Posts by Pat:
Once upon a time…

Once upon a time, there was a king who had gone to visit his neighboring kingdoms. He was gifted a pair of baby Macaw Parrots by one of the kings. They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. So upon returning to his kingdom, he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train them.
The king also arranged a place in the palace garden for the parrots. He often looked at them from his palace window. As time passed, one day the trainer came to the palace and informed the king that though one of the parrots was flying majestically high in the sky, the other one had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.
Upon hearing this, the king summoned trainers and healers from the nearby kingdoms. They all tried their best, but couldn’t make the parrot fly! He even asked his courtiers to try but they all failed.
The parrot was not moving from his branch at all. Finally, after trying everything, the king thought that maybe he needed someone who might be more familiar with natural habitat. He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he could figure out the problem with the parrot.

The next morning, the king was thrilled to see that the parrot was flying high about the palace gardens and he asked his servant to bring the farmer to see him.
The king asked him, “How did you make that parrot fly?”
With his hands folded with respect, the farmer said to the king, “It was very easy, your majesty. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”
LESSON? We are all gifted with abilities and energy to be successful in our lives. But we often fail to gather the courage to let go of the things we are clinging to just because they are familiar. We need to free ourselves from our comfort zone in order to explore new opportunities and find what success we are capable of!

I can’t. I’m Grounded!
Does that message ring a bell with any of the rest of you? When I was growing up, getting grounded meant that I wasn’t allowed to do the things that I valued most at the time. These days, I often feel called to ground myself when I feel like I need to take a break […]
Life’s washing machine
When you open the lid of the washing machine during the agitation cycle, you find gray, smelly water full of the dirt and residue from the clothes you are washing. If you didn’t understand the process, you’d think something had gone terribly wrong since the process is supposed to clean the clothes, and now they […]
Ready for a new beginning?
Something new beckons. But are you trying to stay put because it’s familiar? Like a chick in an egg, do you find your comfortable shell becoming cramped? Spring is a reminder that growth and transformation is normal and natural. This cycle of nature brings changes in the weather, extended hours of sunlight, the birth and […]
an old Persian saying…
There is a fable of a powerful king who asked his wise men to find something that would make him happy when he was sad, and sad when he was happy. After deliberation, the sages handed him a single ring with the Persian words “This too shall pass” etched on it. It had the desired […]
Our two helpful lists…
Once upon a time…a man was walking down a road. At first the places were known to him, but became less and less familiar. Finally he knew he was in a new place and was lost. The traveler kept walking until he was at the foot of a steep hill. He was too tired to […]
Simple as ABCD…
We often find ourselves at the mercy of our emotions. And so often find we that we react rather than respond, much to our chagrin. So the next time we feel fear, anger or frustration, we could try this: A is for Adversity. Like traffic or a rainstorm. Sorry, no genie can let us wish […]
The weight of our stress
A psychology professor teaching stress management principles held up a glass of water and asked her students a different question than the expected half empty/half full one. She asked “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?” Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple of pounds. She replied, “From my […]
So, which one are you?
When the other person takes a long time, they’re slow. When I take a long time, I’m thorough. When the other person doesn’t do it, they’re lazy. But when I don’t do it, I’m busy. When the other person does something without being told, they’re overstepping their bounds. But when I do it, that’s initiative. […]
We can always choose!
Some good advice! Don’t ask. Choose your path. Be clear, easily understood, and focused on using the best possible action to move you forward! I’m offering some simple, two-word sentences that can give us a boost that we might need this coming week. You can use them for inspiration, for entertainment, or just for fun! […]