======================= VOTT IF ... you could get a short, humorous, informative e-mail each week that was insightful and meaningful to your life? ======================= Valuing Ourselves Six centuries before the birth of Christ, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tze described what he thought was required of a leader. "I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality, the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader." Truth is often revealed in apparent paradox and in all walks of life. Whether it be a following of thousands or of one, the principles are still the same. The leader speaks little, yet says much; does little, yet accomplishes much. The real leader, who exists in all of us, embodies not the blatant flamboyance of glory, but the eternal and ubiquitous qualities of compassion, simplicity and selflessness. Time Tippies Time management is rather an egotistical misnomer. We can never manage time - in fact, no one really knows what time is. It appears, though, that we all have the same amount allotted to us each day. What we can do, is not manage the time, but manage ourselves in relation to the time. Not being able to control how much time we have, we can only control how we use it. Time will be spent, but you do have some choice as to how you spend your portion. Therefore, choose to spend it on things that are worthwhile and of value, because once wasted, time is gone forever! Inspiration Leslie Perry's life changed drastically 21 years ago when her husband, Peter suffered a severe stroke. A young mother of 2 small daughters, Leslie suddenly found herself also nursing her paralyzed, aphasic (unable to speak) and brain damaged husband. Refusing to have him institutionalized she worked steadfastly with Peter to help him regain some of his abilities. Although he did improve beyond the expectations of professionals, he remained very heavy care. Her life had flip-flopped. The man on whom she had relied, was now completely dependent on her. Leslie performed the herculean task of looking after Peter and rearing her children on a sorely restricted budget. She received some help from government health services and support from her church community, but it was her unshakable belief in God and her indomitable spirit which carried her through the 21 years. Her daughters are now grown with families of their own. She still cares for Peter, but is tired now - her own health failing. However, she has a ready smile for everyone she meets and the flash of spirit required to fight for her husband's needs. We salute Leslie for her hard work and the grace and dignity with which she has lived her life. Funecdotes There was a boy who had the reputation of not being very bright. People would repeatedly make fun of him by offering him the choice between a dime and a nickel. He would always take the nickel and everyone would laugh at him. One day a kind-hearted person asked him if he didn't know that the smaller dime was worth more than the larger nickel. "Sure, I know it," said the boy, "but they wouldn't try it out on me anymore if I took the dime." ... with you on your journey Towards Freedom mailto:about@towardsfreedom.com (autoresponder) http://www.towardsfreedom.com (website) information, imagination, inspiration - truly a site for soaring I's ======================= If you ever wish to unsubscribe just do so at http://towardsfreedom.com/suvottif.html#subscription_handling =======================