Greetings!

Fall has arrived! Is it just me or are some of the trees simply not turning as vibrant a color as in the past?

I have vacillated on this for quite some time and have decided that this will be the last issue of this newsletter. It will be available only online. (Just bookmark the site, and look under "Newsletter".) I am tired of jumping through hoops and dealing with *stuff* from some IP's.

It has been a great four years, and I wish to thank each one of you for reading my little ezine and for sharing your thoughts and insights with me.

I hope you enjoy this month's article.

Full Moon Times and Dates:

Full Moon Dates:

~October: The Tenth Month

This is the year's worst month for planets. Mars finally reaches conjunction and slips behind the Sun on the 23rd. By month's end, Jupiter will be difficult to view as it vanishes into the Sun's glare, as does Venus. Mercury is barely visible above the horizon, making its meeting with Venus from the 20th through the 31st challenging to view. The Moon is so far south that, when one day old on the 23rd, it sets before the Sun; the two-day-old Moon is equally impossible to see. These are the lowest, hardest-to-see crescent Moons in 18 years. Only Saturn is easily visible, but it doesn't rise until 2:30 a.m. The medium-intensity Orionid meteors add some sparkle to the sky on the 21st. Moon phase times are based on Eastern Time.

Full Moon: 6th day, 23rd hour, 13th minute
Last Quarter: 13th day, 20th hour, 26th minute
New Moon: 22nd day, 1st hour, 14th minute
First Quarter: 29th day, 16th hour, 25th minute

October's Full Moon Names: Full Hunter's Moon; Full Travel Moon, Full Dying Grass Moon.

~November ~ The Eleventh Month

The evening sky is now nearly empty of planets, with Jupiter reaching conjunction with the Sun on the 21st. Venus is technically back, but it is actually too low to be easily observed. One bright spot this month is Saturn, which now rises by 11:00 p.m. at midmonth in Leo. However, the real highlight this month is the first transit of Mercury visible throughout North America in decades. Specially equipped solar telescopes or binoculars with strong appropriate filters (always use eye protection when viewing solar events) will show the innermost planet march across the Sun's face on the 8th. Orion and the brilliant winter stars return this month, rising well before midnight. Moon phase times are based on Eastern Time.

Full Moon: 5th day, 7th hour, 58th minute
Last Quarter: 12th day, 12th hour, 45th minute
New Moon: 20th day, 17th hour, 18th minute
First Quarter: 28th day, 1st hour, 29th minute

November's Full Moon Names: Full Beaver Moon; Full Frost Moon

Special Thanks to: The Old Farmers’ Almanac

In the midst of overwhelming challenges and against all odds, a simple observation from old country wisdom can be a powerful inspiration. If you should find yourself in circumstances in which the bad news and losses seem to keep coming in waves, remember the story of the blacksmith and the horseshoe.

It was a late evening in the office and most of the people had already gone home to enjoy time with their family. Sitting behind his desk, a young man stared at stacks of reports and spreadsheets. It seemed as if his job was growing more desperate with every passing day. Deadlines were getting shorter. Customers were becoming more demanding. The number of new projects was only outpaced by the growing number of urgent and emerging emergencies. It required all of his time and all of his dedication just to keep up.

Yet, the desperate situation at work was something that he had come to appreciate. The overwhelming challenges of the job helped to keep his mind off of the circumstances outside of work. It was better to concentrate on the insurmountable tasks in the office than to succumb to depression. To go home meant to be alone, to face the bills and wonder how to make ends meet. There had been a time long ago when his life was full of laughter, but lately his time at home was as empty as the bank account.

The young man sat at his desk, his concentration gradually slipping away from the reports and the spreadsheets. He began to reflect on the circumstances outside of work, the problems that he tried to avoid by keeping occupied by the job. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reflecting on the continuous onslaught of circumstances that had brought him to this moment in time. Virtually alone in the office, and even more lonely at home, he started to think about the numerous painful events that he had faced.

At the same time there was one other individual in the building. It was a slightly older gentleman who had a slightly crooked smile and a dull twinkle in his eyes. As the gentleman was slowly sauntering toward the door, preparing to go home to his own family, he noticed the sad young man behind the desk. The gentleman paused at the door, then came back to sit across the desk from the lonely young man.

