SSA Blog #005     By Michelle Drew     November, 2005

Today is a travelling day for me again. I would classify airports to be very user unfriendly. In fact,
I am outright stressed by the experience. On the other hand, airplanes, the crew keeps you running.
It's been a while since we have saluted the folks that work in the airline industry. There are pilots and
flight attendants who help to make the thorny experience a tolerable experience.
This is a long one, but I have a great book to devour on the way.

Today we feature an inspirational story by Steve Goodier. While on sabbatical last summer, I continued
to read the inspirational thoughts and quotes that I have read daily for over 6 years now. It was just as
helpful and uplifting to me personally, as it is to publish it for you. Anyway, Steve is really special. Do visit
his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/ .

People should spend at least a few minutes a day feeling good. Reading positive thoughts does help to
remind you of how good life is, despite what is going on individually with your own life.


Here is Steve Goodier..

LEARN TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE
A woman was explaining her theory of putting her children to bed: "I
never tell bedtime stories that begin with 'Once upon a time,'" she
said. "If I really want to put them to sleep, I start off with, 'Now,
when I was your age...'" It's nice to understand people so well that
we know just what to say! Here is a mother who could speak her
children's language.
The story is told of the most famous elephant in the world -- a huge,
beautiful and gentle beast named Bozo. Children extended open palms
filled with peanuts for the Indian elephant, who gently plucked them
from little hands and seemed to smile as he ate his treats.
But one day, for some inexplicable reason, Bozo changed. He almost
stampeded the man who cleaned his cage. He charged children at the
circus and became incorrigible. His owner knew he would have to
destroy the once-gentle giant.
In order to raise money for a new elephant, the circus owner held a
cruel exhibition. He sold tickets to witness Bozo's execution and, on
the appointed day, his arena was packed. Three men with high-powered
rifles rose to take aim at the great beast's head.
Just before the signal was given to shoot, a little, stubby man in a
brown hat stepped out of the crowd and said to the elephant's owner,
"Sir, this is not necessary. Bozo is not a bad elephant."
"But he is," the man argued. "We must kill him before he kills
someone."
"Sir, give me two minutes alone in his cage," the visitor pleaded,
"and I'll prove to you that you are wrong. He is not a bad elephant."
After a few more moments of discussion (and a written statement
absolving the circus of liability if the man should be injured), the
keeper finally agreed to allow the man inside Bozo's cage. The
man removed his brown derby and entered the cage of the bellowing and
trumpeting beast.
Before the elephant could charge, the man began to speak to him. Bozo
seemed to immediately quiet down upon hearing the man's words. Nearby
spectators could also hear the man, but they could not understand him,
for he spoke a foreign language. Soon the great animal began to
tremble, whine and throw his head about. Then the stranger walked up
to Bozo and stroked his trunk. The great elephant tenderly wrapped his
trunk around the man, lifted him up and carried him around his cage
before carefully depositing him back at the door. Everyone applauded.
As the cage door closed behind him, the man said to Bozo's keeper,
"You see, he is a good elephant. His problem is that he is an Indian
elephant and understands one language." He explained that Bozo was
frustrated and confused. He needed someone who could speak his
language. "I suggest, sir, that you find someone in London to come in
occasionally and talk to the elephant. If you do, you'll have no
problems."
The man picked up his brown derby and walked away. It was at that time
that the circus owner looked carefully at the signature on the paper
he held in his hand -- the note absolving the circus of responsibility
in the case he was injured inside the elephant's cage. The statement
was signed by Rudyard Kipling.
People also become frustrated and angry when they are not understood.
But great relationships are formed by parents who learn to speak their
children's language; lovers who speak each other's language;
professionals who speak the language of their staff and clients. When
people understand that YOU understand, that you empathize with their
heartaches and understand their problems, then you are speaking their
language! It is the beginning of true communication.
- Steve Goodier

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All Good Thoughts...

Endurance is patience concentrated.
Thomas Carlyle
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Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal.
Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to
your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs.
Mario Andretti
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Human kind has to get out of violence only through nonviolence.
Hatred can be overcome only by love. Counter-hatred only
increases the surface as well as the depth of hatred.
Mahatma Gandhi