Quotes, Poems & Stories

Some writings to share, that I hope may be uplifting and inspiring . . .

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• "Wake each day with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen."
  Anonymous
  
  
• "Age is a number and mine is unlisted."
  Anonymous
  
  
• "Old age is always 15 years older than I am."
  Bernard Baruch
  
  
• "With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come."
  William Shakespeare
  
  
• "Fun is like insurance; the older you get, the more it costs "
  Elbert Hubbard
  
  
• "Work like you don't need the money, Love as if you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."
  
  
• "Shoot for the moon... even if you miss, you'll still land among the stars."
  
  
• "Live your dreams - life is not a dress rehearsal"
  
  
• "A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself."
  
  
• "Live your dreams - life is not a dress rehearsal"
  
  
• "Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out."
  
  
• "Live as if you were to die tomorrow; Learn as if you were to live forever."
  
  
• "Don't be afraid to go where you've never gone and do what you've never done because both are necessary to have what you've never had and be who you've never been..."
  
  
• "Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out."
  
  
• "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance".

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE (Tantra Poem)

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
22. Spend some time alone.
23. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
24. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
25. Read more books and watch less TV.
26. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
27. Trust in God but lock your car.
28. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important.
29. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
30. Read between the lines.
31. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
32. Be gentle with the earth.
33. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
34. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
35. Mind your own business.
36. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
37. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
38. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
39. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
40. Learn the rules then break some.
41. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
42. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
43. Remember that your character is your destiny.
44. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

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Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start.

Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards.

Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can't make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved; the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.

It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his place.

Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

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"Keeping quiet" by Pablo Neruda

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
for once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much 

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness. 
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands. 

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing. 

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about... 
If we were not so single minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with
death. 

Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems to be dead in winter
and later proves to be alive. 
Now I will count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

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"Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing ,
But Only Friends Keep You Going!"'
'Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!"

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"To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeeded."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (click here for more "Pearls of Wisdom")

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You are a phenomenal woman, a beautiful person,
doing an extraordinary job, making things happen for those you love and although you might not always feel it, you are loved and appreciated.

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Commencement to the Class of 2009 by Paul Hawken

"...This extraordinary time when we are globally aware of each other and the multiple dangers that threaten civilization has never happened, not in a thousand years, not in ten thousand years. Each of us is as complex and beautiful as all the stars in the universe. We have done great things and we have gone way off course in terms of honoring creation. You are graduating to the most amazing, challenging, stupefying challenge ever bequested to any generation. The generations before you failed. They didn’t stay up all night. They got distracted and lost sight of the fact that life is a miracle every moment of your existence. Nature beckons you to be on her side. You couldn’t ask for a better boss. The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer. Hopefulness only makes sense when it doesn’t make sense to be hopeful. This is your century. Take it and run as if your life depends on it."

Paul Hawkins author of Blessed Unrest

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THE CAB RIDE:
"Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. When I arrived at 2:30a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice,wait a minute, and then drive away.
But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.
So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years.
All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.
"It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated".
"Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly. "Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice." I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor
says I don't have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said. "You have to make a living," she answered. "There are other passengers," I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you." I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.
Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, ~ BUT ~
THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise in ten days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.

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"Dolphins saved us from shark", lifeguards say
By Ainsley Thomson
The New Zealand Herald
23rd November 2004
Veteran lifeguard Rob Howes says the dolphins protected his group from the great white shark. Picture / John Stone
A pod of dolphins is being credited with saving a group of lifeguards from a circling great white shark.
Lifeguard Rob Howes, his daughter Niccy, 15, Karina Cooper, 15, and Helen Slade, 16, were swimming 100m out to sea at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, when seven bottlenose dolphins sped towards them and herded them together.
"They were behaving really weird," Mr Howes said, "turning tight circles on us, and slapping the water with their tails."
Mr Howes and Helen Slade had drifted about 20m away from the others when a dolphin swam straight at them and dived a few metres in front of them.
"I turned in the water to see where it was going to come up, but instead I saw this great big grey fish swim around me," said Mr Howes.
The veteran lifeguard said it was undoubtedly a 3m-long great white shark.
"It glided around in an arc and headed for the other two girls. My heart went into my mouth, because one of them was my daughter. The dolphins were going ballistic."
The 47-year-old said the dolphins herded the swimmers - who are all members of the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving Club - back together and circled protectively around them for another 40 minutes, fending off the shark.
"I swim with dolphins perhaps three or four times a year here at this beach and I have never in six years seen them behave like that."
Mr Howes decided not to tell the three girls a shark was sharing the water with them.
Lifeguard Matt Fleet was patrolling out from the surf beach in a rescue boat and saw the dolphins' unusual behaviour.
He dived out of the boat to join the group and also saw the great white.
Mr Fleet said the water was clear and he had a good view.
The encounter occurred on October 30, but Mr Howes has spoken publicly about it only this week.
"I sat on it for three weeks, purely because I did not know quite how to handle it.
The only reason he went public was "I didn't want anyone to get chomped [by the shark], so I couldn't be accused of not having made people aware there was a shark out there".
Dr Rochelle Constantine, from the Auckland University School of Biological Science, said it was a rare event, but she had heard of similar things happening overseas.
She said sharks were not normally a threat to New Zealand's bottlenose dolphins, but the dolphins would attack them if they felt at risk.
"From my understanding of the behaviour of these dolphins they certainly were acting in a way which indicated the shark posed a threat to something. Dolphins are known for helping helpless things. It is an altruistic response and bottlenose dolphins in particular are known for it."
Ingrid Visser, who has studied marine mammals for 14 years, said there had been reports from around the world of dolphins protecting swimmers.
"[The dolphins] could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them."

