new ideas and changes?  I have recently read conflicting ideas and advice about new year resolutions and I have mixed feelings about it.  Is it a golden opportunity to make changes or are we setting ourselves up to fail?  Surely if we want to change why wait?  I have a friend who has been restarting their diet on Monday for the last 5 years!    Why wait for Monday?  Start now. I don’t remember Frodo Baggins asking Gandalf if they could wait until Monday!

Where will your journey be?
Have a beautiful day.