Quote of the Week: Of Roots and Fruits

I was talking to a friend yesterday and I told her about this incredible book I read.

I even wrote a book review on it, way back in 2013.

The Fantasy Fallacy: Exposing the Deeper Meaning Behind Sexual Thoughts.

It was a good book, chocked full of good information. I may read it again.

But one quote struck me when I read it back then, and it is equally telling now.

 "What we see as a flower or a tree or any other kind of plant is just an extension of what's at the root.  You won't see magnolia leaves sprouting from the roots of a dogwood tree, nor will you see ears of corn shoot off a cucumber vine. What we are in the light is determined by who we are in the dark. Our fruit is merely the product of our roots. Only through tending to our mental emotional and spiritual roots will we bear the healthiest fruit possible.  Ignore the roots, and the plant will suffer. Nurture the root and the plant will thrive. (Location 2848)

It is such a valuable reminder to check my roots.

Quote of the Week

Food-for-Thought/Quote of the Week: On Being Thankful

So...

I am reading a book right now. Thank and Grow Rich by Pam Grout

I haven't gotten far, but I happen to like this author and I read whatever she writes. This happens to be a book on gratitude and thanksgiving. And those are areas where I'm hoping to experience growth. So I gather a few interesting truths from such books and move on...

I came across a most interesting quote, though. It singed my eyebrows, it did.

"When we don't stop daily to inventory all the gazillion things going right in our lives, the crazy voices in our heads try to make us their bitch." 

O_O

That is a STRONG statement.

But is it true?

I think it is.

I hear more people complaining about life than anything else these days. And I look at some of them and I think to myself...

But you have everything.

Everything. Yet they complain about everything.

No, no one has "everything". And we only see the surface parts of most people's lives, and not the visceral details. But I think we look at others and think that. And we tend to look at ourselves and think less. 


I personally think it is, this complaining, a matter of habit. If you complain all the time, then you just didn't start complaining today... It's probably deep rooted. It's probably been going on for years, decades even.

I have a family member that is a constant complainer. I recognized this when I was 8 years old. How do I remember? I remember because it was the subject matter for the the first time I ever journalled. And that was, albeit 2 sentences, what I journalled about.

I have at times, after to listening to someone complain to no end, asked a hard question.

Name 3 good things that happened today.

I have to ask my ownself that from time to time. I journal every night, and those are always good journalling points. Sometimes I will write out a small paragraph, but more times than not, I will fill up a full page or two with all the great things that happened that very day. And I am thankful for that, because when I go back and read my 30-50 pages of journal entries at the end of each month, there is just soooooooo much good that goes on in my life. So much. And it is such a blessing to record it.

That quote is so much about slowing down and examining life. And not entertaining all that negative. It always amazes me how the negative drowns out the positive. I even think it is more just our culture, just drummed into our thinking to always ponder the negative.

But I want to change that, tho.  And it reminds me of one of the parts of my personal vision statement.

"I am well developed, well matured, and well seasoned in the areas of gratitude and generosity."
I always want to be developing in that direction. Always.


I just thought that was a good quote. It definitely stopped me in my tracks.

And I will be thinking about it for awhile.

Quote of the Week

"Together the Ants Ate the Elephant"  

African Proverb

(In other words, we must all work together to solve the seemingly insurmountable problems.)

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

I tell you something I don't quite understand.

What is the uproar over which bathroom the transgender use all about?

I don't know if I've ever been in the bathroom with a transgender person. Why don't I know? Because I really was concentrating on getting into a stall and peeing. Point blank.

So I don't understand what the hoopla is all about...

I mean, is it THAT much of a problem.

I know we have a transgender person near my workplace. Several, really. What is interesting about this particular one is that she is a dead ringer for Gabrielle Union. Dead ringer.

With that said, how do we know who is a man or who is a woman? Are they sending people to check? What kind of chaos will that cause?

Just questions about something that I think is much ado about nothing...

I really don't care. Just get out of my way, because I just gotta pee, man.  

Quote of the Week: Plans vs.Systems

End of the Year Quotes, Part V: The Success Indicator

My cousin put up a "Success Indicator" on her Instagram. You might have to double click to blow up the picture to read it clearly. I listed them out under the chart.

It is definitely an eye-opener.

Successful people
Have a sense of gratitude, compliment, forgive others, accept responsibility for their failures, keep a journal, want others to succeed, keep a "to be" list, set goals and develop life plans, continuously learn, operate from a transformational perspective, keep a "to do/project" list, embrace change, exude joy, share information and data, talk about ideas, read everyday, and give other people credit for their victories.

Unsuccessful people
Criticize, hold a grudge, blame others for their failures, say they keep a journal but really don't, think they know it all, operate from a transactional perspective, secretly hope others fail, Don't know what they want to be, never set goals, exude anger, horde information and data, talk about people, fly by the seat of their pants, fear change, watch TV everyday, take all the credit for their victories, and have a sense of entitlement.

I have qualities on each side of the diagram. I am happy to say that I have many on the successful side, and only a few on the unsuccessful side.

At least I know I am growing...

And I have a better idea of what I need to work on in the upcoming New Year.

End of the Year Quotes, Part IV

End of the Year Quotes, Part III

End of the Year Quotes, Part II

Quote of the Weekend

Most weekends when I don't have any major plans, I tend to make a to-do list of chores I need to get done that day. There are usually ten items at the most. Any more than that becomes overwhelming.

A decade ago, I read in one of my spiritual books that if you make a list, put a time constraint on the tasks. This has been helpful, but it can be overwhelming. I tend to do that sometimes. It reminds me not to get bogged down.

Today list, made on the first day of November was simple enough. It included:

1. Change both kitty litter boxes

2. Living room -15 minutes

3. Wash sheets

4. Make up bed.

5. Mend comforter

6, Kitchen-10 minutes

7. Proofread LadyTee's class paper before 8pm

8. Drink my water

9. Have a green smoothie for breakfast

10. bathroom-10 minutes

A couple of those things are not really necessary to write down. But let's just say that I picked up this habit from my mother. And I saw one of the things on her list was "drink wine".

*crickets*

Anyway, the above list isn't the subject of this post. I think it gives you a little insight into my days at home though. And this was a particularly bad rainy weekend. Atlanta is set to get 2-3 inches of rain this weekend and Monday, and the sound of hard driving rain on the roof makes me believe that is the truth. 

I have a notepad that I place these to-do lists in. I have 2 or 3, but none of them were at hand this morning. Luckily I have tons of scrap notepads laying around. I found one this morning, and I saw an interesting quote scribbled hastily on one of the pages. I may or may not have posted it, but I don't remember doing so. Heck, I don't even remember writing the quote, much less where I heard or read it. 

But it was a good one, nevertheless. 

Life is a bunch of decisions, and a decision is an open pathway to reality. And each decision has some fruit attached to it. 

That is chalked full of... a whole lot of stuff.

But ain't it the truth.

And you know why that caught my eye. You know how I feel about seeds and roots, trees and fruit.

A decision is like a tree, and the consequences of that decision are the fruit.

Enough said.

I've been pondering that quote all day as I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the kitty litter, and drank my water...

Any and all decisions I make have consequences.

In other words, any and all decisions I make have fruit attached to it.

It could be bad fruit. Or good fruit.

Any which way it goes, we eat the fruit.

Enough said.

Quote of the Week

Monday Morning Thought

This is a good one. Worth reading.

Right on, Oldgirl!

This is actually a quote from a Portuguese life coach/self-help guru by the name of José Micard Teixeira.

It is STILL a good one!

Quote of the Week

That's a great quote.

And when I look at many of my own excuses, they can be traced back to both.