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" Don’t be afraid to fail. Something good always comes out of failure.”

And I might add right now: if we let it! Failing is never easy to cope with unless we allow ourselves to learn from that failure. Thomas Edison is one of the best examples of learning from failing. Even though he didn’t invent the first light bulb he took the 50 year old idea and improved on it to the point where he even received credit for inventing it. But, the point here is that it took 3000 different kinds of filaments being made and tested before he finally got the one as we know it today. IMAGINE………2,999 FAILURES. But each one that he made and then threw away, he learned something from. What would the world be like today if he had stopped after making and testing 2,500 and then saying: “That’s it, I give up?”

We can learn a lot from his example. In my own case I have always marveled at the fact that some refuse to learn from their failings. Oh yes, we all make mistakes, we are not perfect, and we may make the same mistake repeatedly over a period of years. But, eventually it is a necessity to learn from that mistake. Remember the saying: “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on ME.” How applicable that is in our efforts to improve ourselves. Each time we have a failure it might be advantageous to ask ourselves: What lesson can I learn from this? Be honest with yourself! Dig deep and find the lesson, it is right there waiting for each of us to reconcile ourselves with the admission that we did do something wrong but can learn from it.

Have a great and smiley weekend-
Smiles from Garry
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“It is not love that is blind, but jealousy.” ~Lawrence Durrell, Justine, 1957

I was motivated to write about this because of some personal experiences going on right now in a good friend’s life. Some say that love is blind but it only takes some common sense to realize that TRUE love is not blind, it might overlook the faults of those being loved, but that is not blindness. To be able to overlook another’s faults is a sure display of love. The world would be so much better if everyone could practice that quality. So many relationships would not end up in bitter disputes.

Now, jealousy IS BLIND. It is because of jealousy that so many have been hurt, talked about behind their backs, and sadly, those “gossip” knife wounds remain for a long time. Talking behind someone’s back is one of the most devastating examples of jealousy. It not only destroys relationships but affects the person BEING TALKED TO emotionally. How? By coloring her/his opinion against another. My Mother use to say: “If someone talks to you ABOUT someone else, know for a fact that same person is talking ABOUT YOU to someone else too.” How true that is indeed.

A very good example here is I play at a cards game site. I love and enjoy playing there, in fact, I enjoy it so much that recently I became a host there, hosting spades for others. The Senior Host, which I will not disclose her name, puts a lot of time into the site and works very well with the Owner in keeping the games and people in an organized manner. It seems that there are other hosts that are jealous of this person that devotes so much time and effort into a game site that should be so much fun.

JEALOUSY IS BLIND!! Instead of thinking of the time the Senior Host puts in for everybody’s enjoyment, a host might become jealous because they feel they are not getting enough attention.

JEALOUSY IS BLIND!! So, instead of being appreciative it would be easy to go around and condemn the Senior Host, trying to bring attention onto herself instead of acting as a unified team. Sadly, that person will eventually end up the loser, not the Senior Host. Smart people will become wise to her efforts and turn their backs on her.

So, love is not blind, if it is the fruitful, fulfilling kind of love that binds a relationship, but jealousy definitely is blind and will end up destroying the person that is exercising it.

Have a great day all-
Smiles from Garry
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“Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.”

When I read this I immediately started laughing because Algebra was my worst subject in high school. I could see no sensible answer as to why I needed to know all this mumble jumble and the good thing was, it only lasted a year.

Life is like that too. It is like we are given a lesson to think about and then solve it. Sometimes we are handed a couple of lessons at the same time. How we react to these problems is the key to success. We could put them aside and refuse to acknowledge them, shutting them out of our life. The thing is, that problem will still be there if we ever get to the point of accepting it for what it is. Or, we could drown them in alcohol or drugs. Once again, the problem is still present but we have only multiplied the problem into something that looms much larger over us by resorting to a totally unstable way of solving it. Or, we could accept it head on and only then will it fade away into our past.

A few weeks ago I lost my father. At the time of his passing I really felt no emotional pains or periods of anxiety. I guess some might call it shock. However, now I am finding myself in deep periods of depression that will last for a day and then seem to flee from me. My life is good and I really have every reason to be content and happy. As I sat down this morning to type this it finally hit me! The problem that I needed to learn from this experience was that sometimes we go through life and don’t really take the time to make an effort to maintain a good relationship with our family and relatives. My father’s relationship with me was very rocky and strained over the last years, especially since the breakup of my marriage 15 years ago.

PLEASE, everybody, just take some time this long weekend to keep in touch with your families and friends. Just before you hang up the phone or at the end of your letter or email, say: “I love you”. It may be the last time you will be able to say it to them.

Have a great weekend-
Smiles from Garry

(I am tournament director for a live pinochle tournament in Denver, Oct. 9, 10 and 11, 2009. Interested? Go to http://www.playpin.org for details.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~