A Smile, Author Unknown

A Smile, Author Unknown

A Smile, Author Unknown
A smile costs nothing, but gives much
It takes but a moment, but the memory of it usually lasts forever.
None are so rich that can get along without it-
 

And none are so poor but that can be made rich by it.
It enriches those who receive, without making poor those who give-
It creates sunshine in the home,
Fosters good will in business,
And is the best antidote for trouble-
And yet it cannot be begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is of no value
Unless it is given away.
 

Some people are too busy to give you a smile-
Give them one of yours-
For the good Lord knows that no one needs a smile so badly
As he or she who has no more smiles left to give.

It Takes Courage, Author Unknown

It Takes Courage, Author Unknown

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.
 

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.
 

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.
 

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.
 

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.
 

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.
 

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.
 

It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.
 

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

Seeking for Happiness By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Seeking for Happiness By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Seeking for happiness we must go slowly;
The road leads not down avenues of haste;
But often gently winds through by ways lowly,
Whose hidden pleasures are serene and chaste
Seeking for happiness we must take heed
Of simple joys that are not found in speed.
 

Eager for noon-time’s large effulgent splendor,
Too oft we miss the beauty of the dawn,
Which tiptoes by us, evanescent, tender,
Its pure delights unrecognized till gone.
Seeking for happiness we needs must care
For all the little things that make life fair.
 

Dreaming of future pleasures and achievements
We must not let to-day starve at our door;
Nor wait till after losses and bereavements
Before we count the riches in our store.
Seeking for happiness we must prize this -
Not what will be, or was, but that which is.
 

In simple pathways hand in hand with duty
(With faith and love, too, ever at her side),
May happiness be met in all her beauty
The while we search for her both far and wide.
Seeking for happiness we find the way
Doing the things we ought to do each day.

Compassion By WingMakers

Compassion By WingMakers

Angels must be confused by war.
Both sides praying for protection,
yet someone always gets hurt.
Someone dies.
Someone cries so deep
they lose their watery state.
 

Angels must be confused by war.
Who can they help?
Who can they clarify?
Whose mercy do they cast to the merciless?
No modest scream can be heard.
No stainless pain can be felt.
All is clear to angels except in war.
 

When I awoke to this truth,
it was from a dream I had last night.
I saw two angels conversing in a field
of children's spirits rising like silver smoke.
The angels were fighting among themselves
about which side was right, and which was wrong.
Who started the conflict?
 

Suddenly, the angels stilled themselves
like a stalled pendulum,
and they shed their compassion to the rising smoke
of souls who bore the watermark of war.
They turned to me with those eyes from God's library,
and all the pieces fallen were raised in unison,
intertwined like the breath of flames in a holy furnace.
 

Nothing in war comes to destruction,
but the illusion of separateness.
I heard this spoken so clearly I could only
write it down like a forged signature.
I remember the compassion,
mountainous, proportioned for the universe.
I think a tiny fleck still sticks to me,
like gossamer threads from a spider's web.
 

And now, when I think of war,
I flick these threads to all the universe,
hoping they stick on others as they did me.
Knitting angels and animals
to the filamental grace of compassion.
The reticulum of our skyward home.

Watch By Frank Outlaw

Watch By Frank Outlaw
 

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

May You Have, Author Unknown

May You Have, Author Unknown
 

May you have......
Enough happiness to keep you sweet,
Enough trials to keep you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
Enough hope to keep you happy;
Enough failure to keep you humble,
Enough success to keep you eager,
Enough friends to give you comfort,
Enough wealth to meet your needs;
Enough enthusiasm to look forward,
Enough faith to banish depression,
Enough determination to make each day better than yesterday.

We Must By William Arthur Ward

We Must By William Arthur Ward
 

We must be silent before we can listen.
We must listen before we can learn.
We must learn before we can prepare.
We must prepare before we can serve.
We must serve before we can lead.

Do More By William Arthur Ward

Do More By William Arthur Ward
 
Do more than belong: participate.
Do more than care: help.
Do more than believe: practice.
Do more than be fair: be kind.
Do more than forgive: forget.
Do more than dream: work.

Before You By William Arthur Ward

Before You By William Arthur Ward
 

Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give

Influence By Joseph Norris

Influence By Joseph Norris

Drop a pebble in the water,
And its ripples reach out far;
And the sunbeams dancing on them
May reflect them to a star.
Give a smile to someone passing,
Thereby making his morning glad;
It may greet you in the evening
When your own heart may be sad.
Do a deed of simple kindness;
Though its end you may not see,
It may reach, like widening ripples,
Down a long eternity.

