A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid.
Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to
discuss the problem.
The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform
to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.
Here’s what you do,” said the Doctor, “stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal
conversational speaking ask her a question and see if she hears you.
If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response..”
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself,
“I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.”
Then in a normal tone he asks, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?”
No response..
So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats,
“Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Still no response.
Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks,
“Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Again he gets no response.
So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Again there is no response.
So he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Then she says, in an exasperated voice,
“Ralph,... for the FIFTH time,... CHICKEN!”
In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you
have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.
In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the
bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary
halls.
In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you
stand up to the class bully.
In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their
lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.
In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing
to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn’t have to be stuck
do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan.
In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on
the back of the bus for you.
In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick
or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if
they said no you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed.
In seventh grade your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy
the social studies homework from the night before that you had.
In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you
pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn’t laugh at you when
you finished and broke out into tears.
In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to
a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn’t wind up being the only freshman
there.
In tenth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who changed
their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.
In eleventh grade your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you
rides in their new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn’t be
grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick or Susan, and found you
a date to the prom.
In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you
pick out a college/university, assured you that you would get into that
college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a
hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go...
At graduation your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on
the inside but managed the biggest smile one could give as they
congratulated you.
The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person
who helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn’t deal with
your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan
were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up
for university and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes
at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of
childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would
make it in college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most
importantly sent you off to college knowing you were loved.
Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the
better of the two choices, holds your hand when you’re scared, helps you
fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times
when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you
put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a
little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of
their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps
you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad,
helps you become a better person, and most importantly loves you!
The Other Voice
The Voice for God speaks with a gentle
while powerful voice.
The ego speaks in an emotional panic.
The Voice for God uses much repetition.
The ego promotes impulsiveness.
The Voice for God never demands, it suggests.
The ego presents obsessive urges.
The Voice for God is co-operative and never
suggests anything which may wound another.
The ego is competitive and influences ‘me or them’
actions.
The Voice for God feels like a friendly mentor.
The ego feels like a dictator.
The Voice for God always lifts and inspires peace,
love and joy.
The ego stirs the emotions and thrives on chaos.
Let us choose wisely which Voice to follow.