Sharing — Page 67

Triple A is the Perfect Gift

November 12, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

W A I T. . .

Is this Black Wednesday?

As of the actual writing of THIS Post, Christmas is only 43 days away. . .

As of the actual writing of THIS Post, Hanukkah is only 35 days away. . .

As of the actual writing of THIS Post, Kwanzaa is only 44 days away. . .

Pssssst: I’ve got the best Gift for any one of those events. . .

or all the days between NOW, THEN, FOLLOWING

and all of the days in between:

THE TRIPLE A MEMBERSHIP!

That’s right, rub your eyes, scratch your head wonder out loud. . .

But the TRIPLE A MEMBERSHIP is the best gifts going away and if truly bought—

THE MOST EXPENSIVE. . .

THE MOST COVETED. . . .

In fact, you should never AGAIN, leave home without it—

A
vailability

A
ccesibility

A
ccountability

It’s entirely, WHOLE-listically, COMPLETE

with successful Trip Ticks to anywhere, anytime, anyplace. . .

GOOD TO GO,

and better. . .

Get SOMEONE Else “T H E R E” as well.

Full of Discounts,

Short Cuts,

Saving SEVERE

Time. . .Money. . .Aggravation.

Seriously, it’s the best gift you CAN BE. . .

It’s the best Gift you can give Another. . .

Gift-Wrapping Optional. . .

Benefits: Innumerable!

Psssssst. . .No thanks necessary but always welcomed: chuck@thecaringcatalyst.com

HAPPY

H O L I

D A Y S

(LIFE TIME GUARANTEE INCLUDED)

UN-LEGISLATABLE

October 6, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t it be great if LAWS weren’t the only thing that could actually be legislated?

Wait. . .?

Are laws actually legislated?

Is Love?

Is Compassion?

Is Justice?

Is Hope?

Is Faith?

Is Caring?

Is Forgiveness?

Is Empathy?

Is Sympathy?

Is Belief?

Is Giving?

Is Joy?

Is Happiness?

Is Presence?

We can’t can we?

We can’t ever legislate what we need the most. . .

But, we can share it!

Get convicted doing the right thing–better still. . .

Become W A N T E D with a high price on your head. . .

A Fugitive on the run–

For being a REPEAT OFFENDER!

Hope, Faith, and Love

September 17, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

How good of a NOTICE-ER are you?

Do you believe in Coincidence or are you more of an Einstein believer of, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining Anonymous?”

I’ve always had a fairly sharp eye for what’s happening around me. I still think I MISS much more than I notice, but a willingness to SEE, HEAR, TASTE, TOUCH, SMELL more goes a very long way in actually seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling so much more than purposely not doing so.

Everyone wears NAME TAGS these day.

EVERYONE. . .EVERYWHERE.

I saw her’s at CVS as I was checking out. Her name was HOPE.

“I like your name, do you?” I asked her.

She smiled and said it was ok.

I asked her if anyone ever made fun of it and she told me more than she’d like, but was pretty much use to it.

I thanked her for taking care of me so nicely and said, “No pun intended, but I ‘HOPE’ your name serves you well and others more than you’ll ever understand or imagine.”

She smiled at back at me and already began checking out the good of the person behind me.

I NOTICED. . .

Later that day I was picking up some copied mps/cd’s from a camera shop and person who had called me on the phone to let me know that my order was ready, she identified herself as, Faith.

I had a little “Hmmmmmmmmmmm of the Day,” moment.

When I met her, I asked her about her name just like I had done with Hope. She told me that it was an aunt’s name who had died before she had been born.

I asked her if she liked her name and she smiled and shrugged her shoulders a little and giggled out a, “It’s alright, I guess.”

“Well, Faith,” I said, “I hope your name serves you and others well–just like it did me today.”

Her smile served as her only response.

I NOTICED. . .

It was my last visit of the day.

She was sitting with her back to me and her husband was lying in bed.

