Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story #2 - Finding A Job..when You Least Expect It!

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story #2 - Finding A Job..when You Least Expect It!
--posted by emackaroni83 on Dec 30, 2012

So I haven't held a job since April of 2011 due to multiple health issues. I currently draw disability but am having trouble finding money at the end of the month so I decided I would look for a partime job.

So I haven't held a job since April of 2011 due to multiple health issues. I currently draw disability but am having trouble finding money at the end of the month so I decided I would look for a partime job.

I have been applying, interviewing, etc since July with no prospects. I haVe been told mostly that I am overqualified, or they need fulltime etc. I had been getting pretty discouraged. I started my randomn act of kindness way back in February for me personally, not to get anything back but a good feeling. With no job prospects and with the winter coming meaning higher utility costs etc I had been feeling pretty down and gloomy. I was actually asking myself why cant someone be kind enough to take me on as an employee.

This past Tuesday evening it was freezing cold outside and going on 9pm as I was waiting at a city bus stop. Just as the bus pulled up a young woman walked up to the bus stop. She had a tshirt, capris, and flip-flops on. She also was wearing several hospital bracelets. I asked her her name and if she had a coat or anywhere to go. She quickly told me she had lost her apartment because she lost her job then got very sick and was put in the hospital. She has no family in the area and didnt even know where she was going to sleep tonight.
I dug in my purse and took out some bus tickets, and $5.00 so she could get something to eat. I then took off my jacket and tennis shoes and gave them to her. I said these are a little big but they should keep you warm. She looked at me and said "Arent you gonna be cold?" I told her me being cold for 15 minutes until I get to my place is worth it if I know you will be a little warmer for wherever you end up. She cried and thanked me with a hug. I just told her to pass it on.

Then after I got on the bus thats when the miracle of spreading kindness happened. I stepped up to pay the fare and the bus driver says "Mam, I saw what you just did and your fare is on me. even though technically we arent suppose to let you get on the bus without shoes he said with a wink".

I went to sit down and this lady who was dressed in a very professional business suit calls me over to her seat. She says "I wanna know the name of the person who just did the most inspiring thing I have ever seen" I told her my name and she is like "What can I do for you to give back what I just witnessed?' I jokingly said a paying job would be nice. She said I might be able to work something out. She asked for my name and number and said she would call me the next day.

The next day she calls me and says that she has a part time administrative assistant position open in her company and wants me to come in and meet with the manager today. It turned out the lady was the head HR person for this company.

I went in for the interview and got a call this afternoon. I start Monday morning at 9am!

Thank you all for inspiring me to keep passing the kindness on! I never expected to get so much back in return!

The Pages Long Forgotten

The Pages Long Forgotten

Mike stepped into the used bookstore, smelled the age of old pages and smiled.

Here was a wealth of old stories, history waiting to be read, and a host of other joys. On a back shelf, he found what he was looking for, two tiers crammed with the forgotten. They'd served their use to those who once held them dear, but now gathered dust in the darkest corner of the store.

There were Italian, American, French and Greek. They contained secrets from around the world. There were collections of chicken, beef, pastries, bread, and desserts. They waited, hidden in a little explored part of the store, and hoped someone discovered their treasures.

Mike knew what to do. He picked one up, held the spine in his hand and let the book fall open. They always opened to the most used pages, the recipes loved by lost generations. The page in front of him was for a recipe called, "Beef-filled cornbread". The picture showed a delicious layer of meat and cheese, layered with cornbread and covered with a hot sauce. The pages were stained with splatters of tomato sauce. It was obviously a favorite of the previous owners. He'd try this one.

Those used the most are the best.

He found several other books, each with its own marked pages, carried them to the counter and made his purchase.

"I hope you found something you like." The cashier said.

"Oh yes. Very much! I'm sure these are exactly to my taste."

He paid for his purchase, left the store and carried them in a bag on his way to work.

