Just the other day a friend told me about an argument he had with a good friend. He was distraught about it and didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately, his friend didn’t want to talk about it with him - and didn’t want to talk to him - which only furthered his upset.

The only advice I could come up with had to do with the concept of acceptance: there are certain situations in life that can leave us feeling horribly in limbo. Sometimes all we can do is accept that awkward space. And let it be.

We rely upon the poets, the philosophers, and the playwrights to articulate what most of us can only feel, in joy and sorrow. They illuminate the thoughts for which we only grope; they give us the strength and balm we cannot find in ourselves. Whenever I feel my courage wavering I rush to them. They will give me the wisdom of acceptance, the will and resilience to push on.

- Helen Hayes

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

- Carl Rogers

Conversion for me was not a Damascus Road experience. I slowly moved into an intellectual acceptance of what my intuition had always known.

- Madeleine L’Engle

The mind can assert anything and pretend it has proved it. My beliefs I test on my body, on my intuitional consciousness, and when I get a response there, then I accept.

- D. H. Lawrence

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

- Melodie Beattie

Perhaps the most important thing we can undertake toward the reduction of fear is to make it easier for people to accept themselves, to like themselves.

- Bonaro W. Overstreet

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

I accept the universe!

(Ralph Waldo Emerson’s reported response: “By God, she’d better!”)

- Margaret Fuller

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s pretty hard to feel positively when you can’t see past your whirlwind of thought. In order to generate your own personal positive news, slowing down your inner chatter is needed. It is then you can make substantial changes and feel genuinely more positive…and calm!

Here are some quick pointers so you can quiet your mind and let some sunshine in: 

1. Remember that the key is not to clamp down on your mind or to do battle with your thoughts. Treat your mind gently, as though you are calming an upset child.
2. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths — comfortably deep breaths, not as though you’re trying to take in enough air to swim underwater for the length of a pool. Silently count the breaths as you exhale.

3. For the next three breaths, think to yourself (as you inhale), “For this life” — (and as you exhale) — “thank you, God.” If you have trouble with the God idea, feel free to secularize. Instead of, “thank you, God,” try simply, “I am grateful.”

4. For the next three breaths, think to yourself (as you inhale), “For this day” — (and as you exhale) — “thank you, God,” or “I am grateful.”

5. For the next three breaths, think to yourself (as you inhale), “For this hour” — (and as you exhale) — “thank you, God,” or “I am grateful.”

6. For the following three breaths, think to yourself (as you inhale), “For this moment” — (and as you exhale) — “thank you, God,” or “I am grateful.”

7. And for three more breaths, think to yourself (as you inhale), “For this breath” — (and as you exhale) — “thank you, God,” or “I am grateful.”

8. And for the final three breaths, think nothing. Relax and merely enjoy the feel of your breath as it enters, and as it exits, as it arrives, and as it departs.

9. Enjoy a moment of peace.

It’s not too many times Hooters has been included in our positive news post. I dare say this may be the first (interstingly Hooters contributes a lot to charity, which you’ll read below.)

But when an ongoing tragedy like the Gulf disaster continues to unfold, all sorts of groups have the power to gather their forces - and in this case pantyhose - and help:

As the pressure increases to find a strategy over the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, an alternative effort - ‘Project Pantyhose’ - to help absorb the spill is under away.

Waitresses from restaurant chain Hooters will be voluntarily donating their torn pantyhose – to make booms stuffed with hair, fur and fleece to absorb the spill.

Across its 380 sites in the US, Hooters expects to collect of 100,000 pairs of pantyhose, which could ultimately absorb one million gallons of oil in the Gulf, if the booms are re-used eight times, the average life of a boom.

The collected pantyhose will be shipped to environmental agencies and non-profit organisations Indigo Oceanic and Matter of Trust to make the booms. The booms will be grouped together and sent out into the Gulf to absorb and block the oil from reaching the coast, protecting harbours and marshlands.

There are roughly 15,000 Hooters Girls in the US and their uniform includes pantyhose. The life expectancy of a pair of pantyhose worn by Hooters Girls at work is about 2-3 shifts. Hooters said  it supports the use of natural fibres as a non-toxic, renewable resource to aid in the oil spill clean up efforts.

All of Hooters are collecting the pantyhose for a 4-week period to create 15 miles of booms.

The restaurant company also serves a number of community projects under its Hooters Community Endowment Fund (HOO.C.E.F.), which raises money for local and national charities such as the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the U.S.O., Special Olympics, American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Association. Since 1992, HOO.C.E.F. has raised more than $8 million for these and other worthwhile organizations.

