Maxine's Wisdom on "Train of Thoughts"!

Does this sound familiar to you??!!   LOL!

How to Rekindle Your Inner Light

"A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark".
– Dante Alighieri

Life, with all that it has to offer, can give greatly, and at times, it can also take away. Personal tragedies, whatever the cause, can wear anyone down. Even the strongest among us can find their inner light dimmed by these tough times.
When you find yourself drowning in darkness, take comfort in the simple fact that your light does not die. Light, in fact, is eternal. Believe that you have the power to rekindle it whenever you choose.

Start Your Campfire

Fires give comfort when you feel alone in the darkness of a cold forest. They provide warmth, safety and light. Building an inner fire can provide you with the same comfort. You can rekindle your inner fire and then use the light to find your way back to peace by remembering how a campfire is started when it’s needed most.

• Gather the kindling
  Something cannot come from nothing. If you feel that your inner fire has burned out, it’s up to you to build a new one. Resist the temptation to suffer in the darkness and trust yourself to recover from the tragedy.
  Take it upon yourself to begin your healing and move on with your life. Find things in your life to help you restart your fire. Gather what you need from the woods and take it back with you. Prepare yourself to set a goal and then equip yourself with the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve that goal. Know what you need and then gather these things again.
• Build the fire
  Before you can start the fire, you must first build the base upon which to make the fire.
  In the same manner a campfire is started, restarting your inner fire starts with a spark and some tinder. Setting concrete goals makes it easier to plan practical ways to achieve it. Outlining a plan of action is like stacking the kindling around the tinder. You have to know the kind of fire you need so you can decide how it is to burn. Starting a fire requires patience and perseverance. Don’t just throw a bunch of logs into a pile and hope that they catch fire. The same is true with your goals; start small—start with the tinder. When the tinder catches, move on to the kindling. And when the kindling catches, then you can move on to the larger fuel.
• Feed the fire
  After you start the fire, you need to feed it to keep it burning. Add fuel to the fire. Work towards achieving the goal that you have set. Practice your skills or choose to learn new ones.
  The fire may dip at times, depending on external factors or even internal factors, but you must add fuel to keep it burning. This is the part that might seem tedious, but this is also the part where you remind yourself that you need the fire and that while keeping the fire alive may be troublesome, having to build a new one can be even more tiring.
• Control the fire
  Fire does not produce its own fuel. When the fire is at the point where it’s no longer just a fragile flame, it runs the risk of being uncontrollable. Whether you toss in a block of wood, an old newspaper or a 200-year-old painting, fire does not discriminate and it will burn through what it touches. Take care of your inner fire, but control it so it does not consume you. Use your fire to ignite your passions in life and let your inner light guide you through your path in the world.   
  -Calex Blackwell                               www.thebridgemaker.com 

  
  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~
  
  I'm reminded of the old song "It Only Takes a Spark" we used to sing around the campfire . . .
  
  It only takes a spark
      To get a fire going
      And soon all those around
      Can warm up in the glowing
  
  That’s how it is with God’s love
      Once you’ve experienced it
      You’ll spread His love
      To everyone
      You’ll want to pass it on
  
  What a wondrous time is spring
      When all the trees are budding
      The birds begin to sing
      The flowers start their blooming
  
  That’s how it is with God’s love
      Once you’ve experienced it
      You’ll want to sing
      It’s fresh like spring
      You’ll want to pass it on
  
  I wish for you my friend
      This happiness that I’ve found
      You can depend on Him
      It matters not where you’re bound
  
  I’ll shout it from the mountain top
      I want the world to know
      The Lord of Love
      Has come to me
      I want to pass it on
  
  This is how God's Great Love Works!!

   

Have a Ducky Day (Nice)!

I was going to send someone a note and wanted to close my note by wishing them a "nice" day.  After thinking about that it sounded so . . . shall I plain and generic - "nice".  Sure we all want every day to be "nice".  But I just wanted to wish them an extra "nice" day - not a run of the mill, ho-hum day but something a little more than that.  Have you felt like you wanted to wish someone more than a simple "nice" day, "nice" time, "nice" visit, "nice" lunch, "nice" - but something a little bit more "extraordinaire"!!?? 

Well, that was just what I wanted to do!  So I looked up the synonyms for "nice".  Since my brain surgery in December and my 5 1/2 months of speech therapy, I am fascinated with words and find myself using words that I never used before - interesting isn't it?? Well, in looking up the word "nice" I found multiple synonyms for that simple little four letter word. 

Here is what I found:  admirable, amiable, approved, attractive, becoming, charming, commendable, considerate, cordial, courteous, delightful, ducky, fair, favorable, fine & dandy, friendly, gentle, good, gracious, helpful, inviting, kind, lovely, nifty, obliging, okay, peachy, pleasant, pleasurable, superior, swell, unpresumptuous, welcome, & winsome . . .  did you know there were that many words for "nice"???

Well, now those synonyms gave me something to think about.  Each of these synonyms tend to give the word "nice" a new dimension to its simple meaning. Which word did I really want to use in wishing them a "nice" day?? I could say, "have a lovely, nifty, ducky, delightful, swell, pleasurable and unpresumptuous day"!!! Would that get the real message across to them? Is that too much??!!  . . . or I could just say to them . . . have a "ducky day" and know that all of those synonyms are wrapped up in the word "ducky" floating down the river of life making your day all of those special unique qualities!! LOL! 

Here's me wishing you just that . . . a "ducky day"!