Give the best

"Look at the sky.  We are not alone.  The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work."  - Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam -

Values

“If we aren’t willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.”  - Barack H. Obama -

Glory

“Glory is not a conceit.  It is not a decoration by valour.  Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in return.”  - John McCain -

Challenge

“Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human action.  If there’s an ocean, we cross it.  If there’s a disease, we cure it.  If there’s is a wrong, we right it.  If there’s a record, we break it.  And if there is a mountain, we climb it.”  - James Ullman -

Involved Teacher

“You can teach to a wall, but when you help someone learn, you have to get involved with the whole person.”  - Guy Doud -

Possible

“When a distinguished and elderly scientist says something is possible, he is almost certainly correct; when he says something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”  - Arthur C. Clarke -

Teach

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they learn.”  - Einstein –

Not too late

“Courage, my friend, it’s not too late to make the world a better place.”  - Tommy Douglas -

Success

“Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.”  - Stephen Leacock -

Purpose

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose.”  - George Bernard Shaw -

Education

“Education is what survives when what has been learned is forgotten.”  - Author unknown -

Learners

“I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures... I divide the world into the learners and non-learners.”  - Benjamin Barber -

Hope

“What Oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.”  - Emil Brunner -

Future

"The future is carved out of the present moment. Tomorrow's harvest depends upon today's ploughing and sowing."  - Swami Chinmayananda -

Thinking

”The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”  - Albert Einstein -

Begin

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

Knowledge

"In the pursuit of quality, there is no substitute for knowledge.” - Deming -

Resistance

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." - Pogo -

Change

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself” - Leo Tolstoy -

Knowledge

"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." - Socrates -

Today.. now!

"A year from now you may wish you had started today." - Carolyn Lamb -

Fail greatly

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - JFK -

Bare feet

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." - Kahlil Gibran -

Relativity

"When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute - and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity." - Albert Einstein -

Time

"So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man's genius contracts itself to a very few hours." - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Overlook

"The art of being wise is knowing where to overlook." - William James -

Yellow Ribbon

"No amount of money will induce someone to lay down their life, but they will gladly do so for a bit of yellow ribbon." - Napoleon -

Yellow Ribbon

"No amount of money will induce someone to lay down their life, but they will gladly do so for a bit of yellow ribbon." - Napoleon -

A part of the main

"No man is an island entire of himself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main..." - John Donne -

Thanks

"If I can see much farther, it's because I am standing on the shoulders of giants." - Sir Isaac Newton -

Design future

"The best way to predict the future is to help design it." - Peter Drucker -

Insanity

"The definition of insanity is doing something the same way... while expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein -

Doing right things

"People and their managers are working so hard to be sure things are done right, that they have hardly have time to decide if they are doing the right things." - Steven Covey -

To be

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - George Eliot -

Persistence

"Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin -

Destiny

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan -

Self-confidence

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you." - William Jennings Bryan -

Time

Time is
Too slow for those who want,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice,
But for those who love,
Time is not.
- Henry Van Dyke -

Pliable

"Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong." - Zen proverb -

Potter and Clay

"There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke.

"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. "My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "let me alone", but he only smiled, "Not yet."

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!" I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet”.

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, "Not yet”.

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. "There, that's better," I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. "Stop it, stop it!" I cried. He only nodded, "Not yet."

Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, "Not yet."

Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, "Look at yourself." And I did. I said, "That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.”
"I want you to remember, then," he said, "I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you."

Do something wonderful

"Don't be encumbered by history, just go out and do something wonderful." - Robert Noyce -

Curiosity

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives." - Anonymous -

Do your best

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life
of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and
realities of your existence;
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
Splendor of achievement,
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived,
makes every yesterday a
dream of happiness
And tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn.

