Greetings!
Have you ever been accused of being someone you're not? I don't mean physically. I mean emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically. I recently had an encounter that really brought home a valuable life lesson to me. Next month I will be attending my 45th High School reunion. I know, I know I can hear some of you saying, "Man! this guy is really old." Well with God's grace you'll be attending your 45th someday. Trust me it happens faster then you think. In the process of thinking about this and communicating with a few friends from that era via Facebook, I came across someone I played football with in High School. I hadn't seen or thought about him in almost 45 years. We had some pleasant initial conversations and I invited him to subscribe to this Newsletter. It wasn't long before he started expressing his views about how I was wrong in my spiritual beliefs and how I was misleading people with my positive attitude nonsense. He made reference to our High School days and how (in essence) I should not try to reach beyond my station in life etc, etc. I was summarily dismissed and told he was unsubscribing to my so called "Newsletter". Wow! What do you say to that? Caroline reminded me there are people who don't share my views on a lot of subjects. I thanked her for her insight and we had a laugh over the audacity of the encounter but it really made me think. After my initial irritation my first thought was, what kind of pain and heartbreak has this guy gone through to be so angry and bitter? Here's the lesson that came to mind. How often do we squelch someones growth or maturing process by viewing them from an old Paradigm? The young people in our lives are especially susceptible to our expectations and attitudes toward them. We need to allow them to expand their vision and horizons with loving guidance and wisdom along the way. Every parent who has raised a teenager knows this all to well. We need to make a concerted effort to view them as adults long before they manifest that trait. If we want the freedom to grow and change, we need to allow that same freedom for everyone around us. In regard to positive thinking I was reminded of something Zig Ziglar said when asked by a reporter if he thought that "positive thinking" stuff lasted. He said, "No, but neither does bathing. That's why I recommend them both on a regular basis." I love you guys, God Bless, Don This is a great little video! | 
