Some facts.

[Loretta Ann]

The weather is beautiful.

It is hot and sunny; the water must be cold.

That's what I thought as I looked from my room onto the beach.

I was in Panama City, Florida.
I was on vacation. I took three days to get away alone and rest.
The ocean is always a good place to go. It was a holiday weekend.

Hot summer holiday weekends are usually crowded in Panama City.
The beautiful white beaches draw vacationers from around the
world. As I looked out onto the beach from my room, the beach
was nearly deserted, and there were only a few people in the
water at noon.

My only explanation was that the water must have been freezing.
That can sometimes happen with the ocean.
It can be ninety degrees and yet the ocean can be very cold.

I had packed my wetsuit for just such an occasion.
I usually swim for a long time, if the water is unusually cold,
the wetsuit makes it comfortable.

I grabbed my towel, wetsuit, and keys, and headed to the beach.
There was an eerie silence magnified by the lack of people.

I let my toes slide into the frothing surf as it crashed against
the beach. I was expecting liquid ice.

It was warm, very warm.

I waded out into the ocean, not worrying about bumping into
anyone because no one was there.

The ocean was beautiful. The water was crystal clear;
it felt like a warm bath. It was perfect.

Why was I the only one in the water?
The thought kept hounding me.
This was peak season and a holiday to boot.

I swam until my muscles signaled enough exercise for the day.
As I walked towards the beach with the surf crashing against my
back an old man walked out towards me. A woman whom I presumed
to be his wife watched him from the shore.

She shouted something that made me instantly realize why the sea
was empty of people.

"Don't worry, I'll let you know if I see any sharks!" she
hollered.

That was it, the people were afraid of sharks,
that's why the beach and the ocean were empty!

I don't watch the news but I knew about the recent sighting of
sharks and the shark attacks off the coast. The fear has
frightened an entire nation into staying away from the beach.

Listen to this lesson.

There are three levels in coming to the beach.

First Level - The Room.

There is a great benefit in coming to the ocean just to hear
the waves crashing all day and night. It soothes and calms the
soul. If I had not gone out on the beach, I would have
received a great benefit from being in an oceanfront room,
to hear the waves, and to watch the sea.

Second Level - The Beach.

Lying in the sand and letting the sun bathe you in radiant light
is an experience. I usually never use a lounge chair, I stretch
out directly in the sand. I can use a lounge chair in my back
yard, when I come to the ocean, I am a sand man.

Have you ever lain on the beach (in the sand) and tapped on the
sand? It rings like a wooden floor. I discovered that today.

Third Level - The Ocean.

Did you know that ocean water is chemically almost identical to
blood once you remove the red and white blood cells? Three-fourths
of the world is covered with water. Three-fourths of
your body is water.

The ocean is one of God's greatest natural creations.

So are you.

I was tingling all over once I got out of the ocean.

So many missed the feeling because they were afraid of being
bitten by a shark.

Below are the top five biting injuries occurring in 1987
in New York City:

Dog bites human 8,064
Human bites human 1,587
Cat bites human 802
Wild rat bites human 291
Squirrel bites human 95

1987 Shark injuries in U.S.A. 13

Am I belittling the few shark attacks and the traumatic death of
the little boy that died as a result of a shark attack?
Of course not, but all too often we let other incidents of the
world block us from life.

I included the above chart to emphasize that although shark
attacks do occur, they are overall, very rare.

I asked the fellow at the desk about it.

"Yep, visitors are down because of the sharks, but the thing is,
there hasn't been but one shark attack and that was in another
city a hundred miles away. Most of what people heard about
happened on the Atlantic side and not on this side," he
explained.

Here is another chart for 1996:
A Comparison with the Number of Injuries
Associated with Home-Improvement Equipment

Number of Injuries in 1996 from:
Nails, screws, tacks, and bolts 198,849
Ladders 138,894
Toilets 43,687
Pruning, trimming, edging 36,091
Chain saws 13,458
Pliers, wire cutters, and wrenches 15,957
Manual-cleaning equipment 14,386
Power grinders, buffers, and polishers 13,458
Buckets and pails 10,907
Room deodorizers and fresheners 2,599
Toilet-bowl products 1,567
Paints or varnish thinners 1,549
Shark injuries and deaths in U.S.A. 18

In 1996, you were over two thousand times more likely to be hurt
with your toilet than by a shark. Who would imagine that the
water in your toilet bowl would pose more danger than all of the
sharks, snakes, and other stuff in the ocean? Maybe since 1996
toilets have gotten a lot safer and oceans more dangerous,
but I doubt it.
I wondered, "How do you even get hurt with your toilet?"
Those are the facts.
That ought to put things in some perspective.

Fear causes so many of us to miss out on life and our destinies.

