Winning Words 4/1/09
“Happiness is a place between too little and too much.” (Finnish proverb) As far as I could tell, E.S. was a happy (contented) man. When times were tough and he needed a job, he became a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman. Would you volunteer to do that kind of work? He was good, because he believed in his product. There’s a lot of truth in today’s quote. You probably know of some examples, and I do, too. ;-) Jack

FROM M.T. IN PA: Good morning, Jack. This reminds me of a statement about love: "A flower can die from too much water as easily as from not enough." FROM JACK: I like it. It must be a Botanist Proverb.

FROM B.G. IN MI: Yeah, I think we are all going to have to gain a new, or renewed, understanding of “enough.” These are tough days for many. One can feel the anxiety in the air, as folks who may have come to think of “too much” as “normal” try to recalibrate.

FROM A.P. IN MI: I've made a similar comment to my husband through the years - that we (he and I) are the most fortunate ones, not too much to ruin our lives, not too little to be resentful, but just enough to be able to see the amazingness of this world. FROM JACK: Good communication between wife and husband is something to be listed under ASSETS!

FROM PR J.S. IN MI: For one thing it means to me that it is better not to be either a conservative (too little....leave everything alone and it will be well with you) or a liberal (zealots who want to control everything) in either the state or the church. FROM JACK: Everything in moderation, although sometimes we need to jump off of the fence....but, WHEN? That is the question.

FROM L.B. IN MI: We're enjoying the Finnish proverbs. I asked my distant cousin in Finland (our exchange student) for her reactions to them. Don't know if she'll have time or not.

FROM MOLINER C.F.: There's a lot of space between too much and too little. What's too much for me may be too little for you. Values figure somewhere in this equation. FROM JACK: It's in the eye of the beholder.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: I wouldn't volunteer to go door to door as a saleswoman, but, in the old days, I had been door to door many times with Girl Scout cookies! Happiness is having empty boxes of GS cookies and 12 little girls going to camp. FROM JACK: If it meant putting bread on the table, we'd do alot of things we wouldn't ordinarily do.

FROM INDY GENIE: If vacuum sales weighed out to be my best option at the time, I would certanly do it. I would, however, have to at least remotely believe in the product to sell it and live with myself. I remember several summers of selling the"Drink Maker", a carbonating appliance, at fairs. I've worked alot of jobs that some people may not consider doing. The key for me is to bring a sense of fun and gratefulness to whatever work I do. So far ...so good.

APRIL FOOL: "Mix a little foolishness with your prudence: It's good to be silly at the right moment."
--Horace

FROM J.H., THE TEACHER, IN OHIO: and optimal learning is the place between too easy and too hard!