A Quote From The Great Mark Twain

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~© Mark Twain~

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have winced but not cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance,
My head is bloodied but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears,
Looms but the horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years,
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

~© William Earnest Henley~

Bear In There

There's a Polar Bear
In our Frigidaire--
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there--
That Polary Bear
In our Fridgitydaire.

~© Shel Silverstein~
(One of the greatest!)

'Tis True....

If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles.

~© Doug Larson~

Little Things

It's just the little homely things,
The unobtrusive, friendly things,
The "won't-you let-me-help-you" things
That make out pathway light-
And it's just the jolly joking things,
The "never-mind-the-trouble" things,
The "laugh-with-me, it's funny" things
That make the world seem bright.

For all the countless famous things,
The wonderous, record-breaking things,
Those "never-can-be-equaled" things
That all the papers cite,
Aren't like the little human things,
The everyday-encountered things,
The "just-because-I-like-you" things
That make us happy quite.

So here's to all the simple things,
The dear "all-in-a-day's-work" things,
The "smile-and-face-your-troubles" things,
Trust God to put them right!
The "done-and-then-forgotten" things,
The "can't-you-see-I-love-you" things,
The hearty "I-am-with-you" things
That make life worth the fight.

~© Author Unknown~

Friendship

Oh, the comfort—the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words—but pouring them
All right out—just as they are—
Chaff and grain together—
Certain that a faithful hand will
Take and sift them—
Keep what is worth keeping—
And then with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.

~© Dinah Maria Mulock Craik-circa 1866~

Summons

Keep me from going to sleep too soon
Or if I go to sleep too soon
Come wake me up. Come any hour
Of night. Come whistling up the road.
Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door.
Make me get out of bed and come
And let you in and light a light.
Tell me the northern lights are on
And make me look. Or tell me clouds
Are doing something to the moon
They never did before, and show me.
See that I see. Talk to me till
I'm half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering why
I ever went to bed at all.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I'm not too hard persuaded.

~© Robert Francis~

Is My Soul Asleep?

Is my soul asleep?
Is my soul asleep?
Have those beehives that work
in the night stopped? And the water-
wheel of thought, is it
going around now, cups
empty, carrying only shadows?

No, my soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neither sleeps nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open
far-off things, and listens
at the shores of the great silence.

~© Antonio Machado~

May He Rest In Peace

Joseph Elwood McKinney

May 15, 1958~January 20, 2006

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.~Richard Bach

Gifts That Don't Cost A Cent

1 THE GIFT OF LISTENING
But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2 THE GIFT OF AFFECTION
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3 THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you".

4 THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE
It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5 THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT
A simple and sincere, "You look great in red", "You did a super job" or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

6 THE GIFT OF A FAVOR
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7 THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8 THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. Really it's not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

~© Author Unknown~

The "Be" Attitudes

Be understanding to your enemies.
Be loyal to your friends.
Be strong enough to face the world each day.
Be weak enough to know you cannot do everything alone.
Be generous to those who need your help.
Be frugal with that you need yourself.
Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything.
Be foolish enough to believe in miracles.
Be willing to share your joys.
Be willing to share the sorrows of others.
Be a leader when you see a path others have missed.
Be a follower when you are shrouded by the mists of uncertainty.
Be first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds.
Be last to criticize a colleague who fails.
Be sure where your next step will fall, so that you will not tumble.
Be sure of your final destination, in case you are going the wrong way.
Be loving to those who love you.
Be loving to those who do not love you; they may change.
Above all, be yourself.

~© Author Unknown~

If I Could

If I could, I'd comb the sky
and collect the stars,
quickly pile them into a basket
until it overflowed with silvery light.
And then I'd give the basket to you,
because all things precious
and beautiful
should be yours today.

~© Author Unknown~

~Artwork Used In Tag © Alan Ayers~

Anyway

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be Kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and
some true enemies;
Succeed anyway. people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis.
it is between you and God;
It is never between you and them anyway.

~© Mother Teresa~

Awakening

Awakening, dawn's chorus
Welcoming,
The day new, untouched
Waiting to be filled....

And will we paint a rainbow
With all its promise
Or dull the canvas
Sadly seen?

Each day brings its own colours
To be chosen, mixed,
Pigments of joy,
Happy moments,
Smiles and laughter....

And which will you choose?
For 'Life' is choice,
We are all painters
In our own way,
All needing to create
Something of worth,
Of lasting beauty,
Marking our journey....

Footprints in the sand....

The sky today is azure,
The sun warm and golden
A filigree of light and shadow-play
Through the gently swaying trees.

