A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as! a welc ome reprieve from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.
"What?" Mom asked.
"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.
"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run through the rain."
"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.
"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"
"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.
Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.
"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and take opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
When the apprentice
returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
How does it taste? the master asked. "Bitter," spit the apprentice.
The master then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake nearby. Once the apprentice swirled
his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked, "How does it taste?" "Fresh," remarked the apprentice.
Do you taste the salt? asked the master. "No," said the young man.
At this, the master took the young man's hands, offering, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain
in life remains exactly the same.
However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things... STOP BEING A GLASS. BECOME A LAKE."
"The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work." ~Robert Frost
"Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory."
Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.
When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.
The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a pourch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.
Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.
Always put yourself in other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Life your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
Lots of hugs & kisses to my friends.
Have a good day.
I am currently surviving the end of a 20 relationship (divorce) and
am starting my life all over again. I have found
the following to help me keep things in perspective.
Sometimes, to get from where we are to where we are going, we have to be
willing to be in-between.
One of the hardest parts of growth is the concept of letting go of what is old
and familiar, but what we don't want, and being willing to stand with our
hands empty while we wait for them to be filled.
This may apply to feelings. We may have been full of hurt and anger. In
some ways, these feelings may have become comfortably familiar. When we
finally face and relinquish our grief, we may feel empty for a time. We are
in-between pain and the joy of serenity and acceptance.
Being in-between can apply to relationships. To prepare ourselves for the
new, we need first to let go of the old. This can be frightening. We may feel
empty and lost for a time. We may feel all alone, wondering what is wrong
with us for letting go of the proverbial bird-in-hand, when there is nothing in
the bush.
Being in-between can apply to many areas of life and growth. We can be
in-between jobs, careers, homes, or goals. We can be in-between behaviors
as we let go of the old and are not certain what we will replace it with. This
can apply to behaviors that have protected and served us well all of our life
such as care-taking and controlling.
We may have many feelings going on when we're in-between: spurts of grief
about what we have let go of or lost, and feelings of anxiety, fear, and
apprehension about what's ahead. These are normal feelings for the
in-between place. Accept them. Feel them. Release them.
Being in-between isn't fun, but it's necessary. It will not last forever. It may
feel like we're standing still, but we're not. We're standing at the in-between
place. It's how we get from there to here. It is not the destination.
We are moving forward, even when we're in-between.
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.
The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
When the menus were presented,
We ordered salads, sandwiches,and soups,
Except for Mae who circumvented,
And said, "Ice cream, please;Two scoops."
I was not sure my ears heard right,
And the others were aghast,
"Along with heated apple pie,"
Mae smiled, completely unabashed.
We tried to act quite nonchalant,
As if people did this all the time,
But when our orders were brought out,
I did not enjoy mine.
I could not take my eyes off Mae,
As her pie ala-mode went down,
The other ladies showed dismay,
They ate their lunches, and they frowned.
Well, the next time I went out to eat,
I called and invited Mae,
My lunch contained white tuna meat,
She ordered a parfait.
I smiled when her dish I viewed,
She asked if she amused me,
I answered, "Yes, you do,
And you also do confuse me."
"How come you order rich desserts
When I feel I must be sensible?"
She laughed and said, with wanton mirth,
"I am tasting all that's possible."
"I try to eat the food I need,
And do the things I should,
But life's so short, my friend,indeed,
I hate missing out on something good."
"This year I realized I was old,"
She grinned, "I've not been this old before,
So, before I die, I've got to try,
Those things for years I have ignored.
"I've not smelled all the flowers yet,
And too many books I have not read,
There're more fudge sundaes to wolf down,
And kites to be flown overhead."
"There're many malls I have not shopped,
I've not laughed at all the jokes,
I've missed a lot of Broadway Hits,
And potato chips and cokes."
"I want to wade again in water,
And feel ocean spray upon my face,
Sit in a country church once more,
And thank God for His grace."
"I want peanut butter every day,
Spread on my morning toast,
I want un-timed long distancecalls,
To the folks I love the most."
"I've not cried at all the movies yet,
Nor walked in the morning rain,
I need to feel wind in my hair,
I want to fall in love again."
