One of a Kind News

"Let Your Sun Shine Through" September 1, 2001
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Table of Contents

1. Welcome Notes
2. Article – Let Your Sun Shine Through
3. Words of Wisdom
4. Resources

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1. Welcome Notes

Dear Friends,

It's Labor Day Weekend in the U.S. and we're transitioning into
the fall season. The days are getting shorter and there is
briskness in the early morning and evening air that wasn't there
just a couple of weeks ago. The leaves are beginning to drop
from the giant maple trees in our neighborhood park. It doesn't
seem possible to me that we could be preparing to say goodbye
to another summer already.

What are the things you intended to do this summer but haven't
gotten around to yet? Don't put them off any longer. As my
wonderful grandmother used to say "times a wastin". Get out
there and do those glorious summertime things that you can't do
any other time of year.

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2. Let Your Sun Shine Through

What keeps you from being all you can be -- from bringing your
gifts into the world? What keeps me from being all that I can be
is my tendency to get into self-doubt. This is my greatest
weakness -- my Achilles heel. It's also the bedrock of my
greatest strengths. How can that be, you ask? Well, because I
have struggled with self-doubt most of my life, I have been
driven to uncover the causes and discover solutions. Because of
my own struggle, I am able to help others believe in themselves.
This is a theme in almost everyone's life. Our biggest
accomplishments often come from trying to overcome a
weakness.

Does that mean that I never get into self-doubt anymore? No. I
still do at times; I just don't stay there as long.

My passion is to help people be like a Phoenix rising -- to rise
from the ashes of their old lives and reach for the sun. It is true
that the only thing holding us back is ourselves and that the only
thing we have to fear is fear itself. Our fears and insecurities are
the clouds that hide our sun. Also true is that the truth will set
you free. Just telling you about my biggest weakness has helped
me feel free. We try to hide our weaknesses and insecurities
behind a mask of having it all together. That mask hides
nothing. People pick up on how we really feel about ourselves --
why not just tell the truth? None of us have it all together. We
are human beings on a path toward wholeness.

Last night I watched a special program about Princess Diana.
Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of her tragic death. She
was a person riddled with fears and insecurities AND she was
one of the most revered women in history.

We are much more than our weaknesses. By accepting and
actually honoring our weaknesses for the gifts that they bring us,
we can overcome many of the blocks that hold us back. What is
your greatest weakness? Can you link it somehow to your
strengths? Chances are good that you can. What are the gifts
you have developed by working on overcoming your
weaknesses?

A big part of our work in this lifetime, is to learn to let go of the
fears and insecurities that bind us and let our souls shine through.
To get back to the essence of who we were when we were born.
To learn to be like a child again -- open, curious, excited,
spontaneous, energized, and innocent. To open up the walls we
hide behind. To be willing to be vulnerable. To come from a
place of Love instead of fear. What would the world be like if
everyone came from their essence which is Love instead of fear?
All negative things in the world are brought about by fear. All
positive things are brought about by Love. Let us be Love and
let our sun shine through.

I agree with this quote: "The privilege of a lifetime is being who
you are." By Joseph Campbell. I would add one thing: "warts
and all".

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3. Words of Wisdom

BOWL OF LIGHT

"Each child, at birth, has a bowl of light. If she tends to her light,
it'll grow in strength and she can do all things: swim with
sharks, fly with birds, know and understand all things. But if she
becomes envious, jealous, angry or fearful, she drops a stone into
the bowl and some light goes out. Light and the stone cannot
coexist. If she continues to put stones in the bowl, the light will
go out and she will become a stone herself. A stone does not
grow or move. If at any time she tires of being a stone, all she
needs to do is turn the bowl upside down and the stones will fall
away and the light will grow once more."
--Hawaiian saying

"Everything in life we really accept undergoes a change."
--Katherine Mansfield

"THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM A DOG"

-Never pretend to be something you're not.
-If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
-When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and
nuzzle them gently.
-Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
-Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
-On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.
-When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
-No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt
thing and poutÖrun right back and make friends.
-Delight in the simple joy of a long walk."
--Author Unknown

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4. A Touch of Humor

My dear friend, Jennifer, sent this to me. I hope you enjoy it as
much as I did.

THE TODDLER DIET

People are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble
with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation
diet), you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet) or you go
broke (the all-meat diet).

Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3
days. Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet.

Over the years you may have noticed that most two year olds are
trim. Now the formula to their success is available to all in this
new diet.

You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this
diet, otherwise, you may be seeing him afterwards. Good
Luck!!!

DAY ONE

Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape
jelly. Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the
floor. Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face
and clothes.

Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and
a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, 4 sips of flat
Sprite.

Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO

Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it.
Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch: Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of
Purina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take
outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is
clean again. Then bring inside and drop on rug.

Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up
your left nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat
with spoon.

DAY THREE

Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat one with
fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake
in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug,
lick off fuzz, put it on the cushion of best chair.

Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit
several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp
up.

Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red
punch. Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.

FINAL DAY

Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap,
an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add half a
cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to
dog.

Lunch: Eat breadcrumbs off kitchen floor and dining room
carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner: Drop pieces of spaghetti onto back of dog, insert
meatball into ear. Dump pudding into Cool-aid and suck up with
a straw.

REPEAT DAYS AS NEEDED!
--Author unknown

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5. Resources

Being Happy, A Handbook To Greater Confidence & Security
by Andrew Mathews.

This is a wonderful little book! I've had it in my library for
years. It's easy to read and filled with delightful cartoons that
make reading it amusing and interesting. The author says "No
one ever teaches us "how" to be happy, and we don't study
happiness in high school. I wrote 'Being Happy!' to share some
simple principles that I have found to work. It is exciting to see
that 'Being Happy!' is now published in 18 languages, in 50
countries.
Note: I noticed that there are 7 used copies available for $3.29
per copy through the Amazon.com site.

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Until we meet again, remember to:

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall.
Count your days by golden hours,
Don't remember clouds at all.
Count your nights by stars, not shadows.
Count your years with smiles, not tears.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
Count your age by friends, not years.
--Author Unknown

Blessings to you and yours,

Sharon

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Sharon Demarte is a Life Success Coach. She coaches individuals
by telephone and Internet, helping her clients close the gap
between where they are and where they want to be. Her clients
come from all walks of life: small business owners who are growing
their businesses, professionals who are growing their practices,
people in all kinds of life transitions and those who just want a
more balanced lifestyle. She works with people of all ages, from
the young who want to get a good start in life to the Too Young
To Retire – those who are the age of customary retirement, but
choose to go on to yet another career.

She works best with people who have a strong desire, a willingness
to take action, and are motivated to increase the quality of their
lives – sometimes even in difficult situations.

If you are a person who wants more out of life and would like to
explore the possibilities of partnering with Sharon as your coach,
please contact her by email: sharon@sharondemarte.com ; or by
telephone: 206-938-1867.

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Copyright © 2000, 2001 all rights reserved. Permission is granted
to reproduce, copy or distribute One of a Kind News so long as
this copyright notice and full information about contacting the
author is attached. The author of this newsletter is:
Sharon L. Demarte, M.A.

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