One particular day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.

“Hello Barry, how are you today?”

“Hello Mr. Miller, Fine, thank you. Just admiring those peas…sure look good.”

“They are good, Barry. How’s your Mother?”

“Fine. Getting stronger all the time.”

“Good. Anything I can help you with?”

“No, Sir. Just admiring those peas.”

“Would you like to take some home?”

“No, Sir. I don’t have anything to pay for them with.”

“Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?”

“All I have is my prize marble here.”

“Is that right? Let me see it.”

“Here it is. She’s a dandy.”

“I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?”

“Not exactly…but, almost.”

“Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble.”

“Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller.”

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: “There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances.
Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn’t like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps.”

I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with the man. A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.

Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.

They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts…very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband’s casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.

Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller.

I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket.

“Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim “traded” them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size…they came to pay their debt.

“We’ve never had a great deal of wealth of this world,” she confided, but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.”

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.

We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.

The author of this story is unknown,but if you do know where it comes from, please pass it on and we will be very happy to give credit.

It is typical for the kind of stories that are sent to you on a Friday, if you subscribe to “My Daily Insights“, a program sponsored by Transition Guidance to deliver you a daily inspiration.

My Daily Insights   is delivered free of charge and even without ads (!) and you can find out more about it here.

What do you take away from this story? How did it touch or inspire you? Have you been or met someone like Mr. Miller yourself or can you relate to one of the boys?

Feel free to leave a comment.

If you are looking for a parenting handbook, look no further. The Family Virtues Guide written by Linda Kavelin Popov offers you a manual that delivers the best foundation possible of how to raise a child in any culture or society.

Her ‘Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves’ contain valuable insights in who our children really are, parenting principles and practices and how to apply The Family Virtues Guide in your family.

A description of 52 ‘Gifts Within’  helps to understand each virtue, why to practice it, how to practice it, how to recognise when a virtue is practised and when it needs more attention as well as an affirmation and a drawing to visualise an example.

It is a book that should be given or at least recommended to each new parent – the earlier the better.

Have a look inside and find out why The Family Virtues Guide is one of those books that have the potential to make the world a better place – one person at a time!

Are you feeling …

…stressed or overwhelmed?
…stuck or out of alignment?
…burned out or of low energy?

Are you concerned about…

…your ability to perform to your usual personal or professional standard?
…your lack of concentration, memory or learning difficulties?
…social isolation, an urge to withdraw from social activities or communicational challenges?
…unexplainable moodiness, depression, constant fatigue, allergic reactions or rashes, eczema or itches?
…reduced libido, temper or frustration, feelings of loneliness or not being worthy?
…hallucination, sleeplessness or nightmares?

If you recognise some of the above symptoms in your life, here are the good news:

Your body, mind and spirit are giving you signals that either or all of them are out of balance and need some time (and maybe support) to even themselves out.  In order to do that it is important to have a rest, listen to your self talk, observe your emotions and look at the signals of your body. That way the relevant part can do its work, respectively all three work together symbiotically.

The real reason for an imbalance of body, mind and spirit always comes back to one of three causes:

• physical stress (tensions and blockages in your body)
• mental stress (draining thoughts and limiting beliefs that seem to run around in circles, drag you down and make you feel powerless, weak or tired)
• spiritual/emotional stress (when you seem to be controlled by your emotions rather than being in control of them, when there is a conflict in your values or a lack of purpose)

Often a stress in one area is the reason for tension or blockages in another, because they are interconnected and feed from each other.

This is why Transition Guidance looks at the whole person and offers a holistic approach to reducing stress, improving your overall wellbeing and supporting relaxation for the body, the mind and the spirit.

What we do:

We balance and relax

body, mind and spirit.

We guide

through transition by choice or necessity.

We empower

to live an authentic life with purpose

We connect

you with your inner resources

and with like-minded people

Today my husband bought me a pair of polarised sunglasses.

His father was wearing one when we visited Whitehaven Beach with its white, blinding silicon sand. We both tried it on and instantly agreed that buying polarised sunglasses would be a very good investment.

Now I am the proud owner of a new pair of  glasses (and so are my husband and son). The difference astounded me and I was immediately reminded of a chapter in Roger Hamilton’s book Wink, where little Richard meets the Optometrist, who talks to him about vision, focus and clarity.

When I looked through my anti-reflecting glasses I was tempted to think: “So that’s what the world’s supposed to look like!” – All colours were suddenly much brighter than without sunglasses or with my old ones.

At the same time, I felt like I could see sharper, clearer. Before, my vision was blurred. Now it feels like I have absolute clarity.

With more clarity, it seems to be easier to filter out what I want to see and the things I put my focus on do not fuse with the ones I’d rather ignore anymore.

The little things are the basis for the big things

All creation is holographic, which means that the information for the whole is present in each part.

Clarity of purpose is my number one value and I am not surprised that now that I made a conscious choice to review my purpose I have been shown a way to increase my physical view.

I have the very strong belief that body, mind and soul have an almost magical appearing way of working together to show us what we need in this moment. They communicate with each other to give us either physical, phsychological or mental signals.