In the locker room, he placed his books on the top shelf and changed into his scrubs. The recipes would wait. He had a duty.

Freshly dressed, he walked his floor. "Hello, Mrs. Smith!" He smiled at the elderly lady sitting in the sun-room reading a book. In her day, she must have been a beautiful woman. She still was, for a woman in her eighties. "How was your day?"

"Horrible!" she growled. He sat beside her, held her hand and looked into her eyes. "My grandson didn't visit me," she continued. "He promised me he'd be here today." She adjusted her shawl and tried to hide the tears about to spill from her wizened eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow." he replied. "You know how busy these young people are." He noted the tear in the corner of her eye and changed subject. "Mrs. Smith, didn't you tell me you lived during the great depression?"

A smile came to her face. "Oh, yes. What a time that was. There was no work, ya know. But we survived."

"How did you get by?"

"Well, we all worked together. Everyone worked together. We helped each other." She frowned. "It's not like today, where people are too busy to worry about anyone but themselves. In those days, we worked together. If you didn't, you starved."

"It must have been a hard time, Mrs. Smith. I don't know how you did it."

"I didn't." she grinned. "We did. We did it together, the neighbors and my family."

He left her smiling and hoped her grandson paid a visit the next day.

He moved down the hall and stepped into Mr. Walker's room. "Hey, Walk! How's things?" He used the name Walk, as all the others in the center called him. It made Walk feel comfortable.

Mr. Walker looked up from a puzzle he leaned over. "Could be better, Mike. This damn puzzle has me stumped. These eyes aren't what they used to be."

"I know, Walk. Just take your time. There's no rush."

"There is too." Walk chuckled. "I need to finish it before I die."

"Not too soon I hope." Mike said.

"Soon enough. Be glad not to have to work on this darn thing anymore anyway. Say! Have I told you about the guy who walks into a bar with a giraffe under his arm?"

Mike chuckled. Walk loved a good joke. "I don't believe you have."

Walk's face broke out in a smile. "You see, this guy walks into a bar with a giraffe under his arm. He has a few beers. The giraffe falls asleep on the floor. The bartender looks down, sees the giraffe and asks, 'What's that lying on the floor?'

"The guy says, 'That's not a lion! That's a giraffe.'"

Walk broke into a laugh that turned into a coughing spell. Mike slapped him on the back. "Come on, Walk. Cough it up."

Walk got himself under control. "Thought I wasn't going to finish this damn puzzle after all."

"You're OK now. I got your back."

I know about covering someone's back." Walk sat straight his seat. "I was in WWII ya know."

"I heard that. Did you have a hard time?" Mike asked.

"Mike, you have no idea. It was the winter of '41, or was it '42. I can't remember now. Snow was up to here." Walk pointed to his thigh. "We were on the front. The enemy was close ."

Thirty minutes later, Mike said, "WOW! That's a story, Walk." He paused. "Walk, I knew you were in the war, but I don't think I ever thanked you. I want to say, 'Thank you.' You made us safe."

"Ah, stop it. It was nothing." Walk turned to his puzzle, too embarrassed to continue their talk. He and others knew what they did, but don't want to take credit. It's an unspoken rule between the veterans. They did what they had to.

Mike continued on his rounds, held hands, shared hugs and listened.

Here they were, like the cookbooks, sitting in dark corners, ignored. Mike knew what to do. He held them, let their hearts fall open, and found the pages stained with use.

They are the most valued. They are the pages long forgotten.


Michael T. Smith


Michael lives with his lovely wife, Ginny, in Caldwell, Idaho. He works as a project manager in Telecommunications and in his spare time writes inspiration stories. He has recently been published in two Chicken Soup for the Soul Books (All in the Family and Things I Learned from My Cat), in "Thin Threads - Life Changing Moments" and in Catholic Digest.

To sign up for Michael's stories go to: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1101828445578&p=oi

To read more of his stories, go to: http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml#stories

Believers in Small Graces

Believers in Small Graces

There are those who search God in the quiet places -- no churches, no public displays of piety, no dramatic or flamboyant rituals.

