MarchChasingMoons

The Death of Common Sense I despair when I see the actions of politicians and those in positions of any power. Let me explain with this little thought. Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he   was   since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as k nowing when to come in out of the rain, w hy the early bird gets the worm, why l ife isn't always fair a nd maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash afte...

The Little Mouse The mouse watched as the farmers with opened a parcel, could it be cheese? No, it was a mousetrap. The mouse rushed to the farmyard to warn all the animals but each, in turn, said that it had nothing to do with them. The chicken did not care, the pig sympathised but had nothing to worry about and so it went on, each saying it had nothing to do with them. One animal offered to pray but nothing more.  So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmya...

The Seven Wonders A Teacher asked her students to take some time and to draw up a list of the Seven Wonders of the World. They were asked to consider and decide what they thought from the ancient and the modern which were, in fact, the most important seven. Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: 1.      Egypt's Great Pyramids 2.      Taj Mahal 3.      Grand Canyon 4.      Panama Canal 5.      Empire State Building 6.      St. Peter's Basilica 7.      China's Great Wall While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper. So, she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many." The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can ...

A Touch of Sadness Mother superior was dying., it was a very sad time for the other nuns. They had lived under her guidance and were distraught as they gathered around her death bed.  They were trying to make her last journey comfortable. They tried giving her warm milk to drink but she  refused it . One of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen.  It was then, that she remembered a bottle of  Whisky that had been received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened it and poured a generous amount into the warm milk. Back at Mother Superior's bed, they held the glass to her lips. The frail nun drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had finished the whole glass down to the last drop. As her eyes brightened, the nuns thought it would be a good opportunity to have one last talk with their spiritual leader. "Mother," the nuns asked earnestly, "Please give us some of your wisdom before you leave us."  Her teaching...

The Golden Years A dear friend shared this experience, I leave her to tell the tale.  After a meeting several days ago, I couldn't find my keys. I quickly gave myself a personal "A Pat Down." They weren't in my pockets. Suddenly I realised I must have left them in the car. Frantically, I headed for the carpark. My husband has scolded me many times for leaving my keys in the car's ignition. He's afraid that the car could be stolen. As I looked around the parking lot, I realised he was right. The carpark was empty.  I immediately called the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the car and that it had been stolen. Then I made the most difficult call of all to my husband: "I left my keys in the car and it's been stolen." There was a moment of silence. I thought the call had been disconnected, but then I heard his voice. "Are you kidding me?" he barked, "I dropped you off!"  N...

A Night of Fear. The Cherokee Indian father takes his son into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The winds blew the grass, and the earth shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removed the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! This was an important rite for him and all other young men his age. Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appears, and he removed his blindfold. It is then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at w...

Bridges or Fences? Once upon a time, two brothers lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in forty years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and helping each other as needed. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and  finally , it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days’ works," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?"  "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm.  That is my brother's farm. Last week we had a meadow between us he has changed the course of the river and so now we have a river. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him ...

The Flower Garden One day while looking through a flower catalogue A keen gardener spotted a flower she had never seen before. “I just have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately ordered it.  When it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the base of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with beautiful green leaves all over it, but there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to cultivate it, water it, feed it, and she even talked to it attempting to coax it to bloom. All to no avail. One morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she contemplated how disappointed she was that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving considerable thought to cutting it down and planting something else in its place. It was at this point that her invalid  neighbour , whose garden joined hers, called over the wall to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed th...

The Rubbish Truck One day a man hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address he wished to go to. As they headed along the motorway in the correct lane and at the correct speed. Suddenly a black car came off slipway right out in front of the taxi. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by inches! The other car had most certainly not been paying attention or keeping to the speed limit. The driver of the other car whipped his head around and began yelling at the taxi driver. He in turn  just smiled and waved at the irate driver. He was in fact really friendly. The passenger asked him, "Why did you just do that? That man almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital or worse."  The taxi driver looked in his mirror and smiled and taught his passenger about, " The law of the Rubbish Truck."  He explained that many people are like rubbish trucks. They run around full of rubbish, full of frustration, full of anger, ...

The Dead Donkey A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for £100.   The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.  The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died." Kenny replied, "Well then, just give me my money back." The farmer said, "I Cannot do that.  I have already spent it." Kenny said, "Well at least give me the donkey." The farmer said, "What will you do with him?" Kenny, "I'm going to raffle him off." The Farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" Kenny, "Sure I can.  Watch me.  I just won't tell anybody he is dead." A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?" Kenny replied, “I raffled him off.  I sold 500 tickets at £2 a ticket and made a profit of £900." The Farmer asked, "Didn't anyone compl...

The Two Frogs A group of frogs were travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit with all the strength they could muster. The other frogs shouted even harder they were as good as dead and should just accept their fate. At last one of the frogs paid heed to what the other frogs were saying and exhausted he gave up. He fell down and soon he died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again the crowd of frogs told him to accept his fate and to give up. He jumped even harder. He gathered up all of his remaining strength made one last jump and made it out. When he got out the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. he thought they were encouraging him the entire time. There is the power of life and death in t...

Throwing Bricks A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new shiny sports car. He was watching for children darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the car's door! He slammed on the brakes and reversed to the spot where the brick had been thrown. Angrily jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest Child and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?” The young boy was apologetic. “Please mister,  I’m sorry I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop.” With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just behind a parked car....

A Wish List I could, for example, wish for my very own painting studio and gallery. Or a book, written by me. Or I could dream even bigger than that. A chance to go and visit Nepal?  But I already know. I already have everything I could want and more. I may not be rich. I may not be perfect. I may not have a book or a studio and gallery. But My Life is Good' ·         I have everything I could ever need or want at this moment.  Sometimes even the bad seem good. ·         If I am criticized, then I become empowered to lift myself up and inspire others to be stronger and more positive in their life. ·         If I feel poor and lacking, I am motivated to work harder while working to fill my heart instead of my pockets. ·         If I fail, I strive to be better and am even more compassionate and empathetic for t...