“It’s none of my business, but I hear that it’s been a little rough on you lately,” the gentleman said with a slight accent.

“It just keeps coming,” replied the young man. “Every time that I think that it can’t get any worse, something else comes along that I didn’t expect. I feel like a boxer in the ring that keeps getting sucker punched, but I don’t even know what round it is anymore. At least the boxer knows when the fight is going to end.”

The gentleman smiled and nodded his head knowingly. There was a moment of silence between the two. It was not an uncomfortable silence. It was a quiet exchange of recognition and understanding.

Finally the older gentlemen leaned forward and said, “You must feel like a horseshoe right now.”

The young man immediately imagined a rusty old horseshoe being stepped on day after day. It was an appropriate analogy. The young man smiled and nodded his head.

“Lot’s of people hang them on their wall for good luck when the horse is done wearing them. That’s got to be pretty tough to get worn by a horse and hung on a wall. You ever try to bend a horseshoe?” asked the gentleman.

“I’m pretty sure that I can’t bend a horseshoe,” replied the young man.

“You ever see a blacksmith make a horseshoe? He takes a piece of metal and sticks it right into the burning coals of a hot fire. That fire is over one thousand degrees and glowing red. Then he pulls that metal out of the fire and uses a huge hammer and an anvil to strike the metal. The blacksmith hammers and shapes the metal, sticks it in water just enough to cool, and then puts it back in the fire.” The gentleman paused for a moment as the story took effect.

“The blacksmith will repeat that process as many times as it takes until he gets that horseshoe in just the exact shape that he needs it. He will use fire, water and the power of his strength through that hammer until the piece of raw metal is shaped into a perfect horseshoe. That horseshoe is something he can use. It is strong enough to support the horse, and no matter how many times it gets stepped on, the horse can’t change the shape that the blacksmith made.”

The gentleman slowly rose from his chair and reassuringly patted the young man on his shoulders.

“You just need to figure out,” said the gentleman in his slow and comforting voice, “what shape do you want to be in when the blacksmith is done with you? I’m thinking that you are going to be stronger, and that nobody else will be able to bend you either. I look forward to that day because I believe in you.”

If you are at a point in life in which you are in the middle of your own struggle, remember the saying that ‘the things that don’t break us only make us stronger.’ Have confidence in the knowledge that there are others who have had to bear personal burdens and succeeded. It was through the personal struggle of the older gentleman that he learned the lessons he shared with the young man. As the young man has grown out of his struggles and discovered greater internal strength, it is his time for me to share this story with you. It is a respectful reminiscence of the country wisdom, and hopefully it will be an inspiration to another.

If you enjoyed this article, please also visit www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com for more articles, inspiration, free exercises for self-evaluation, coaching, consulting and training. Do something positive for yourself and your career, visit the community of fast paced professionals at Executive Blueprints and experience the satisfaction of continual self-improvement.

About the Author:
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching.

http://www.InstituteforAdvancedLeadership.com provides self-paced tutorials for personal development and tools for trainers. Presentation materials, reference guides and exercises are available for continuous development.

You may distribute this article freely, print it, sell it, or include it as part of a package as long as it is intact, unchanged and delivered in the original format.

Article Source: Ezine Articles

Stories you won't find anywhere else in the mainstream media: Censored

Too funny! If you love those wild and crazy canines as much as I do, Dogs gone wild

Are curious as to the top 10 most nutritious foods? Healthy Foods

Okay, get ready to fall up into the sky and say "Oooo" and "Awww" so much the words will lose their meaning. Lenicular clouds.

Signs are art if someone says so. Sign Language.

Automatic Flatterer

Turtle Time Gazette Copyright 2006, Turtle Zen, except where indicated otherwise.

All rights reserved worldwide. Reprint only with permission from copyright holder(s).

All trademarks are property of their respective owners. All contents provided as is.

Any comments stated in this e-zine are strictly the opinion of the writer and/or publisher.

If you would like to submit an article, or share a website address you may do so by mailing submissions.

For the "Guidelines for Submissions" please go to guidelines.

If you find an error, please let me know and I will place it on the errors page.

That's all for this time. May the Creator hold you in the palm of His hand; and may you float as a feather upon the Breath of the Creator.

Until next time…keep smilin’.