They may be found standing in humble awe before a sunset, or weeping quietly at the beauty of a Bach concerto, or filled with an overflowing of pure love at the sight of an infant in the arms of its mother.

You may meet them visiting the elderly, comforting the lonely, feeding the hungry, and caring for the sick.

The greatest among them may give away what they own in the name of compassion and goodness, while never once uttering the word “God” out loud. Or they may do no more than offer a smile or a hand to someone in need, or quietly bow their heads at a moment of beauty that passes through their lives, and say a simple prayer of gratitude to the spirit that has created us all.

They are the lovers of the quiet God, the believers in the small graces of ordinary life.

Theirs is not the grand way, the way of the mystic or the preacher or the zealot or the saint. Some would say that theirs is not a way at all. All they know for certain is that life has beauty and a joy that transcends all the darkness that surrounds us, that something ineffable lives beyond the ordinary affairs of the day, and that without this mystery our lives would not be worth living.

I honor those who search for the quiet God, who seek the spirit in the small moments of our everyday life. It is a celebration of the ordinary, a reminder that when all else is stripped away, a life lived with love is enough.

--Kent Nerbern

Love for No Reason

Love for No Reason


Through the train window, she watched the villages and vineyards of the Italian countryside go by. It was 1942 and Sussi Penzias, a young Jewish woman who’d fled Nazi Germany, was traveling alone, hoping to remain unnoticed. Since she’d arrived in Italy three years earlier, she’d been moving from place to place, staying with friends and friends of friends, hiding from the authorities. Now she was on her way to yet another safe house in a new town.


Suddenly, the door at the end of the train car swung open and two police officers came in. Sussi’s heart beat wildly. They were wearing the black uniform of the Fascisti, the government police. To Sussi’s horror, the policemen began making their way down the aisle, stopping at every row to examine the papers of each passenger.


Sussi knew that as soon as the policemen discovered she had no papers, she would be arrested. She was terrified she’d end up in a concentration camp, and would face unimaginable suffering and almost certain death.


The officers were getting closer, just a few rows away. There was no escape. It was only a matter of minutes before they would reach her seat. Sussi began to tremble uncontrollably, and tears slid down her cheeks.


The man sitting next to her noticed her distress and politely asked her why she was crying.


“I’m Jewish and I have no papers,” she whispered, hardly able to speak.


To her surprise, a few seconds later the man began shouting at her, “You idiot! I can’t believe how stupid you are! What an imbecile!”


The police officers, hearing the commotion, stopped what they were doing and came over. “What’s going on here?” one of them asked. Sussi began crying even harder.


The man turned a disgusted face to the policemen and said, “Officers, take this woman away! I have my papers, but my wife has forgotten hers! She always forgets everything. I’m so sick of her. I don’t ever want to see her again!”


The officers laughed, shaking their heads at the couple’s marital spat, and moved on.


With a selfless act of caring, the stranger on the train had saved Sussi’s life. Sussi never saw the man again. She never even knew his name.

* * * * *


When Sussi’s great-niece, Shifra, told me this story, I was in awe. I wondered, What is it that inspires someone to extend himself, even risk his life, for someone he doesn’t know? The man on the train didn’t help Sussi because she’d made him a great breakfast that morning or had picked up his dry cleaning. He helped her because in that moment of heroism he was moved by an impulse of compassion and unconditional love.


I’m not talking about Hollywood or Hallmark-card kind of love, but love as a state of being—the kind of love that is limitless and doesn’t ask to be returned.


Is it possible to live in that state of unconditional love all the time?


That was the question I set out to answer when I started writing my most recent book, Love for No Reason. And what I learned through my research is that each of us can grow in unconditional love, the kind of love that doesn’t depend on any person or situation. Imagine loving people, not because they fill your needs or because their opinions match your own, but because you’re connected to a state of pure love within yourself.