The sharks not only kept people out of the water, but out of the
rooms with the beautiful view and off of the beach.

Understand this:
THE FEAR OF THE SHARKS REACHED PLACES,
AND KEPT PEOPLE FROM PLACES,
WHERE THE SHARKS COULDN'T EVEN GO.

Fear will keep you off of all levels of enjoyment,
even where there is little or no danger.

There are sharks in your world, some real, but most just
magnified to the point where they paralyze us in our actions.

Did a friend or relative get bitten by the shark of love?
Did they get bitten by the shark of business failure?
Did they get bitten by the shark of divorce?
Did they get bitten by the shark of layoffs?
Did they get bitten by the shark of disease?
Did they get bitten by the shark of death?

Did their bites scare you so much that you won't go to the room,
the beach, or the water?

I am typing on my laptop now as I look out on the ocean.
The water is warmer than I ever remember. It is 2pm local time.
The weather looks like something out of a tropical movie.
Looking both ways I can see a mile of beach.

There is not ONE person in the water.

I am not suggesting that you do stupid and risky things, but the
things that hurt most of us are not the things that we fear.

Cigarettes are the leading killer in the U.S.
Cigarettes will kill more people in the time that it takes you
to read this issue than sharks will kill all
year, even with the increased shark activity.

When is the last time you've seen anyone scared of a cigarette?

If you are going to be really scared of something, be scared of
the terribly frightening things, the things that can destroy
both body and soul. A shark can't do that.

Wives hold back from their husbands because they are afraid that
if they give him their all, he could one day leave, and they've
given everything. Husbands hold back from their wives because
they are afraid that if they love unconditionally, they may seem
weak and lose control.

Both lose, and they lose a lot, because of fear.

Sharks - where sharks can't even go.

Roosevelt said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
He knew what he was talking about.

The world is full of sharks, but the biggest one of them all,
is the shark of FEAR.

The shark of fear is not limited by the water.


So what would I have done if I had seen a shark fin?

I would have exited the water most expeditiously,
making quite a splash doing it.

Then I would have stretched out on the beach, in the sand.

Go swim people, it's warmer than you think, and when you know
the truth, there are not as many biting sharks as the world
would lead you to believe.

[Kathy]

How true that is. How sad, but how very, very true.

[Tea Cake]

Darlene,

I know what you mean about the solid rhythm of sand---or rather I could hear it as I read your words.

That was an excellent read.

In fact --I think I'll read it again right now.

------ Tea-cake

[Donna O]

Dear Darlene;

The sound of the ocean, a long walk on the beach , a nice sunny Spring day about 75 degrees, lying on a nice warm beach, and swimming in warm water are all very nice and soothing.


Watch out for the sharks !!!!! The bites from a land or water shark in either case can be quite painful. I have gotten bitten by a land shark several times ( Lost jobs ).

[Virginia]

Hey Sis,
I caught the part about over 43,000 toilet accidents. Wonder what the breakdown is on Cd'ers in that situation. I have to admit that I fell back once when wearing high heels and did not properly get my feet under me. No injury except to my pride!
Anyway, the shark story I could tell!!
Love ya,
Deborah

[Rebecca]

Hi Darlene,

Excellent article on fear. Around our neck of the woods there are 100% more sharks on land, mind the biggest fish we usually get is a cod,
In winter it is very exhilarating when the sky is overcast, it's blowing a gale and the grey sea smashes against the promenade wall, 100's of gallons of water rising way up high. Standing too close is probably more dangerous than a shark, but there's no fear, just awe. It's so beautiful and uplifting. I wish I could share it with you all.
Your'e article has set me off and got me going, I feel all emotional now

Love
Rebecca xxx

[Loretta Ann]

Hi all,

Thanks for the demonstration of your love in your replies ladies.

[Loretta Ann]

The location of paradise
has far more to do with the person
than the place.

[Loretta Ann]

GO REST!
========

Stop - Do NOTHING!!!

You need to rest and take a break sometimes.

I can go into a long psychological and physiological explanation
of why you need to do this but most of you instinctively know
this.

You know that you need to stop, rest, and take a break
sometimes.

We all know it but often we are slaves, and slaves aren't
usually given sufficient rest

Most of you are saying, "I'm not a slave!"

This is the EXACT dictionary definition of a slave:
slave n. 1. One bound in servitude as the property of a person
or household.
2. One who is abjectly subservient to a specified person or
influence.
3. One who works extremely hard.

According to statistics, we work now longer than ever.
Two jobs, or one job that we work more than 50 hours a week is
commonplace.

Why?

Because we often feel that we have to.

Money is not usually stacked in the bank.
We are usually slaving to pay current bills.

I was on the board of directors of a bank for years.
The determining factor in how much to lend someone is not how
much they can comfortably pay, but how much they can pay under a
strain.

