WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 77

The Elephant and the Fly

A young man and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was so restless.

He asked his teacher: "Why are most people's minds restless? What can one do to still the mind?"

The teacher smiled at the student and said:
"I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more".

This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly:
"Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said:
"My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

Something in the young man clicked. "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, " The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".

Remez Sasson

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 76

The Blue Ribbon
A teacher did a class project honouring her students. She gave each of them a blue ribbon and told them how they had made a difference to her. Then she gave them three more ribbons and told them to honour other people who made a difference to them and then go back and see what impact it had.

A student went to a junior executive in a nearby company who had helped him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon, thanking him for making a difference. Then he told him about his project and gave him two extra ribbons. “Can you find somebody to honour, give them a blue ribbon and the extra blue ribbon to give to a third person, then please report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who was a bit grouchy. He told his boss that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. He told his boss about the project, gave him a blue ribbon and the last extra ribbon and told him to pass it on to some-one who made a difference to him.

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and told him, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. I was thrilled! He gave me an extra ribbon to honour some-one and I want to honour you. I am so busy and I’m not always there for you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough marks in school or for your bedroom being a mess. But I want you to know that you make a big difference to me. Beside your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"

The startled boy started to sob, he couldn't stop crying. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I have been contemplating suicide, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me, but now I know you care."
We all make a difference, but we don’t always realise this. Who would you like to acknowledge today?

Paul's Party at Trasna House Ballyliffin

Buncrana GAA Fun Day

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 75

A Most Important Question

A young woman worked hard at College. She was studying to be a nurse. During the second month of nursing school, her professor gave the class a pop quiz. The young woman was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until she read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

The student thought that surely this was some kind of joke. She had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark haired and in her 50s. “How am I supposed to know her name?” she thought to herself.

She handed in her paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward their quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." The young student never forgot this lesson throughout her career.

She also learned the cleaning women’s name was Ruthie.

WEDDING OF FRANCES BOYLE AND PATRICK BARR

Burt Chapel

Patrick and Conail next to an engraving of their father's name. Padraig MCDevitt was told that the roof of Burt Chapel couldn't be built, he proved them wrong by building in in a shed in Buncrana.

Posing on the General Lee car supplied by Hollywood American Car Hire

Interested in Burt Geneaology?

The Burt page on The Donegal Genealogy Resources website has recently been updated to include extensive details of Burt Cemetry.

A large number of headstone inscriptions, including photographs, family links and also some links to the 1911 Census have been added.

Every effort has been made to catalogue and identify as many graves as possible in the Burt Graveyard, in an effort to help preserve the identities and locations of the people buried there for future generations and also to enable emigrants from Burt to find and see their family graves.

Go to their site...