- Kalidasa in Shakuntalam -

Live

"You better live every day like it's your last because one day you're going to be right." - Ray Charles -

Ingenuity

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." - George S. Patton US general (1885 - 1945) -

Life

"Life is what happens while we’re busy making other plans." - John Lennon -

Problem

"A problem well described is half solved." - John Dewey -

Longing

"If you want to build a boat, do not instruct the men to saw wood, stitch the sails, prepare the tools and organize the work, but make them long for setting sail and travel to distant lands." - Antoine De Saint Exupery -

Pull and Push

"Pull the string, and it will follow whereever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all." - Dwight D. Eisenhower -

Learning

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself." - Chinese Proverb -

Freedom

"It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains." - Thomas Huxley -

Freedom

"It is far better for a man to go wrong in freedom than to go right in chains." - Thomas Huxley -

Simplicity

"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity." - Bruce Lee -

Reality

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein -

Power

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln -

Leadership

“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.” - Gen. Colin Powell -

Heaven

"I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy." - Mahatma Gandhi -

Counsel

“He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both.” - Francis Bacon -

Education

"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X -

Future

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." - C S Lewis -

Thought

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." - Benjamin Disraeli -

Life

"The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we live." - Norman Cousins -

The one who hinders your growth!

“One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big notice on the door on which was written: 'Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym'.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!'. One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: ‘There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU’.

You are the only person who can revolutionize your life.
You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success.
You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes.
Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

'The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself'” - Author unknown -

Wonder

"Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge." - Abraham Joshua Heschel -

People

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” — Dale Carnegie -

Competition

"The wages of work is cash.
The wages of cash is want for more cash.
The wages of want more cash is vicious competition.
The wages of vicious competition is -
The world we live in." - D H Lawrence -

Smiles

"The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.” - Leo F. Buscaqlia -



More details - FAHC Subscribe to Smiles Day.

Light

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. A person only gains light by bringing light into another's life." - Unknown author -

Nothing gold can stay

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."

- Robert Frost -

Road

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." - Unknown Author"

Never give in

"Never give in, never, never, never, never; in nothing, great or small—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." - Sir Winston Churchill -

Serenity

"The waters are in motion, but the moon retains its serenity." - Daisetz Suzuki -

Gratitude

"Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone." - Gladys Browyn Stern -

For bread

"The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread." – Portuguese Proverb -

Learning

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso -

Change

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead -

Art of giving

“How can we expect our children to know and experience the joy of giving unless we teach them that the greater pleasure in life lies in the art of giving rather than receiving” - James Cash Penny -

Kindness

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now.” - Mahatma Gandhi -

Moments

“You will find as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others” - Unknown author -

Kindness

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” - Aesop -

Power

“Never before has man had such great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world” - John F. Kennedy -

Lift Up

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else” - Booker T. Washington -

Giving

“We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill -

Power

"With great power there must also come great responsibility." - "Uncle Ben" in the film Spider Man

Time

"You may delay, but time will not." - Benjamin Franklin -

Opportunity

"You miss 100% of the shots that you never take." - Wayne Gretzky -

Art of Life

"The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings." - Okakura Kakuzo -

Do something!

"Don't be encumbered by history, just go out & do something wonderful." - Robert Noyce -

Choice

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” - Eleanor Roosevelt -

Purpose

“So may a thousand actions, once afoot, end in one purpose, and be well borne without defeat.” -
William Shakespeare -

Go forward

"I feel that we all must live, so that when we are gone, everyone will miss the work we did, but someone has learned by watching us, how to take up the banner and go forward." - Author Unknown -

Under Control

"If everything is under control, you are going too slow." - Mario Andretti -

Why poor have no food?

“When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” - Helder Camara -

Principles

"Back of every noble life there are principles that have fashioned it." - George H. Lorimer -

Guide

"I take as my guide the hope of a saint:
in crucial things, unity -
in important things, diversity -
in all things, generosity." - Inaugural address of President George Bush -

Giving

“It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in giving.” - Mother Theresa –

Move

"Nothing happens until something moves." - Albert Einstein -

Enthusiasm

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life. All that we really need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." - Unknown Author -

Biggest mistake

"The biggest mistake people make in life is NOTmaking a living at doing what they most enjoy." - Malcolm S Forbes -

Work

"Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying." - Studs Terkel -

Bold

"Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid." - Goethe -

Heart

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius -

Love

"Love doesn't just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new." - Ursula K LeGuin -

Life - what a ride!

