Photo taken in the United Arab Emirates posted courtesy of Akhilesh Sharma
June 14, 2002
"It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings"....Dale Carnegie.
This seems to go along with action giving us confidence and courage. If we react in a neutral way, we don't seem to have much thought about what is happening. Whereas, if we react with a little interest....well, we have a totally different feeling for the situation....
The following is taken from Dale Carnegie's Scrapbook....
"It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it. For example, two people may be in the same place, doing the same thing; both may have about an equal amount of money and prestige--and yet one may be miserable and the other happy. Why? Because of different mental attitudes"....Dale Carnegie.
This for me is sooo obvious in my feelings for online. Just one year ago, I was still blaming everything on AOL. And as the months passed and I met more and more people through my website....we exchanged briefly and I realized the true meaning of Michael's words...."We are who we are." I began to pay more attention to the character quotes. The following three have come to mean a lot to me....first Helen Keller.... "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." I thought of how quiet it always was when I used to be online. My computer was in my room....and I was alone for hours on end with nothing but the sound of my computer and typing....the affect of trial and suffering I experienced during those days....only became visible when I left that setting and began to share with people who can see me and form their own opinions based on what they see not what I tell them. Second is the quote by Elbert Hubbard...."Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time." Well, the way I was spending my time on the computer was determining my mental attitude....and it wasn't very inspiring!!! And third....the words of Dwight L. Moody...."Character is what you are in the dark." To me, I suddenly see the computer as the dark....and this really is who we are :-) I had it backwards!!! This is real life :-)
song playing....Walk of Life