Happy Valentine's Day

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A New Year's Prayer 2007

A New Year's Prayer

God grant us this year a wider view,
So we see others' faults through the eyes of You:
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue,
Neither the adult... nor the young.

Give us patience and grace to endure
And a stronger faith so we feel secure;
And instead of remembering, help us forget
The irritations that caused us to fret.

Freely forgiving for some offense,
And finding each day a rich recompense,
In offering a friendly, helping hand
And trying in all ways to understand,
That all of us, whoever we are..
.Are trying to reach "an unreachable star".

For the great and small... the good and bad,
The young and old... the sad and glad,
Are asking today, "Tis life worth living?"
And the answer is only in "Loving & Giving".

For only "Love" can make man kind,
And Kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind
And by giving love, we can start this year
To lift the clouds of hate and fear.

~~ Helen Steiner Rice ~~

Installing LOVE

How to Install Love.


Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes, I can help you! Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventuallyeverything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.


Fitness By Marilyn
Rockport, TX 78382
fitnessbymarilyn@gmail.com
http://www.fitnessbymarilyn.com
Independent AIM Member - Marilyn Wilson Price

A Great Recipe

Prescribed by the Great Physician
****************************

~*~A GREAT RECIPE~*~

Fold two hands together,
And express a dash of sorrow.
Marinate it overnight,
And work on it tomorrow.

Chop one grudge in tiny pieces,
Add several cups of love.
Dredge with a large sized smile,
Mix with the ingredients above.

Dissolve the hate within you,
By doing a good deed.
Cut in and help your friend,
If he/she should be in need.

Stir in laughter, love and kindness,
From the heart it has to come.
Toss with genuine forgiveness,
And give your friends some.

The amount of people served,
Will depend on you.
It can serve the whole wide world.
If you really want it to!!!

author unknown

How To Plant Your Garden

How To Plant Your Garden

First, you Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses....



FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,


PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul


PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness


PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another


NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another


TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends


WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!

Independent AIM Member - Marilyn Wilson Price

The Secret To Health Is Love

Love may very well be the most important factor to keeping us healthy and young. Thousands of hours of research show that love and intimacy ( or lack of them) are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing.

Being alone increases our chances ( by between two and five times) of getting ill; and dying young, no matter how healthily we live. Among patients who survive heart disease, the ones who did best after five years were married, but some had someone to confide in. The next healthiest were patients who where married and had a Confidant. Following were those who were married but didn't have a Confidant. The group who were unmarried and had no close friend to talk to did worse, half died within five years.

You'd think that the more people you talk to the more likely you'd catch a cold from one of them. But research as found the exact opposite. The wider variety of people you talk to often, including partners, children , neighbors, co-workers, fellow volunteers, etc - the lower your chances of getting symptoms of a cold, even if you've been infected. Experts speculate that if you're meeting lots of people you'll be happier and therefore have a stronger immune system.
When women marry, they cut their chances of dying young by half. Men reduce their chances of dying young by five times when there married. Researchers found that married people are most likely to take better care of themselves, for example by eating breakfast, wearing seat belts, exercising regularly etc. Their healthier habits may also explain why they spend fewer days in bed ill, half as much time in the hospital and are less likely to become disabled as they get older.

Happily married men live eight to ten years longer than single or divorced men. Happily married women live three to four years longer than single or divorced women. Women who are in happy relationships are less prone to strokes and heart attacks after menopause, when they're most at risk for heart-relatedproblems. Single women and women involved in dissatisfying relationships are significantly worse off than women in happy relationships in terms of heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Lonely people, particularly single men, who don't have deep friendships have higher stress and blood pressure , don't get as much sleep and are more hostile.

Displays of affection like hugging or kissing, between people in committed meaningful relationships can help heal the sick and soothe away worries. The act of touching increases the production of oxytocin, a chemical that affects the emotional centers of the brain and can trigger warmer feelings of affection.Touching also boosts the immune system, stabilizes blood pressure levels, relieves stress and produces endorphins, the body's natural pain reliever.

Independent AIM Member - Marilyn Wilson Price