Jack’s Winning Words 1/13/15
“If you can change how people see, you can change how people think.”  (Deborah Kashdan)  “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” is the story of a lawyer who saw that his life was out of balance, and how he sought purpose and peace in the Himalayas.  What changed his thinking?  I recall the song, “What’s It All About, Alfie?”  When we come to the point where we see that this life is about more than accumulating things, maybe then, some changes take place.    ;-)  Jack

   FROM LP IN PLYMOUTH:  > more than accumulating things.... In November I came upon a website "nourishingminimalism.com" and her get rid of 2014 items in 2014 challenge. I jumped on board, and didn't wait for the new year to start on 2015 for 2015. I'm a 399! Lots to go but lots to get rid of too! I love that Salvation Army has a drive up donation spot. But I've been finding lots of places to share my excess stuff ... Books to library, baby gear to pregnancy clinic, magazines to volunteer services at the hospital, ... Oh to be free of this  stuff!  On Sunday two other moms helped me do a toy downsize on the nursery too. Now the toys fit on the shelves. It looks so much more inviting! One mom is taking the excess for resale. We will use the money for some updates and repairs. Yay! This decluttering has certainly changed how I see. And what I see! Ha ha!!;) ====JACK:  To get of 2015 items in 2015...now, that's quite a challenge.  I don't consider myself to be a hoarder, but there's a lot of stuff that I can't bear to part with...like a picture of me sharing a message to a group of children====LP:  I don't think I'm quite at hoarder, but I find myself needing extra motivation to let things go. I've got bags of Verity's clothes in my guest room. Andy's not going to wear them, but I was looking for someone (specific) to hand them down to. But I'm reminding myself it's OK to hand them off to charity to distribute. I don't have to find their new home. Of the 399 items I've marked off most have been kids clothes. But I got rid of about 80 old magazines.Lots of challenges ahead... but I'm excited to see what my house looks like sans 2015 extraneous things. I won't be ditching the special treasures, but maybe I don't need 40 cookbooks (and I'm guessing I've got about that many!)====JACK:  I'm sure that most of us would give more of our stuff away if we were to come face-to-face with the needy.  Sometime, read the story of Kagawa, a Japanese Christian, who literally would have no shirt on his back, because he would always see someone who needed a shirt more than he did.

FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  Interesting. On my desk is....the life-changing magic of tidying up.....the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing.....No caps in the title.  Also, near my desk ...another book I'm reading....Mark 10:25 and Mark 6:7....life changing emissaries equipped with little but the necessities.==== JACK:  On my desk, scattered in disorder, are scraps of paper with various Winning Words on them.  One…..real eyes realize real lies.

FROM TARMART REV:  I think about those times this morning I had this sudden urge I needed to replace something I've had for a number of years, only to forget about it for a time and realize again maybe there's not that much of a hurry to replace it after all . . . "It's still ticking!!"====JACK:  I have a watch that I got as a confirmation gift.  It no longer ticking, but I can't bear to throw it away

FROM QUILTING CAROL IN WISCONSIN:  Not only learn that life isn’t all about accumulating things nor taking what doesn’t belong to you nor killing people because they don’t believe like you or think by doing so you’ll make others believe like you!====JACK:  While throwing out stuff, we need to throw out some out-of-date ideas, too.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  People don't really change just by being told something is bad for them.  Look how many people are addicted to something:  drugs, drink, porn etc etc.  Take politics- there is nearly a zero percent of changing the way most people vote.  But they can and do change when they they see a difference made.....sometimes!===JACK:  There's a book, "Getting to YES," which is about how to influence people to adopt a new point of view.

FROM JB IN CHICAGO:  There’s a new book out called “Unretirement” about how baby boomers are working beyond retirement age but doing things they really value – and living simpler. I saw this segment on a local news program, Chicago Tonight: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2015/01/12/rethinking-retirement-and-golden-years.
Sounds interesting.====JACK:  Retirement today certainly isn't what it was like...even a few years ago.  "Old age ain't for sissies" as the saying goes.