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body - but rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘WOW, what a ride!’ " - Anonymous -

Stone

"Be as a stone cast upon the water that the positive influence of your action may extend far beyond the power of a mere pebble in the hand of a man." - Author unknown -

Half awake

"Compared to what we ought to be - we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the things broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use!" - William James -

Stone

"Be as a stone cast upon the water that the positive influence of your action may extend far beyond the power of a mere pebble in the hand of a man." - Author unknown -

Bold

"Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid." - Goethe -

Your heart

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius -

Treasures

"The value of a single day of life exceeds all other treasures." - Nichern -

Delight in work

"Why delight in work? Fundamentally, I suppose, because there is a sense of relief and pleasure in getting something done - a satisfaction not unlike that which a hen enjoys on laying an egg." - H.L. Mencken -

Your own Bible

"Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your reading have been to you like a blast of triumph Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul." - Emerson -

Slow dance

"Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
’Cause you never had time
To call and say,"Hi"
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over."

- Anonymous -

Thanks Ramya for sharing this with us.

Practice

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee -

Conversation

“A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books.”  - A chinese proverb -

Power

"Nobody gives you power; you just take it."  - Tom Peters -

Glowworm

“We are all worms.  But I do believe that I am a glow-worm.”  - Winston Churchill –

Source: tompeters.com   

A god within

“The Greeks bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language - the word

‘enthusiasm’- en theos - a god within.  The grandeur of human actions is measured by the

inspiration from which they spring.  Happy is he who bears a god within, and who obeys it.” - Louis Pasteur –

Source: tompeters.com

Glowworm

Competition

"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there."  - Indira Gandhi -

Who is right or wrong?

An old man, a little boy, and a donkey were heading towards a faraway city. As they started off on their journey, after awhile, both the old man and the little boy got tired. So they both rode on the donkey at the same time.

As they passed the first village, people were looking at them with consternation, whispering to each other, "Look at how cruel that man and boy is, both riding the poor donkey, how tired that donkey must be". The old man felt ashamed, so he got down from the donkey and let the little boy ride on the donkey.

As they passed the second village, people were looking at them angrily, whispering to each other, "Look how disrespectful that boy is, riding on the donkey while the poor old man walked all this way on his own tired feet". Not wanting people to think ill of the little boy, the old man trade places, so that he rode on the donkey while the little boy walked on foot.

As they passed the third village, people were looking at them and frowned, whispering to each other, "Look how irresponsible that old man is, riding on the donkey while the poor little boy walked all this way on his tired little feet". Having gotten enough of the villagers' criticisms, both the old man and the little boy walked on their own, with their donkey following behind them.

Their walk was long, their shoes became torn and worn, their clothes dusty and dirty. Both looked very tired and are about to pass out at any moment. When they finally reached the city, people were looking and laughing at them and smirking, whispering to each other, "Look at the two foolish beggars, they have a donkey and yet do not ride it..instead of riding the donkey to save themselves some energy, they are suffering because of their foolishness."

 

Source:  Dennis at flexitarian.blogspot.com

Understand

"Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives."  - Socrates –

Thanks Sriram for sharing this.

Execution

“Execution is a  systematic process  of rigorously  discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.” 

— Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done; Source: tompeters.com -

Do or do not

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”  - Yoda -

Career

A question to ponder about…

“Have you invested as much this year in your career as in your car?”

Success

To those who have not yet succeeded…

“Lord, I will try again,” he said,

Though all hell’s devil tear,

This time I will not be afraid

And what is sent I will dare.”

He set his face against the slope

Until he topped the brae;

Courage had healed his fear, and hope

Had put his shame away.

- John Masefield -

Together

"Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is success."

- Henry Ford -

New eyes

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Proust -

Clean world

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." - Goethe -

Now

You don't get to choose how you're going to die; or when. You can only decide how you're going to live; NOW. - Joan Baez -

Passion

"The fastest way to pass your own expectations is to add passion to your labour." - Mike Litman -

Time to enjoy life

"I don't know whether my life has been a success or a failure. But not having any anxiety about becoming one instead of the other, and just taking things as they come along, I've had a lot of extra time to enjoy life." - Harpo Marx -

Salutation to the Dawn!