From the doorway, I could see he was half sleeping and half awake, moaning softly.

He blinked opened his eyes repeatedly, tried to clear his throat and then with a raspy whisper he said, “Hey Love, can you give me sip of water?”

“Ahhhh, thank you, Love, thank you,” he sighed as he was already back into a not so restless slumber.

“What a great name,” I said as I pulled up a chair beside her on the side of his bed.

She looked at me with moist, tired, red eyes.

“Oh that’s not my name, it’s Gloria, but he’s called me that since our second date 48 years ago.”

“It seems to fit,” I told her as we sat silently watching her husband breathe with a little rattle.

He mumbled, “Love. . .Love. . .Love. . . .”

She put her hand over top of his and laid her head down on the side of his bed.

It was peaceful. . .it was Love-FILLED.

I NOTICED. . .

Coincidence or

meeting three women in three so very different places, God’s way of remaining Anonymous?

Are you a good Notice’er?

You really don’t have to be Einstein to N O T I C E

Hope. . .

Faith. . .

Love. . .

The Greatest of these is not just in the NOTICING, but BEING in the moments that make Life more than mere Consequences…and then,

SHARING THEM. . . .

Story-Telling, Story-Listening, Story-Applying

July 23, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

I love telling stories.

I love listening to stories.

One of my favorite stories either comes from the Talmud or Ben Franklin, but the story’s so great to tell, listen to and now read…WHO CARES?

It’s a story about Abraham and Sarah. They invited an old man to join them for a meal and to stay for a night of rest. After the generosity shown, the man, appropriately thanked them for their warm hospitality. Abraham assured him, “You need not thank me. Whatever I have given you comes from the God of creation. Thank God.”

“Why would I bother to thank your God when I have my own?” the old man said reaching into his pack. He brought out a wooden idol and set it on the floor before them. “This is the god who I intend to thank for taking care of me.”

Abraham was livid. “How dare you worship a god made with hands,” he shouted. He seized the man and threw him out of the tent. “I am sorry I ever wasted my warm hospitality on you,” he yelled out at the man who was now quickly walking away.

Before the old man was even out of sight, though, Abraham heard a voice calling his name.

“Yes, Lord?” Abraham answered.

“For 80 years I have protected and cared for the old man you just threw out of your tent. All this time, though he has given credit to his wooden idol, I have continued to claim him as my own. Although he knows no better, Abraham, YOU DO! Now go, find this old man, and bring him back. You make him feel welcome. You are to serve even those who do not understand that there is but one God.”

And Abraham once again obeyed God.

I love telling stories.

I love hearing stories.

I love applying stories…

…or at least, I want to love applying them more to my day to day living.

“…He knows no better–YOU DO–serve even those who do not understand that there is but One God….”

Hmmmmmmm…maybe Compassionate Telling, Compassionate Listening, Compassionate Applying is what The Story is ever all about…Maybe….

A Moment, A Lifetime….

July 21, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Amazing how a Lifetime can actually be lived in a moment…and often is.

Some people who watched this short video, that seems to be flying all over YouTube and the Internet, have said it was staged.

Some have actually criticized the man on the steps, who shared his pizza, couldn’t have been that poor because he had money for not so inexpensive cigarettes.

Some assume that this is a nice little story, maybe even a beautiful parable of how to Receive by Giving.

Some have stated it’s a waste of a little over a minute they’ll never be able to reclaim in their lives.

Some believe that the biggest problem in our society today is that we enable a whole generation of homeless to become nothing any greater in their day to day lives than just being homeless.

Some believe that God helps those who are only out there helping themselves and others.

Some think that altruism is all-too-much.

Some think we give to get.

Some consider that what they have worked for and have is Their’s NOT to share freely.

Some trust that by giving pieces of pizza is no way to show others how to make their own.

Some anticipate being punished and discriminated against by not giving to every need before them.

SOME…

THEM…

THEY…

are people.