I clean my brushes,
Choose my palette
Of vibrant, living colours,
And begin to fill
Today's blank canvas

~© John McLeod~

Excerpt From "The Madman"

FACES

I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, and a face that was but a single countenance as if held in a mould.
I have seen a face whose sheen I could look through to the ugliness beneath, and a face whose sheen I had to lift to see how beautiful it was.
I have seen an old face much lined with nothing, and a smooth face in which all things were graven.
I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves, and behold the reality beneath.

~© Khalil Gibran~
(One of my favorite writers of all time.)

Thought For The Day

If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.~Morris West

These Are My Wishes For You

May you find serenity and tranquility
in a world you may not always understand.

May the pain you have known
and the conflict you have experienced
give you the strength to walk through life
facing each new situation with courage and optimism.

Always know that there are those
whose love and understanding will always be there,
even when you feel most alone.

May a kind word,
a reassuring touch,
and a warm smile
be yours every day of your life,
and may you give these gifts
as well as receive them.

May the teachings of those you admire
become part of you,
so that you may call upon them.

Remember, those whose lives you have touched
and who have touched yours
are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished.
It is the content of the encounter
that is more important than its form.

May you not become too concerned with material matters,
but instead place immeasurable value
on the goodness in your heart.
Find time in each day to see beauty and love
in the world around you.

Realize that what you feel you lack in one regard
you may be more than compensated for in another.
What you feel you lack in the present
may become one of your strengths in the future.
May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility.
Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength
to determine your own worth by yourself,
and not be dependent
on another's judgment of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

~© Sandra Sturtz Hauss~

From "Sunshine Days and Foggy Nights"

I was born to catch dragons in their dens
And pick flowers
To tell tales and laugh away the morning
To drift and dream like a lazy stream
And walk barefoot across sunshine days.

~© James Kavanaugh~

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~© Mary Oliver~

i like my body when it is with your

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite a new thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh . . . . And eyes big Love-crumbs,

and possibly i like the thrill

of under me you quite so new

~© ee cummings~

Anything Is Possible

If there was ever a time to dare,
to make a difference,
to embark on something worth doing,

IT IS NOW.

Not for any grand cause, necessarily...
but for something that tugs at your heart,
something that's your inspiration,
something that's your dream.

You owe it to yourself
to make your days here count.

HAVE FUN.

DIG DEEP.

STRETCH.

DREAM BIG.

Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easy.
There will be good days.
And there will be bad days.

There will be times when you want to turn around,
pack it up,
and call it quits.

Those times tell you
that you are pushing yourself,
that you are not afraid to learn by trying.

PERSIST.

Because with an idea,
determination,
and the right tools,
you can do great things.

Let your instincts,
your intellect,
and your heart,
guide you.

TRUST.

Believe in the incredible power of the human mind.
Of doing something that makes a difference.
Of working hard.
Of laughing and hoping.
Of lazy afternoons.
Of lasting friends.
Of all the things that will cross your path this year.

The start of something new
brings the hope of something great,

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

~© Author Unknown~

I Wanna Be Your Spleen

I haven't told you this yet, but since I have you here, let me just tell you: I wanna be your spleen.

I want be one of your weird, mysterious internal organs
one of those things that lies somewhere between here and here,
where exactly, we're not sure
I want to be inside you
and somehow be a vital part in your physical survival
without you knowing exactly why

I want to know that you would die without me
but that you don't know exactly how that would happen without me
only that it would

I wanna be your spleen, not your lungs, no
and not your heart
or any of those other "famous" organs
that any decent fifth-grader knows all the ins and outs of

I don't want you to know the intimate details
of why you wouldn't survive without me --
"Well, you provide oxygen to my body,
and you airate my red blood cells
which then course their way through my body,
spreading the precious oxygen to all needed parts."
No, I don't want to be that, because if I was, then before you know it, you'll have figured out
how the organ is defective
and how to fix it
or God forbid, how to replace it
with a newer, stronger, better
one

I don't want to be replaced by a baboon heart
and left in some giant biotissue trash can
I don't want to be attached to a pacemaker
and have my movements, my actions regulated
by a plastic, battery-operated machine
No, I wanna be your small intestine, baby,
I wanna be your extra kidney,
I wanna be your spleen,
just this simple little non-descript organ of yours
that lets you live your life happily
that lets you explore the world in new ways
without you even knowing, realizing
that I am helping you

until, of course, I become inflamed

~© Jason Pettus-1997~

The Invitation

It doesn’t matter what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring in your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy,
mine or your own;
if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,
be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being a human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even if it’s not pretty every day,
and if you can source your life from God’s presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,
yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver moon,
‘Yes!’

It doesn’t interest me where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary, bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you are, how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself;
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

~© Oriah Mountain Dreamer-1999-From the book "The Invitation"~