Words of Wisdom:

"I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers."

~ Khalil Gibran (photo courtesy of John Durant)

A lovely story...

"Today I read a story about an anthropologist who proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids that who ever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said:

'UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?'

UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture (where my husband is from) means: 'I am because we are'."

~ Wendy, "Raising Natural Kids"

Live your dream!

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”

~ Douglas H. Everett

How do you choose to view life: windshield or rear-view mirror?

 

We can empower the world to be a place of peace...

"Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can transform the world."

~ Howard Zinn

Is that why getting dressed up makes me feel pretty?

"Every decision you make reflects your evaluation of who you are."

~ Marianne Williamson

It''s our world - be kind...

"Peace has a great deal to do with warm-heartedness and respect for the lives of others, avoiding doing them harm and regarding their lives as being as precious as our own. If, on that basis, we can also be of help to others, so much the better."

~ The Dalai Lama

When our cups runneth over...

“There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love.”

~ Washington Irving (courtesy of Wake Up Women)

Start a new chapter!

"Girls, you've gotta know when it's time to turn the page.”

~ Tori Amos

Ever feel frosted by someone's unkind comment?

"You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you. When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others."

~ Don Miguel Ruiz

Move on to the next happy memory!

"It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.”

~ Nicholas Sparks

Humor is a mighty form of healing...

“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”

~ Bill Cosby

Make me an instrument of your peace...

“Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi (photo taken in the Old North Church rose garden in Boston, Massachusetts)

Some may go overboard on this one...

"Be utterly, totally, bravely truthful and true to yourself." 

~ Campbell Brown
 

No rain; no rainbow!

"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears."

~ John Vance Cheney

Stop, take a breath and count your blessings!

“Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.”

~ L. Frank Baum

Live in the moment!

"Wherever I'm going

I'm already home
Living in the moment

I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about some things
That will not happen to me

So I just let go of
What I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment

Living our life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
With peace in my heart
Peace in my soul

Wherever I'm going
I'm already home
Living in the moment"

~ Jason Mraz, "Living in the Moment"

 

It's all about the "happy dance"!

"You don’t have the power to make life 'fair', but you do have the power to make life joyful."

~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Looking back in time...

"For me, the lame part of the 60's was the political part, the social part. The real part was the spiritual part."

~ Jerry Garcia

Be fearless!

"You can do anything you put your heart, mind and soul into. Far more than you can imagine. Be fearless. Do it."

~ LL Cool J
 

Follow the agenda of your soul...

"The Body thinks it has an agenda that is important.  And the Mind imagines that its agenda is vital to your survival. But the older you get the more you realize that it is the Soul’s agenda, and only the Soul’s agenda, that matters."

~ Neale Donald Walsch

Be the light that makes this a better world...

"Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."

~ Buddha

Be here now!

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.”

~ Carlos Santana

...and not necessarily the other way around!

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”

~ Morrie Schwartz

Making the bed is a good start!

"If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." 

~ Abigail Van Buren

A new dawn, a new day, a new life...

"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt (photo courtesy of Penelope Littlejohns of South Africa)
 

Some mornings, a cup of coffee sounds just right!

"We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.”

~ Henri J.M. Nouwen

OK, maybe not on the roof!

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”

~ Anatole France

Get creative and you just might end up with a masterpiece!

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it."

~ Danny Kaye
 

Show your children fairness, kindness and compassion!

"Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be."

~ David Bly

Sometimes you need to get out of the way...

"Love cannot be caught like an unwilling butterfly.  Nobody loves you just because you want them to.  Nobody loves you just because you ask them to.  When love comes, it comes on its own wings.  Be patient."

~ Michael Josephson

It's why affirmations work!

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.  To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.  To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

...and always love yourself!

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.”

~ Kahlil Gibran

Looking in the same direction does not guarantee you'll see the same thing!

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."

~  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

You light up life!

"You are searching the world for treasure, but the real treasure is yourself."

~ Rumi

Blow a kiss, share a smile, give a gift of kindness!

"Unless we give love, we won't feel it though it's all around us."

~ Marianne Williamson

Life gives you oranges - make orange juice!

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

~ Frederick Keonig

Courage defies fear...

"Of course I realized there was a measure of danger. Obviously I faced the possibility of not returning when I first considered going. Once faced and settled there wasn't any good reason to refer to it again."

~ Amelia Earhart

Take your hand away, open your eyes and see what miracle life has to offer you...

“Courage is reclaiming your life after a devastating event robs you of your confidence and self-esteem. It is facing tomorrow with a firm resolve to reach deep within yourself to find another strength, another talent. It is taking yourself to another level of your own existence where you are once again whole, productive, special.”

~ Catherine Britton

How small?

"Rule No. 1 is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule No. 2 is, it's all small stuff."

~ Robert Eliot

Some of the most amazing people don't have a clue how great they are!

“Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.”

~ William Arthur Ward

Do you look forward or backward?

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams."

~ Jeremy Irons

Your gift to humanity is to do what you love...

"When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."

~ John Ruskin

It's not too late to make your dreams come true!

"It's not too late the angel said.
Even though the world's a mess...
Even though you're not as young...
Even though you've made mistakes and have been afraid
It's not too late...
And then I saw the world through the angels' eyes...
I saw the colors I could paint
The bridges I could build
The lives that I could touch
The dreams that could still come true
And it became very clear to me...
That it's not too late."

 

~ Ron Atchison

Nature is the most amazing artist I know...

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."

~ John Muir

Remember peace...

"Peace is part of you and requires only that you be there to embrace any situation in which you are."

~ A Course In Miracles

What's the second rule? Oh.....I get it!

"There are two rules for success:
1) Never tell everything you know."

~ Roger H. Lincoln

What's missing in your relationship?

"Problems in relationship occur because each person is concentrating on what is missing in the other person."

 

~ Wayne Dyer

Spring is a time of renewal and growth!

"As I look outside, I see many new buds on the trees and blades of grass showing the promise of spring. When I am still and look inside, I feel the stirring of new ambition. This is the beginning of a positive turning point for me. I envision myself as extremely successful and at peace with my life. I am grateful and happy."

~ Louis L. Hay

Good ideas, by themselves, can't feed a family...

“A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.”

~ Carlos Castaneda