Respect

A great general once said "he who respects others is respected by them." Another favorite quote about respect I like is, "in order to receive respect, you must first give respect." So what is respect? Read the following story and then we will discuss it.

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and yelled to the passengers that they better jump, and he himself bailed out.

Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining.

The doctor grabbed one and said “I’m a doctor, I save lives, so I must live,” and jumped out.

The lawyer then said, “I’m a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live.” He also grabbed a parachute and jumped.

The priest looked at the little boy and said, “My son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace.”

The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, “Not to worry Father. The smartest man in the world just took off with my back pack.”

In this story there are three selfish characters. It is hard to be respectful when you believe that you are better than everyone else. You treat others differently and they know the difference. In this case, the smartest man was not so smart and grabbed the wrong bag. Just like the smartest man, when we are not respectful, we often make poor choices.

The preacher was willing to give the boy respect. The preacher was at a point  in his life that he was comfortable with his place in the world and the chaos that follows. In the mist of that chaos he showed respect and had it given back to him in the form of a parachute.

How you treat others is really the essence  of respect. If we are kind, and helpful, then we are showing respect. When we act respectful, others notice something special about us and want to be our friend. 

So by showing respect, you can have more friends. If we are hitting others or not sharing we are not being respectful. People may pretend that they respect you when you are mean, but they are really just afraid of you and will leave your company the first chance that they get.

Enjoy the video which is in three parts. It is the Story of Mojo and how he learns to gain respect.

Mojo and Respect Part 1

Mojoe and Respect Part 2

Mojo and Respect Part 3

Gratitude

Being grateful is one of the most important character qualities. There has been a lot of research done on gratitude. They have found that people with gratitude live longer and happier lives. Children learn gratitude from stories, examples of adults, and practicing it themselves. Here are two favorite stories on gratitude, we will discuss gratitude at the end of the post. 

The Thankful Coat

This story is about a boy who had everything a boy could ever want, but he didn’t know how to be happy. One day, he was sitting in his backyard when a little girl came up asking him to help her look for the Thankful Coat. The boy was curious because he had never heard of such a thing, and he decided to help her.

Then, perched on a tree, the boy found the Thankful Coat. It was the most beautiful coat he had ever seen. The little girl told him to put it on, the boy did and felt happier than ever. He was very thankful to the girl and that made him feel even better. Then, the girl told him she had to go and take the coat with her. The boy was sad because he didn’t want to feel unhappy again.

The girl told him that the secret to happiness is being thankful. That he could make his own imaginary Thankful Coat, think about all the things he’s thankful for and be happy.

The Magic Window

The Magic Window is a beautiful children’s story that encourages gratitude, solidarity, and empathy for others.

This story is about a boy who got so sick he couldn’t go outside to play. Besides being sick, the boy was very sad because he couldn’t play outside with his friends.

One day, the boy was looking out of his window and saw a penguin eating a sandwich. The penguin said “Hello” and left.

The next day, there was a monkey, wearing a diaper, blowing up a balloon. The day after that, there was a pig playing the tambourine. These crazy characters made the boy laugh during those bad days.

When the little boy was good enough to return to school, he told his best friend about these crazy things he had seen that helped him feel better. Talking to his friend, he noticed something strange coming out of his friend’s bag. When he asked his friend about it, he showed him all the costumes he used to cheer him up. End of story...................

While the past few days have been hard, we should be grateful for all that we have and where we live. We live in a country were there is food and a house to stay in. Many people in the world do not have these things. We have parents and people around us who care about us and love us. We have computers and devices so that we can continue school at home. Many children do not have these things and they are missing school completely.

How can you practice and show gratitude? One way is to have a gratitude journal. Everyday, write down a few things that you are grateful for. You will soon find that you have a long list. We can serve others and help them like the boy in the story did for his friend. When others are sad we can try to cheer them up. Finally, we need to say the words "Thank You" on a regular basis to those who help us. I hope you enjoy today's video on gratitude. Please click on the link below.

My Gratitude Jar

Making More Friends

When I was growing up, I did not have very many friends because I was shy. I had a hard time speaking to other kids and making conversation. I found that one of the best ways to make friends is to do something for them.  This helps people feel connected because you now have something in common.