Things Work Out By Edgar A. Guest

Things Work Out By Edgar A. Guest

Because it rains when we wish it wouldn't,
Because men do what they often shouldn't,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.
 

Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we'd like to play
Some of us whimper along life's way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.
 

Because we cannot forever smile,
Because we must trudge in the dust awhile,
Because we think that the way is long
Some of us whimper that life's all wrong.
But somehow we live and our sky grows bright,
And everything seems to work out all right.

So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.

My Creed By Edgar A. Guest

My Creed By Edgar A. Guest

To live as gently as I can;
To be, no matter where, a man;
To take what comes of good or ill
And cling to faith and honor still;
To do my best, and let that stand
The record of my brain and hand;
And then, should failure come to me,
Still work and hope for victory.
 

To have no secret place wherein
I stoop unseen to shame or sin;
To be the same when I'm alone
As when my every deed is known
To live undaunted, unafraid
Of any step that I have made;
To be without pretense or sham
Exactly what men think I am.
 

To leave some simple mark behind
To keep my having lived in mind,

If enmity to aught I show,
To be an honest, generous foe,
To play my little part, nor whine
That greater honors are not mine.
This, I believe, is all I need
For my philosophy and creed.

The World Is Against Me By Edgar A. Guest

The World Is Against Me By Edgar A. Guest

"The world is against me," he said with a sigh.
"Somebody stops every scheme that I try.
 

The world has me down and it's keeping me there;
I don't get a chance. Oh, the world is unfair!
When a fellow is poor then he can't get a show;
The world is determined to keep him down low."
 

"What of Abe Lincoln?" I asked. "Would you say
That he was much richer than you are to-day?
He hadn't your chance of making his mark,
And his outlook was often exceedingly dark;
Yet he clung to his purpose with courage most grim
And he got to the top. Was the world against him?"
 

"What of Ben Franklin? I've oft heard it said
That many a time he went hungry to bed.
He started with nothing but courage to climb,
But patiently struggled and waited his time.
He dangled awhile from real poverty's limb,
Yet he got to the top. Was the world against him?

"I could name you a dozen, yes, hundreds, I guess,
Of poor boys who've patiently climbed to success;
All boys who were down and who struggled alone,
Who'd have thought themselves rich if your fortune they'd known;
Yet they rose in the world you're so quick to condemn,
And I'm asking you now, was the world against them?"

Life by Nan Terrell Reed

Life by Nan Terrell Reed

They told me that Life could be just what I made it
Life could be fashioned and worn like a gown;
I, the designer, mine the decision
Whether to wear it with bonnet or crown.
 

And so I selected the prettiest pattern
Life should be made of the rosiest hue
Something unique, and a bit out of fashion,
One that perhaps would be chosen by few.
 

But other folks came and they leaned o'er my shoulder;
Someone questioned the ultimate cost;
Somebody tangled the thread I was using;
One day I found that my scissors were lost.

And somebody claimed the material faded;
Somebody said I'd be tired ere 'twas worn;
Somebody's fingers, too pointed and spiteful,
Snatched at the cloth, and I saw it was torn.

Count That Day Lost By George Eliot

Count That Day Lost By George Eliot

If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
 

That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went

Then you may count that day well spent.
 

But if, through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay-
If, through it all
You've nothing done that you can trace
 

That brought the sunshine to one face-
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost-
Then count that day as worse than lost.

Keep Them Close, Author Unknown

Keep Them Close, Author Unknown

One day a mother died.
And on that clear, cold morning,
in the warmth of her bedroom,
the daughter was struck with
the pain of learning that sometimes
there isn't any more.
 

No more hugs, no more lucky moments to celebrate together,
no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."
 

Sometimes, what we care about the most goes away,
never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I Love You."

So while we have it … it's best we love it .
And care for it and fix it when it's broken
and take good care of it when it's sick.
 

This is true for marriage … and friendships!
And children with bad report cards;
and dogs with bad hips;
and aging parents and grandparents.
We keep them because they are worth it,
because we cherish them!
 

Some things we keep -
like a best friend who moved away
or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that
make us happy, no matter what.
 

Life is important, and so are the people we know.
And so, keep them close!

You Travel Through Life, Author Unknown

You Travel Through Life, Author Unknown

As you travel through life there are always those times
When decisions just have to be made,
When the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce,
And the rain seems to soak your parade.
 

There are some situations where all you can do
Is simply let go and move on,
Gather your courage and choose a direction
That carries you toward a new dawn.
 

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward
The process of change can be tough,
But think about all the excitement ahead
 

There might be adventures you never imagined
Just waiting around the next bend,
And wishes and dreams just about to come true
In ways you can't yet comprehend!
 

