FIGURING OUT LUKEWARM PEOPLE

By Vernalee

Allow me to introduce you to a group of folks defined as “lukewarm” people. You know and see them as frequently as I. Those are the ones who do just enough to get by which makes it even more complicated. Their luke warmness protects them which makes their behaviors harder to gauge. They play games so that you cannot ascertain whether they are hot or cold.

They are bare minimum and serial piecemeal specialists. Though it may be scarce, they minimally come through in a clutch.

“A little here; a little there” is their motto. Go figure! They will truly never be inconvenienced for anyone other than themselves.

Why are you so disappointed? Is it because you do more for them than they do for you? Or do you think that they could/should do more? Are you focusing too much energy and time on them?

Stop worrying about them.

Just don’t be like them! At the end of the day, whether hot, cold, or lukewarm, they will be judged on their deeds just as you!

Touché! Photo credit: www.the politicalcarnival.net

WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS?

By Vernalee

Crossing racial, gender, and socio-economics lines, I call a selected few my true friends. They are my friends not for how they look or what they have, but for the genuine relationship that we share.

It is said that you basically need five types of friends. Without calling my friends by name, let me provide you with their descriptions. The comedian is the friend who makes you laugh and interjects humor into your life. The risk taker is the adventurer who stimulates you beyond the status quo. The loyalist will stand by your side through thick and thin no matter what. The challenger always encourages you to maximize your position. The life coach is the friend who you can talk to about anything without judgment being passed. A few of my friends have amazingly combined these five ingredients into one. From Mississippi to Ohio with an extension into multiple other states, I am truly blessed as I have these wonderful loving people in my life. Their professions are too multiple to outline. Regardless of what they do on their day jobs or if they don't work at all, I believe that they sincerely care about me as I care about them! We genuinely want the best for each other and do not begrudge the other. Encouragement is in; jealously is out. Love flows in all direction as does our advice. I made a basic discovery years ago – The type of friend that you are is just as important as the type of friend that you have! Like a magnet, you attract what you are! It is my responsibility to be there for them as they are for me. The measurement stick has been removed. We just do! It is a two way street. It is what friends do! Photo credit: www.gettyimages.com

WHEN AN OLD PERSON DIES, A LIBRARY BURNS TO THE GROUND

By Vernalee

This prophetic African proverb, "When an old man (or old woman) dies a library burns," helps you to appreciate how much history, knowledge, and wisdom our parents, grandparents... carried in their minds and souls. It makes you value the time that you had to spend with them. Oh my, what a blessing!

It is a treasured resource as to how much you benefited from their wisdom. Truly, they were reservoirs of information filled with family history; mostly unwritten. You were enriched from the nectar of their lips when they kissed you and from the sweetness of the time you spent together. They taught so many valuable lessons. While some of the information that departed from their mouths is fresh in our minds, we should take the time to record what they pass down so we can share with generations to come. Sorely missed many are! There have been so many times that I wanted to ask my Mother questions and seek her advice, but her voice is no more. It is for those reasons that we should treasure and respect what we have in our elders as long as we can. So much lived within their walls, and so much faded in the sunset when we lost them. For those who are remaining, while their nostrils pump out warm air, we should squeeze and grab as much of them as often and as long as we can! We'll be glad that we did!

There is always someone who has said it before and better than me. Here's a poem that hits the nail on the head.

When An Old Man Dies ~

"The old man he is an archive holding records of past history. They are kept alive and survive in his memory. There to share with you and me, from his wondrous library.

In the depository of his mind these treasures are abound. And in the flames of death. When an old man dies; a library burns down.

In the waning embers. The cost, if not passed on. These records of wisdom are then forever lost; when he is gone..." Thad Wilk

Photo credit: www.pininterest.com

Source: When An Old Man Dies- PoemHunter.com