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Why do you have an aversion to certain people? Even if you are a saint, not everyone will be in harmony with you. There are various reasons why you may dislike a particular person. It may be because someone dislikes you, treats you rudely, disagrees with you, takes advantage of you, is...
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There’s a peculiar phenomenon that strikes those of us who wear glasses—a mysterious occurrence that defies logic, common sense, and sometimes even the laws of physics. I'm talking, of course, about the inevitable moment when our glasses, those delicate and essential tools of vision, vanish into...
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When I retired from teaching, I declared, “I will never attend another honors or graduation ceremony”—not because I didn’t enjoy the recognition of students and their thrills, but rather because self-inflated, long-winded speakers made me wish I’d brought a dart gun to put them down. However, as a...
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Are you a S.N.I.O.P.? A S.N.I.O.P. is a person who is susceptible to the negative influences of other people. This is a common syndrome. We all desire approval from others. Everyone has grown up being conditioned to be concerned about what others think...
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Sometimes people erroneously equate quantity with success. Unfortunately, there are those who are impressed with how much, how big, how expensive, or how many. There is a notable difference between quantity and quality. Look at a handful of coins. A dime is smaller than a nickel, yet the dime is...
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On a train from Newbern to Chicago, you met a Japanese envoi to the United Nations on his way to meet his son. His English was bad, but your Japanese was non-existent. He was also an artist and drew pictures to fill in the language gaps. He drew a picture of his wife, four children still at home,...
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Everyone enjoys being comfortable. Being safe, secure, and happy is a basic human desire. For the most part, we prefer the known to the unknown, the predictable to the unpredictable, and the risk-free to the risky.
However, bringing goals to reality requires us to leave our comfort zone. This...
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Ah, summer is about over. The season of sunshine, beach trips, barbecues—and, of course, the annual invasion of the most persistent and infuriating creatures known to humankind: mosquitoes. These tiny, whiny, bloodthirsty terrorists are still around us with a vengeance, and it seems they’ve...
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When someone is successful, they are more visible than when they were struggling along their path to attain their goals. Few people draw much attention while they are confronting challenges and overcoming numerous obstacles.
When a person has reached the top of the mountain and is standing on the...
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In an increasingly digital world, where face-to-face interactions are often replaced by online connections, the importance of friendly, helpful neighbors cannot be overstated. The simple act of neighborly kindness—whether it's lending a cup of sugar, helping with yard work, or simply offering a...
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No one is perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Those who are most successful, build on their strengths while striving to overcome their weaknesses. It's not unusual for a trait that initially appears to be a weakness to be a strength. I came across the following parable which nicely...
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One sunshiny morning, I met a friend near the State Gazette offices. He wore his usual work clothes, a suit and tie, and as he approached, I said, “Wow, you look like a million dollars.” He had never been what I’d call fat, but formerly, he carried a few extra pounds, and he’d shed them. ...
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As careful as you may be, you will make mistakes. Although it’s not possible to live mistake-free, there are effective strategies you can use to recover from your mistakes. Let’s start by considering the basic causes of mistakes. You are impatient and act too quickly. ...
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As we face three more months of hot air campaign rhetoric from the mouths of our two presidential candidates, a familiar pattern emerges.
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The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back is an illustration of what can happen when you feel overwhelmed. Each straw by itself is irrelevant. Yet, the cumulative weight of enough straw can be unbearable.
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Are you a dream maker or a dream breaker? The category to which you belong will strongly influence the direction your life takes, your level of satisfaction, and the type of impact you have on other people. Most of us aren’t even aware of the distinctions between dream makers and dream...
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*I love writing my to-do lists. I keep one for work; one for home.
*It’s the first thing I do at home, the first thing I do at work.
*I especially love my home to-do list on weekends. After breakfast, I drink a second cup of coffee and enumerate my day’s plans.
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Everyone encounters adverse circumstances. Some people survive and thrive while others suffer and allow their spirit to be extinguished. It’s not the circumstances that vary, it is the manner in which each individual chooses to respond.
