Gratitude

Gratitude is not only the greatest of all the virtues,

but the parent of all the others.

Cicero (106 - 43 B.C.), Orator and statesman

Two kinds of gratitude:
The sudden kind we feel for what we take;
the larger kind we feel for what we give.

E. A. Robinson

Be the Light

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be

The candle or the mirror that reflects it."

-- Edith Wharton

Remeber the Glad

This is cool!

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/

Be...

Be daring,
be different,
be impractical,
be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision
against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.

Sir Cecil Beaton (1904 - 1980)
Photographer and designer
Cited in BITS & PIECES

Friends, you and me....
You brought another friend....
And then there were 3....
We started our group....
Our circle of friends....
And like that circle....
There is no beginning or end....
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.

Mistakes

Learn from the mistakes of others.

You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

He who loses money,

loses much;

He, who loses a friend,

loses much more;

He, who loses faith,

loses all.

Great minds...

Great minds discuss ideas;

Average minds discuss events;

Small minds discuss people.

Betrayal

If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.

(D)Anger

Anger is only one letter short of danger.

Use your heart...

To handle yourself, use your head.

To handle others, use your heart.

Friends

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote,

Many people will walk in and out of your life,

But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

Friends

Don't spend major time with minor people. If there are people in your life that continually disappoint you, break promises, stomp on your dreams, too judgmental, have different values and don't have your back during difficult times... that is not a friend.

To have a friend, be a friend. Sometimes in life as you grow, your friends will either grow or go. Surround yourself with people who reflect your values, goals, interests, and lifestyle.

When I think of any of my successes, I am thankful to God from whom all blessings flow, and to my family and friends that enrich my life. Over the years my phone book has changed because I changed for the better. At first you think you're going to be alone, but after a while new people show up in your life that make your life so much sweeter and easier to endure.

Remember what your elders used to say, "Birds of a feather flock together." If you're an eagle, don't hang around chickens…

Chickens Can't Fly!

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING

PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME
1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

And what is a family if not a team...

Profile of a DREAM Team

Works toward a common goal ~

~ Develops its member's' skills ~

~ Efficiently uses its time and talents ~

~ Embraces the diversity of its members ~

~ Is committed to continuous improvement ~

~ Builds moral internally ~

~ Performs effectively and produces results ~

~ Accepts praise and criticism ~

~ Cooperates rather than competes ~

~ Maintains a positive attitude toward everyone's ideas ~

~ Stays on task ~

~ Uses resources wisely ~

~ Communicates openly ~

~ Teaches and learns from one another ~

~ Resolves conflicts effectively ~

~ Welcomes challenges ~

~ Shares pride in its accomplishments ~

~ Celebrates successes!

Each Of Us Are Special

Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Do not give up when you have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It is fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love. The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.

Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope. To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been but also where you are going.

Life is not a race but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Author Unknown

forever ?s

"You don't want a million answers as much as you want a few forever questions."

-- Richard Bach

Explore with questions

"The word ‘question’ is derived from the Latin ‘quarrier’ (to seek) which is also the root of ‘quest.’ A creative life is a continued quest, and good questions can be very useful guides. Most useful are open-ended questions; they allow for fresh unanticipated answers to reveal themselves."
-- Source Unknown

Questions hold the power to draw out answers that surprise us. If we are on an inner journey to greater self-knowledge, we must seek to understand unfamiliar parts of ourselves. The most enlightening answers are released by our subconscious minds or by our intuition. Use questions frequently to go exploring.
Try these out:
- What qualities do you find most attractive in others? How do you exhibit those same qualities?
- What is your greatest fear? Why do you fear that?
- What message is your body trying to get through to you?

"If we would have new knowledge, we must get a whole world of new questions."
-- Susanne K. Langer

"It is good to have an end to journey toward,

but it is the journey that matters in the end." -

Ursula K. LeGuin

Beauty

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us or we find it not."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beauty

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us or we find it not."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I took this picture last year around our house.

Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

"You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest that which is within us. It's not just in some of us - it's in everyone. "As we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

--Nelson Mandela

To forgive is...

decisions

Decision is the spark that ignites action.

Until a decision is made, nothing happens.

Wilfred A. Peterson

Change your mood...

The Not-Quiet-So-Daily Dollop

Give yourself a mood shifting boost by changing your posture. Relax your shoulders, then lengthen your neck gently, and soften the area around your heart.

Look up slightly.

Feel your whole spine slip into alignment as you become aware of your bones and the spaces between your bones.

Gently pull in your stomach muscles to support your lower back and pelvis (but try not to arch your back).

Breathe.

Imagine that there’s a lovely beam of light shining from the top of your head down to your feet if you’re standing or to your tailbone if you‘re sitting, and let the light flow up and down your spine, nourishing you.

There is a reason we sit up straight when we pay attention or meditate or concentrate -- the energy flows and our mood improves.

Next time you find yourself slouching, lovingly, mindfully stretch to into grace and you feel better -- instantly.

Today's Intention: Using my perfectly miraculous body to remind me there are always possibilities, there is always life beckoning to me.

http://www.comfortqueen.com/

Computer-eze

Over the years I have heard my share of strange questions and silly comments from people who call the computer software company where I work as a tech support telephone operator. But one day I realized how absurd things can sound on the other end of the line when I heard myself say to one caller, "Yes, sir, you must first upgrade your download software in order to download our upgrade software."

--Contributed to "All In a Day's Work" by Carlos Mejia

USA Today in its 3/10/03 edition had a large article on two Cowboy Churches in Texas. They printed the Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas. It was too good not to pass along to you.

(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma &Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.

Guess cowboys just kinda tell it like it is!!!!