Build an internal retreat for peace

Use your imagination to build a personal retreat. A place you can go for centering and refocusing your attention and attitude.

Start by imagining a favorite place, a relaxing and private place where you can enjoy being alone.

A tropical beach, a bench in the back yard or even a luxurious hotel room. Place yourself in this place and notice how you feel. Are you relaxed, calmer and more secure? Relax for a moment and let these feelings sink in and feel the calm relaxing peace of your retreat.

Your retreat is always there for you. If you’re feeling tired, stressed and unable to cope, go to your retreat and feel the peacefulness.

It will change your day.

From Meditations for Women

The Sea

A number of primary schools were doing a project on "The Sea." Kids were asked to draw pictures or write about their experiences. Teachers got together to compare the results and put together some of the comments they found funny:

• This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly-Age 6)
• Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves to chargers.(Christopher-Age 7)
• Oysters' balls are called pearls. (James-Age 6)
• If you are surrounded by sea you are an Island. If you don't have sea all around you, you are in continent. (Wayne-Age 7)
• A dolphin breathes through an asshole on the top of it's head. (Billy-Age 8)
• My uncle goes out in his boat with pots, and comes back with crabs. (Millie-Age 6)
• When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes, when the wind didn't blow, the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would be better off eating beans. (William-Age 7)
• I like mermaids. They are beautiful, and I like their shiny tails. How do mermaids get pregnant? (Helen-Age 6)
• When you swim in the sea, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin-Age 6)

Self Improvement

Having an optimistic outlook can improve one’s health

To be more optimistic in your daily life, try these six strategies.

1. Be on the lookout for negative thoughts. When you catch yourself thinking your life is terrible, stop the thought in its track.

2. Put things in perspective. Remember, everyone’s life is full of sorrows and joys.

3. Try to find the good in bad situations. If you’ve suffered a setback at work, for example, look at what the situation tells you about yourself and learn from it. But don’t dwell on it.

4. Learn from your mistakes. Failure is one of the greatest learning tools, but many people let failure defeat them. Learn and try again.

5. Even if you’re feeling down, act as if your mood is good. Smile at others. Laugh. After a while, you may find that your mood really does improve.

6. Be grateful. Gratitude can help you focus on what’s right in your life. Pay attention to how your view of life may be bringing you down. With practice, you’ll be able to replace your negative thoughts with more positive ones.

- Tips from Mayo Clinic -

An Hour of Grace

Johann Christoph Arnold

The devastation left by Katrina has not brought us together, but set off widespread finger-pointing and divisiveness. Government officials as high up as the President have been singled out for unusually harsh criticism, and now, with another hurricane barreling across the Gulf of Mexico toward his home state of Texas, all eyes are on Washington D.C. again. Meanwhile, I can’t think of a time when so many Americans were on the run, and I can’t imagine the extent of their nervous tension and fear.

Reprinted from www.bruderhof.com

Disaster Update: Rescues continue in ravaged areas

As our Hurricane Katrina response heads into its 20th day, our Disaster Animal Response Teams continue their quest to rescue stranded pets while we brace for the potential arrival of Hurricane Rita. Here’s the latest update on what’s happening in Louisiana and Mississippi, along with new photos and a video of our teams on the ground.

Three weeks after Katrina struck the region and the flood waters rose in New Orleans, our rescue teams are doing all they can to reach stranded pets in time. We’ve rescued nearly 6,000 pets and other animals so far. Many animals are in remarkably good shape, but others are severely dehydrated or have wounds or chemical burns. For some, we are arriving too late to help. While individual National Guardsmen and military units have helped us, the federal government has refused to formally make animal rescue a top priority.

The temporary animal shelter at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, remains at capacity. To make room for new rescues, we’ve transported more than 1,500 animals out of the facility to other shelters. Our top animal sheltering professionals are finding the task of running the massive facility to be the most challenging assignment of their lives. Despite the federal government’s lack of response in helping with rescues, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Public Health Service have been a tremendous help at this facility, as have officials from the state of Louisiana. We’re still in need of volunteers to help with the task of managing what has become the nation’s largest animal shelter!

Amid the stress and hardship here, our staff and volunteers are witnessing the most incredible reunions of pets and their people—more than 400 so far. At our temporary shelter in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a bell near the entrance is rung each time an animal is reunited with her owner. When that bell rings, cheers and applause break out through the facility.

