Wake up every morning and feel thankful for a new day!
Don't waste it by backtracking too far into yesterday
or reaching too far into tomorrow.
Time is a gift that we all sometimes let slip away-
we forget how important it is to enjoy our lives
and to help others enjoy theirs.
If you need to make changes in your life,
make them;
create a lifestyle that makes you feel complete.
Life is all around you;
the gift of time allows you endless possibilities.
Keep moving forward,
and try to make every day your best day.
~~ From the book Is It Time to Make a Change by Deanna Beisser
There are two ways of spreading light:
to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
--Edith Wharton
Instead of thinking about where you are,
think about where you want to be.
It takes twenty years of hard work to become an overnight success.
--Diana Rankin
Better keep yourself clean and bright;
you are the window through which you must see the world.
--George Bernard Shaw
Yesterday I dared to struggle.
Today I dare to win.
--Bernadette Devlin
Fall seven times,
stand up eight.
--Japanese Proverb
Value friendship for what there is in it,
not for what can be gotten out of it. H. Clay Trumbull
Friends are like melons. Shall I tell you why?
To find a good one, you must a hundred try. Claude Mermet
One friend in a lifetime is much; two are many;
three are hardly possible. Henry Adams
A friend is, as it were, a second self. Cicero
Friendship needs no words--it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness. Dag Hammarskjold
A friend is one who dislikes the same people you dislike. Unknown
We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends behave to us. Aristotle
Have friends. 'Tis a second existence. Baltasar Gracian
I keep my friends as misers do their treasure,
because, of all the things granted us by wisdom,
none is greater or better than friendship. Pietro Aretino
You will make more friends in a week by getting yourself interested in other people than you can in a year by trying to get people interested in you. Arnold Bennett
Wishing to be friends is quick work,
but friendship is a slow ripening fruit. Aristotle
Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant,
and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it. Cicero
Hold a true friend with both your hands. Nigerian Proverb
The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are in the right. Mart Twain
Go often to the house of thy friend,
for weeds choke the unused path. Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is how and why I got inspired last Aug to lose weight. I told this story on the 100's thread but maybe it's worth repeating here. My sister has been a meth addict for probably 20 yrs. She has terminal cervical cancer which is highly curable when caught early but she was so busy selling and using meth she wouldnt get treatment.She can't walk more then a few steps due to an arthritic hip but was denied replacement surgery because of drug use.Her face is covered most all the time by scabs and sores from picking at it.(Speedbugs)Her only friend is her dealer and none of her 3 children want anything to do with her. I do her shopping and pay her bills but because addicts are so manipulative and consumed with themselves I've learned the hard way that I have to keep my distance.One day last Aug I delivered her meds and was particularly replused by what I saw. Her face was a mess ,her arms scared from needle marks and her speech so slurred I had trouble understanding anything she said. I got away from her as fast as I could . It is painfull to see someone you love who had so much promise become a repulsive shell of who they were.Even after I got home I couldn't shake off what I'd seen.It haunted me. Then,like being struck by a bolt of lightening,I realized that she and I had more incommon then differances.I had made food my drug of choise.I was useing it much the same as she was meth. It was destroying my life and health.I could hardly walk ,my heart was heading to high blood pressure, I was restricked to where I could go and what I could do.How was I any better then she was?How could I be angry at her and not more so with myself?I got mad. Real Mad Dog mad.I resolved right then that I wouldn't let food dominate my life any longer and I've been dieting ever sence.I feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle. Like I've been asleep or in limbo. I've lost 60lbs and though I still have more to go I have a new zest for life.I can walk again and my blood pressure is good.I am doing things I didn't think I could do and the world is suddenly full of posiblities.
Pam~thank you for sharing that with us! Very inspirational! Sorry to hear about your sister tho, I know how hard it is as I have two sisters who aren't into the drugs and alcohol that bad they are still into it. My oldest sis is worse off and it kills me to see her one reason I have stayed away so long. It is hard to see a loved one do that to themselves. I just thank god every day that she actually has a house paid for and has money coming in even tho by months end my dad has to take food to her because she has depleted her funds on booze. I guess I never looked at food as being a drug but have looked at it as being addicted to it. You are right tho it is the same thing. Anyway...thanks again for sharing.
I saw this in the paper today in the Dear Abby column and thought I would share. Even going to type it up on a nice piece of paper and print it out to read over and over.
Dear Readers: Rise and shine, and welcome to 2005! This is our chance for a new beginning, the day we discard destructive habits for healthy ones. With that in mind, I'm printing Dear Abby's oft-requested list of New Years Resolutions-adapted by my mother from the original credo of Al-Anon.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all my problems at once. I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things I can correct and accept those I cannot.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought, and concentrations. I will not be a mental loafer.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I'll improve my appearance, speak softly, and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today, I'll refrain from improving anyone but myself.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will do something positive to improve my health. If I am a smoker, I'll quit. If I'm overweight, I'll eat healthily-if only just for today. And not only thath, I'll get off the couch and take a brisk walk, even if it's only around the block.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.
Jason, our first child, had a traumatic birth and was born with cerebral palsy. Although he did not walk until well after he was two years of age, his condition was relatively mild and with plenty of physiotherapy he managed quite well. My wife Margaret and I often comforted him (and each other) as he faced numerous challenges in the early years of his life.
It was heartbreaking to see him regularly chosen last for a baseball team when school children were organizing a game. He never did learn how to ice skate despite a very determined effort and lots of coaching and support from us. It took him forever to learn to ride a bike, and his knees and elbows were tortured in the process. Just the same, he was a happy child and was well liked by his peers throughout elementary school. The most difficult time for Jason came when he began high school.
