Inspiration

Sometimes I need a pick-me-up. I came across this today and it made me think:

The places in which we are seen and heard are holy places
They remind us of our value as human beings. They give us the strength to go on.

Eventually, they may even help us to transform our pain into wisdom
by Rachel Naomi Remen

Positive Words, Powerful Results, Simple ways to honor, affirm, and celebrate life
By Hal Urban; This book won Inspirational Book of the Year from Writer’s Digest

Hal Urban, a high school teacher, challenged his students to go one day without saying anything negative. Very few were able to achieve 24 hours without saying a negative word. This book has discussions of how the words we use affect our minds, the climate around us and how other people view us by our communication.

Can you go one day without saying a negative word?

From the book

These are the kinds of things we do not like to hear, things that either hurt us or offend us or drag us down. This is a wake up call to show just how many ways there are to poison our surroundings with our own words.

The author calls this list the Dirty 30.

1. Bragging
2. Swearing and other gross-out language
3. Gossip
4. Mean-spirited and hurtful words
5. Angry Words
6. Playing “poor me” – the self-pity game
7. Lies
8. Making discouraging remarks
9. Judging others
10. Embarrassing and humiliating people
11. Teasing
12. Excessive faultfinding and criticism
13. Manipulation
14. Complaining, moaning, whining
15. Ethnic and racial slurs
16. Rude and inconsiderate language
17. Sexist comments
18. Trying to impress others with phony and insincere comments
19. Age-related put-downs
20. Threats
21. Being negative – always pointing out what’s wrong
22. Arguing
23. False Flattery
24. Interrupting – not letter the other person finish
25. Yelling
26. Exaggerating
27. Talking down to people – being condensing
28. Being a know-it-all
29. Blaming and accusing others
30. Playing “trump” –always topping someone else’s story


And for the other side, these are the Thoughtful Thirty

1. Give encouragement
2. Express thanks
3. Acknowledge others
4. Extend greetings
5. Give a compliment
6. Congratulate someone
7. Teach, give instructions
8. Offer words of comfort
9. Inspire others
10. Celebrate and cheer
11. Inquires, express interest
12. Mend relationships
13. Make others laugh
14. Show faith and trust
15. Share good news
16. Praise, honor, build up
17. Express caring
18. Show understanding and empathy
19. Give approval
20. Extend an invitation
21 Show courtesy and respect
22. Give advice and counsel
23. Apologize
24. Forgive
25. Offer to help
26. Tell the truth
27. Point out the good
28. Use terms of affection
29. Provide valuable information
30. Communicate love