If we are open and willing to recognise and explore those signals which often appear in some kind of symptoms in the body or mind, we can get involved in this communication. By asking questions, listening to what comes up and taking action on the advice that comes up, we can reconnect with our inner resources, improve our health and as a result enjoy true holistic wellbeing.

The sunglasses to me are a symbol for clarity, focus and vision. Lately, my eyes have lost a bit of their power. While I am writing this, I literally find it hard to focus. In the last months I was asking myself, whether I have found my purpose, what it is and how I can live it.

I think I found it and I am sure once I have done the work with my purpose coach Shiona Long, I will be even more committed to it. I am certain that both – eyesight and vision – will become clear, allowing me to focus on what is important to me.

If you haven’t got some already, I encourage you to at least try a pair of polarised glasses on, so that you can experience the difference first hand.

Now if  a simple thing as a polarised glass can make a profound impact on your vision, focus and clarity, how much difference would it make in your life if you knew your true purpose?

If this is something you choose to explore, I invite you to go on the journey with me to Discover Your Purpose, so that you too can have vision, focus and clarity and live a life you are meant to life: a life with meaning and purpose.

The best time to plant the seed for an oak was 25-200 years ago. The second best time is now. Book yourself in for a free purpose discovery session today and start taking your life in your own hands.

When we are little, we adopt our parents’ values as our own, before we become influenced by our friends, their parents, religion, culture and other social groups and communities.

At times, our values may change and what we held true as children is no longer valid. This is often an unconscious process that only gets realised when some of our values either conflict with each other or with what we (have to or choose to) do, for example at work.

A values alignment gives you clarity about the values that you have currently and the ones you wish or need to have (for example if you start a business or need to get out of a relationship), brings them into the most appropriate order and helps you to make your values strong and supportive in order to achieve your goal(s).

Talking about classics, Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People” is an essential not only for people in business, but for anybody who is looking to improve their personal performance.
With lots of examples and insights, this book is a must! Look inside

Thanks to my Accountability Coach Shiona Long from “Authentic Success” I had my values elicited again today. (18th of May 2009) There have been significant changes on my list since I had done the values work last time, with some surprises and ‘aha’-moments.

What have values got to do with who we are?
Well, short and simple: everything.

Let me explain:
Values are principles or qualities that we value (or want to value) most. Our core values drive the experiences and things we are passionate about and that we desire in life, our guiding principles. Values are “the story” how we want our life to be, what is most important to us.

Examples of values are: Achievement, Balance, Commitment, Connection,Independence, Loyalty, Service (Contribution), or Spirituality (Clarity of Purpose).
Other values are: Generosity, Safety, Authenticity (Walking the Talk)

If we live in alignment with our values, we feel fulfilled, on purpose, in integrity and true to ourselves. Our values drive our thoughts. Our thoughts drive our actions as well as our non-actions. Our actions drive our behaviour, which then become our character. And finally this all together writes the story of our lives, our destiny.

Whether you have fulfilling relationships – or not, whether you are wealthy and healthy – or not, whether you are successful – or not – it all lies in your values.

But as always: awareness is the first step to change.

On my values list we found principles that do not longer belong there and that had to leave, because they were stopping me from achieving my goals. Others had to be included for better results and in order to make my life more complete.

What are your values? Do you live in alignment with your core principles? Have you allowed some values that hinder you from moving forward? Which ones are missing on your list? Are they in the right order? What would be the right order?

How would your life look like if you knew your values and lived in alignment with them? What could you achieve if your values supported your dream?

An individual values alignment gives you the foundation for building, maintaining and growing a strong business or choosing a new career path, creating fulfilling relationships, living authentically and as a result reduce stress and increase your overall wellbeing.

Register your interest now to get more information on how you too can benefit from the power of being in alignment with your values by calling 07 4774 8146 or send an e-mail with ‘Values Alignment’ in the subject line to info@transitionguidance.com today.

The Talmud says:

Sow a thought and reap an action
Sow an action and reap a habit
Sow a habit and reap a character
Sow a character and reap a destiny

I would love to add:

Know your values, because they determine your thoughts.

A value is something that is important to you. They are what our unconscious mind is striving to live by 24/7/365.

Trouble is, the unconscious mind does not care about what you think your values are or what you want them to be. Its only goal is to make you perform in alignment with the values that have been installed in you by others.

Even more important, your values are the source for the power that is responsible for the results that you get in life and from which you work towards or away from.

Luckily it is not only possible to elicit your current values, but also to delete the ones that are sabotaging you, to install the ones that are missing and even to bring them in an appropriate order of relevance to your life goals.

Know your values, so you can sow sow inspiring thoughts, reap focused actions, install functional habits, form an impressive character and hence ultimately create your aspired destiny.

To elicit and re-arrange your values contact me today on +617 4774 8146 or via e-mail to info[at]transitionguidance.com. I am looking forward to assist you in getting your “ducks in a row”, so you can take the fast track to success in your life.