Counting Our Blessings

Submitted to me by a faithful reader, by George Vayali:

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans

 

52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth and All 6 would be from the United States.

 

80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

 

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

 

The following is also something to ponder…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you woke up this morning with more health than illness…

 

You are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

  

 

 

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…

 

You are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

 

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death…
 

You are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

 

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back,
a roof overhead and a place to sleep… You are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace…

 

You are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

 

If your parents are still alive and still married ..
you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada.

 

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion
people in the world that cannot read at all.

Is Hard Work A Skill?

Thoughtful question from a friend:

I sometimes wonder if hard work is in itself a skill. If your weakness is self-improvement, how do you overcome that?

From my personal experience I'd conclude that hard work and self-improvement is about attitude rather than skill. A person who values hard work will work hard. With that said, I didn't learn the value of hard work and its rewards until I was forced to play basketball one summer against varsity players by my parents. It was the improvement and success that followed, and not the act of being forced, that made the difference. I suppose it could also be sparked by the presence of the right role model, or painting a vivid picture of how good life can be. These days I have faith that if I apply myself, I will improve... and the idea of improving always sounds a lot better to me than the other direction (there's rarely a true middle state).

But I'd be fascinated to hear about counterexamples.

Saturday Motivation: The Power Of Dreams

Dreams are the fuel of hope. I've had days walking into work on a Monday morning amidst the icy whipping wind that only central Illinois can produce. I choose to turn my attention to my dreams, and a warm smile crosses my face.

The beauty of dreams is that they can be enjoyed at almost any time... in traffic, standing in line, lying in bed while the alarm goes off, folding laundry, changing a flat tire.

Dreams give a person something to strive for. Something to picture. A reminder that life can and will be better, given enough time or effort or both.

Friday Motivation: All Fired Up

The subtle truth beneath the fun: I found much more happiness and success in my life when I started surrounding myself with happy conversations, which tend to flow more freely from people who are naturally happy. When I read Facebook I mostly skip past the posts that are complaining, angry,  sarcastic, etc. I'd rather fill my mind with thoughts that bring me up.

Going Into Labor

"If my skill and the talent aren't there yet, the work ethic is. And in the beginning, that's all you can ask of yourself. Eventually the skill will come. The hard work is something you can control." - Brooklyn Decker

Don't confuse experience for talent. Several people around you may appear to be more talented, but in actuality they just have more experience. The way to catch up and surpass is entirely within your control, if you so desire. Put in the hours with steady determination and unwavering optimism. It's no quick fix, but the long-term momentum is remarkably satisfying.

Stanley Miller, Rest In Peace

[Hidden Blog note: Stanley was my next door neighbor for 18 years.]

NORMAL — Stanley D. Miller, 85, Normal, died at 12:04 a.m. Tuesday (June 19, 2012) at the Bickford House, Normal.

His memorial visitation will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at Carmody-Flynn Williamsburg Funeral Home, Bloomington, with a prayer service at 5 p.m.

Inurnment will be at a later date in Willow View Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Normal Theater or the World Wildlife Foundation.

Stanley was born March 18, 1927, in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Frank J. and Cornelia L. Bussey Miller.

He is survived by a daughter, Susan C. Miller, Normal; two sons, Frank (Wendy) Miller, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Roger (Julie) Miller, Lexington, Ky.; five grandchildren, Andrew (Nicole) Hyslop, Davis, Calif.; Amy (Paul) Johnson, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Justin Miller, Normal; and Allison and Shelby Miller, Lexington, Ky.; and two great-grandchildren, Audrey and Bennett Johnson, Fort Wayne, Ind.

He was preceded in death by one brother and two sisters.

Stanley attended Illinois State Normal University and was a U.S. Army veteran, serving in World War II.

He retired from The Daily Pantagraph after 51 years with the paper. He was a member of the Elks,
Moose Lodge 745 and Kodaroamers Camera Club, all in Bloomington.

Stanley was a volunteer at the Normal Theater and had been active in Community Players.

He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

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