Life's Lessons
I learn, as the years roll onwards
And leave the past behind,
That much I had counted sorrow
But proves that God is kind;
That many a flower I had longed for
Had hidden a thorn of pain,
And many a rugged bypath
Led to fields of ripened grain.
The clouds that cover the sunshine
They cannot banish the sun;
And the earth shines out the brighter
When the weary rain is done.
We must stand in the deepest shadow
To see the clearest light;
And often through wrong's own darkness
Comes the very strength of light.
The sweetest rest is at even,
After a wearisome day,
When the heavy burden of labor
Has borne from our hearts away;
And those who have never know sorrow
Cannot know the infinite peace
That falls on the troubled spirit
When it sees at last release.
We must live through the dreary winter
If we would value the spring;
And the woods must be cold and silent
Before the robin sing.
The flowers must be buried in darkness
Before they can bud and bloom,
And the sweetest, warmest sunshine
Comes after the storm and gloom.
My life is but a weaving,
Between my God and me,
I do not choose the colors,
He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,
And I in foolish pride,
Forget He see the upper,
And I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
God unroll the canvas,
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the skillful Weaver's hand,
As the threads of gold and silver,
In the pattern He has planned.
What I am looking for is not 'out there.' It is me.
Sometime it helps to know that I just can't do it all.
Laughter is like the human body wagging its tail.
Solitude is not a luxury. It is a right and a necessity.
My fear is real. When I honor it, I don not need to be controlled by it.
Decisions need to be discovered - not made.
We can make the little ones, and the big ones we need to wait with.
Sometimes we just think too much!
All of us are afraid sometimes, that's human.
When our life is ruled by fear, that's addiction.
Perfection is self-abuse of the highest order.
If we want to heal, we have to start getting honest with ourselves and others.
Creating the possibility for more truth is up to each of us.
Knowing when to quit may be my greatest victory.
No one else will arrange any quiet time for me.
I have to see to it myself.
My interests add richness to my life,
not when I go after them compulsively.
It is sometimes freighting to trust my intuition.
It is always disastrous not to trust it.
It is not possible to live a rich, full life without friends.
I have to be one to have one.
The quality of my decisions is directly proportionate
to my patience with my not knowing.
When I say no to a request for my time,
I am not going away from that person. I am going to myself.
It is fighting our feelings that causes our suffering.
Not our feelings.
I will remember that my illusions of control if just that... an illusion.
When we are full of ourselves.
We have none to give others.
Only as I am aware of the present will I have the opportunity to be fully alive.
When we see how funny we are,
We see how dear we are!
Paradise is within the reach of a mother's love.
The way to get to the top is to get off your bottom
Life is like a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.
Unhappiness is in not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.
Experience is not what happens to a man, it's what a man does with what happens to him.
Never allow your sense of self to become associated with your sense of job. If your job vanishes, your self doesn't.
Opportunities are seldom labeled.
If you keep saying that things are going to be bad, you have a chance of being a prophet.
I don't know the secret to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.
The world is full of willing people; some willing to work the rest willing to let them.
When you soar like an eagle, you attract hunters.
Don't let "Well Done" on your tombstone mean you were cremated.
Whether you think you can or you can't, you are right.
The grass may be greener on the other side of the street, but it still has to be mowed.
Even a woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head.
A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.
Prayer gives a man the opportunity of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets. I do not mean his maker, but himself.
If cyberspace is in the Internet, what's in the outer net?
I don't have a solution, but I admire the problem.
It is never too late to be what we might have been.
Through our willingness to help other we can learn to be happy, rather than depressed.
Life is short and we have never too much time
for gladdening the hearts of those
who are traveling the dark journey with us.
Oh, be swift to love, and make haste to be kind.
Change starts when someone see the next step.
The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being dais.
He hadn't time to pen a note
He hadn't time to cast a vote
He hadn't time to sing a song
He hadn't time to right a wrong
He hadn't time to love or give
He hadn't time to really live
From now on he'll have time on end
He died today, my 'busy' friend.
If at first you don't succeed, so much for skydiving.
Some people just don't seem to realize, when they're moaning about not getting prayers answered, that *no* is the answer.
If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
When you jump for joy, beware that no one moves the ground beneath your feet.
The man who smiles when things go wrong, has thought of someone he can blame it on.
