Thanks to all teachers

Thanks to all of my teachers.

I've learned to like teaching others. I enjoy studying, preparing and delivering knowledge to people. I really do believe in the saying that says ... "The best way to learn is to teach".

I've had many teachers that have taught me throughout my life, some of whom I don't remember their names

Thanks to the teacher who taught me

• how to swim in Taiwan
• speed reading in elementary school
• home economics in elementary school
• ballet dancing - Maria Fusco?
• piano playing - Mara Fusco
• Italian when we lived in Italy
• World history in high school Mr. Moore
• US History in high school Dean Nagy - he recognized me my freshman year and asked if I was George Pohle's son!
• Russian in high school - Dr. Hughes (he was almost blind)
• my piano teacher in high school (he had a lot of patience)
• Chemistry 101 at Texas A&M
• a teacher who taught Differential equations at Texas A&M

Pithy saying: Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated. - from Life's Little Instructions

Thanks to Sam Harris

I'd like to express my thanks and gratitude to Sam Harris. You can find him at samharris.org.  He has written a few books, one of which I've read, Waking Up. I plan on reading a few others. I listen to his podcast, Making Sense, as well. He also has a new meditation application called Waking Up which I also use. On this app, he has a number of "lessons" that are short thoughts on topics like gratitude and free will. Behind his paywall, on samharris.org he has, as of June 2019, sixteen episodes of his AMA's (Ask me anything), which are always very entertaining, thoughtful and helpful.

Wikipedia has this description of him as "an American neuroscientist, philosopher,^[3] author, critic of religion,^[4] blogger, public intellectual, and podcast host."

I find his thoughts to be very insightful and he sounds very genuine, authentic and empathetic. On occasion, he can be quite blunt, especially around his thoughts around radical Islam.

On the who I find listening to him and reading his work to be helpful, reassuring and foundational for my well being.

Thanks, Sam Harris!

Pithy comment (taken from a poster in a doctors office on "Life's Little Instructions")

"Sing in the shower"

Thanks to my heart

Today I want to thank my own heart. It has been beating my whole life. Sometimes it beats fast when I'm exercising, feeling anxious and anticipatory. Sometimes it beats slowly when I'm sleeping, meditating or feeling calm. I want to take care of my heart, so I think I've made a commitment to myself to lose some dramatic weight. I won't set a weight goal, but I will try to eat much much less, drink way less alcohol and skip deserts more often than not. There are many organs we have only one of so I don't want to leave them out of this thank you note. So thanks to my brain, my liver, my stomach, my tongue, my esophagus, and intestine. Thank you heart!

Pithy saying: I am able to transform my ideas into reality. Today develop a plan to turn your ideas into a reality.

Not sure what idea I want to turn into reality?

Thanks body!

Pithy saying - I will learn to listen to my body. When you are experiencing pain or dis-ease seek to understand what messages your body is trying to convey to you.

Wow! Today's saying was right along the path of my gratitude today. I wanted to pay gratitude to my body.

I am amazed at the resiliency of my body. I am sixty years old and have thrown all sorts of indignities at my body; bad food, alcohol, drugs, overtraining, not enough sleep, too much ice cream, being sick, being overweight, being overstressed, knocking into things, bruising it, cutting it ... generally taking it for granted.

Thanks to my body. I love my body. I love my heart. I love my brain. I love my kidneys. I love my liver. I love my stomach.

Its the body that I have and I love it.

Thanks Steve Scott for your gratitude blog

Today I'd like to express my gratitude to Steve Scott for the blog entry on gratitude that I stumbled across the other day as I prepared for a meditation workshop that I'm creating and will do this coming Sunday.

The blog entry is at https://www.happierhuman.com/benefits-of-gratitude/.

It is titled "31 Benefits of gratitude you didn't know about: How gratitude can change your life."

I'm going to use some of the entries in my workshop and will refer to this over the coming days as I try to continue this gratitude blog.

BTW, Steve is the author of "The 90-Day Gratitude Journal" which you can find on Amazon here.

The first entry is "Gratitude makes us happier".
---------------

Pithy saying

Forgive and let go of the anger you hold towards one person today.