Look to this day!
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The splendor of people
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow only a vision
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn.
- Kalidasa, Indian Poet -

Don't quit

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
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 quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow 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.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

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 -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

- Author unknown -

Customer

"There is only one boss. The customer! And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money elsewhere." - Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart -

Next year

"A year from now you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb -

Excellence

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" - Aristotle -

Thanks Mireille for sharing this at tompeters.com.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings

A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Thank you Charles Mangahas for sharing these inspiring words.

Happy New Year 2006!

It is time to say goodbye to 2005 and welcome the auspicious 2006.

Recipe For A Happy New Year
Take twelve whole months.
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness,
hate, and jealousy.
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.
Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.
Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.
Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer, one part meditation,
and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humor.
Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.
You're bound to have a happy new year.
- Author unknown -
A brand new year 2006 is here... Open your heart and be of good cheer... A year full of promise and good things to come... In your list of resolutions, let good deeds be one... Help one another and give of your love... for that will be pleasing to the God above. Happy new year my friend.

Same dough

"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven." - Yiddish Proverb -

Effective communication

Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying.

Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?"

So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest,may I smoke while I pray?"

But the Priest says, "No, my son, you may not. That's utter disrespect to our religion."

Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him.

Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try."
And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, " Priest, may I pray while I smoke?"

To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means."

Moral : The reply you get depends on the question you ask.

For Example : Can I work on this project while I'm on vacation ?!?

Thank you Biju for sharing this.

To be of use

"The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shadows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight...

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the
muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again...

The work of the world is common as mud.
botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
but the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident. ...

The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real..."

Author: Marge Piercy's poem in Dave Smith's book 'To Be of Use - the seven seeds of meaningful work'.

PS: I'm sure you will simply love this book - grab it from whereever you can! :-)

What to say

"It is not enough to know what to say - one must know how to say it." - Aristotle -

Talents

"Use what talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." - Henry van Dyke -

Good ideas

"The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away." - Linus Pauling -

Deepawali greetings

On the joyous occasion of Indian festival Deepawali today, I convey my warm greetings and good wishes to you. May the festival of lights usher in resplendant mood and hope that the radiance of the bright lights would bring all round prosperity, development and happiness to all.

Here is an inspiring story to share with you on the occasion of Deepawali:

"It was the sacred Deepavali Day. A few devotees had gathered round the Master who sat underneath a huge, banyan tree. A devotee asked: "Master, how best may a person celebrate the Deepavali Day?

And the Master said: "By kindling the light inextinguishable-the light which can never be extinguished."

"And how may that be done?" asked the devotee.

The Master said: "Today, go and treat everyone you meet as though you are meeting him for the last time. Give him all the love and understanding, kindness and care of which you are capable, and do all this without expecting anything in return-not even a simple words of thanks."

The Master paused for a while and then added: "And continue to do this every day!" - Author unknown -

Leader

"To be a leader you must stand for something, or you will fail for anything." - Anthony Pagano -

Passion

"The fastest way to pass your own expectations is to add passion to your labour." - Mike Litman -

Useless

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another." - Charles Dickens -

Finding

"One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. " - Henry Ford -

Love

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." - Author unknown -

Capable

"If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe -

Being yourself

"Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else." - Judy Garland -

Victory

"Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting." - Napolean Hill -

All things

"We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." - Author unknown -

Kindness

"Express kindness with your eyes and through the tone of your voice, not only with your choice of words."

- J Donald Walters -

Thinking with Purpose

"To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully." - James Allen -

Past and Future

"If you want to know your past, examine your present conditions. If you want to know your future, examine your present actions." - Buddhist saying -

Completeness of life

"Be life long or short, its completeness depends on what it was lived for." - David Starr Jordan -

Greatness in a hurry

"Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds." - Benjamin Disreali -

More friends

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie -

Human freedoms

"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way - everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want - everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear - anywhere in the world."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt -

Lessons from an Oyster

"There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand had got into his shell.

