Repeat Customers

A friend of mine creates quilts by hand and sells them at a show in Las Vegas. They're very original, created with swatches of whatever she likes: Tinkerbell, camouflage, and even a Christmas-themed Elvis one. She got back from her most recent show the other day and was talking about her adventures, and she mentioned how some of her customers had returned to buy another quilt. What a rush! The fact that someone likes your work enough to pay money in the first place has its non-monetary benefits, but to have someone come back a year later and seek you out so they can again get something you have created... that must be a great feeling.

a gift of decorations

Last weekend was Olivia's birthday, and the older neighbor girls decided to give her a surprise: they crepe-papered our house, forked our lawn with balloons attached, and they dropped off some edible gifts (Olivia's favorite).









What a fantastic, fun gift! They spent valuable late-night time and energy to secretly leave something that we'd stumble upon in the morning. I daresay it's not everyone who has friends that make such a creative effort to celebrate their birthday. That is loving kindness.

And you can tell it was appreciated!

A day of abundance in a musician's life

Benjamin Zander did this little workshop with the audience and a young performer, talking about the world of abundance and training a young musician as you watch. Not only does it make you smile as he does it, but he brings out a great attitude in the young man, and at the end you can finally see a bit of light in his eyes. What a wonderful, fun experience!

"Forever Strong" - What a legacy!

A week ago we saw Forever Strong, about a rugby player in trouble who found a place on his rival team Highland High. It's based on a true story, and the Highland rugby team really has won 17 national championships with their 367 wins and only 9 losses in the last 30 years. It's fascinating! I have never heard of this before watching the movie, and it's hard to believe I have such a triumphant organization here in my state that I've never known about. And it's an interesting individual story depicted in the move; I've searched around for more details, to no avail.

But with Larry Gelwix's sustained focus and integrity over the course of 30 years, there must be at least 30 other stories just as interesting. I'm sure everyone who has been through those teams must have been inspired, not to mention proud of such accomplishments. This kind of legacy, quietly but steadily built, is the grandest: it'll endure through many lives and possibly even generations.

The following is from a newspaper article:

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"It's not about rugby," he says. "It's about helping young men grow up with their feet on the ground and hopefully avoiding a lot of the junk of life. Rugby is just a vehicle. It's infinitely easier to turn out championship teams than championship boys."

Gelwix has one primary rule: Don't do anything that would embarrass you, your family or the team. "Everything is covered by that," he said. More specifically, alcohol and drugs are forbidden. Lying or dishonesty of any sort is the gravest sin on the team and results in suspension.

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After reading that, you must read the rest on the last page of the article. This is exactly the way to lead a life of greatness.

The movie was decent, but I was impressed and moved as I watched it knowing it is reality.