Read the fun story about the Octopus below then we will discuss the story.

https://freestoriesforkids.com/children/stories-and-tales/octopus-trouble

Once upon a time there was a shy and quiet octopus. He nearly always went about on his own business because, although he wanted to have lots of friends, he was too self-conscious. One day, the octopus was trying to catch a very slippery oyster. Before he knew it, he had tied himself into one massive knot, and he couldn't move. He tried with all his strength to wriggle free, but it was no good. In the end, despite the great embarrassment he felt at being seen in such a tangle, he had to ask for help from the passing fish. 

Many fish swam past, ignoring him, but one very kind little fish offered to help to untie all those tentacles from all those suckers.  The octopus felt heartily relieved when he was finally set free, but he was so shy that he didn't dare talk to the fish and make friends with him. He simply thanked the fish, and quickly swam off. Later, the octopus spent the whole night thinking that he had wasted a great opportunity to make friends with that very kind little fish.

A couple of days later the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He looked into the distance and saw an enormous fish coming over to feed in that area. The octopus quickly hid; then, peeping an eye out from his hiding place, he saw that the huge fish was chasing the kind little fish who had untied him. That little fish really needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one dared to go near. The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him, felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to his aid. Without hesitating, the octopus shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself right in the path of the giant fish, and before the fish could do anything about it, the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish, and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the big fish had no time to react. However, he soon recovered from the surprise. Off he went to the rocks, looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really wanted to gobble them down!

Soon, though, he began feeling a terrible itch; first in his gills, and then in his fins, and then all over his body. It turned out that this giant fish had a very bad allergies. artistic nature, he adored The octopus's dark ink had given him a terrible allergy!!So the big fish swam away, irritated all over. As soon as he was gone, all the fish who had been hiding came and congratulated the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them all how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier, but he had never known anyone be so grateful that they would end up doing something so dangerous. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus was, and everyone around was keen to be the friend of such a brave and honorable octopus.

Pedro Pablo Sacristán

First, the Octopus got into trouble by getting all tied up in knots. How many of us have had something happen where we were totally embarrassed?  We feel like everyone is laughing at us and talking about us. How many of us have had a good friend help us out of the problem? Or maybe it is a stranger that helps us like in this story.

The Octopus wanted to be friends with the fish after the fish did something for him. He just did not know how to go about it but at the first opportunity he did do something by rescuing the fish. 

To be friends with others, we have to risk something. We taking a risk that we might feel rejected. So when someone is trying to be your friend, remember, accept them and do something for them. I hope we can all work to have more friends. We really need friends to be happy. I hope you enjoy today's video story about friendship. To view the video please click on the link below. I am now using a safetube website to make the videos safer to access and view.

How To Be A Good Friend

Dealing With Anger

As I sit here at my computer the second week that school has been closed due to the Corona virus, I have been thinking about some of the issues we have been focusing on.  One of those issues is dealing with anger.

A lot of people are staying home more, going out less, and spending more time with loved ones. Spending time a lot of time with family is great but it can come with challenges and frustrations which can turn into anger especially with brothers and sisters. It is easy to become angry at them and resort to hitting or saying things that we might regret later. Read the following story and we will discuss it afterwords.

https://momlovesbest.com/short-moral-stories-kids

Once, there was a young boy. This boy had problems controlling his anger. When he got angry, he would say the first thing that came to mind, even if it affected people.One day, his father gifted him a hammer and a bundle of nails, then said, “Whenever you get mad, hammer a nail into the backyard fence.

”In the first days, the boy used up half of the nails. Over the next weeks, he used up fewer nails, until his temper was under control. Then, his father asked the young boy to remove a nail for each day he didn’t lose his temper.

On the day when the boy removed his last nail, his father told him, “You have done good, boy. But, can you see the holes in the wall? The fence is never going to be the same. Likewise, when you say mean things in anger, you’ll leave a scar.” 

I like the example that the father gives about the holes in the fence. In the heat  of the moment, we say and do things that have long lasting consequences. We can apologize, but we have affected that person and our relationship with them at a much deeper level. 

