SSABlog#58

I come to the SSA column more often than anyone, and for many reasons. The most obvious is that I write the column. Anoother reason that I visit frequently is to view and try out our sponsors. The program we use for ads is Google. While I am not a fan of advertising per se, I have come to realize that I simply could not afford to spponsor this website myself. Given that it was ncessary to use advertising, I am relying on Google to have good ads to my readers. So of course I click often and visit the sponsors. What I have found, much to my own surprise, that there are services and products that I have found and used here on the SSA site. I do keep an eye out, but if there are ads that you find disturbing, please let me know. At the moment, only ads for tobacco products are blocked, and I am not seeing a problem there.

SO....Given all that, do click on a sponsor ad. Internet services, and marketing on the internet is the newest success and the way of the future. Some great information and products are out there for YOU...

Franklin D. Roosevelt

One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.
Bernard Baruch

Happiness is like a cat. If you try to coax it or call it, it will

avoid you. It will never come. But if you pay no attention to it and

go about your business, you'll find it rubbing up against your legs

and jumping into your lap.

William Bennett

Light tomorrow with today!
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Goals are a preview of future events and experiences in your life.
Mark Victor Hansen

Inspirational Reading

GETTING UP WHEN YOU'RE FEELING DOWN by Steve Goodier

Do you ever feel blah? Ever wish you had a permanent "picker-upper"?

If so, this may be for you.

In the 1920s, if you were looking for a little pick-me-up with your

mid-afternoon snack, you might have reached for a cold, refreshing

glass of 7-Up. Well, it wasn't called 7-Up back then, it was called

"Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." (Say THAT three times fast!)

Inventor C.L.Grigg's original recipe included the antidepressant

lithium until the 1940s as a "picker-upper" (www.cadburyschweppes.com)

That's also probably why the original Coca-Cola formula included the

stimulant cocaine.

Today, people not suffering from serious depression understand that

they usually don't need mood-altering drugs to cope with daily life.

But most folks struggle with bouts of mild depression, despondency or

"the blahs" from time to time. How do you pick yourself up when you're

feeling down, without the aid of Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda?

Of course, talking about the reasons you're down, making needed

changes, watching your diet, getting enough exercise and sleep,

developing a positive mental outlook and utilizing spiritual resources

are all important pieces of our emotional puzzles. But one important

strategy for feeling better (and one that's least used) is helping

others in need.

* Visit a shut-in neighbor.

* Write a letter.

* Call a friend who has been struggling.

* Volunteer at church, synagogue or the local food pantry.

* Rake someone's leaves.

* Bake homemade bread for a new neighbor.

* Wash your spouse's car.

* Volunteer to baby-sit for a young mother.

* Plan an unexpected act of kindness.

* Give a gift for no reason at all.

The needs are abundant, and those who put aside some regular time to

do something kind for others will often forget they were feeling low.

It seems that extending a hand to others likewise lifts us up!

Corrie Ten Boom beautifully said, "The measure of a life, after all,

is not its duration, but its donation." And if you've been feeling

low, the best time to donate a piece of yourself is now!

To read today's message in LARGE PRINT, please go to:

http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/largeprint.html </a>