Winston Churchill words, "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" became meaningful to us as we interviewed Adelaide, a delightful, feisty, 95 year old who is enjoying her life living in the Julian J. Leavitt Family Jewish Nursing Home, not far from her children who are the lights of her life.

When I asked Adelaide what advice she would offer others, she responded by saying, "Each person has their own mind as to what they want. I like people to accommodate me, and I like to accommodate them. I believe in the 'Do unto others' philosophy."

"I realized I shouldn't be home any longer," she continued, "but I was apprehensive initially about moving in to a nursing home, not knowing what to expect, but this is a very nice place to live."

During our visit, she recited a beautiful, meaningful poem she had written years ago and even sang a song which she had sung for the other residents during their Variety Show.

Adelaide was born in Port de Carne in the province of Guarda in Portugal and left there when she was three. She was a premie, and no one thought she would survive--she was born at home. Her mother insisted on feeding her, and her father, who was a shepherd, carried her in the pocket of his jacket to keep her warm.

At age three when she arrived at Providence, RI, she still could not walk. School was not a great experience for her. She helped her sister take care of her children after she finished with school.

She began her first job helping a woman clean her home for 25 cents a week.  She saved up her money and when she had enough she bought a clothes basket for her mother. 

It is said that attitudes are contagious. Her twinkling eyes, her sense of humor, and her positive attitude were uplifting. As Dale Carnegie said, "Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions; it is governed by our attitude," and this wonderful lady has mastered hers.

2.. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.

3.. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.

4.. A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

     And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so.

I'm retired. Go around me.

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Last month, you read about the power of belief. Claude Bristol recommends the first step to success is determining precisely what you want. You must know where you are headed in order to get there. To prove his point about the importance of belief, he cites the following experiment. Try it; it works!

EXPERIMENT:  Take a piece of medium-weight paper, about 3 in. square, and fold it diagonally from corner to corner. Then open it and make another diagonal fold so that there will be two folds or creases forming intersecting diagonals. Again open the paper, which will now present the appearance of a low, partially flattened-out pyramid. Now take a long needle and force it through a cork so that the point extends an inch or so above the top side of the cork. Place the cork with its needle, point up, on top of any inverted water glass, so that there may be free movement of both hands and of the paper which is to revolve on the needle point. Then take the piece of paper and balance it where the creases intersect, on the point of the needle, placing it so that the four sides of the pyramid point downward.

Place the glass, with the cork, needle, and paper on a table free from drafts.  Then place the hands around the piece of paper in a semi-cupped position, keeping the hands or fingers a half inch or so away from the paper, so that it may revolve freely. Now order it to revolve upon the needle point. At first it will wobble-perhaps revolving slowly at first and in one direction or the other; but if your hands remain steady and you concentrate upon a certain direction of movement, the paper will revolve until it turns rapidly upon the needle point.  If you mentally order a change in direction, the one-way movement will cease and the paper will start revolving in the opposite direction. Of course, it is essential that you do not breathe or exhale in the direction of the paper.  

The force that brings into play the great system of the subconscious is a sustained thought or, as previously stated, a fixed mental picture. Sometimes just a single utterance, a momentary glance accompanying a word or two traveling from one person to another, has brought the subconscious into immediate play.  

Perhaps the most effective method of bringing the subconscious into practical action is through the process of making mental pictures - using the imagination - perfecting an image of the thing or situation as you would have it exist in physical form.  

However, most of the sustained and continuing manifestations come as a result of belief - when you believe it "heart and soul." That's the force that brings outstanding results, sets the law of attraction into operation, and enables sustained thought to correlate with its object. This belief changes the tempo of the mind, of thought-frequency, and, like a huge magnet, draws the subconscious forces into play, changing your whole aura and affecting everything about you. It brings into your individual sphere of life results that are sometimes startling - often results you never dreamed possible.

Best results in life were obtained by close harmony and co-operation between the conscious and sub-conscious minds.

There is dormant in each human being a faculty, whether it is developed or not, which will enable that particular individual to succeed if the desire for success is present in his conscious mind.

 MORE LESSONS FROM MOM

 

* My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.  

"Stop acting like your father!"

 

* My mother taught me about ENVY.

"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do"

 

* My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.

"Just wait until we get home!"

 

* My mother taught me about RECEIVING.

"You are going to get it when you get home!"