One afternoon, my wife and I were sitting at our kitchen table when Jason entered our home in tears. He threw his school bag on the floor, undressed to his underwear, and crying he shouted "I’m never going to school again!" His hair was matted from lunch food and juice that other kids had assaulted him with on the school bus on the way home. We had to wait several hours before he could talk about what had transpired.
A few days earlier, Jason told us he was signing up for the cross-country track and field team at his school. He figured what he lacked in speed, he could make up with endurance. Margaret and I prepared ourselves for an emotional challenge. Nonetheless, as always, we encouraged him to "go for it."
Jason’s balance has always been poor, and he was also the slowest runner at the track. Other runners noticed Jason’s poor gait and would knock him off balance as they lapped him on the track. A simple nudge would send him flying to the dirt. To the amusement of some, he was forced to get up several times over the next few days. But Jason has never been a quitter.
The day of the bus incident, a few older students had continued to entertain themselves by further humiliating Jason. They teased him about his poor performance on the track and made him the target of their one-sided food fight.
After hearing the whole story from Jason, I told him I was going to his school the next day to have a heart-to-heart talk with those kids and inform the principal. He pleaded with me not to. He said it would only make matters worse for him to have his father get involved. He begged me to let him handle it. I told him I would not visit the school as long as he agreed to let me call the vice principal regarding the incident on the bus. He finally agreed. I knew he went to bed that night feeling like he didn’t have a friend in the world.
I called the vice principal about the humiliation on the bus, and it was never repeated. Jason stayed with track and field even though the harassment at the track continued.
One day early that October, we had unexpected snow and freezing rain. The track team was allowed to train indoors that day. Jason asked the coach if he could borrow his stopwatch. He wanted to try and improve his time on the track. As the other kids exercised in the gym, they couldn't help but notice the one lone runner--Jason--plodding through sleet on the snow-covered track.
The next week, the weather returned to normal, and outdoor training resumed. The harassment, however, did not. Each time a member of the track team would pass Jason, he would offer a few words of encouragement.
"Keep going, Jay."
"Don’t give up, Jason."
"You can do it, Jay."
He had earned their respect.
A few weeks later, Jason came in from school noticeably agitated.
"Mom, Dad, sit down," he said.
My heart sank. It had the echo of the food-pelting incident.
He told us something we already knew, that each month students at his high school voted for an "athlete of the month." The coach would list on the chalkboard the names of students who had the best long jump, most points in basketball, and best track times. Then they would hold a vote, and one student would be presented with a certificate and earn the title "athlete of the month." Jason’s name was not on the board that day—-or any other day for that matter. He was last in every activity listed.
But something different happened that day. One of the nominees, who happened to be leading in almost every category, stood up and said, "Sir I would like to nominate Jason for athlete of the month."
The coach, caught by surprise for a moment, looked toward the list of names on the board.
"Jason?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face, as though he couldn't quite place the name. "Oh...Jason."
"He works harder than any of us, Sir," the student continued.
"Well," added the coach, "we will have to have someone second the nomination."
A tear formed in Jason’s eye and began to roll down his cheek as he told us what happened next. "Mom...Dad...everyone in the class put their hand up."
His mother and I, also in tears, looked on as he proudly displayed his certificate.
Whenever I despair, I think of this story. I remind myself that challenges are not overcome by force or by asserting the self, but rather by patient persistence, determination, and a sincere faith in the innate goodness of others.
Jason is in his fourth year of university these days and often holds the highest mark in his class. He works as a teacher’s assistant and plans to go on for his masters. He is also training in the martial arts. Although it seems to be taking him forever to earn his black belt, I have no doubt he'll wear it, and wear it proudly.
Marvin Phillips: The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!
Author unknown:The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.
"Do you live in tomorrow when you must face today? At times, I forget to live in the moment, but what do I miss? The setting sun, the sound of birds' singing and, most importantly, I miss meeting myself. I am constantly changing, and if I don't spend time with myself in the here and now, I will never get to appreciate who I truly am because I am too busy focusing on who I want to be." ~Gary Barnes
"Don't judge those who try and fail, judge those who fail to try."
~unknown
"Heroes are made in the hour of defeat. Success is, therefore, well described as a series of glorious defeats."
~Mohandas K. Gandhi
"We should not let success go to our heads, or our failures go to our hearts."
~unknown
"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."
~Richard Nixon
"Above all, challenge yourself. You may be surprised by what you can achieve."
When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that
are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and
blowing white fluff you can wish on.
When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly,
dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.
When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't
have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words.
If they don't know them, they make up their own.
When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it
messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close
their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to
the ground laughing.
When I pray, I say thee and thou and
grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends.
Please keep the bad dreams away tonight.
Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet.
I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."
When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and
dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams
to build, rivers to cross and worms to play with.
I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from?
No wonder God loves the little children!!
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may
look back and realize they were the big things." (author unknown)
My wish to you....
Mud Puddles and Dandelions
and may God bless
this day for you!
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must . . . but don't you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell
how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So, stick to the fight
when you're hardest hit . . .
The Gift of Time
Sorry to hear about your sister tho, I know how hard it is as I have two sisters who aren't into the drugs and alcohol that bad they are still into it. My oldest sis is worse off and it kills me to see her one reason I have stayed away so long. It is hard to see a loved one do that to themselves. I just thank god every day that she actually has a house paid for and has money coming in even tho by months end my dad has to take food to her because she has depleted her funds on booze. I guess I never looked at food as being a drug but have looked at it as being addicted to it. You are right tho it is the same thing. Anyway...thanks again for sharing.