A portion of this money comes from a VIP grand opening party each location holds to benefit a local charity, generating thousands annually.

Source: OptimistWorld.com

Ah, two simple words that sometimes get stuck somewhere between the heart and throat. Here are a few words of wisdom from past and present. If you owe someone apology, why not make today the day you free those words.

When you realize you’ve made a mistake, make amends immediately.  It’s easier to eat crow while it’s still warm.  ~Dan Heist

Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them.  ~Author Unknown

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.  ~Kimberly Johnson

In some families, please is described as the magic word.  In our house, however, it was sorry.  ~Margaret Laurence

True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone.  ~Harriet Beecher Stowe, Little Foxes, 1865

Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.  ~Isaac Friedmann

An apology is a good way to have the last word.  ~Author Unknown<!–Dell Crossword Puzzles–>

An apology is the superglue of life.  It can repair just about anything.  ~Lynn Johnston

The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.  ~Red Auerbach

Apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift.  ~Margaret Lee Runbeck

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.  ~Paul Boese

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.  That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.  ~Emily Kimbrough

It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.  ~Grace Hopper

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say?  And why are you waiting?  ~Stephen Levine

For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.  ~Author Unknown

Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger.  ~Chinese Proverb

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.  ~William Blake

True friends stab you in the front.  ~Oscar Wilde

With summer in full gear (in certain parts of the world, obviously!), protecting your skin becomes imperative. But so many mixed reports abound - some sunscreens only block out UV rays and don’t offer that full spectrum protection. The ones that claim they do, don’t always. What can a sun worshipper do to stay protected in this day and age?

Well, this recent study in Telegraph UK shows how broccoli comes to the rescue:

Broccoli juice is better than conventional sunscreens when it comes to protecting against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, research has shown.

Tests on six volunteers exposed to pulses of UV radiation showed the extract reduced sunburn symptoms by up to 78 per cent.

Conventional sunscreens used in the same experiments were essentially ineffective.

The ointment was made from extracts of three-day-old broccoli sprouts rich in protective compounds called sulphoraphanes. Unlike a normal sunscreen, it does not absorb UV light to prevent it entering the skin. Instead, it works inside the body by boosting the production of enzymes that protect cells against UV damage and the risk of skin cancer.

Protection is said to last for several days.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, first tested the ointment on genetically engineered hairless mice before carrying out tests on six human volunteers, three men and three women aged between 28 and 53.

The results were reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The report’s lead author, Prof Paul Talalay, said the treatment could decrease the “long-term risk of developing cancer”.

Michael J. Fox continues to be an inspiration to all of us, with his unbeatable attitude and tireless efforts put forth toward his cause and his disease, Parkinson’s Disease.

Michael J. Fox recently granted the wish of Gideon Strohaver, a 16-year-old from Michigan suffering from cystic fibrosis, by spending some quality time with him at the Central Park Zoo in NYC where they bonded over being “Incurable Optimists.”

Gideon caught Michael’s “The Incurable Optimist” special on television in his hospital and his teacher referred him to the Kids Wish Network in hopes Gideon could meet his hero Michael.

His wish came true and his family went on a special trip to NYC.  Gideon and Michael spent a day together at the zoo and Michael and his family were given tickets to the premiere screening of Shrek Forever After at the Tribeca Film Festival!

“He [Michael J. Fox] was so nice,” Gideon’s mother Kim said. “They just talked and talked as the zoo people kept bringing in animals for them to meet and pet. The one I think Michael and Gideon enjoyed most was the hissing cockroach. They both really enjoyed petting it and listening to it hiss.”

“He [Michael J. Fox] was just so sincere and so sweet. He even told us to call him Mike. He was just Gideon’s new friend, Mike,” she added. “It was a lot more than we ever expected. My daughter Olivia put it best when she said it was an ‘over the rainbow wish.’”

Source: OK!

I was walking through the woods with a little friend of mine (my niece.) She picked up a long stick and wrapped some vine around it. Then she put a big blob of moss on top and tied it with more vine. She looked at me and said, “I’m magical now.” I asked her why and she said, “Because I have magic wand, of course.”

Soon after, I homemade a wand and we waved them throughout the day, at anything we wanted to change or simply touch with a little extra cosmic love.