"So, if I choose to have dessert,
Instead of having dinner,
If I should die before nightfall,
You'd have to say I died a winner."
"That I missed out on nothing,
That I had my heart's desire,
That I had that final chocolate mousse,
Before my life expired."
With that, I called the waitress over,
"I've changed my mind, it seems,"
I said, "I want what she is having,
Only add some more whipped cream."
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic
who passed up dessert at dinner
that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on,I've tried to be a little more
flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband
didn't suggest going out to
dinner until after something had been thawed?
Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to
you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence
while you watched Jeopardy on
television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said,
"How about going to lunch in a half hour?"
She would gasp and stammer, "I can't."Check one:
- "I have clothes on the line."
- "My hair is dirty."
- "I wish I had known yesterday."
- "I had a late breakfast".
- "It looks like rain".
- And my personal favorite: "It's Monday".
She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule
our headaches. We live on
a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves
when all the conditions are perfect. We'll go
back and visit the grandparents
when we get Stevie toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we
replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids
out of
college.
Life has a way of accelerating, as we get older.
The days get shorter, and the list of promises
to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a
litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on" and
"Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend,
she is open to adventure and available for
trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas.
Her enthusiasm for life is contagious.
You talk
with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet
for a pair of Roller blades
and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream.
It's just that I might as
well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and
eliminate the digestive process. The other
day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker.
If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home,
I would have died happy.
Now...go on and have a nice day.
Do something you WANT to.
Not something on your SHOULD DO
list.
If anyone knows who the authors are to the pieces on this page, please email me. Most of these writings were received through email.
Sometimes people come into your life and
you know right away that they
were meant to be there, to serve some
sort of purpose, teach you a
lesson, or to help you figure out who
you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be
(possibly your roommate,
neighbor, coworker, long lost friend,
lover, or [cyber friends].
And sometimes things happen to you that
may seem horrible, painful, and
unfair at first, but in reflection you
find that without overcoming those
obstacles you would have never realized
your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.
Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance or by means of
good luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of
true greatness, and sheer
stupidity all occur to test the limits
of your soul.
Without these small tests, whatever they
may be, life would be like a
smoothly paved,straight, flat road to
nowhere.
It would be safe and comfortable, but
dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your
life, and the
success and downfalls
you experience, help to create who you
are and who
you become. Even the
bad experiences can be learned from.
In fact, they are probably the most
poignant and important ones.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or
breaks your heart, forgive them,
for they have helped you learn about
trust and the importance of being
cautious when you open your heart.
If someone loves you, love them back
unconditionally, not only because
they love you, but because in a way,
they are teaching you to love and
how to open your heart and eyes to
things.
Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment and take from
those moments everything that you
possibly can for you may never be able
to experience it again.
Talk to people that you have never
talked to before, and actually
listen.
Let yourself fall in love, break free,
and set your sights high.
Hold your head up because you have every
right to.
Tell yourself you are a great individual
and believe in yourself, for
if you don't believe in yourself, it
will be hard for others to believe
in you.
You can make of your life anything you
wish.
Create your own life and then go out and
live it with absolutely no regrets.
Most importantly!!!, if you LOVE someone
tell him or her, for you
never know what tomorrow may have in
store.
And learn a lesson in life each day that
you live.
More inspiration can be found on the Inspiration, Continued page. This link'll take you there…
Tammany Trace
We stopped and smelled the flowers on the Tammany Trace
A Woman's Retreat
A place I've set up to celebrate
women
Bayou Liberty Pictures
The beauty of My Bayou
Go back to the main page
Check out that Einstein gif again
A Tribute to Children
Enjoy the beauty of our children
My Quit Smoking Links
Links to places I've found
that have helped me "keep the quit" for over 10 years now.....
Patriotic thoughts
Something I started right after 9-11-01 and want to continue to add to...
My favorite quotes
Quotes from all over about all
aspects of life
Herb/vitamin page
Information on the nutritional and
medicinal uses for a variety of herbs. Links, too
My page dedicated to pets
Readings to help you deal with
the grief of losing a pet and other thought provoking pet stuff
Dauphin Island Page
Pix and thoughts from Dauphin Island, Alabama
Y'all come back now!