It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government, cry for election,
And claim that the sea should have given him protection?

'No,' he said to himself as he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around, as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral, for isn't it grand
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do if we'd only begin
With some of the things That get under our skin.

The richest man, whatever his lot,
Is he who is content with what he has got."

- Author Unknown -

Ten Rules

1. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will never be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
6. Never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. Don't let the evils which have never happened cost you pain.
9. Always take things by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count to one hundred.
- Thomas Jefferson's ten rules for the good life -

You've got to

"You've got to...
Dance like there's no one watching,
Love like you can never get hurt,
Sing like there's no one listening,
Live like it is heaven on earth,
And teach from the heart to be heard."

- Bill Purkey -

Achievement

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of good deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt -

Foresight

"Right thinking is the ability to foresee what things must be done, and what things must be avoided, to reach the goal we have set. Foresight of this kind is based on a remembrance of past experiences and a correct estimate of the present condition." - Dr. Bradley -

Greatness

"Make yourself one of the actors in the game of greatness which is being played in the world, and whether you gain or lose, it will leave you at least the renown of a great player." - Alexander Dumas -

Vision

"If you don't have a vision for the future, then your future is threatened to be a repeat of the past." - A R Bernard -

Greet this day

"I will greet this day with love in my heart.

And how will I do this?

Henceforth will I look on all things with love.

I will love the sun for it warms my bones;

Yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.

I will love the light for it shows me the way;

Yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.

I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart;

Yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.

I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due;

Yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge."

- Og Mandino -

Difficulties

"It is the Law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, no matter what they are, must be exactly what you need most at the moment, to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson." - Emmet Fox -

Smile

"If you are not using your smile, you're a man with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook." - Les Giblin -

Thanks Rani for sharing these words.

Education

"Education to be complete, must be humane; it must include not only the training of the intellect but also the refinement of the heart and the discipline of the spirit." - Dr. Radha Krishnan -

Willing

"The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the others willing to let them." - Robert Frost -

Commitment

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead -

Change

"I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself." - Aldous Huxley -

Our prayers dedicated to New Orleans

Our prayers are with each and everyone that was affected by Katrina. Here is a dedication by His holiness the Dalai Lama.

"May all beings everywhere,
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.

May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms,
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food.
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.

May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy.
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.

May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests.
May all medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed.
May the powerless find power
And may people think of benefiting each other."

Please find below a dozen helping hands for anything you can offer to the affected families:
1. Red Cross
2. The Salvation Army
3. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
4. Feed the children
5. Second harvest
6. Americares
7. MAP International
8. Mercy corps
9. Network for good
10. United way
11. World Emergency Relief
12. Direct relief

Better or Better Off

The world would be better off,
if people tried
to become better.

And people would
become better
if they stopped trying
to be better off.

For when everybody tries
to become better off,
nobody is better off.

But when everybody tries
to become better,
everybody is better off.

Everybody would be rich
if nobody tried
to be richer.

And nobody would be poor
if everybody tried
to be the poorest.

And everybody would be
what he ought to be
if everybody tried to be
what he wants
the other fellow to be.

- An Easy Essay by Peter Maurin - Thanks Tom O'Leary for sharing this.

Imperfection

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

- Author Unknown -

Love

"People who love each other fully and truly are the happiest people in the world. They may have little, they may have nothing, but they are happy people. Everything depends on how we love one another." - Mother Teresa -

Journey

"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will be stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." - Sir Winston Churchill -

Happiness

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - Buddha -

Capability

"If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe -

Peace

"It is essential to know that to be a happy person, a happy family, a happy society, it is very crucial to have a good heart; that is very crucial. World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence but the manifestation of human compassion." - Dalai Lama -

Truth

"The greatest friend of truth is time, her greatest enemy is prejudice, and her constant companion humility." - Charles Caleb Colton -

Imagine

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it." - William Arthur Ward -

Love

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." - Mother Teresa -

Most important

When is the best time to do each thing?
"Remember that there is only one important time and that is now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion."

