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