Quotations Weblog

One way to keep the Christmas holidays more about love and less about commercialism is to give yourself a little bit of silence every day, even if it’s just five minutes. Some call it meditation, others call it prayer, sometimes just being able to sit for five minutes without interruption is a luxury. Make sure you set aside this time, even if you have to lock yourself in the bathroom. You will feel more at peace with the season and yourself if you do.

During this time of Christmas shopping and trying to find the perfect gift, I’m sure that all of us are actively thinking about the people who make us happy. We want to give them something wonderful that will show them how happy they make us. Here’s an idea.

Concentrate on “giving back.” What does that person give you that brings you such joy. Did you get your sense of humor from your dad? Then a gift the appeals to his dry wit would probably be a good present. Did you get your ability to handle money wisely from your mom? Then give her something that she might appreciate like new personal accounting software or a huge silly pink piggy bank.

Another way to “give back” is to give to others the way you’ve been given to. Teach a child a funny joke or how to save money for a special toy. Heck, teach another adult how to lighten up or be safer with their money. There are so many ways to give back what you have been given that I couldn’t think of them all here.

What have you been given in this life? Sometimes the perfect gift is just acknowledging and appreciating what others have given you in the past.

I knew George Burn’s schtick before I knew who he was. I can only assume that my grandpa loved George Burn’s sense of humor because he stole his jokes all the time. He would say to my grandma at night,

“Say goodnight, Grandma,” and she would reply,

“Goodnight, Grandma.”

It took me years to realize that my grandparents weren’t the witty folks I thought they were. They were just repeating the George and Gracie joke from their youth.

For a complete biography, filmography and lists of radio and television series, see the Wikipedia article listed below.

• Wikipedia – George Burns

Here are some of my favorite quotations from George Burns:

Click here to read all of his quotations:

• George Burns Quotes – The Quotations Page

I received an email from a loved one that showed a man bungee jumping. You can see it on Snopes.com:

• Urban Legends Reference Pages: Photo Gallery (Bungee Whiz)

One week later, this quote showed up on the Motivational Quotes of the Day:

If you are like many people in the United States, the day after Thanksgiving is a big shopping day. Many stores hold sales on items that are ridiculously low just to attract us. After seven years of working at K-Mart, I vowed never to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I no longer work in retail. I don’t have to be there in those crowds and madness, so I won’t be out there looking for the great deals.

For those of you braving the swarm of shoppers and searching for those elusive bargains, here’s a little advice: