Jane D.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
> Six Great Lessons
> The Important Things Life Teaches You...
>
> 1 ~ Most Important Question
> During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a
pop
> quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the
> questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of
the
> woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke.
I
> had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and
> in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper,
leaving
> the last question blank.
>
> Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would
> count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor.
"In your
> careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve
> your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say
> 'Hello'."
>
> I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was
Dorothy.
>
> 2 ~ Pickup in the Rain
> One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was
standing on
> the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing
rainstorm. Her
> car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking
wet, she
> decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to
help her
> - generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man
took her
> to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.
She
> seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked
him and
> drove away.
>
> Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his
> surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A
special
> note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me
on the
> highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but
also
> my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to
make it
> to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God
bless you
> for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
> Sincerely,
> Mrs. Nat King Cole
>
> 3 ~ Always remember those who serve
> In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year
old
> boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress
put a
> glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream
sundae?"
> "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his
hand out
> of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a
dish
> of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting
for a
> table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents,"
she said
> brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have
the
> plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream,
put the
> bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice
cream, paid
> the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began
wiping
> down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There,
placed
> neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies -
her
> tip.
>
> 4 ~ The Obstacle in Our Path
> In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then
he
> hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge
rock. Some
> of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and
simply
> walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the
roads
> clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of
the way.
> Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On
approaching
> the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move
the stone
> to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he
finally
> succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he
noticed a
> purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse
contained
> many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold
was for
> the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
>
> The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every
obstacle
> presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.
>
> 5 ~ Giving Blood
> Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital,
I
> got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare
and
> serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a
blood
> transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously
> survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies, needed
to
> combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little
> brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his
blood to
> his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep
> breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz." As the
> transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and He
looked
> up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start
to die
> right away?"
>
> Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he
was
> going to have to give his sister all of his blood.
>
> 6 ~ I've Two Choices
> Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a
good
> mood and always had something positive to say. When someone
would
> ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I
would
> be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters
who had
> followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason
the
> waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a
natural
> motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there
telling
> the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
>
> Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to
> Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive
person all
> of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I
wake up
> and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can
choose to
> be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood." I
choose to be
> in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to
be a
> victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from
it.
> Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to
accept their
> complaining or I can
> point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side
of
> life."
> "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry
said,
> "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every
> situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations.
You
> choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a
good
> mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live
> life."
>
> I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the
> restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but
often
> thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of
reacting to
> it.
>
> Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are
never
> supposed to do in a restaurant business, he left the back door
open
> one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers.
While
> trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness,
slipped off
> the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily,
Jerry was
> found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18
> hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released
from the
> hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw
Jerry
> about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was,
he
> said, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I
> declined to see his wounds but did ask him what had gone through
his mind
> as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my
mind was
> that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as
I lay
> on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices - I could choose
to
> live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't
> you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry
continued, "The
> paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be
fine. But
> when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the
expressions on
> the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really
> scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man. " I knew I needed
to
> take action."
>
> "What did you do?" I asked.
>
> "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me,"
said
> Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I
replied.
> The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my
reply. I
> took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I
told
> them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive,
not
> dead."
>
> Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because
of
> his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have
the
> choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
>
>
> You have 2 choices now:
> 1. Save or delete this mail from your mailbox, or
> 2. Forward it to people you care about. Hope you will choose No.
2.
>
> Work like you don't need the money.
> Love like you've never been hurt.
> Dance like nobody's watching.