Perhaps you'll find friendships that spring from new things
As you challenge your status quo,
And learn there are so many options in life,
 

Perhaps you'll go places you never expected
And see things that you've never seen,
Or travel to fabulous, faraway worlds
And wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you'll find warmth and affection and caring
And somebody special who's there
To help you stay cantered and listen with interest
To stories and feelings you share.
 

Perhaps you'll find comfort in knowing your friends
Are supportive of all that you do,
And believe that whatever decisions you make,
They'll be the right choices for you.
 

So keep putting one foot in front of the other,
And taking your life day by day...
There's a brighter tomorrow that's just down the road -
Don't look back! You're not going that way!

It's The Journey That's Important By John McLeod

It's The Journey That's Important By John McLeod

Life, sometimes so wearying
Is worth its weight in gold
The experience of traveling
Lends a wisdom that is old
Beyond our 'living memory'
A softly spoken prayer:
 

"It's the journey that's important,
Not the getting there!"
 

Ins and outs and ups and downs
Life's road meanders aimlessly?
Or so it seems, but somehow
Leads us where we need to be,
And being simply human
We oft question and compare...
 

"Is the journey so important
Or the getting there?"
 

And thus it's always been
That question pondered down the ages
By simple men with simple ways
To wise and ancient sages...
How sweet then, quietly knowing
Reaching destination fair:
 

"It's the journey that's important, Not the getting there!"

Why Not You? By Steve Maraboli

Why Not You? By Steve Maraboli

Today, many will awaken with a fresh sense of inspiration. Why not you?
 

Today, many will open their eyes to the beauty that surrounds them.Why not you?
 

Today, many will choose to leave the ghost of yesterday behind and seize the immeasurable power of today. Why not you?
 

Today, many will break through the barriers of the past by looking at the blessings of the present. Why not you?
 

Today, for many the burden of self doubt and insecurity will be lifted by the security and confidence of empowerment. Why not you?
 

Today, many will rise above their believed limitations and make contact with their powerful innate strength. Why not you?

Today, many will choose to live in such a manner that they will be a positive role model for their children. Why not you?
 

Today, many will choose to free themselves from the personal imprisonment of their bad habits. Why not you?
 

Today, many will choose to live free of conditions and rules governing their own happiness. Why not you?
 

Today, many will find abundance in simplicity. Why not you?
 

Today, many will be confronted by difficult moral choices and they will choose to do what is right instead of what is beneficial. Why not you?
 

Today, many will decide to no longer sit back with a victim mentality, but to take charge of their lives and make positive changes. Why not you?
 

Today, many will take the action necessary to make a difference. Why not you?
 

Today, many will make the commitment to be a better mother, father, son, daughter, student, teacher, worker, boss, brother, sister, & so much more. Why not you?
 

Today is a new day!
Many will seize this day.
Many will live it to the fullest.
Why not you?

All for the Best By Edgar A. Guest

All for the Best By Edgar A. Guest

Things mostly happen for the best.
However hard it seems to-day,
When some fond plan has gone astray
Or, what you've wished for most is lost
An' you sit countin' up the cost
With eyes half-blind by tears o'grief
While doubt is chokin' out belief,
You'll find when all is understood
That what seemed bad was really good.
 

Life can't be counted in a day.
The present rain that will not stop
Next autumn means a bumper crop.
We wonder why some things must be-
Care's purpose we can seldom see-
An' yet long afterwards we turn
To view the past, an' then we learn
That what once filled our minds with doubt
Was good for us as it worked out.
 

I've never know an hour of care
But that I've later come to see
That it has brought some joy to me.
Even the sorrows I have borne,
Leavin' me lonely an' forlorn
An' hurt an' bruised an' sick at heart,
An' though I could not understand
Why I should bow to Death's command,
That it was really better so.

Things mostly happen for the best.
So narrow is our vision here
That we are blinded by a tear
An' stunned by every hurt an' blow
Which comes to-day to strike us low.
An' yet some day we turn an' find
That what seemed cruel once was kind.
Most things, I hold, are wisely planned
If we could only understand.

Playing The Game, Author Unknown

Playing The Game, Author Unknown

Life is a game with a glorious prize,
If we can only play it right.
It is give and take, build and break,
And often it ends in a fight;

But he surely wins who honestly tries
(Regardless of wealth or fame),
 

He can never despair who plays it fair
How are you playing the game?
 

Do you wilt and whine, if you fail to win
In the manner you think your due?
Do you sneer at the man in case that he can
And does, do better than you?
Do you take your rebuffs with a knowing grin?
Do you laugh tho' you pull up lame?
 

