Winning Words 8/30/10
“Focus on the things you can control.” (Morris Massey) This is from a business training video, “Dancing With the Bogeyman,” produced by MM. I passed a mother and her child on the sidewalk once. The little boy whispered to his mom: “Is that the bogeyman?” There really are bogeymans. Sometimes they appear in news headlines, or simply in our mind. Don’t let the negative things scare you.. ;-) Jack

FROM RI IN BOSTON: Focusing on things we can control is such fundamental advice, yet we often stray into things that we can't control or, worse yet, concerning ourselves with things that aren't happening and may never happen. Too many times my mind is overtaken with "what if this" or "what if that" and it consumes too much energy. Today I'm going to avoid that "dance" and focus instead on getting things done FROM JACK: Our yard really needs some water. Do you think that doing an Indian Rain Dance will produce results? MORE FROM RI: It will produce one result...it will stir up some dust. FROM JACK: Was the Rain Dance an Indian Prayer? AND MORE FROM RI: I would consider it to be a kinetic prayer.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: This is a bit of advice Gary and I have continually given to our kids..."If you have no control over a person or a situation, control yourself." FROM JACK: That's the kind of advice that they will pass on to their children, too.

FROM SG IN TAMPA: No, but they are a challenge. FROM JACK: Dancing is a challenge for me, especially if it's with a bogey(woman).

FROM CWR IN B'MORE: ...did you have your Clerical Collar on ? FROM JACK: No, but the sidewalk was narrow, and he was small, and I was much larger, and it was twilight. Although it's true that some people see someone in a clerical collar as a bogeyman.

FROM SG IN TAMPA: To each his or her own, but definitely used the brain that God gave you and don't necessarily go with the crowd. I remember Miss Garst in an English Lit class saying that if you see a beautiful bird and want to stand and watch it, do it, regardless of what other people think. FROM JACK: Maybe, by your standing there and watching, others, out of curiosity, might begin to watch and then appreciate.