When we clump the Some’s, the Them’s, the They’s together they become more faceless, less significant, and easier to neglect or simply not notice.

…Maybe it’s no longer about DESERVING or GIVING or Determining how many times PAST ONE is it alright NOT to be a Good Samaritan?

When we give every once in a while, we miss the truest gift of giving EVERY TIME.

When we fail to give…

WE FAIL…

badly!

Hmmmmmmmmm…when we fail to give some change, a few paper bills, sandwiches, blankets, gloves, coats, shirts, socks, shoes, a piece of pizza or____________________________________, we hold on to something that’s not wholly ours, or can be completely kept after our last pulse.

Yeah-but….

Ahhhhh, The “YEAH-BUT.”

Cage that vicious animal.

The “Yeah-But” becomes tame when we simply stop using it…

NOW!

False Identity

July 11, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

S O M E T I M E S. . .

It’s not WHO YOU ARE

It’s WHO Someone Thinks YOU ARE

That not only matters, but which brings the most healing.

When you SHOW UP. . .

You just may not GIVE the GIFT you’ve come to render–

So much as Receive the Present you could no where else ever obtain.

When you’re falsely identified. . . you may never be more YOU than YOU could ever be or hope to be at THAT GIVEN MOMENT!

When you SHOW UP. . .

Hmmmmmmm…YOU may actually Show up…maybe for the FIRST TIME EVER in a way, even you’ve never recognized or that any mirror, real or magically has ever reflected.

SHOW UP…anyway!

Become THAT Image another needs you to be for them, then…NOW!

S H O W U P

Sharing The Magic

July 7, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

We are not all professional magicians, are we?

Are last names don’t end with Houdini, or Copperfield, or even Anderson–as in Rob who is featured in the video.

But…even if we’re not professional magicians, or even not so professional, or at the very, very least, a bad magician we all still have a M A G I C about us that can undeniably be shared and benefited.

She’s not yet 7 although it’s just within days. Stella was doing one of her absolute favorite things to do in the Summer: Swim!

One of her favorite perks of Swimming at the Pool is BREAK TIME…Fifteen Minutes every hour. . .AKA: CONCESSION STAND TIME.

Stella is a magician who probably will never play in Vegas or even in a Backyard Fair. Part of her MAGIC is making friends, drawing them in and playing with kids who have no one else to really play. She had met a ‘Friend’ since the last CONCESSION STAND TIME.

Stella went to her grandmother to get money for CONCESSION STAND TIME and was asked to bring back the change. She bought a Pretzel with Cheese Dip and on the way back her new friend said she was hungry and asked if she could have money to buy a snack.

W A T C H I T…it’s that slight of hand that often never gets noticed, but where all the Magic takes place.

Stella gave her the change she had left…all $5.00 of it.

M A G I C….

But this Magic was quickly fleeting. As soon as Stella returned with her snack and WITHOUT CHANGE, her grandmother didn’t yell at her or make fun of her, in fact, she actually praised her by saying what a kind thing she had done, but her sister and friends DIDN’T. They told her how wrong to give a comptete stranger any money, let alone, $5.00. They even wanted ‘the friend’ pointed out so they could go and put her in her place and get the GIFT/MAGIC back…it was too late…the MAGIC, like a Vapor vanished quickly…it usually does if not protected, nurtured, celebrated.

The Abracadabra left quicker than the lingering smoke of a blown out candle.

COMPASSION doesn’t ask, “WHERE’S THE MAGIC?”

COMPASSION just wonders, OUT LOUD, “AM I STEALING OR SHARING THE MAGIC?”

COMPASSION doesn’t require an answer but won’t cover up the reply.

COMPASSION just like MAGIC means very little and in fact, are just words!

COMPASSION and MAGIC come through in vivid, living color, only when they become VERBS–

ENDLESS ONES!

Bring a little A B R A C A D A B R A to Every One’s day!

