Jonathan recently went on a 10-day silent/meditation retreat out near Joshua Tree National Park.
One of the stories he remembered from it really stuck with him:
What if a person is running at you with fire? 🔥 (say a torch, or something that's on fire, or maybe they're on fire themselves, etc.) You as a normal response would probably want to throw water on them because, well, you'd want to put the fire out. Right?
But what if we were to tell you the normal response in our pre-programmed human brains was to throw petrol(fuel) on it? You'd be like, NO WAY!
But now, let's consider this fire as a metaphor for something else, like anger, hatred, yelling. AND if a person came at us screaming, yelling, angry, full of hate and rage, something would rise in us in such a passion to meet it and instead of throwing water 💦, we would throw petrol on this person so we were BOTH on fire and out of control.
Why do we as human beings have this very strange instinct to throw petrolon things when we should strive to throw water to calm things down or put the fire out?
It's a great reminder to strive to bring peace and harmony, goodwill and happiness to everyone around us instead of more fire. To lift others up when they are down or stressed out or even angry and treat everyone as equals, that's what life's all about!
- M&J
P.S. - For those of you just joining, welcome to this edition of our monthly newsletter, The Positopian, where every month, we share positive news, fiction, resources, & insights to help you become the best version of yourself!
"Time wasted rationalizing the mediocre could be time spent creating the magnificent.” ~Jen Sincero
People are not as beautiful as they look or as they talk. They are only as beautiful as they love, as they care, as they share.
Dr Sengupta said in a statement to India Science Wire,
“We believe that the identified DDSMs can serve as an invaluable biomarker for colon cancer early detection process. We now have to determine whether the DDSMs can also be detected in patient blood samples. If that is possible, it would make colon cancer detection as simple as the detection of blood sugar in diabetic patients”.
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible.” ~ Audrey Hepburn
“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time,” said Chesky. “We feel a responsibility to step up.”He added: “I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There’s no time to waste.”
"The numbers really do reflect the diversity that we're seeing today in the real world and in Indian Country. So we're very pleased with it," said Yvette Roubideaux, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and vice president for research and director of the policy research center at the National Congress of American Indians.
Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.
~Henry James
Life is 10 percent what you make it
and 90 percent how you take it.
~Irving Berlin
"He immediately knew that the small brown dog with an underbite on the television screen was Payday, his dog that went missing about two years ago. Payday was his daughter's best friend, and the family never gave up hope that the dog would find its way back to them."
“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”
~William Martin
Here's to a safe and happy year as we continue on!
If you want to see the past 20 issues of The Positopian, click here.
And if you know anyone else who wants more positivity in their life, invite them to join!
Always Remember, "Chews" Joy :)
~Mandy & Jonathan Chew