This simple but profound shift creates remarkable changes in every area of life. Instead of feeling a little hungry all the time—for love, security, more stuff, more recognition, more everything—people who are unconditionally loving feel full and complete. It affects how they show up in every moment. In fact, though a person’s life might not depend on making this shift, the quality of his or her life does. When people live in unconditional love their world turns from black-and-white to dazzling Technicolor.


By Marci Shimoff. Adapted from Love for No Reason: 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love (Free Press, December 2010), which offers a breakthrough approach to experiencing a lasting state of unconditional love. www.TheLoveBook.com

Prosperity Consciousness or Bargain Consciousness?

Happiness Just Ahead

A very good question was posted on a Feel Free to Prosper forum...

I thought this was an excellent subject to share with you as I have no doubt that in an economy like the current one, this subject is probably on the minds of many who desire to maintain a prosperity consciousness when outer appearances support the opposite.

The Question:

"I consider myself a good shopper: use coupons, wait for sales, buy generic, etc. But are these smart shopper "actions" sending a bad signal to my subconscious? After all, the message I want to send is "I can afford anything (at any price)." How about it, do we have to be as careful with our actions as we are with our words?"


My Answer:

What a wonderful opportunity to express my views relating to prosperity consciousness vs. bargain consciousness . . .

On the subject of sales and bargains, there is something magical that happens when you acquire a prosperity mindset.

One of the great perks of acquiring a prosperity consciousness is that savings and discounts of all kinds will follow YOU on the path. When we are connected to our Universal Source, suddenly it seems like the Universe becomes your personal shopper whose goal is to provide you with the best for your needs at the very best price. You no longer have to shop to seek the best prices - no comparison shopping, no bargain hunting. Discounts and savings seek you and appear before you spontaneously as if you are the elite member of a private wholesale club. Except that the savings you attract are often far below wholesale!

This is not to be confused with a kind of "bargain" mentality that is based on lack and the fear of not having enough. The spontaneous manifesting of savings — the real bargains — come when we accept prosperity as natural to us and we know that the Universe is providing for all our needs. It's a joyful experience. We attract bargains at the highest possible level. We are intuitively led to the right place at the right time.

Let me share just a few of my numerous experiences of being spontaneously guided in this way to 'Universal' size bargains …

I have always loved beautiful, fine quality handbags.

One year I walked into Nordstrom's department store and found an absolutely gorgeous black leather and leopard print handbag. It was extremely expensive looking, but I didn't recognize the designer name. The attached sales tag showed the price of $135 — not at all unreasonable for such a beautiful bag. It was the only one of its kind in the department. I had to have it. I handed it to the saleswoman but she looked at the tag and told me she couldn't sell it to me. She said this designer's bags sold for at least $500 or $600 and this one must have been mislabeled. Although the label was attached, she believed she was justified in refusing to sell it. The department manager wouldn't be in until the following day. We arranged for the saleswoman to put the handbag on hold and have the manager call me to give me the correct price.

The next day, the department manager called and told me the price of the handbag was $600. But since the attached tag read $135, she told me that by store policy, she had to sell the bag for the labeled price. She invited me to come and purchase my bag for $135!

I have found that expensive handbags stay new looking for years and that one still looks beautiful to this day

Another year I found an elegant Donna Karan Couture clutch handbag in a department store. It was $900 — way beyond the price I chose to spend. But I had a "hunch" to ask the saleswoman if the bag might go on sale in the near future. For some unknown reason, she looked over the bag very carefully and found an imperceptible tiny flaw hidden in a fold that no one would ever see. I certainly would not have found it. But she said that since it had that tiny flaw, she had the authority to sell it to me at half price! I never asked for this. She offered. Another beautiful bag I still use that receives many compliments.