Does your faith hold true when the whole world's blue?
How are you playing the game?
 

Get into the thick of it - wade in, boys!
Whatever your cherished goal;
Brace up your will till your pulses thrill,
And you dare - to your very soul!
Do something more than make a noise;
Let your purpose leap into flame
 

As you plunge with a cry, "I shall do or die,"
Then you will be playing the game.

Start Where You Stand by Berton Braley

Start Where You Stand by Berton Braley

Start where you stand and never mind the past,
The past won't help you in beginning new,
If you have left it all behind at last
Why, that's enough, you're done with it, you're through;
This is another chapter in the book,
This is another race that you have planned,
Don't give the vanished days a backward look,
Start where you stand.
 

The world won't care about your old defeats
If you can start anew and win success;
The future is your time, and time is fleet
And there is much of work and strain and stress;
Forget the buried woes and dead despairs,
Here is a brand-new trial right at hand,
The future is for him who does and dares,
Start where you stand.

Follow Your Dream by Amanda Bradley

Follow Your Dream by Amanda Bradley

Follow your dream.
Take one step at a time and don't settle for less,
Just continue to climb.
Follow your dream.
If you stumble, don't stop and lose sight of your goal
Press to the top.

For only on top can we see the whole view,
Can we see what we've done and what we can do;
Can we then have the vision to seek something new,
Press on.
Follow your dream.

Don't Quit, Author Unknown

Don't Quit, Author Unknown

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 you quit.
 

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never 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 go wrong that you mustn't quit.

If I Had my Child To Raise Over Again by Diane Loomans

If I Had my Child To Raise Over Again by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
 

I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
 

I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
 

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars,
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often,
 

I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love

Just One, Author Unknown

Just One, Author Unknown

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
 

One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal
 

One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
 

One step must start each journey.
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
 

One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what's true,
One life can make a difference,
You see, it's up to you!

If You Think You are Beaten by Walter D. Wintle

If You Think You are Beaten by Walter D. Wintle

If you think you are beaten, you are.
 

If you think you dare not, you don't.
 

If you'd like to win but think you can't,
 

It's almost certain you won't.
 

Life's battles don't always go
 

To the stronger or faster man,
 

But sooner or later, the man who wins
 

Is the man who thinks he can.

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
 

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
 

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
 

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

If by Rudyard Kipling

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
 
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two impostors just the same;
 
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
 
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
 
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
 
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Profit From Failure, Author Unknown

Profit From Failure, Author Unknown
 

The test of a man is the fight he makes,
The grit that he daily shows;
The way he stands on his feet and takes
Fate's numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile when there's naught to fear,
When nothing his progress bars;
But it takes a man to stand up and cheer
While some other fellow stars.

It isn't the victory, after all,
But the fight that a brother makes;
The man who, driven against the wall,
Still stands up erect and takes
The blows of fate with his head held high;
Bleeding, and bruised, and pale,
Is the man who'll win in the by and by,
For he isn't afraid to fail.
 

It's the bumps you get, and the jolts you get,
And the shocks that your courage stands,
The hours of sorrow and vain regret,
The prize that escapes your hands,
That test your mettle and prove your worth;
It isn't the blows you deal,
But the blows you take on the good old earth,
That show if your stuff is real.

Success, Author Unknown

Success, Author Unknown
 
Success is speaking words of praise,
In cheering other people's ways.
In doing just the best you can,
With every task and every plan.
 
It's silence when your speech would hurt,
Politeness when your neighbor's curt.
It's deafness when the scandal flows,
And sympathy with others' woes.
 
It's loyalty when duty calls,
It's courage when disaster falls.
It's patience when the hours are long,
It's found in laughter and in song.
 
It's in the silent time of prayer,
In happiness and in despair.
In all of life and nothing less,
We find the thing we call success.
 

Climb 'Til Your Dream Comes True by Helen Steiner Rice

Climb 'Til Your Dream Comes True by Helen Steiner Rice
 
Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
 
But always remember,
The hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart
 
Start upward
And climb 'til you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
 
If you have the courage to try it,
And you have the faith to believe.
For faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill,
 
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God's wisdom and will.
For faith is a mover of mountains,
There's nothing that God cannot do,
 
So, start out today with faith in your heart,
And climb 'til your dream comes true!

Don't Dwell, Author Unknown

Don't Dwell, Author Unknown

Don't dwell on what might have been or the chances you have missed.
 
Or the lonely nights that lie between the last time lovers kissed.
 
Don't grasp too hard the memory of the things that never came.
 
