Ability

You never know what you can do until you have to do it.

-- Betty Ford (1918-2011)

I can change

I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past.

-- Dr Stephen Covey

Be Bold

When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take, choose the bolder.

-- General W.J. Slim (1891-1970)

Meeting Life's Challenges

So apt in these trying days, and oh so tough to follow. So tough.

Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.

-- J. Donald Walters

Who you really are

I believe that when you realize who you really are, you understand that nothing can stop you from becoming that person.

-- Christine Lincoln

Wealth

The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money.

-- Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893)

Time

All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given.

-- Gandalf to Frodo ("The Fellowship of the Ring" movie)

Learners and the learned

In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

-- Eric Hoffer

God is awake

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

-- Victor Hugo (1802 1885)

Power

We touch the lives of others in ways we often never know. People sometimes come into our personal world for fleeting moments and can leave us forever changed. We have more power to create or to destroy than we can imagine.

We can leave things or individuals better or worse than we found them.

-- Gail Pursell Elliott

C-ing it through

" Confidence, curiosity, courage and constancy. ...the secrets of making dreams come true. "

-- Walt Disney

Therefore..

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.

-- Reinhold Niebuhr

Worries

As for worrying about what other people might think - forget it. They aren't concerned about you. They're too busy worrying about what you and other people think of them.

-- Michael le Boeuf

Taking charge

When we know that the cause of something is in ourselves, and that we (ourselves) are one of the few things in the universe that we have the right and ability to change, we begin to get a sense of the choices we really do have, an inkling of the power we have, a feeling of being in charge... of our lives, of our future, of our dreams.

- John-Roger and Peter McWilliams

Death by John Dunne

DEATH, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.
From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go--
Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!
Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!


Came across this beautiful poem recently, in Fortunes of War; Guy Pringle reading it aloud to Harriet as their ship leaves Athens for Cairo.

Inside you

Be thine own palace, or thy own jail.

Nothing Is Worthy Of Great Anxiety

Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.

-- Plato

Patience

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew.

-- Saint Francis de Sales

Balance

Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breath more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours!

-- Swedish Proverb

Love them anyway

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.
-- Dr. Kent M. Keith

Have to admit that after days of running around in the heat and rain dealing with incompetent, unhelpful people, plus drivers on the road whose sole purpose seems to be to seek speed thrills with the added accompaniment of continuously blasting horns..sigh, this one is decidedly tough to follow. But then, a glass of cold water, a snack and a power nap, and things are looking up already. Seems tough but not impossible. So here's to possibilities of good all around.

Bon weekend.

Calling

Your time is limited, .... have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

-- Steve Jobs

Love

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

-- Buddha

Love

End your day by privately looking directly into your eyes in the mirror and saying, ‘I love you!’ Do this for thirty days and watch how you transform.

-- Mark Victor Hansen

The important half

One half of life is luck; the other half is discipline - and that's the important half, for without discipline you wouldn't know what to do with luck.

-- Carl Zuckmeyer (1896-1977)

Seek happiness

Look for things to feel good about, and watch how everything in your life will unfold to reflect that good-feeling vibration.

-- Abraham-Hicks

Creating beauty

It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, or so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere through which we look - to affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of the arts.
-- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

I have always been in awe of good artists - esp musicians - there is such a pleasure in watching and listening to those who let their instruments create such a beautiful atmosphere around, - but then Mr. T above makes total sense.

Friends

If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?

-- Rob Bremer

Rob Bremer is too late. I had friends repeat this again and again to me a year ago ...and then again some. Thanks my dears (S, J, B..you know who you are).

Rationality

Mail quota almost being up, am occupying my time off and on deleting old emails. Just came across this gem of wisdom from a dear friend:

i hate when i am being irrational. But its so annoying to be rational all the time too!

All credit to SB!

Responsibility

If they charge thee with falsehood, say: My work to me, and yours to you! Ye are free from responsibility for what I do, and I for what ye do!

-- Qur'an

Ability

Can'y help but love this one:

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Presence

Silent presence is always better than silent absence.

-- Chaplain Steve Thorny

Seek to change your mind

Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world. What you see reflects your thinking. And your thinking but reflects your choice of what you want to see.

-- From "A Course In Miracles"

You become what you believe

Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it. I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.

-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Just, Be.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

-- Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918)

Standing tall

Running away only wears out your shoes.

More words of wisdom from Dell Boy.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

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 so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worse,
that you must not quit.