Who are the most important people to work with?
"The most important person is always the person you are with, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future?"

What is the most important thing to do at all times?
"The most important pursuit is making the person standing at your side happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life."

- Answers by Leo Tolstoy -

Motivation

"People excel and learn, not because they are told to, but because they want to." - Peter Senge -

Flexibility

"When people are born they are supple, and when they die they are stiff.
When trees are born they are tender, and when they die they are brittle.
Stiffness is thus a cohort of death; flexibility is a cohort of life."

- Tao-Te Ching -

What you are

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not." - Andre Gide -

Angels

Dedicated to all loving mothers.

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God: "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God answered: "Among the many Angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

"But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy," said the child.

"Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your Angel's love and be happy," said God.

"And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?"

"Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your Angel will teach you how to speak", answered God.

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to You?" asked the child.

God said: "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?" worried the child.

"Your Angel will defend you even if it means risking its life," assured God.

"But I will always be sad because I will not see You anymore," sighed the child.

God said: "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way for you to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child - in a hurry - asked softly: "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my Angel's name?

Your Angel's name is of no importance, you will call your Angel "Mommy"

- Author unknown -

Bequests

"There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, the other wings." - Stephen Covey -

Choice

"In life you're either a passenger or a pilot - it's your choice." - Author unknown -

Doubts

"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts;
but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties." - Francis Bacon -

Children

"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but are not from you.
And though they are with you yet they do not belong to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
But seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."

- Kahlil Gibran -

To be misunderstood

"Is it so bad to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and
Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood! - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Right now

"Somebody is very proud of you.
somebody is thinking of you.
somebody is caring about you.
somebody misses you.
somebody wants to talk to you.
somebody wants to be with you.
somebody hopes you aren't in trouble.
somebody is thankful for the support you have provided.
somebody wants to hold your hand.
somebody hopes everything turns out all right.
somebody wants you to be happy.
somebody wants you to find him/her.
somebody is celebrating your successes.
somebody wants to give you a gift.
somebody thinks that you ARE a gift.
somebody hopes you're not too cold, or not too hot
somebody wants to hug you.
somebody loves you.
somebody admires your strength.
somebody is thinking of you and smiling.
somebody wants to be your shoulder to cry on.
somebody wants to go out with you and have a lot of fun.
somebody thinks the world of you.
somebody wants to protect you.
somebody would do anything for you.
somebody wants to be forgiven.
somebody is grateful for your forgiveness.
somebody wants to laugh with you.
somebody remembers you and wishes that you were there.
somebody needs to know that your love is unconditional.
somebody values your advice.
somebody wants to tell you how much they care.
somebody wants to share their dreams with you.
somebody wants to hold you in their arms.
somebody wants YOU to hold them in your arms.
somebody treasures your spirit.
somebody wishes they could STOP time because of you.
somebody praises God for your friendship and love.
somebody can't wait to see you.
somebody loves you for who you are.
somebody loves the way you make them feel.
somebody wants to be with you.
somebody wants you to know they are there for you.
somebody's glad that you're their friend.
somebody wants to be your friend.
somebody stayed up all night thinking about you.
somebody is alive because of you.
somebody is wishing that you had noticed them.
somebody wants to get to know you better.
somebody misses your advice/guidance.
somebody has faith in you.
somebody trusts you.
somebody needs you to send them this list.
somebody needs your support.
somebody needs you to have faith in them.
somebody will cry when they read this.
somebody needs you to let them be your friend.
somebody hears a song that reminds them of you."

- Author unknown -

Inferior

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt -

Dalai Lama's 19 instructions for life

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

- Dalai Lama -

You

"You can only lead others where you yourself are prepared to go." - Lachlan McLean -

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt -

Religion

"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good." - Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Thanks Irina for sharing this quote.

Will

"Strength does not come from physical capability. It comes from an indomitable will". - Mahatma Gandhi -

Thanks Omara for sharing this quote.