And then be unbelievably Amazed by what DISAPPEARS. . .

…and Appears right before Your Eyes!

Your Mission

July 4, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Happy 4th of July.

It’s a great Holiday…family get-togthers, picnics, Fairs, Festivals, cook-outs, swimming, games, car shows, merry-go-rounds, ferris-wheels, fireworks, carney food, and questions. . .maybe the truth?

I can’t believe that it’s already been about 16 years since SAVING PRIVATE RYAN first came to the screen.

Remember it?

Tom Hanks portrays an Army Captain whose unit is assigned to find a Private named Ryan in the dangerous aftermath of the D-Day Invasion. Ryan’s brothers have both been killed in combat, and, unbeknownst to him, he is his mother’s only surviving son. THE MISSION IS A MAN. It involves the Captain’s unit in brutal battles with the Germans. But Private Ryan is located and his life is saved by his Captain who dies in the process. As Private Ryan attends to his mortally wounded rescuer, the Captain speaks his last words in a hoarse whisper–“EARN THIS.” The Camera merges from the young Private’s face to the face of an old man, standing by a white cross in the cemetery at Normandy. It is Ryan many years later, near the end of his life. He kneels by his Captain’s grave and says, “EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE, I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID TO ME THAT DAY ON THE BRIDGE. I’VE DONE MY BEST. I HOPE AT LEAST IN YOUR EYES THAT I’VE LIVED UP TO ALL YOU GAVE FOR ME.”

Happy 4th of July.

You and I don’t need to endure some War to be grateful. To live in TRUE GRATITUDE we just have to simply remember that a lot of people FROM EVERY BRANCH OF LIFE have sacrificed to bring you to where you are. We can never squander their Gift…and it’s never too late to recapture what can never truly be lost, but OFTEN FORGOTTEN.

What. . .

WHO is your Mission?

Careful…be very, very careful.

The answer to THAT question–the ultimate WHAT or WHO–not only tells about your truest Mission, but defines your truest Self.

Happy 4th of July.

Your Mission:

To make a Happy 5th, 6th, 27th of July or any other day of the 364, Significant for ANOTHER. . .

Each Time. . .

Every Time!

Do you accept YOUR MISSION?

Dark Nights of the Soul

June 27, 2014 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

We’ve all had them and few, if any are voluntary:

DARK NIGHTS. . .Of The SOUL.

They Scare and paralyze more than amaze and awe us.

I’m in the middle of The Wedding Season right now. I will conduct weddings from now until Labor Day and then a a couple more in the Fall, including my youngest daughter’s on 12/13/14.

There is absolutely NO MIDDLE to the Burying Season. They happen year around, oddly enough, much more so right after the major holidays than at other times (but that’s another Blog Post).

It’s fascinating isn’t it?

All weddings really seem to be fairly similar, but every marriage is vastly different. Death…well…we know that it’s the other side of the Coin we all carry that will one day Come UP for all of us. Death without any Vegas odds comes to everyone, but ONE MOURNS SADLY ALONE.

Dark Nights of the Soul.

[Read more…]

In Line

June 18, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Monday mornings are like that–BUSY–Especially In Line at Starbucks.

They came in right after me. Chase was looked like he was 3 or 4 and Estella looked like she was 6. She was quiet but Chase made Expresso nervous.

It looked like mom just wanted to get in and out of there. I ordered my drink and I was paying for it I saw her trying to shuffle through her purse and then her wallet and I added, “And whatever they want.”

Mom was a little stunned.

I said, “No, really. Is it ok if I buy the kids a couple of cake pops and your drink?”

She wasn’t a good Receiver. She tried to jam some money into my side pocket and I said, “Hey, let me be a little selfish. It’s really good doing nice things….”

She thanked me and then Chase piped up, “Hey, what’s your name?”

“Chuck. What’s yours?”

“Chase. You know, I have a truck named, Chuck,” he added.

[Read more…]

SITE MAP