Edgar A. Guest

Beyondananda's peace guidelines!

This one is bound to bring a smile to the face!

If we truly want world peace, we must let go of our attachments and live like nomads. That's where I nomad at you and you nomad at me. That way there'll surely be nomadness on the planet. And peace begins with each of us. A little peace here, a little peace there, pretty soon all the peaces will fit together and make one big peace everywhere.

-- Yogi Beyondanada

On good cheer

In an effort to hammer it home inside my own head, today I wanted to share some thoughts on being cheerful, and here are a few lines a search of my inbox brought up:

*********
You will not be able to give anyone happiness by means of your wealth, so do it by means of a cheerful countenance and good humor.
- Prophet Muhammad (Qushayri: al-Risalat al-Qushayriyy)

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
-- Martha Washington (1732-1802)
*********

And a 'to do' list on, how to Stay Happy

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height.
Let the doctors worry about them.. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him or her!

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourself.
LIVE while you are alive.

7 Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall, even to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Pave another road

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

-- Dolly Parton

Comic wisdom

And to wrap-up the Sunday night, here's one from Dell Boy in Only Fools and Horses:

He who dares - wins
He who hesitates.. - don't

Wealth

Among the wealthy, compassionate men claim the richest wealth.. For material wealth is possessed by even contemptible men.

-- Tirukkural 25: 241-242

I can

I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past.

-- Dr Stephen Covey

Sharing

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will never be shortened. Happiness never ceases by being shared.
-- Chinese Proverb

Same goes for knowledge.

And maybe love, but one never knows with this one..

Cooking lessons

Lessons from a spaghetti:
Too much of simplicity makes the dish very very bland!

Lessons from cooking and just as apt for life me says.

Silence within self

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.

-- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004)

Change is worth the risk

Change. It has the power to uplift, to heal, to stimulate, surprise, open new doors, bring fresh experience and create excitement in life. Certainly it is worth the risk.

-- Leo Buscaglia

Enough time

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.

-- Brian Tracy

Balance

To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.

-- Lao Tzu

The 'I' promises

Promise Yourself ... to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. ...To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

-- Optimist Creed of the Optimist International Club

Giving thanks

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice.

-- Meister Eckhart

The secret

The big secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you are willing to work..

-- Marcy Blochowiak

Essentials

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

-- Allan K. Chalmers

Happiness

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it.

-- William Feather ( 1889-1981)

Appreciation

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

-- Voltaire (1694-1778)

Every breath you take

'I am breathing in and making my whole body calm and at peace. I am breathing out and making my whole body calm and at peace.' This is how one practices.

-- The Sutra on Full Awareness of Breathing

Blessings

Words of wisdom from one of my favourite authors:

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

-- Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Taking root

As a tree with strong uninjured roots, though cut down, grows up again, so, when deep craving is not rooted out, suffering arises again and again.

-- Buddha (Dhammapada)

While in pursuit

Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.

-- Jim Rohn

Must haves

Travel light in life. Take only what you need: a loving family, good friends, simple pleasures, someone to love, and someone to love you; something to eat, enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink for thirst is a dangerous thing.

-- Anonymous

On life

To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
-- Leo Buscaglia

A reminder

We hear this every day and yet need constant reminders. Here is one :)

One of the tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
-- Dale Carnegie

And damn true this is too!

After fretting for months, having taken a major decision today, still worried about what the future will hold, these words seem totally appropriate:

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.
-- P.J. O'Rourke

Taking flight

When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown believe that one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for you to stand on or you will be taught how to fly.

- Patrick Overton

Holding on

Your suffering is the pain of holding onto that which no longer serves you.

-- Kahlil Gibran

Begin

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
- Goethe

Just reading this early in the morning, made my day!

Smile food

"Books are wonderful aren't they?".."At the risk of sounding like a piece of steak, they tenderise one."

For more literary hors d'oeuvres which are guaranteed to tickle your lips into wry smiles, read Alan Bennett's novella The Uncommon Reader

Being humble for self

Humility leads to strength and not weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.

- John J.McCloy
------------------

No idea who John J. McCloy is, but its always nice to see when humility makes the cut in today's glossy life. Neither in politics, nor in work, and sadly, not in art either. A year and a half ago, it didn't make it to the top seven list in an ethics and integrity 'training'. On being quizzed why this was so, the trainer smiled sheepishly, agreed "hmm..yes" to some unspecified part of the statement, before heading off for his coffee and the next lot of trainees.