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Do you have any idea how many lives you have just touched and just how very special you truly are?
Words just cannot describe what you`ve done.
Things happen at the right time for the right reason sometimes, and this was one of those times.
Thank you for including me in this beautiful friendship, it means so much to me, especially now.

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Message from a Balinese Chief (November 2002):
"We Balinese have an essential concept of balance. It's the Tri Hita Karana; a concept of harmonious balance. The balance between god and humanity; humanity with itself and humanity with the environment. This places us all in a universe of common understanding.
It is not only nuclear bombs which have fallout. It is our job to minimize this fallout for our people and our guests from around the world. Who did this? It's not such an important question for us to discuss. Why this happened - maybe this is more worthy of thought. What can we do to create beauty from this tragedy and come to an understanding where nobody feels the need to make such a statement again? This is important. This is the basis from which we can embrace everyone as a brother; everyone as a sister.
It is a period of uncertainty. It is a period of change. It is also an opportunity for us to move together into a better future. A future where we embrace all of humanity in the knowledge that we all look and smell the same when we are burnt. Victims of this tragedy are from all over the world.
The past is not significant. It is the future which is important. This is the time to bring our values, our empathy, to society and the world at large. To care. To love.
The modern world brings to many of us the ability to rise above the core need for survival. Most people in the developed world no longer need to struggle to simply stay alive. It is our duty to strive to improve our quality of life.
We want to return to our lives. Please help us realize this wish.
Why seek retribution from people who are acting as they see fit? These people are misguided from our point of view. Obviously, from theirs, they feel justified and angry enough to make such a brutal statement.
We would like to send a message to the world - Embrace this misunderstanding between our brothers and lets seek a peaceful answer to the problems which bring us to such tragedy.
We embrace all the beliefs, hopes and dreams of all the people in the world with Love.
Do not bring malice to our world. What has happened has happened. Stop talking about the theories of who did this and why. It does not serve the spirit of our people. Words of hate will not rebuild our shops and houses.
They will not heal damaged skin. They will not bring back our dead.
Help us to create beauty out of this tragedy.
Our community is bruised and hurting. Our spirit can never be broken.
Everybody in the world is of one principle brotherhood.
Tat Wam Asi - You are me and I am you.
We have a concept in Bali, Ruwa Bhineda, a balance between good and bad.
Without bad there can be no good. The bad is the 'sibling' of the Good.
Embrace this concept and we can move forward into a better world.
There is Sekala / Nisikala - the underworld forever in darkness merging with our world in the light.
You love your husband and wife but sometimes you fight. Fear arises and shows its opposition to love. This is normal. This is a natural, essential part of life.
These are the concepts by which we, as Balinese, live our lives. Please, we beg you, talk only of the good which can come of this. Talk of how we can reconcile our 'apparent' differences. Talk of how we can bring empathy and love into everybody's lives.
The overwhelming scenes of love and compassion at Sanglah Hospital show us the way forward into the future. If we hate our brothers and sisters we are lost in Kali Yuga.
If we can love all of our brothers and sisters, we have already begun to move into Kertha Yuga. We have already won 'The War Against Terrorism'.
Thank you for all your compassion and love."
Asana Viebeke L
Kuta Desa Adat
Parum Samigita

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FIVE LESSONS:

1. Most Important Lesson:

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. Second Important Lesson: Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others." Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole

3. Third Important Lesson: Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents,"she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip..

4. Fourth Important Lesson: The Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5. Fifth Important Lesson: Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister ALL of his blood in order to save her. You see, after all, understanding and attitude are everything.