It can take years rebuilding something that was said or done in just a few moments. I have talked to people who have become so angry that they lose control of their mental abilities and black out. At that point, they do not remember what they did or said when they were angry. Being that angry is scary.  All anger progresses along a continuum towards loss of control.

When we are angry we need to work on slow deep breaths and remove our self from the situation if  possible. When people get angry, they tend to take short puffy breaths. These kind of breaths deprive the brain of oxygen and the person becomes less rational and cannot think clearly.

Keeping your distance and getting an angry person to verbalize (talk about) how they are feeling, are great things you can do to help them calm down. Getting them to talk engages their brain helping them diffuse the situation. It also gets them to breathe deeper and get more oxygen to the brain. 

Email me if you are having anger problems and we will try to address them.

Until next time, enjoy this video, and realize that anger does not solve our problems, it only makes them worse.

Mr. Joe

Do Not Judge Others.

Have you ever watched people and judged them? Have you looked at someone then thought that they were ugly, stupid, mean, or unfriendly? I think that we all have done this.  We tend to treat people the way we perceive them.

Have you ever judged someone and then later became friends with them? I have had that experience many times in my life. The more you take time to get to know someone, the more you will like them. Please read the following story and we then we will discuss it.
https://momlovesbest.com/short-moral-stories-kids

The Proud Rose

"Once upon a time, in a desert far away, there was a rose who was so proud of her beautiful looks. Her only complaint was growing next to an ugly cactus.

Every day, the beautiful rose would insult and mock the cactus on his looks, all while the cactus remained quiet. All the other plants nearby tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by her own looks.

One scorching summer, the desert became dry, and there was no water left for the plants. The rose quickly began to wilt. Her beautiful petals dried up, losing their lush color.

Looking to the cactus, she saw a sparrow dip his beak into the cactus to drink some water. Though ashamed, the rose asked the cactus if she could have some water. The kind cactus readily agreed, helping them both through the tough summer, as friends. The End."

As we face this trial together, we need to be friendly and share with others. Sharing with someone who has  teased you in the past can be hard but it is a way for you to make a new friend.

We must also not judge other people by how they look and dress. Many of those people are going through hardships greater than our own. 

Now sit back and watch Elmo learn about sharing.

What I am Thinking Today: The Legend of The Two Wolves

The Legend of The Two Wolves

The following story is a great example of what we pay attention to in our own lives. We feed the bad wolf by being angry at parents, siblings, friends, and others. The  other wolf, the good one, is fed by things like empathy, love, patience, and a willingness to serve. During tough times, it is the bad wolf that wants to come out to play. 

We must be aware of this and continually strive to feed the good wolf. We feed the good wolf by listening to our parents; doing our chores; sharing our toys; and giving lots of hugs.

I hope you enjoy today's story and the youtube video version of the story after it.

Here is the original website that I got the story from. https://www.virtuesforlife.com/two-wolves/.

Our negative thoughts can create anxiety, anger, resentment, jealousy—an array of emotions. Negative thinking is normal. However, if this way of thinking becomes incessant, it can lead to depression and self-destructive behavior like addictions, derailing us from what we want most in life. At minimum, negative thinking saps our energy, erodes our self-confidence and can put us in a bad mood. Certainly, many would agree that our thoughts come and go so quickly that it’s seems impossible to notice them, but with awareness and an attitude of self-compassion, we can redirect our negative thoughts to more positive ones.

Two Wolves is a Cherokee Indian legend and illustrates the most important battle of our lives – the one between our good and bad thoughts. Here is how the story goes:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Our thoughts can be our own worst enemy. That is, if we let them. Think about how you may be “feeding” your negative thoughts by allowing them to rule your mind. Next time you have a negative thought, catch it and ask yourself, “What is this thought doing for me?” You will find that the answer is that all they are doing is dis-empowering you. You can immediately feel more empowered by focusing on something good in your life and cultivate the practice of gratitude.

We can create greater peace, confidence and a more positive outlook by learning how to manage our thoughts. After all, this battle can be won because we have the power of choice!

Which wolf are you feeding?  Remember, you always have a choice…