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
It is always a good policy to tell the truth, unless of course you are an exceptionally good liar.
How much of your reality is imagination?
Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee Nation
I never came to you, my friend,
and went away without
some new enrichment of the heart;
More faith and less of doubt,
more courage in the days ahead.
And often in great need
coming to you, I went away
comforted indeed.
How can I find the shining word,
the glowing phrase that tells
all that your love has meant to me,
all that your friendship spells?
There is no word, no phrase for you
on whom I so depend.
All I can say to you is this,
God bless you precious friend.
Grace Noll Crowell
Many years ago during a terrible desert war in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a wise old Persian warlord.
Despite the harsh sentence, the warlord was actually a man of mercy and compassion.
Over the years he had adopted a strange custom. In death penalty cases, he would allow the condemned a choice: either a quick death by firing squad or take his chances by passing through a mysterious black door.
As the moment of execution drew near, the warlord ordered the frightened spy brought before him. "What have you chosen? Will it be the firing squad or the black door?"
It was a horrible decision for the prisoner to make. Each time he moved close to the massive black door, his trembling hand stopped short of the key. Finally he informed the warlord that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might lurk in the shadows behind that mysterious black door. A few minutes later, a volley of rifle shots signaled that the sentence had been carried out.
The old warlord, gazing off to the distant horizon, turned to his aide and said, "You see how it is with people; they will always prefer the known to the unknown. That man went quietly to his death even though I gave him a choice."
The aide asked, "What lies behind the Black Door?"
"Freedom", replied the warlord, and I've known very few men brave enough to take it."
Always Near
As you walk along the lakeshore
And I am no longer with you
Let no tears fall or sorrow prevail
When you see your reflection shimmer in the water
Smile and know that I see your smile
When you feel the cool grass beneath your feet
And the sun's warmth upon your back
Know that I feel it also
When you hear the leaves rustling in the wind
Know it is my voice softly whispering to you
When you see a butterfly dancing among flowers
Know that I am dancing also
When you gently touch a puppy's soft fur
Know that I too feel your touch
When the wind swirls across your skin
Know it is I who carresses you
When you love another
Know that I too feel your love
These words are truth, my love
Have faith, my love
As long as beauty lives upon the earth and in the stars
And love lives in every beat of every heart
So then do I
So then do we all
A wonderful realization will be the day you realize that
you are unique in all the world.
There is nothing that is an accident.
You are a special combination for a purpose-and
don't let them tell you otherwise,
even if they tell you that purpose is an illusion.
(Live an illusion if you have to).
You are that combination so that you can do
what is essential for you to do
Don't ever believe that you have nothing to contribute.
The world is an incredible unfulfilled tapestry.
And only you can fulfill that tiny space that
is yours. Leo Buscaglia
FRIENDS WITHOUT FACES
We sit and we type, and we stare at our screens
We all have to wonder, what this possibly means.
With our mouse we roam, through the rooms in a maze
Looking for something or someone, as we sit in a daze.
We chat with each other, we type all our woes
Small groups we do form, and gang up on our foes.
We wait for somebody, to type out our name
We want recognition, but it is always the same.
We give kisses and hugs, and sometimes flirt
In IMs we chat deeply, and reveal why we hurt.
We do form friendships - but - why we don't know
But some of these friendships, will flourish and grow.
Why is it on screen, we can be so bold
Telling our secrets, that have never been told.
Why is it we share, the thoughts in our mind
With those we can't see, as though we were blind.
The answer is simple, it is as clear as a bell.
We all have our problems, and need someone to tell.
We can't tell real people, but tell someone we must
So we turn to the 'puter, and to those we can trust.
Even though it is crazy, the truth still remains
They are Friends Without Faces, and odd little names.
Take this week to have fun and be sure to let those "friends without faces"
know how much you appreciate them. Happy Online Friendship Week!
author unknown
BROTHERHOOD - BY SANTANA
Brotherhood
All around sweet brotherhood
Be kind to one another
Brotherhood
No more us and them
Oneness
No more politics or denomination
Brotherhood
No more lust or greed
Peace and Life
No more war, violence, or unnecessary pain
Compassion
The Brotherhood will find joy
Dynaisium
Sweetness, Softness, Soulfulness
Tranquility, Serenity, Dignity
Harmony, Perfection
One Man, One Truth, One Life