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"Strike against Terror: A Misleading Expression" by Thich Nhat Hanh

Terror is in the human heart. We must remove this terror from the heart. Destroying the human heart, both physically and psychologically, is what we should avoid. The root of terrorism should be identified so that it can be removed. The root of terrorism is misunderstanding, hatred and violence. This root cannot be located by the military. Bombs and missiles cannot reach it, let alone destroy it. Only with the practice of calming and looking deeply can our insight reveal and identify this root. Only with the practice of deep listening and compassion can it be transformed and removed.

Darkness cannot be dissipated with more darkness. More darkness will make darkness thicker. Only light can dissipate darkness. Violence and hatred cannot be removed with violence and hatred. Rather, this will make violence and hatred grow a thousand fold. Only understanding and compassion can dissolve violence and hatred.

"Strike against terror" is a misleading expression. What we are striking against is not the real cause or the root of terror. The object of our strike is still human life. We are sowing seeds of violence as we strike. Striking in this way we will only bring about more hatred and violence into the world. This is exactly what we do not want to do.

Hatred and violence are in the hearts of human beings. A terrorist is a human being with hatred, violence and misunderstanding in his or her heart. Acting without understanding, acting out of hatred, violence and fear, we help sow more terror, bringing terror to the homes of others and bringing terror back to our own homes. Whole societies are living constantly in fear with our nerves being attacked day and night. This is the greatest casualty we may suffer from as a result of our wrong thinking and action. Such a state of confusion, fear and anxiety is extremely dangerous. It can bring about another world war, this time extremely destructive.

We must learn to speak out so that the voice of the Buddha can be heard in this dangerous and pivotal moment of history. Those of us who have the light should display the light and offer it so that the world will not sink into total darkness. Everyone has the seed of awakening and insight within his or her heart. Let us help each other touch these seeds in ourselves so that everyone could have the courage to speak out. We must ensure that the way we live our daily lives (with or without mindful consumption, with or without discrimination, with or without participating in injustice, ...) does not create more terrorism in the world. We need a collective awakening to stop this course of self-destruction. -

Thich Nhat Hanh . . . Shanghai 19 October 2001

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LIFE:

Maybe God wants us to meet a
few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back!
Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile.

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!

Dream what you want to dream;
go where you want to go; be what you want to be,
because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human,
enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others' shoes.
If you feel that it hurts you,
it probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Happiness lies for those who cry,
those who hurt, those who have searched,
and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have
touched their lives.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss
and ends with a tear.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past,
you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so that when you die,
you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Please send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have touched your life in one way or another, to those who
make you smile when you really need it, to those that make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down, to those who you want to let them know that you appreciate their
friendship.

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The Pink Dress

There was this little girl sitting by herself in the park. Everyone passed by her and never stopped to see why she looked so sad. Dressed in a worn pink dress, barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by. She never tried to speak. She never said a word. Many people passed by her, but no one would stop.

The next day I decided to go back to the park in curiosity to see if the little girl would still be there. Yes, she was there, right in the very spot where she was yesterday, and still with the same sad look in her eyes. Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl. For as we all know, a park full of strange people is not a place for young children to play alone. As I got closer I could see the back of the little girl's dress was grotesquely shaped. I figured that was the reason people just passed by and made no effort to speak to her.

Deformities are a low blow to our society and, heaven forbid if you make a step toward assisting someone who is different. As I got closer, the little girl lowered her eyes slightly to avoid my intent stare. As I approached her, I could see the shape of her back More clearly. She was grotesquely shaped in a humped-over form. I smiled to let her know it was OK; I was there to help, to talk.

I sat down beside her and opened with a simple, "Hello." The little girl acted shocked, and stammered a "hi," after a long stare into my eyes. I smiled and she shyly smiled back. We talked until darkness fell and the park was completely empty. I asked the girl why she was so sad. The little girl looked at me with a sad face said, "Because I'm different." I immediately said, "That you are!" and smiled. The little girl acted even sadder and said, "I know."

"Little girl," I said, "you remind me of an angel, sweet and innocent." She looked at me and smiled, then slowly she got to her feet and said, "Really?" "Yes, you're like a little Guardian Angel sent to watch over all those people walking by." She nodded her head yes, and smiled. With that she opened the back of her pink dress and allowed her wings to spread, then she said "I am. I'm your Guardian Angel," with a twinkle in her eye. I was speechless---sure I was seeing things.

She said, "For once you thought of someone other than yourself. My job here is done." I got to my feet and said, "Wait, why did no one stop to help an angel?" She looked at me, smiled, and said, "You are the only one that could see me," and then she was gone.

And with that, my life was changed dramatically. So, when you think you're all you have, remember, your angel is always watching over you.

---

Iroquois Thanksgiving Prayer

• "We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.
• We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.
• We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
• We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
• We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
• Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children."