So today, you will receive lessons on creating your own magic wand. And before you poo-poo the idea, think about it: why wouldn’t a magic wand work? Why shouldn’t it? If there’s even an iota of belief, then it’s a totally legitimate wand, ready for action and change and transformation and magic. Wave it over yourself first, instructing you to believe in its power.

Take a walk in a natural place. Keep your eyes open for a stick or branch that has been laying on the ground and that is no shorter than 13 inches. Let it jump out at you, and follow your intuition. This stick should be appealing to you, as it could be a tool that you use for many years. If you feel drawn to a particular tree, connect with its energy and bless and thank the tree for what you’re about to take from it, before removing any small branches.

Scrape off the bark with a sharp blade or a wood burner.

Carve down to your desired shape and style.

Use charring to change the appearance or to amplify carvings.

Personalize your wand with things yourself. It’s YOUR wand pick exactly what you want. You can use feathers, crystals,runes and stones for the internal. Also adding any cords, metal wire, or symbol that is meaningful to decorate the external of the wand. Go with anything that comes to mind. Make it whatever you see it to be.

What is your life’s purpose? Does anyone have an easy answer? Perhaps some do. Perhaps your purpose changes as you evolve. Perhaps the search for a purpose is a purpose in and of itself!

This week’s quotes - on purpose:

(Check out this first one for its obvious relevance.)


Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
Abraham Lincoln

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
Dalai Lama

When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.
Wayne Dyer

Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.
Napoleon Hill

We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.
George Washington

The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
Mohandas Gandhi

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
John F. Kennedy

Success demands singleness of purpose.
Vince Lombardi

I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.
John F. Kennedy

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
William Shakespeare

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.
W. Clement Stone

To forget one’s purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
Kahlil Gibran

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?” She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin

Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.
Aristotle

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller

True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller

All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.
Brian Tracy

Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colorful language, is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.
Dale Carnegie

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso

Last night, I watched an episode of The Dog Whisperer, where he discussed the most aggressive dogs. The show’s staff polled thousands of people, who came up with German Shepherds, Rottweillers and of course, pitbulls. Interestingly, Cesar Milan, the show’s host, disputed each one of those claims. He determined the most aggressive being was the human who trained them! Good for you, Cesar! So true.

Here’s a wonderful story about a special German Shepherd (watch the video!):

Buddy, a German shepherd, was with his owner, Ben Heinrichs, when his family’s workshop caught fire. Once he and Buddy were safely outside, Heinrichs turned to the dog and said, “We need to get help.” He didn’t expect Buddy to actually do anything about it, of course. However, help is exactly what the shy dog brought — in the form of an Alaska State Trooper, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The dog’s heroic act was caught on the trooper’s dashboard camera.

Buddy had gone off into the woods, and Heinrich assumed the pooch was hiding. In fact, Buddy had run out to the road, where he caught the attention of Alaska State Trooper Terrence Shanigan, who had been alerted by concerned neighbors when they saw a fireball erupting in the distance. Shanigan was having difficulty finding the fire due to the winding country roads. That’s when Buddy suddenly appeared. On a hunch, Shanigan followed the dog and arrived on the scene just in time. He was able to talk the fire department through the difficult directions, and they put out the flames just before the fire spread to the family’s home.

Buddy is being presented with an award from the Alaska State Troopers today, including a silver plated, engraved dog bowl, reports “Today” via the Associated Press. We’re willing to bet he’s getting more than a few extra cuddles and dog biscuits.

Source: Paw Nation

Here at Only Positive News, we’ve talked about forgiveness a lot - and it’s for a good reason. Many people get stuck in a state of anger and pain in their lives. It’s hard to see the positive when you feel mired in the negative.

These techniques are deceptively simple but I like them for just that reason. Sometimes forgiveness is simpler than we think. Or we forget that there are actually techniques that can help us move forward today.

1. Allow yourself to experience anger, but don’t hold onto it for months or years on end. When the anger starts to consume you, you’ve held onto it for too long.
2. Express your feelings in a positive way through writing a journal or talking to a professional, close friend or family member who can help you make sense of the situation.
3. Try to step into the shoes of those who hurt you in hopes you’ll see the situation from their perspective.
4. Write a letter about your feelings to the people who hurt you. Using “I feel” or “I felt” are productive ways to start sentences.
5. Most importantly, have patience with yourself: “Remember, forgiveness doesn’t have to happen in a day.”

Like the simple but effective yogic advice to “be kind, starting with yourself,” we can always benefit from being reminded of these basic, healthy premises.

Source: YourTango.com