My Resolutions

A young man lives in the future
an old man lives in the past.
For youth, time is moving too slowly,
for age it is moving too fast.

A young man dreams of the gladness
the years just before him will bring.
An old man dreams of his pleasures
when life held the magic of spring.

But youth and age are in error,
the present alone can convey
the joy and cheer and contentment
we seek as we journey life's way.

Today is the time to be happy,
no matter how young or how old.
It's always today that must bring us
the blessings our fortunes unfold.

William Hawthorne

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Walter D. Wintle

What worlds of wonder are our books!
As one opens them and looks,
New ideas and people rise
In our fancies and our eyes.

The room we sit in melts away,
And we find ourselves at play
With some one who, before the end,
May become our chosen friend.

Or we sail along the page
To some other land or age.
Here's our body in the chair,
But our mind is over there.

Each book is a magic box
Which with a touch a child unlocks.
In between their outside covers
Books hold all things for their lovers.

By Eleanor Farjeon

Each dream is a seed,
the seed of a tree,

a tree full of life,
and what your life can be.

Your dreams are the windows
through which you can see,

a hint of your future
and what you can be.

The seed of a tree
of who you would be.

NEVER LET GO OF YOUR DREAMS!

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

-- Reinhold Niebuhr

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step
-- Lao-tsu c. 604-c.531 BC

It is better to begin in the evening than not at all.
-- English proverb

We will either find a way, or make one
-- Hannibal

It is necessary; therefore, it is possible.
-- Guiseppe Borghese

If not you, who? If not now, when?
-- The Talmud

Thoughts give birth to a creative force that is neither elemental nor sidereal. Thoughts create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new source of energy, from which new arts flow. When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven.
-- Philipus A Paracelsus

"Don't ask what the world needs.
Rather ask ? what makes you come alive?
Then go and do it!
Because what the world needs is people
who have come alive"
-- Howard Thurman

"Throwing away ideas too soon is like opening a package of flower seeds and then throwing them away because they're not pretty."
-- Arthur VanGundy, Ph.D. (Idea Power, 1992)

To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.
-- Steven Covey

Do you dream a little of a wondrous place,
Far from the reaches of our dreary eyes,
A sanctuary from grief and time,
A community founded beneath loving skies?

Do you dream a little of an harmonious solitude,
Unbreakable by the noise of our kind?
Does your aching heart scream from the entrapment of confusion,
Yet, do you envision the creative soul you will find?

Do you dream a little of instinctive compassion,
And aim your efforts toward your enemy?s pain?
Do you wish to share your wisdom with others,
To understand suffering and to love without gain?

Do you dream a little of a profound sound,
Encompassing the world through instruments of peace?
Have you heard the powerful song of the moon in the waves?
Do you dwell in the soft music of the breeze?

Do you dream a little of sexual grace,
Of awakening passions so long imagined,
Of immersing yourself in love so pure and raw,
Belittling senses, enveloping oceans of magic?

Do you dream a little of silence,
Breathtaking, awe-inspiring stillness?
Amidst colourful caverns of streaming light,
All things contriving to a oneness of brilliance.

Do you dream a little of life,
Where you open you soul and let fly without wings,
Embracing the universe with all of your heart,
And open the door to let in what it brings?

If you do then you are like me,
And we are like gods,
Born to be free.

Carl

I saw this on a poster the other day. The message is simple but powerful because of its truth.
D estiny is up to you
R eality is yours to create
E verything imaginable is possible
A llow yourself to take the risk
M ake it happen.
You can only control yourself. Sometimes it seems you are pushed into certain positions, and your reaction is spontaneous.
Many of you know more than me what the word "trouble" really means. I know it's hard, and you feel alone, but you're not. Because everyone willing to do what is right is connected with each other, somehow. You can't control the environment, you can't control others, but You can control You. Don't lose that.
God is with You

An old story I kept. Everyone should read it...
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and share a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. "You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!"
"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change."
"Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

You know in life you have a few choices that you are faced with every time you encounter something or someone you don't like. You can tolerate the thing or person that you don't like or do something about it.

If you chose the first course of action you are only enabling the situation or person that is bringing disruption to your life to continue. We all have things happen that we don't like. We all encounter people that we don't care to be around for whatever reason. If you tolerate things then you will not be any happier nor will your life be any better. For example I tolerated a boss that yelled at me weekly for no valid reason simply because she felt pissy that day and knew I'd take it. I tolerated that for a long time TOOO long. I'd come home and complain about it. Did I do anything to change that? No... did I find another job? No... did I stand up to her? Well after 5 years I finally did but for a long time no... I was miserable. And it was my own fault. Now do you want your life to be full of decisions like that or do you want to have control of your life?
I for one am not going to allow myself to be a 'victim' nor wallow in self pity nor any of that negativity that does nothing to change the situation. I've been there done that. It solves nothing. Absolutely nothing is solved by whining and moaning about something. All it does is makes you miserable focusing on it so much and perhaps annoys those around you that hear about it day in and day out.
If you chose the second option of taking action, then you are in control of your life and you are on the road to being truly happy. If you don't like a situation you're in change it. End it. Move on. Change yourself. Something. But to take action you don't whine and moan about it you just take it and then change the situation. If you don't like someone that you have to deal with change that. Avoid dealing with them. Now there are some situations where you can't avoid people. There will most likely always be a person in a work environment that you don't see eye to eye with but you can take control of that situation.
If you're not happy, then figure out what will make you happy and do it. Don't talk about doing it. Do it! Just like the Nike commercial. Just do it! If you want to lose weight, get to the gym, eat healthier and more often, but don't sit at home whining and moaning and wallowing in self pity when you have the power to change that situation. If the people around you are not treating you nicely then put a wall up to them and refuse to let them phase you. If someone says something mean to you, let it roll off your back and not phase you.
You can not control what anyone else does but YOU control how you react and what actions you take in every situation you are faced with. Crying to someone about your problems isn't going to make them go away. Granted friends can be comforting to us at times when we're upset but thinking they can solve your problem is never going to make you happy cause they can't. Only you can make you happy. Only you can change your situation.
If you feel like the world is against you and like taking your own life. Go get help. Talk to a counselor. Seek medication to help you handle things better while you go to counseling. Take charge of your self. Take responsibility for your feelings and actions.
The best thing I have ever done for myself was going to the doctor and saying hey I need some antidepressent medication. I stopped letting myself be a victim and took control of my life. Since doing that I find that I handle things so much better than I ever did before. If you don't like something in your life change it.
If you want to have things and don't have the money to buy them, then get out and work. If you wish you had friends or more friends then get out and meet people. If there are things you've always wanted to do or been procrastinating about doing just get up and do them.

LostAngelLiz