DO YOU ACT -- OR REACT?

Condensed from the Chicago Daily News by Sydney J. Harris

"I walked with my friend, a Quaker, to a newsstand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the newsie politely. The newsie didn't even acknowledge it.

'A sullen fellow, isn't he?' I commented.

'Oh, he's that way every night,' shrugged my friend.

'Then why do you continue to be so polite to him?' I asked.

'Why not?' inquired my friend. 'Why should I let him decide how I am going to act?'

As I thought about this incident later, it occurred to me that the important word was 'act'. My friend acts toward people; most of us react toward them. He has a sense of inner balance which is lacking in most of us, he knows who he is, what he stands for, how he should behave. He refuses to return to incivility for incivility, because then he would no longer be in command of his own conduct."

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We always have room for improvement. I think for me, this is a work in progress. I have accomplished a lot with this frame of mind, this attitude. But the "natural man" in all of us tends to react. Teaching ourselves to act is hard sometimes, but so much better for our inner well-being and for those around us.

My Sister in Haiti

I have never been to Haiti myself, but I have felt such a connection with the Haitians through my sister who has been going there for years with Healing Hands for Haiti. In light of recent catastrophic events, she was requested by Operation Smile to go with their medical team to Haiti for a couple of weeks. I found out last night that she has a blog of her and the teams' journey with the Haitian people. It is inspirational as the people there have such amazing attitudes towards all they have been through, and have such a strong relationship with God in their lives - what great testimonies and examples they are to the world. At the same time, it is heart breaking and I have been overwhelmed with emotion through the news reports, what my sister has shared, and just an overall proud feeling of what my sister is doing to offer her help --  you will need a box of tissues when you read her blog. I am so happy that she is able to go there and help these good people, I wish I could be a nurse right now to be able to help as she is, as she states that they need more nurses.
Please read her blog and share with others! Thank you!

Cathie in Haiti

Who’s Losing? - TOTW

"One warm evening during the past summer months Sister Ashton and I enjoyed a professional baseball game. During the early part of the competition our attention was diverted from the action by a late arriver. As he walked by, he spotted me and asked, 'Who’s losing?' I responded with, 'Neither one.' Following my answer, I noticed that he glanced at the right-field scoreboard, saw the game wasn’t tied, and walked on, undoubtedly wondering about me.

Seconds after he made his way to a distant seat, Sister Ashton said, 'He doesn’t know you very well, does he?' 'What makes you say that?' I replied. She responded with, 'If he did, he would know you don’t believe anyone is losing. Some are ahead and some are behind, but no one is losing. Isn’t that right?' I smiled in approval with a warm feeling inside.

Proper attitude in this crisis-dominated world is a priceless possession. Never before is it more important for all of us to move forward with conviction. We may be behind, but we are not losing if we are moving in the right direction. God will not score our performances until the end of the journey."
--Elder Marvin J Ashton, "Who’s Losing?" Ensign, Nov. 1974, 41