Pass the Shark Cartilage Please

Being a doctor comes in handy sometimes. People stop you on the street for a quick curbside consult. Relatives call you with hot stock tips. You get to use your extensive knowledge of human anatomy & physiology and drug efficacy studies to write some great material from which millions of people will benefit.

Yesterday, I signed a contract with Suite University, a division of Suite101.com (www.suite101.com), to provide content for an eight-part course on Athritis Care. The actual name of the course will be "Arthritis: What It Is & What You Can Do About It."

It will cover the six major types of arthritis; their causes and treatment options; as well as review some of the recent advances in research, exercise, and nutritional support.

It involves some very tight deadlines and will be completed by September 14. I'll post an invitation to take the course (it will be tuition free) when it's ready to go. It will be great for anyone you know who suffers with arthritis if any kind.

Stay In Touch,

Peace.

Barry

Gratitude

It's been said that gratitude is the currency of Life. I don't mean life with the small "l" but rather Life with the capital "L."

Small "l" ife is that part of our existence that we see, touch, smell, experience, and account for each day we are alive. It is explainable. We can see it in the cause and effect relationships that fill our days.

Capital "L"ife is that portion of our existence that is unseen, nonsensate, and yet we experience this aspect of living every day as well. It isn't something we can't point to, label, categorize, or stratify. But, still, it is real.

What I've come to believe is that gratitude and the way we interact with it makes "L"ife more tangible.

Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian, spiritual author and speaker, puts it this way:

"When we commit ourselves to serving Life--not our personal, individual needs and wants, but to serving Life Itself--Life will lead and support us."

The first level of gratitude. Most of us were taught to be thankful for what we receive. And for most, this is where our reltaionship with gratitude stays. But what if there were additional levels of gratitude? What would it be like if, by interacting at higher levels of gratitude, ourlives were elevated to higher planes of reality, possibly into the realm of the miraculous?

Is it possible that there is another layer?

The second level of gratitude is expressing gratitude for the good even when it is difficult to see. For example, when I became a single parent a few years ago, life was difficult. Add to the already emotionally charged mix an extended period of unemployment and you can see how difficult it was to see the good in any part of that situation. And yet I knew, throughout the initial battle with depression, extended joint-therapy with my young son, and the often stressful court appearances that were required, that there was some unidentified, unknown element that was intended for my greater good.

Although I didn't believe it one-hundred percent, but instinctively I knew it had to be true. Believing this eventually opened my life to greater accomplishment, terrific new people with whom I associate, and a greater sense of compassion for those around me.

And I'm convinced that there is yet another layer for us to discover.

The third level of gratitude is where miracles take place. It is where gratitude exists as part of our character. It isn't dependent on the good we receive or the gratitude associated with the hidden good within the bad.

Instead, it is a daily interaction with "L"ife to the extent that those around us associate something almost supernatural with our presence.

I know a few people like this. You probably do too. I know that when I'm around them, the quality of my life is elevated. I feel better; I am better. And this much I know; I want to be like them.

At this point in my Life journey, I'm not the authority on how to get there. But I'm willing to walk the path to find out. When I find it, I'll share it here.

For now, Peace.

Barry

Biz-ness, Day Camp II & July 4th, 1976

Networking can be lots of fun. Because of my association with recently adopted Marketing Guru (see BarryMorris.com for details) for independent business owners, many of my previously held concepts of business, marketing, and relationship building have been turned on their heads. It's a good thing to be upside-down on occasion. It makes your whole thinking about a subject resemble a game of Jumble. It helps you to see it from a different perspective. When that happens, different solutions become apparent.

An important element in the development of my business is the commitment to giving more than I receive. In Wallace Wattle's 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich, he states that in oder to be truly successful in life (business) it is vital in each transaction, that "you give more in use value than you receive in cash value." Giving more than you receive. What a concept, huh? That coupled with gratitude is a sure way to drive repeat business in any industry.

Camp du Soleil was a huge hit with Justin. Last week he was thrilled to be getting up early (even in the summer) and head out for six hours of structured, exhausting, craft-and-sport related fun. He made a few new friends and has generally stepped into a larger world; a good thing for any child.

July 4, 1976 The American Bicentennial celebration was in full throttle. I was not included as I was in our mother country living in a small town in Northern England. The Robb family of Hexham threw a huge dinner party for me including guests from all over town. It was a surprise.

As I look back on that day so many years ago, I'm filled with a nostalgia for old friends and time when the world seemed simpler. I think about how the memory of that day remains with me. I think about how proud I was then to be an American. I wish that I could say the same today. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we have become a land that demonizes the principles of diversity upon which our nation was built.

In celebration of what our country was at one time and, hopefully, will become again, Happy 4th to all.