Posts by Pat:
Story of two brothers
Two brothers grew up and worked together on the family farm. One married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit.
Then one day the single brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should share equally the produce and the profit. I’m alone and my needs are simple.”
So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across the field between their houses, dumping it into his brother’s bin.
Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and I have my wife and children to look after me in years to come. My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future.” So each night he took a sack of grain and dumped into his single brother’s bin.
Both men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other. Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.
Author unknown, from A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup
This season reminds us to be grateful for all the large and small gifts that we were born with and all those we have acquired through our life so far.
The greatest gift is the love that we feel and share as these two brothers did.
How can you show YOUR love in action this season?
Ain’t English fun?
Let’s face it: Sometimes our English language can be downright bizarre. The plural of ox is oxen while the plural of box is boxes, ‘rough’ rhymes with ‘gruff, even though the two words only have two letters in common, and there are actually more than nine hundred exceptions to the infamous ‘i before e except […]
What is time to you?
We’re not really “saving daylight.” We’re just shifting our perception of it! Time isn’t really a thing. It is really nothing but a viewpoint. It is an idea. It’s a linear measure of an experience. It’s recollection of the past, attention in the present, anticipation of the future. After all, we all know that the […]
7 Life Lessons from Carving Pumpkins!
It’s practically Halloween. Schools will have parties, Trick-or-Treaters will out in droves seeking candy, and Jack-o-Lanterns will be decorating porches around the town. The question is, as you carved your pumpkin, did you realize how many of the secrets to success in life are wrapped in that large orange oval? Here’s some of what I […]
Oh No! some more word play!
I can’t help it! You know that words are my weakness! Can you wrap your head/tongue around this tongue twister on a familiar story? Here’s an overwhelming tongue twister take on the tale of the prodigal son. See if you can get through it without stumbling! “Feeling footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow forced his fond […]
Information is not wisdom
You do not need to store, stockpile or even keep a lot of information around. (Unless you want to wallpaper the house or insulate your garage!) If you can’t use the information today or it’s not integral to your most important project, you can chuck it in the garbage. And if it’s hard for you to chuck it, maybe it’s smarter […]
The notoriety of Walla Walla!
Back in 2013, there was an article in our local paper that I just found stashed in my files. I hope you find it as much fun as I did! It said: Our area is famous for the Native American tribe from which it derives its name, for the pioneers who settled in our beautiful agricultural WW […]
When “why” is the wrong question
Our brain loves to solve problems. It functions beautifully to figure out how to make a pumpkin pie, sail across oceans, or build a house. It’s a wonderful tool for creativity. But if we are trying to understand ourselves, find a way out of suffering, it can derail us because our minds get caught in […]
3 lessons from a squirrel +1 extra
Squirrels are a lowly rodent to some people, but to admirers they are high flying acrobats, fuzzy tailed philosophers, scampering tree huggers, and resourceful survivors. (The are also awfully cute!) Here are 3 (+1 extra!) life lessons we can learn from our squirrel friends. We all know the easy one: to save for the future! The […]
That elusive balance
The opposite of stressed is calm and balanced, right? Work, kids, life, money, time, energy…if we could just balance it all. But balance is actually a state of constant motion. Think of a tightrope walker, a plate spinner, a bicycle rider, or a gymnast on a balance beam. If they stop moving, just stand still, […]
