Confucius Say Day

Confucius
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By Terry Orr

Confucius (551–479 BCE) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism. (Wikipedia)

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Better known in China as “Master Kong” (Chinese: Kongzi), Confucius was a fifth-century BCE Chinese thinker whose influence upon East Asian intellectual and social history is immeasurable. As a culturally symbolic figure, he has been alternately idealized, deified, dismissed, vilified, and rehabilitated over the millennia by both Asian and non-Asian thinkers and regimes. Given his extraordinary impact on Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought, it is ironic that so little can be known about Confucius. (IEP)

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The Top 10 Wise Confucius Quotes:

1. “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.”
2. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
3. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
4. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” 
5. “The Superior Man is aware of Righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage.”
6. “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”
7. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”
8. “He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”
9. “He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”
10. “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?”

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In closing this article – it seems appropriate to include this paragraph from last year’s article in the mist of our upcoming elections.  Confucius' political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argues that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (lǐ) and people's natural morality, rather than by using bribery and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good."

The tomb of Confucius in China.
Photo by Rolf Müller 

References and Links:

http://old.aquarionics.com/assets/quoth/Confucius.quotes

http://www.myrkothum.com/confucius-says-the-top-10-quotes-by-confucius/

http://kisbyto.blogspot.com/2011/09/confucius.html

http://www.iep.utm.edu/confuciu/

Positive Thinking - 2012 Update

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By Terry Orr

Maintaining a positive thinking can be challenging for the best of us – each morning when I wake up, I am very thankful for another day and looking forward to what it brings.

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This would have been very handy forty-five years ago – Dawn Delvecchio at finerminds writes ‘Positive Thinking for Kids – 3 Great Tips for Teaching’:

1. Speak in Affirmatives

What’s the difference between “I don’t want to go to school” and “I want to stay home today”? Well, you might argue not a lot, and that what we’re talking about here is nothing less than wanting to ‘play hookie’ – whichever way you slice it. And you’d be right, practically speaking. But when it comes to positive thinking, the two statements are worlds apart. Here are a few other examples worth considering …

“I hate it when my homework takes too long,” or “I love it when I finish my homework with more time for fun!”

I don’t want to go out in the cold,” or “I’d like to stay inside and be warm.”

“I don’t like to play with Roger, he’s a jerk!” or “My favorite people to play with are Sam and Eddy and Jenny.”

2. Look on the Bright Side

S**t happens to all of us, but how you look at it – especially in front of kids – can make all the difference in the world. Here’s a great example – Kids spill things. Sometimes what they spill makes a heck of a mess. You’ve got a choice about how to look at it, no matter how much time it’s going to take to clean it up. You could either a). get pissed off, make a scene, shame the kid and then clean it up; b). fume a little bit, bite your tongue and clean it up; or c). think: “it could be worse, it could be a bottle of fish sauce!” Then smile and begin the clean-up.

3. Teach ‘em how to Rampage

Instead of letting kids go off on a rampage of anger or a crying fit; when they’re feeling calm and happy, teach them the appreciation game. You can use crayons, markers, pencils, words, stories or animated miming. Just pick a topic and go off on a rampage, thinking of every single thing you appreciate about that person, place, thing or experience. Make it fun and the kid will learn it for life!

What do you think?  Worthwhile finding out in your family?  Please let us know.

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The health benefits of positive thinking

According to Mayo Clinic, researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Increased life span;
• Lower rates of depression;
• Lower levels of distress;
• Greater resistance to the common cold;
• Better psychological and physical well-being;
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease; and
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits.

There always seems to be someone out there who likes nothing more than to mess up our day – to wipe that smile off out face – but take it in stride, smile and do the best you can in that situation. Or like Jon Bon Jovi says in his song “...Have a nice day.”

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10 Tips to overcome negative thoughts: positive thinking made easy according to tiny Buddha:

1. Meditate or do yoga
2. Smile
3. Surround yourself with positive people
4. Change the tone of your thoughts from a negative to a positive
5. Don’t play the victim.  You create your life – take responsibility
6. Help someone
7. Remember that no one is perfect and let yourself move forward
8. Sing
9. List five things that you are grateful right now
10. Read positive quotes.

