Maggie Stephens

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Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:02:03 -0400

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Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:56:32 -0400

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Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:56:14 -0400

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Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:56:01 -0400

48 Truths I've Learned About Life

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:40:22 -0500

1. You can’t change other people, and it’s rude to try.

2. If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, you may be talking to someone who knows way more about whatever you’re talking about than you do.

3. Everyone likes somebody who gets to the point quickly.

4. Bad moods will come and go your whole life, and trying to force them away makes them run deeper and last longer.

5. Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be.

6. If everyone in the TV show you’re watching is good-looking, it’s not worth watching.

7. Yelling always makes things worse.

8. Whenever you’re worried about what others will think of you, you’re really just worried about what you’ll think of you.

9. Every problem you have is your responsibility, regardless of who caused it.

10. If you never doubt your beliefs, then you’re wrong a lot.

11. Nobody has it all figured out.

12. Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.

13. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works alone can teach you everything you need to know about living with grace and happiness.

14. When people are uncomfortable with the present moment, they fidget with their hands or their minds. Watch and see.

15. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least.

16. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.

17. A person who is unafraid to present a candid version of herself to the world is as rare as diamonds.

18. If what you’re doing feels perfectly safe, there is probably a better course of action.

19. The greatest innovation in the history of humankind is language.

20. Blame is the favorite pastime of those who dislike responsibility.

21. Everyone you meet is better than you at something.

22. Knowledge is belief, nothing more.

23. What makes human beings different from animals is that animals can be themselves with ease.

24. Whoever you are, you will die. To know and understand that means you are alive.

25. High quality is worth any quantity, in possessions, friends and experiences.

26. The world would be a better place if everyone read National Geographic.

27. If you aren’t happy single, you won’t be happy in a relationship.

28. Even if it costs no money, nothing is free if it takes time.

29. “Gut feeling” is not just a euphemism. Tension in the abdomen speaks volumes about how you truly feel about something, beyond all arguments and rationales.

30. Everyone thinks they’re an above average driver.

31. By default, people think far too much.

32. If anything is worth splurging on, it’s a high-quality mattress. You’ll spend a third of your life using it.

33. There is nothing worse than having no friends.

34. Words are immensely powerful. One cruel remark can wound someone for life.

35. It’s easy to make someone’s day just by being uncommonly pleasant to them.

36. It is worth re-trying foods that you didn’t like at first.

37. Problems, when they arise, are rarely as painful as the experience of fearing them.

38. Nothing — ever — happens exactly like you pictured it.

39. North Americans are generally terrible at accepting compliments and offers of help.

40. There are not enough women in positions of power. The world has suffered from this deficit for a long time.

41. Anyone can be calmed in an instant by looking at the ocean or the stars.

42. Life is a solo trip, but you’ll have lots of visitors. Some of them are long-term, most aren’t.

43. The fewer possessions you have, the more they do for you.

45. Einstein was wiser than he was intelligent, and he was a genius.

46. Wishing things were different is a great way to torture yourself.

47. The ability to be happy is nothing other than the ability to come to terms with how things change.

48. Killing time is an atrocity. It’s priceless, and it never grows back.

Little Things to Make You Smile

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:20:46 -0500

Today, my 75-year-old grandpa who has been blind from cataracts for almost 15 years said to me, “Your grandma is just the most beautiful thing, isn’t she?” I paused for a second and said, “Yes she is. I bet you miss seeing that beauty on a daily basis.” “Sweety,” my grandpa said, “I still see her beauty every day. In fact, I see it more now than I used to when we were young.” MMT
Today, I walked my daughter down the aisle. Ten years ago I pulled a 14 year old boy out of his mom’s fire-engulfed SUV after a serious accident. Doctors initially said he would never walk again. My daughter came with me several times to visit him at the hospital. Then she started going on her own. Today, seeing him defy the odds and smile widely, standing on his own two feet at the altar as he placed a ring on my daughter’s finger MMT.
Today, I walked up to the door of my office (I’m a florist) at 7AM to find a uniformed Army soldier standing out front waiting. He was on his way to the airport to go to Afghanistan for a year. He said, “I usually bring home a bouquet of flowers for my wife every Friday and I don’t want to let her down when I’m away.” He then placed an order for 52 Friday afternoon deliveries of flowers to his wife’s office and asked me to schedule one for each week until he returns. I gave him a 50% discount because it made my day to see something so sweet. MMT

"Sometimes we hate going after our dreams. They seem top hard or too far away to accomplish. All too..."

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:19:44 -0500

“Sometimes we hate going after our dreams. They seem top hard or too far away to accomplish. All too often we expect a second go or another shot at the chances we didn’t take the first time around. “Next time,” we say. “I’ll ask her out next time.”
Life doesn’t work perfectly, and it never will. It could work better, sure, but don’t bank on happiness as a prize so far down the road that you forget the joy of right now. This is your “one and wild and precious life,” and it’s up to you to decide what to do with it. Nothing should be out of reach. The shoulders of greatness are there for the standing on.”

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Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:16:33 -0500

Don Ritchie, Angel of the Gap - who helped save 500 people from suicide - dies at 85

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:15:06 -0500

Mr Ritchie spent 50 years coaxing desperate people back from The Gap, the notorious cliff at Watsons Bay where hundreds have died or thought about taking their lives.

He helped save 500 despairing souls - usually with little more than compassion, a warm smile and a hot cuppa.

“Those who knew him knew he was a very strong person and a very capable person,” Mr Ritchie’s daughter Sue said today.

Federal MP Malcolm Turnbull, whose electorate includes The Gap, added: “A true hero, one of our greatest Australians. RIP.”

Born in Vaucluse in 1926, Mr Ritchie died peacefully at home on Old South Head Road, Watsons Bay yesterday.

The former navy seaman turned life insurance salesman was never one to shout about his exploits.

He helped because he could.

Ms Ritchie said: “It was just something that he saw and that he had to do something about.”

New South Wales Mental Health Minister Kevin Humphries recalled when Mr Ritchie was named a Local Hero in the 2011 Australian of the Year Awards.

“Upon accepting the award Mr Ritchie urged people to never be afraid to speak to those most in need,” he said.

“Always remember the power of the simple smile, a helping hand, a listening ear and a kind word.”