Friendship~

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
~ Abraham Lincoln


Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.
~ Richard Bach


A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
~ Frank Crane


When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.
~ Edgar Watson Howe


Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don't walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, and just be my friend.
~ Albert Camus


The best time to make friends is before you need them.
~ Ethel Barrymore 


Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.
~ Jennie Jerome Churchill


A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.
~ Arnold H. Glasgow


The road to a friend's house is never long.
~ Danish Proverb


Be a friend to thyself, and others will be so too.
~ Thomas Fuller

It is a sweet thing, friendship, a dear balm,A happy and auspicious bird of calm...
~ P. B. Shelly


Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
~ Unknown 

The secret of happiness

The secret of happiness

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

"Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something", said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill".

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

"Well", asked the wise man, "Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?"

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

"Then go back and observe the marvels of my world", said the wise man. "You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house".

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

"But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

"Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you", said the wisest of wise men. "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon".

Author: Paul Coelho in "The Alchemist"

Tomorrow~

Tomorrow-I'll tell him just what he means, That living and loving with him is in my dreams Tomorrow-I'll give a big hug to mum, Say a quick thank you for all that she's done. Tomorrow-I'll call or even drop by, I'll say 'I love you' state all the reasons why. Tomorrow-I'll go about getting in touch, With forgotten friends I miss so much. Tomorrow-I'll take the first step to my goal, That I've always thought would make my life whole. Tomorrow-I'll count all my blessings in life, Consider it privilege to be a midwife … But what should I do if that day never comes, And all good intentions come undone. If life should spin a crazy dance, All these things and you never got the chance. If you woke up tomorrow to find that they'd gone, Looked at your list, realized you'd done none. All the things you were going to do today, A million things you never got to say. Would you be confident that you'd given your all, Or guilty that you didn't make that call? Could you be at peace, content that they knew, Just how much they all meant to you? So, to avoid that nightmare never becoming real, Love life, love others and show how you feel. --- Written in 2004 by Stephanie Ineson It's so important to let those who surround us know that we love them. We almost take it for granted that they will always be there but in life I have learnt that isn't always the case. So let the people you love know how they fill your life with purpose.

A matter of perspective

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

By Valerie Cox in “A Matter of Perspective”

P.s - Was kinda busy these 2 days sorry for the late post : (

Smoke Signal

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small,  uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground--it just may be a smoke signal that summons The Grace of God.

Best Gift

Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind. You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future. Love ......and you shall be loved. God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him. All people smile in the same language. A hug is a great gift..one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion and it's easy to exchange. Everyone needs to be loved...especially when they do not deserve it. The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity. Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it. It's important for parents to live the same things they teach. If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for. Happy memories never wear out.... relive them as often as you want. Home is the place where we grumble the most, but are often treated the best. Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks within. The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow. Take time to laugh for it is the music of the soul. If anyone speaks badly of you, live so none will believe it. Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together. The best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other. Harsh words break no bones but they do break hearts. To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. We take for granted the things that we should be giving thanks for. Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished. Happiness is enhanced by others but does not depend upon others. You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven. For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness that you can never get back. Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are. The best gifts to give : To your friend - loyalty To your enemy - forgiveness; To your boss - service; To a child - a good example; To your parents - gratitude and devotion; To your mate - love and faithfulness;

Dare to Believe

Dare to Believe

Everybody Knows:
You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.

So:You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.





Then:
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

Dare To Believe:
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you'll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.