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Dr. Mardy tells me that aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact, they fit easily into the overhead compartments of our brains and contain everything we need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul.
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I am against taking down the Confederate Statue on the Courthouse Square, but not for reasons that you might imagine. I’m for leaving it up there but for adding a plaque that not only mentions Civil War involvement and losses of life but also motives for the war, including keeping the institution...
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I had a hard time writing a column for today, so I searched the web for assistance and found two inspiring columns on hard times in life. Credit is noted at the end of each column. They were a help to me and my prayers are those reading their columns...
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Is complaining an effective strategy for solving problems? Will complaining improve your situation? Do others enjoy listening to you complain? The answer to all three questions is no. Then why do people complain? There are a number of reasons a person complains. He or she may be looking for...
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Reporting for the State Gazette, I’ve learned that on our social media pages, one topic gets more responses from readers than any other—potholes. I could write a story about a nuclear attack on the Dyer County Courthouse, and it wouldn’t draw as many “likes or angry faces” and comments on our...
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Life can be full of winding roads, the twists and turns. You start out in one place and end up somewhere completely different, sometimes unexpected. Almost 22 years ago, I was a young mom. At a time when others my age were trying to find their place in the world, I found myself just trying to...
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As an amateur photographer eager to learn, I take photos of other artists’ work: architecture and the fields of our local artists, farmers. Our farmers take a piece of land, sow seeds, and the land becomes a work of art. Seeing rows and rows of soybean, cotton, or corn often makes me stop my truck,...
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You would never attempt to drive your car with the windshield painted black. Nor would you expect to keep your car on the road by looking out every window but the front one. But how many people attempt to get through life by looking in every direction except forward...
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Remember some of those adages we heard as we grew toward adulthood? Those words of wisdom are sometimes funny, and some make no sense. From my mother’s mouth to me as a young kid, “Stop your back talking, or I’ll knock you into next week!” I always wanted to find out exactly how it would have felt...
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The placebo effect is a great illustration of the awesome power of the mind. Here is how it works. A person is given an inert substance with no medicinal properties and told that it is a drug that is proven to cure whatever malady they are experiencing...
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I’m thumbing through my daily snail mail. Up pops an envelope from one of our legal courts. Someone is looking for me, but who? Ripping the envelope open I read the words: “You are hereby summoned for jury duty.” However, this time, it’s not local. The big boys in the U.S. Federal Court system want...
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Alice, a high school guidance counselor, was conducting a job and career seminar for seniors. During their four years in high school, she overheard students worrying about their hair, their clothes, who was dating who, what cars people were driving, along with all the other typical teenage angst...
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Something happened the other day that brought back some fond memories of my family pet, a beautiful collie that looked like Lassie. A gentle dog that loved people, especially my two sons, who were 13 and 8 at the time. My collie carried the name of Gustav. You’ll remember we had a hurricane onr...
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Gayle and I traveled last week to the Great Southern Republic of Louisiana to visit friends and family. We stayed in Shreveport one night, then south through Alexandria and on to Lafayette where we ate some good Cajun seafood. The next day we headed east across the massive Atchafalaya Basin, which...
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Several hundred yards away from the main gravel road, sat our house, its front porch light having little impression on the darkness of the thick woods. Animals chirped, hooted, barked, howled, screeched, sang, and bleated. Nature let itself be heard, telling us that it owned everything, no matter...
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In the previous column (part 2), I discussed the positive emotions of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, and humility. Part 1 reviewed the negative emotions of anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, superiority, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego...
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Everyone is conditioned to worry. Our conditioning begins as soon as we learn to speak. Since we see everyone around us worrying, we emulate their behavior. There are no limits to what you worry about. You worry about the past. You worry about the present. You worry about the future...
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In today’s fast-paced world, it’s difficult for writers to continually come up with subjects that interest their readers. So, I look and listen for exciting topics that have broad appeal. About once a month, I stop at my favorite fast-food drive-in and order a greasy cheeseburger from my friend...