Winning Words 5/14/12
“Removing stress from your life is as easy as ABC.” (Three Minutes a Day) Monday is sometimes a “stress day” as people look forward to what lies ahead. In my reading I came across these ABC help-suggestions. Attitude—Associate with those who have positive attitudes. Breathe—Calm down. Start with slowing the rate of your breathing. Choice—Choose to control what you can. Why not give it a try? ;-) Jack

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: This makes sense from the perspective that all distress or "pressure" is self-inflicted. It is all based on that which one places his or her importance.////FROM JACK: Your response reminds me of the poem, Invictus, by William Henley, which contains the line, "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the foul clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: Great one for me this morning. I start rehab again for my sciaitic nerve problem. It is going to help me, I'm sure. But the ABC's will help!////FROM JACK: We each have own own boat to row. We have our own sciatic nerve to calm. "It's a easy as ABC," is sometimes easier said than done.

FROM SAINT JAMES: That's a good one, especially the "C" part.////FROM JACK: It also falls into the "B" part which says, "Calm down."

FROM PASTY PAT: Another one of those 'perfectly timed' WW's!////FROM JACK: Always Being Convenient. At least, trying to...

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: I am working on it... thanks!////FROM JACK: That's a positive statement amd a good start.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: You hit one out of the park again. You are now the world's all time batting average leader.////FROM JACK: Ty Cobb, of the Detroit Tigers, is the all-time career batting champion at .366. That's a really good hitter.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: I find it certainly lessens stress, if you can see the humorous side to situations. My twin had a real knack for that, and I've tried to cultivate it. I laughed out loud when Greg Spitzer told of taking his mom to the Dr., and she listed all her ailments, "I have a lot of health issues,...Crohn's disease, thyroid problems, high cholesterol, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. But I have one saving grace: I don't drink."
The Dr. nodded understandingly: "You should." Ha! Maybe a glass of wine isn't the answer, either, but keep that sense of humor! ABC is good advice! cheers!////FROM JACK: I like a doctor with a sense of humor, but I also want him/her to know his/her beeswax.

FROM JE IN MICHIGAN: Thanks Jack…needed this. I should have read it FIRST….hectic Monday.////FROM JACK: One reason why I get up at 5 am, is to send out Winning Words so that people like you might read them FIRST, before going off to work. Another reason...I'm naturally an early riser.

FROM DS IN MICHIGAN: You have no idea how perfect this was for me today. Thanks////FROM JACK: Sometimes I feel like I'm the sower in the parable told by Jesus. Some of my seed falls on rocky ground, some falls among the thorns, some gets trampled on the pathway, and some falls on good soil and takes root.