Achievement

"To do something well is so
worthwhile that to die trying
to do it better cannot be foolhardy.
It would be a waste of life to do
nothing with one's ability,
for I feel that life is measured
in achievement
not in years alone." - Bruce McLaren -

Today - essence of life

"Look to this day... for it is the very essence of life. For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well-lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope." - Author unknown -

Thanks Neelakantan for sharing this.

Tomorrow

"No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going.
Not only strike while the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.
Do not trust the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you or I were going to be hanged."

- Oliver Cromwell -

Quality of Life

A group of working adults got together to visit their University lecturer. The lecturer was happy to see them. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. The Lecturer just smiled and went to the kitchen to get an assortment of cups - some porcelain, some in plastic, some in glass, some plainlooking and some looked rather expensive and exquisite. The Lecturer offered his former students the cups to get drinks for themselves. When all the students had a cup in hand with water, the Lecturer spoke: "If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal that you only want the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all you wanted was water, not the cup, but we unconsciously went for the better cups." "Just like in life, if Life is Water, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold/maintain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change." "If we only concentrate on the cup, we won't have time to enjoy/taste the water in it." - Author unknown -

Thanks Rani for sharing this to our group.

The wisdom of today

"We often wish for more, without realizing that life's most precious
treasures, are often within the palms of our hands.
It is not success, but rather the journey there,
that often makes our lives complete.
We are most at peace with the world, when we accept
the wonderful and amazing creature - that is - ourselves.
When we give our all TODAY; and look forward to giving tomorrow
the same, then there is no reason for regretting our yesterdays.
Despise not the past, for in it lies the wisdom of today,
and the hope of tomorrow.
- Eric Jordan -

Gratitude

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." - Brian Tracy -

Attitude

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

It is more important that the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.

The remarkable thing is - we have a choice every day of our lives regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past.

We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I’m convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you.

We are in charge of our attitudes."

- Charles Swindoll -

24 golden hours

"Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure? Remember, you must use it, as it is given only once. Once wasted you cannot get it back." - Author Unknown -

Life

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." - John W. Gardner -

Virtues

"Thank God - every morning when you get up - that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you a hundred virtues which the idle never know." - Charles Kingsley -

Smile

"Be nice and smile to everyone you meet. You don't know what they are going through, and they may need that smile. And treasure it." - Christine M. Huppert -

Learning

"Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate." - William Arthur Ward -

The spirit

"If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart; the spirit should not grow old." - James A. Garfield -

Dance, dream, live, and love

"You gotta dance like nobody's watching, dream like you will live forever, live like your going to die tomorrow and love like it's never going to hurt." - Meme Grifsters -

Mistakes

"It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something." - Ornette Coleman -

Words and deeds

"Kind hearts are the gardens,

Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the flowers,

Kind deeds are the fruits.

Take care of your garden

And keep out the weeds,

Fill it with sunshine

Kind words and kind deeds."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -

Kindness

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." - Dalai Lama -

Quotation

"The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotation." - Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881) -

Thanks Gunji for sharing this quote.

Let Go

A little child was playing one day with a very valuable vase. He put his hand into it and could not withdraw it. His father too, tried his best, but all in vain. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, "Now, my son, make one more try. Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing, and then pull."

To their astonishment the little fellow said, "O no, father. I couldn't put my fingers out like that, because if I did I would drop my penny."

Smile, if you will - but thousands of us are like that little boy, so busy holding on to the world's worthless penny that we cannot accept liberation. I beg you to drop the trifle in your heart. Surrender! Let go, and let God have His way in your life.

- Dr. Billy Graham -

Vision

"If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" - Casey Stenge -

Possibilitarian

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there." - Norman Vincent Peale -