While our on-the-ground response remains our top priority, we have begun looking toward the future. Yesterday, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and The HSUS announced the creation of a reconstruction fund to rebuild animal shelters damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Each organization is donating an initial $2.5 million, for a total of $5 million. We hope to eventually build that fund to at least $10 million.

To stay on top of everything that’s happening in the region, please bookmark www.hsus.org and be sure to visit it frequently. We are adding new stories, information, and photos every day.

For all you do for animals, thank you so much.

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains. ~ Diane Ackerman

Don't Forget Your Sisters

Sisters,

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter. "Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "they'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember that "Sisters" also means your girlfriends, your daughters, and other women relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grown-up. Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile! But she listened to her Mother. She kept in contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After 40 something years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:
* Times passes.
* Life happens.
* Distance separates.
* Children grow up.
* Love waxes and wanes.
* Hearts break.
* Careers end.
* Jobs come and go.
* Parents die
* Colleagues forget favors.
* Men don't call when they say they will.

BUT Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A sister is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for yourself, your Sisters will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out. My mother, sister, sister-in-laws! , and"girlfriends", bless my life! The world wouldn't be the same without them, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

Share with the women who help make your life work.

Words to live by...

Words are mere bubbles of water, but deeds are drops of gold. ~ Chinese proverb

Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others. ~ Marianne Williamson

We tire of those pleasures we take, but never of those we give. ~ John Petit-Senn

To do the useful thing,
to say the courageous thing,
to contemplate the beautiful thing:
that is enough for one man’s life. ~ T.S. Eliot

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. ~ Mother Theresa

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we will not find it. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anais Nin

Happiness and love are just a choice away. ~ Leo Buscaglia

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light. ~ Albert Schweitzer

Fourth Anniversary Rememberance

On this fourth anniversary take a moment to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11, offer thoughts and prayers for the families and friends who have gone through another year without their loved ones.

If I Go While You're Still Here
by Colleen Hitchcock

And if I go
while you're still here...
know that I still live on,
vibrating to a different measure
behind a thin veil
you cannot see through.

You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait the time when we
can soar together again,
both aware of each other.

Until then, live your life to the fullest
and when you need me
just whisper my name
in your heart
...I will be there

A Race Against the Clock

"It’s truly a race against the clock. Our teams are working feverishly to rescue as many animals as possible and get them out of the watery cesspool left behind by Hurricane Katrina." ~ HSUS President & CEO Wayne Pacelle

The Humane Society of the United States

Dear Friends,

Tales of survival coming out of New Orleans include the rescue of dogs, cats and other family pets that had to be abandoned by families fleeing the rising water. And now help is desperately needed for the thousands of pets being rescued from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

A massive relief effort to care for and reunite these lost pets with their families has been launched by the American Humane Association as well as other organizations.

Many of the animals who survived have suffered extreme trauma and are in need of veterinary care. Finding and being reunited with their pets will be an important part of healing the shattered lives of many people who have lost their homes, their neighborhoods, their jobs, and life as they knew it before the storm.

Right now American Humane's Animal Emergency Services are in Louisiana and Mississippi coordinating a multi-state animal rescue and recovery effort. This team is rescuing animals whose owners were forced to flee in evacuations, treating animals in need of veterinary care, and providing food and supplies to shelters and pet owners.

The American Humane Association is working to rescue and reunite these animals with their families, but they need your help. Please make a donation to the American Humane Association or to the Humane Society of America today.

Thank you!
Valarie

On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast states with a remarkable fury. In the past few days, we have all watched in horror and disbelief at the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

Many pets have also been left behind or in need, and The Humane Society is accepting donations. Shortly after the hurricane slammed into the Gulf Coast, HSUS teams were on the ground determining the areas where the most critical relief was needed. Today, experienced HSUS rescue staff and volunteers are working with state officials, federal agencies, and other organizations to evacuate animals out of the hardest-hit areas. They are also establishing pet-friendly shelters and delivering supplies, resources, and medical assistance. Please consider making an emergency contribution to HSUS Disaster Relief Fund. Your support is critical to help suffering and stranded animals during this crisis.

Hurricane Victims Need Your Help Today

Much of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama is obliterated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and floodwaters continue to rise in the overwhelmed city of New Orleans. Millions of people are suffering from the
devastation and desperately need water, food, shelter and medical care today, as well as help coping with what promises to be a massive long-term recovery effort.

Help meet this enormous need now with your donation.

American Red Cross

Network for Good

For the Hurricane Victims...

May God grant you always
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

~ Irish saying