When looking for a house, most don't consider how much they can
comfortably pay, but how much the bank will lend them.

The number one credit card world wide is called, MASTERcard.

The name is no accident.

If one is the Master, that means the other is the . . .

The CARD is usually the master.

Yes, and the best slave is the one that doesn't realize it.

The high credit card bills, the high mortgages and rent,
the high car notes, etc. makes it where most can't even take a
relaxing time to themselves.

We have become slaves and don't realize it.

Divine law tries to prevent us from becoming slaves.

We are all familiar with the ten commandments whether we agree
with them or not. The first commandment where we are told
something to do is the fourth commandment. It says to work six
days and to rest on the seventh day.

That's a principle not only of human flesh, it's a principle of
dirt. Any good farmer will tell you that to get maximum
production from farm land, you need to plant six years and let
the ground sit idle for the seventh year.

I own my business.

That can enslave you, more than working for someone else if you
let it.

The key is to recognize truth.

Recognize an enslaver, whether it is a job, a business, a car, a
relationship, or whatever wraps you so tight that you can't even
rest once a week or once in a while.

You don't have to go to Jamaica.
Go spend a weekend with Grandma.

Go somewhere and do exactly what I am about to tell you.

Go rest, you deserve it, and you shouldn't be a slave.

This is the outline of your duties while you rest between the
quotes:

[Marda]

Darlene said ...

" We have become slaves and don't realize it. "

[Loretta Ann]

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people
with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, the world would look
something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
--
52 would be female
48 would be male
--
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
--
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
--
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
--
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
All 6 would be from the United States.
--
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

You own a computer or at the very least have consistent access to one.

You are among the world's wealthiest 1%

With all of the bills and the stress, life doesn't feel that way does it?

Maybe that's just because you don't know how blessed you are.

[Marda]

Hey_Darlene

*Excellent* post

... and *Yes* I *Do* know how *Very_Blessed* I am ... 2 B here with *All* of You Gals ???

... at 16 my buddy & I bounced off a Pontiac sedan on his motorcycle ... no helmets ... minor road_rash and bruised egos

... at 19 ... missed an industrial accident by about 3 seconds which would have decapitated me with 13 pound of liquid glass

... at 26 ... rode home *Drunk_as_a_Skunk* from a party on my motorcycle at 90 mph and lost my balance parking the bike in the underground beside my car

... somewhere in here are a few more horror storeez

... a few years ago I wiped out (flipped & twisted over and back)rollerblading on the Seawall ... blacked out due to the impact and woke up with an *exploded* rh wrist ... 2 months with an external fixator screwed into my arm and 5 months off work ... no scratches on the helmet

... as mentioned in the Coping section ... less than 2 yrs ago I took flying lessons off my balcony ... my Bible and *security* blanket kept my head from Whacking the concrete patio downstairs

... and now I'm *Here* with *You*

*This* *Is* *The* *Life* of a *Very* *Lucky* *Girl*

Love / Marda

[Rebecca]

Hi girls,

2 excellent posts there, both share a driving force



Powerfull stuff !

Love
Rebecca xxx

[Anita]

Very nice, Darlene. I haven't been able to post for about three weeks--some glitch somewhere, plus I've been out of town. No water-based sharks anywhere near where I went--Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. I helped some friends move their vehicles crosscountry, to their new home.

But driving for four days, there were bound to be some sharks that showed up in my head. Things are going really well right now, and even so, there are always going to be fear thoughts to deal with. It's not a question of eliminating them, but simply finding a way to keep motivation up in spite of them.

Glad to be able to post again!
Anita

[Marda]

CBC NEWS FLASH - EASTERN CANADA
Nova Scotia town opens door to drinking
Last Updated Wed, 28 Jul 2004 08:14:19 EDT

CLARK'S HARBOUR, N.S. -

The small town of Clark's Harbour, N.S., is waking up to a boozier future after residents voted to end a ban on selling alcohol.

A majority of voters in the town of 944 on Cape Sable Island cast ballots in a plebiscite on Tuesday to allow alcohol to be sold in licensed premises.

At the moment, the local Legion hall is the only site that serves liquor in the all-but-dry town, and it can do so only once a month.

A local bowling alley called for the plebiscite, which was organized by the Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Authority. The bowling alley now plans to build a lounge to take advantage of the change in the rules.

Six years ago, people in Clark's Harbour voted by a narrow margin to maintain the prohibition on the general sale of alcohol.

Tuesday's vote, in which 264 people favoured liquor sales compared to 140 who opposed the move, was the sixth in the town's history.

A similar vote will be held next week in another Nova Scotian town, Little Narrows in Cape Breton.

Written by CBC News Online staff
*****
/M