One of my most striking experiences was the purchase of an entire collection of Villory & Boch dinnerware. I didn't set out to buy a collection — I intended to buy a few place settings of the gorgeous Plantation and Tropical Collection, which was on sale in a department store's catalogue. But when I called to place the phone order, the store had none in stock. I discovered that particular pattern had been discontinued by the manufacturer and any remaining items in circulation were selling at up to 80% off retail prices. I jumped on the opportunity and using only the telephone, I was guided to manifest the entire collection from several stores around the nation. The retail cost of the collection: over $7,000. The price I paid for everything: Under $1,500. This included not only ten settings of the dinnerware, but all of the accent pieces, accessories, flatware and bake ware.

Another time I was shopping for a specific item of sleepwear and didn't intend to buy anything else. But I was irresistibly drawn to a sale rack where I found two beautiful Ralph Lauren casual pieces — top and bottom — in my favorite shade of red. They were the only two items of that kind, both in my size and they fit perfectly. They were marked down half price but I loved the outfit so much I would have paid full price. When the items were rung up at the register, the saleswoman informed me that the half-price tag was incorrect. Instead, they scanned at $6.52 each!

A major coup was when the Universe literally handed me a beautiful new car and opened the door for me to purchase it — brand new - for about $10,000 less than retail.

Do I look for bargains? No. Do I love a bargain? Yes!

As a prosperity thinker, expect these surprises to show up in every area of your life and business — for everyday needs as well as luxury items.

The Universe is your personal shopper :-)

by Marilyn Jenett

THE MAGIC OF JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS by Kate Corbin

THE MAGIC OF JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS

"Shower the people you love with love."
- James Taylor

As most of us have experienced, relationships can bring us our greatest joys as well as our deepest sorrows. Relationships are such an integral part of our lives that the quality of our relationships often determines the overall quality of our lives.

How, then, can we experience relationships that lift us up rather than drag us down? By exposing limiting beliefs and replacing them with empowering beliefs, we can all experience the Magic of Joyful Relationships. To consciously create the happy, healthy relationships we desire, let's start by taking a look at:

WHAT DOES NOT CREATE JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS:

- Blaming and Complaining. The more we focus on the unwanted aspects of others, the more unwanted aspects we elicit from them.Ouch!

- Expecting Others to Make Us Happy. When our happiness or unhappiness is dependent on the behavior of others, we give away both our power and our freedom. :-(

- Trying to Change / Fix / Control Others. If we need others to change so that we can feel good, we are definitely looking for happiness in all the wrong places.

There's got to be a better way.


WHAT DOES CREATE JOYFUL RELATIONSHIPS:

- Feel Good First. Being independently happy and determined to keep our own vibration high is the perfect platform for creating great relationships. As we know from Law of Attraction, feeling good IS the most important thing.

- Self-Love First. If we want others to love, value, and appreciate us, we must love, value, and appreciate ourselves first. Period.

- Source First. When we tend to our primary relationship with our Inner Being / Source / God, then all our other relationships will be harmonious.

- Think and Thank. As we think of things we appreciate about others and express that appreciation often, we deepen and sweeten our connection with them.

- Look for Positive Aspects. When we focus on the positive qualities of others, they will display more of their positive qualities, at least with us! :-) It helps to remember this: At their core, EVERYONE is Pure, Positive Energy.

- Tell a New Story. We can free ourselves from past hurts and painful memories by talking about relationships the way we want them to be. We can get unstuck by telling a new, improved story, such as: All my relationships are joyful!

Now that we've shined a light on the major factors behind relationship woes and relationship bliss, let's turn our attention to what Law of Attraction considers the key to manifesting wonderfully harmonious relationships:

DIRECTING OUR THOUGHTS

Although we have no real control over what others are doing, we have complete control over our own thoughts and, happily, that is all we need. Our thoughts determine who we attract into our lives and our thoughts determine how these people behave once they get there.

Good relationships are creations. As we direct our thoughts exclusively and consistently toward what we DO WANT in relationships, we begin consciously and deliberately creating the relationships of our dreams.