Father's wisdom

"This is a tale narrated to me by my father about his father.
Once upon a time when my father was in his teens, his father took him to the mosque to pray. My grandfather, it seems, had a habit of keeping his loose change in his shirt pocket. As they prayed side by side, during one of the prostrations, the coins fell down onto the carpet.
Apparently deep in concentration, my grandfather did not notice it. However a gentleman seated nearby as well as my father noticed the incident. The man reacted fast and scooped the coins and went off into another corner of the mosque.
My father took everything in and as soon as my grandfather finished praying, he started to narrate what transpired. My grandfather having heard just about what transpired stopped my Dad from telling him who took the money.
He then proceeded to tell my Dad the following. If the Man has resorted to stealing in the mosque, then it must be because his circumstances are bad. We must not be quick to judge such people, he said.
Since they owned a grocery shop, my father was told by his father to ensure that every month he should make up a parcel of all the bare necessities required in a household and send it to that person without telling him who it was being sent to.
Wouldn't this world be a better place to live in if we had such wisdom permeating within our societies!"
- Author unknown -

Today

"Live each day as if it were the last day of your life, because so far, it is." - Author unknown -

Privilege

"The privilege of a lifetime is to be yourself" - Joseph Cambell -

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,

Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,

Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

- John Lennon, © Bag productions inc. -

Smile

"If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it" - Andy Rooney -

Have's and have not's

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus -

Good deeds

"In the quiet hours when we are alone and there is nobody to tell us what fine fellows we are, we come sometimes upon a moment in which we wonder, not how much money we are earning, nor how famous we have become, but what good we are doing." - A A Milne -

Purpose

“This is the true joy of Life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one - the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” - George Bernard Shaw in Man and Superman -

Plan

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - Mary Oliver -

Trouble

"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me." - Ann Landers -

Your smile

"Never frown because you never know who might be falling in love with your smile." - Justine Milton -

Hell and Paradise

A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, the Zen master, and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"

"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.

"I am a samurai," the warrior replied.

"You, a soldier!" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar."

Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably much too dull to cut off my head."

As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked: "Here open the gates of hell!"

At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.

"Here open the gates of paradise," said Hakuin.

- Author unknown -

It wasn't your baby

There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.

The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain. They didn't know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn't know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain.

Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home.

The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only several hundred feet.

Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.

As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn't figured out how to climb.

And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be?

One man greeted her and said, "We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn't do it?"

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It wasn't your baby."

- Author unknown -

Do it

"If you can do it or dream it, you can do it. Do it! Boldness has a genius and power to it." - Goethe -

"The beginning is always today." - Mary Wollstonecraft -

Goodnight kiss!

"Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr -

Silence

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vtriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people." - Martin Luther King Jr -

Winners

"Do not fear risk.
All exploration, all growth is calculated.
Without challenge people cannot reach their higher selves.
Only if we are willing to walk over the edge can we become winners."

- Author unknown, written on Jan 28, 1987, the one-year anniversary of Challenger explosion, by the families of those who died -

Universal love

"A wise man who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day he met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise man opened his bag to share his food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the man to give it to him. He did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise man.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

- Author unknown -

Thanks Juli Ann Reynolds for sharing this.

Learning

"I invented nothing new. I simply combined the inventions of others into a car. Had I worked fifty or ten or even five years before, I would have failed." - Henry Ford on the Model T -

Think positive - The allegory of the Frog

Thanks Goutham for sharing the below-mentioned story with us.

Once upon a time there was a race of frogs. The goal was to reach the top of a high tower. Many people gathered to see and support them. The race began.

In reality, the people probably didn't believe that it was possible that the frogs reached the top of the tower, and all the phrases that one could here were of this kind: "What pain! They'll never make it!" The frogs began to resign, except for one who kept on climbing. The people continued: "What pain! They'll never make it!"

And the frogs admitted defeat, except for the frog who continued to insist. At the end, all the frogs quit, except the one who, alone and with an enormous effort, reached the top of the tower.

The others wanted to know how did he do it. One of them approached him to ask him how he had done it, to finish the race and discovered that he was deaf!

Never listen to people who have the bad habit of being negative because they steal the best aspirations of your heart! Always remind yourself of the power of the words that we hear or read. That's why, you always have to think positive. POSITIVE!

Always be deaf to someone who tells you that you can't and won't achieve your goals or make your dreams come true.

- Author unknown -

Accuracy

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." - Wyatt Earp -

Thanks Pratyush for sharing this quote.

Heart's response

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A Romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel."

So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.

I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she