One that is missing above is exercising – a lot of folks that I talk with and from books, articles and interviews – exercising helps reduce the stress and puts them into a positive frame of mind.

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Here are several tips on how to think positively from Success Consciousness:

• Display a more positive emotional and mental attitude toward yourself, other people and situations.
• Refuse to participate in negative inner dialogues. It's just a waste of time and energy.
• Don't allow disappointments, difficulties and obstacles affect your moods and state of mind.
• Refuse and reject negative thinking. Either replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts, or engage yourself in some activity that will divert your attention from the negative thoughts.
• Don't allow what people think and say affect your mind and mood.
• Associate with people who bring something of value into your life. Avoid people who sap your energy and enthusiasm. If you can't avoid them, learn how stay detached when you are in their company.
• Say positive things about yourself and about other people.
• Compliment people when you feel they deserve it.
• Have faith in yourself and in your abilities.
• Try doing new things or old things in a new way. Doing things differently will help you be more creative and therefore more positive. Go to a different restaurant, eat different food, change the way you dress, start reading a new book or find a new hobby.
• Read about people who overcame hardships and succeeded in life. This will help you think more positively.
• Set goals no matter how impossible this might seem at the moment and keep yourself busy working on them.
• Each goal accomplished, no matter how small it might be, will bring you more confidence, self-esteem and positive thinking.
• At least once a day, think and try to come up with more ideas on how to think positively in various situations.
• Be careful what mental images you let in into your mind. How you see yourself and your surroundings make a difference to your thinking. It is like watching a video. Eject the old video cassette or CD and insert a new and better one instead.
• Analyze your behavior and attitude, and ask yourself why you are repeating the habits or attitudes that you dislike. There is no need to follow old patterns of behavior that you don't like or don't make you any good.
• When you learn how to think positively, you gain the key to changing and improving your life.

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So put on that happy face, be thankful for what you have and go out there and enjoy your day.

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References and Links:

http://kisbyto.blogspot.com/2011/09/positive-thinking.html

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-tips-to-overcome-negative-thoughts-positive-thinking-made-easy/

http://www.justifiedlions.com/positive-thinking/7-tips-for-daily-positive-thinking-motivation/

http://www.successconsciousness.com/think-positively.htm

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Tecumseh - Live Your Life

Live Your Life

~Tecumseh~

“So live your life so the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their views, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, and beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a stranger if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise ones turn to fools and robs them of their visions.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Tecumseh (March 1768 – October 5, 1813) was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy (known as Tecumseh's Confederacy) which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812. Tecumseh has become an icon and heroic figure in American Indian and Canadian history.

Quotes:

• A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.
• Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.

"No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers... Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?

The way, the only way to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided. We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave."

Some quotes to share…

The following are a series of quotes concerning New Years and are meant to make you think ...  smile ...  and reflect on while helping you make your resolutions for the upcoming year.

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right"

-- Oprah Winfrey (media proprietor/businesswoman)

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

-- Hal Borland (author/journalist)

"A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other."

-- Anonymous

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

-- Albert Einstein (the 'father' of modern physics)

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."

-- Bill Vaughn (author)

"We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

-- Edith Lovejoy Pierce (English poet)

"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right."

-- Henry Ford (industrialist/founder of Ford Motor Company)

"Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits."

--Anonymous

"To the old, long life and treasure;  To the young, all health and pleasure."

-- Ben Jonson (actor, typically cast in Westerns)

"It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets."

-- William Thomas (pro football player 1991-2001)

"I never worry about action, but only about inaction."

-- Winston Churchill (British politician and statesman)

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."

-- Yogi Berra (baseball great)

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this:  To rise above the little things."

--John Burroughs (American naturalist: 1837-1921)

"Write in on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet)

"Don't bunt.  Aim out of the ballpark."

-- David Oglivy (British advertising executive)

"Here's to the bright New Year, and a fond farewell to the old:  here's to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold."

-- Anonymous

May the New Year bring us all happiness, good health, prosperity, peace and love.