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12-15-2007, 09:52 AM
When The Whole World Stinks
Do you remember the story of the sailor who
over-imbibed and fell asleep at his table? His
buddies smeared a bit of strong smelling cheese
dip on his mustache, which caused him to wake up
and look around. He sniffed and then walked
outside, sniffed again and came back in, walked
out and back in one more time and finally sat back
down in his seat. "It's no use," he said to his friend,
"the whole world stinks!"
Ever felt that way? We have all experienced
bad days and horrible situations. We've felt
trapped, helpless and, at times, hopeless. We
may have even believed that the whole world
stinks.
But I like the tremendous way one woman has
learned to approach living. She grew up in
extreme poverty, but was privileged to be in a
Sunday School class taught by a young woman
named Alice Freeman Palmer, who was later to
become president of Wellesley College. One
Sunday, the teacher asked the children to find
something beautiful in their homes, and then tell
the other children about it the next week.
The following Sunday, when the little girl was
asked what she found that was beautiful at home,
she thought of her impoverished condition and
replied, "Nothing. There's nothing beautiful where
I live, except ... except the sunshine on our baby's
curls."
Years later, long after Mrs. Palmer's untimely
death, her husband was lecturing at a university
in the western United States. He was approached
by a distinguished looking woman who fondly recalled
that she had been a member of his wife's Sunday
School class. "I can remember that your wife once
asked us to find something beautiful in our homes,
and that I came back saying the only beautiful thing
I could find was the sunshine on my sister's curls.
But that assignment your wife made was the turning
point in my life. I began to look for something
beautiful wherever I was, and I've been doing it
ever since." That one suggestion turned her life around.
If you have been thinking your "whole world stinks,"
the daily habit of looking for something beautiful can
help you see the good that is in the world, and
transform your hope into enough positive energy
to build a life that counts.
Steve Goodier
Do you remember the story of the sailor who
over-imbibed and fell asleep at his table? His
buddies smeared a bit of strong smelling cheese
dip on his mustache, which caused him to wake up
and look around. He sniffed and then walked
outside, sniffed again and came back in, walked
out and back in one more time and finally sat back
down in his seat. "It's no use," he said to his friend,
"the whole world stinks!"
Ever felt that way? We have all experienced
bad days and horrible situations. We've felt
trapped, helpless and, at times, hopeless. We
may have even believed that the whole world
stinks.
But I like the tremendous way one woman has
learned to approach living. She grew up in
extreme poverty, but was privileged to be in a
Sunday School class taught by a young woman
named Alice Freeman Palmer, who was later to
become president of Wellesley College. One
Sunday, the teacher asked the children to find
something beautiful in their homes, and then tell
the other children about it the next week.
The following Sunday, when the little girl was
asked what she found that was beautiful at home,
she thought of her impoverished condition and
replied, "Nothing. There's nothing beautiful where
I live, except ... except the sunshine on our baby's
curls."
Years later, long after Mrs. Palmer's untimely
death, her husband was lecturing at a university
in the western United States. He was approached
by a distinguished looking woman who fondly recalled
that she had been a member of his wife's Sunday
School class. "I can remember that your wife once
asked us to find something beautiful in our homes,
and that I came back saying the only beautiful thing
I could find was the sunshine on my sister's curls.
But that assignment your wife made was the turning
point in my life. I began to look for something
beautiful wherever I was, and I've been doing it
ever since." That one suggestion turned her life around.
If you have been thinking your "whole world stinks,"
the daily habit of looking for something beautiful can
help you see the good that is in the world, and
transform your hope into enough positive energy
to build a life that counts.
Steve Goodier