As we maintain a strong connection with Source, love ourselves and others, appreciate rather than judge, live our lives as we see fit and let others do the same, accept full responsibility for our own happiness, feel as good as we can in every moment, and direct the power of our thoughts toward the positive aspects of others, we are applying the Law of Attraction to create delightful, delicious relationships. When we do these things, we are sure to experience the Magic of Joyful Relationships.


Kate Corbin

A bumper sticker philosophy by - Judy Campbell

A bumper sticker philosophy by - Judy Campbell

"If anything can go well, it will"

The quote above is on a bumper sticker created by Gene Whitford, gene@leavesandroots.com. The bumper sticker is available at various locations in Orlando, I picked mine up from the Avalon bookstore, Gene says they are also available at Leaves and Roots, and the Spiral Circle. The point of view presented on this bumper sticker is far more optimistic than another one we have all seen. According to the law of attraction the energy we put out into the universe creates our experience. So who would want to drive around attracting s#*! happening?

Now there are many whom are skeptical of the whole philosophy of we create our own reality or the law of attraction. This is particularly true when situations do not turn out the way we would like. In circumstances that we label as "bad', we're pretty quick to absolve ourselves of any part in the outcome, we are equally quick to blame God though. In situations with a favorable outcome we're sure it's because of our genius or our personal worthiness. For some reason human beings seem to believe God makes mistakes, and not the other way around, which would mean we the humans are mistaken. If we create our lives based upon our use or misuse of Universal energy, it would be in our best interests to travel in an attitude of positive energy.

Wayne Dyer in his new book and PBS feature, Excuses Begone!, makes the point that unless we are 100% sure of something being true, about ourselves or life, then perhaps we would be better served by erring on the side of a thought or idea that will take us where we want to go. Energy is flowing around us... to us...through us. Our experiences are determined by how much we allow this Universal energy to flow into our lives unimpeded. Abraham-Hicks calls this "The Art of Allowing", A Course in Miracles says "you can wait, delay , paralyze yourself, or reduce your creativity almost to nothing. But you cannot abolish it."

Gene Whitford says that when he came up with this slogan for a bumper sticker, shortly thereafter, if not that same day, he received money from a trust fund. Coincidence... maybe , but once again are you 100% certain? In either case the power of decision is our own. As we venture out into the world, in whatever vehicle (physically or spiritually), we travel in and if we wish to carry a slogan along the way, why not choose one with positive energy because you know,

"If anything can go well, it will"

I Believe God Wants You To Know by Neale Donald Walsch

I Believe God Wants You To Know by Neale Donald Walsch

On this day of your life, Dear Friend, I believe God wants you to know...
....that you need not be concerned about money [or?]. Be concerned, instead, about joy.

How much joy are you experiencing in this moment? How much joy are you bringing to this moment? The joy you experience will be the joy you bring. If you are waiting for joy to be brought to you, you do not understand what you are doing here. And if you think that joy has anything to do with money (or weight or ?), you really do not understand what you are doing here.

There is a person waiting right now, right this very minute, for you to uplift them. Do that...and you will be rich.

Really. I mean, really. I'm not making this up.

Love, Your Friend....
Neale

I Believe God Wants You To Know by Neale Donald Walsch

I Believe God Wants You To Know by Neale Donald Walsch


On this day of your life, Dear Friend, I believe God wants you to know...
....that life offers you an amazing opportunity in every single moment to see and experience Who You Really Are.


Watch yourself this day. Just watch yourself. Look at what you are doing moment to moment...and why. Ask yourself in the midst of it, "What does this have to do with my real reason for being here? Is this what I have come all the way to the Earth to experience?"


If the answer is a resounding Yes, keep doing it. If the answer is No, ask yourself, "What in the world am I doing?" Look at the words and consider them literally. What-in-the-world-am-I-doing? What am I involved in every day, and what does this have to do with my soul? It's just a question...just a question...

Love, Your Friend....
Neale