The door that did not open or the wind that killed the flame.
 
There is still time enough to live...And time enough to try again.
 
Be Happy.

The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
And if you dare to dream of meeting
Your heart's longing.
 

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
For love, for your dream,
For the adventure of being alive.
 

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
If you have been opened by life's betrayals,
Or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
 

I want to know if you can sit with pain,
Mine or your own,
Without moving
To hide it or fade it or fix it.
 

I want to know if you can be with joy,
Mine or your own,
If you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
Without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being human.
 

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself,
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.
 

I want to know if you can see beauty
Even when it is not pretty every day,
And if you can source your life
From its presence.
 

I want to know if you can live with failure,
Yours and mine,
And still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes!"
 

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
Weary and bruised to the bone,
And do what needs to be done for the children.
 

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
In the center of the fire with me
And not shrink back.
 

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
From the inside
When all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
With yourself,
And if you truly like the company you keep
In the empty moments.

Hidden Mystery By Fred Burks

Hidden Mystery By Fred Burks

In the deepest depths of you and me
In the deepest depths of we
Lies the most beautiful jewel
Shining forth eternally
 

Within that precious jewel
Within that priceless piece of we
Lies a time beyond all time
Lies a place beyond all space
 

Within that sacred source of radiance
Lies a love beyond all love
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Ever so patiently
 

Waiting for you, waiting for me
Waiting patiently for all to see
The beauty that is you inside of me
The beauty that is me inside of thee

In the deepest depths of you and me
In the deepest depths of we
Lies the love and wisdom
Of all Eternity

Look Well to This Day, Anonymous, 50 B.C.

Look Well to This Day, Anonymous, 50 B.C.

Look well to this day,
For it and it alone is life.
In its brief course
Lie all the essence of your existence:
 

The Glory of Growth
The Satisfaction of Achievement
The Splendor of Beauty
 

For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is but a vision.
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

That I A Better Person May Be, Author Unknown

That I A Better Person May Be, Author Unknown

Light that lies deep inside of me
Come forth in all thy majesty
Show me thy gaze
Teach me thy ways 

That I a better person may be
 

Darkness that lies deep inside of me
Come forth in all thy mystery
Show me thy gaze 

Teach me thy ways
That I a better person may be
 

Love that lies deep inside of me
Come forth in all thy unity
Let me be thy gaze
Let me teach thy ways
That I a better person may be

Self-Control by Author Unknown

Self-Control by Author Unknown

I've heard it said don't go to bed
while hanging on to sorrow,
you may not have the chance to laugh
with those you love tomorrow.
 

You may not mean the words you speak
when anger takes its toll,
you may regret your actions
once you've lost your self-control.
 

When you've lost your temper
and you've said some hurtful things,
think about the heartache
that your actions sometimes bring.
 

You'll never get those moments back,
such precious time to waste,
and all because of things you said
in anger and in haste.
 

So if you really love someone
and your pride has settled in,
you may not ever have the chance
to say to them again....
 

"I love you and I miss you,
and although we don't agree,
I'll try to see your point of view,
please do the same for me."

You Are My Butterfly by Tanja Cilia

You Are My Butterfly by Tanja Cilia

You Are……… My Butterfly
You brought color to my life….
You helped me to select the sweet from the bitter
And savor the moment.
You showed me how to take things lightly
You helped me soar above
My worries.
You helped me spread my wings
And notice the flowers.
 

You are my butterfly, and I love you.
You showed me it’s true that if
You chase a butterfly, away he flies;
But if you sit still, he brushes your cheek
With his wings and changes the
Monochrome vistas of grey
Into a suffusion of color.
Never were poppies so crimson
Or daffodils so yellow
As now.
 

Green apples and honey
Mint and liquorice and ginger, and

Stamens of the honeysuckle
Were never so real.
You are my butterfly.
Diving into the cool water
Feeling the warmth of a puppy
Touching an empty cocoon
Listening to the rain
Seeing the sun set
Hearing the rustle of leaves
Were never so aesthetic and sensual
As they has become since I Met you.
For you are My Butterfly.
You are my inspiration, the love of My Life.
My Butterfly.

The Things That Count By lla Wheeler Wilcox

The Things That Count By lla Wheeler Wilcox

Now, dear, it isn’t the bold things,
Great deeds of valor and might,
That count the most in the summing up of life at the end of the day.
But it is the doing of old things,
Small acts that are just and right;
And doing them over and over again, no matter what others say;
In smiling at fate, when you want to cry, and in keeping at work when
you want to play -
Dear, those are the things that count.
 

And, dear, it isn’t the new ways
Where the wonder-seekers crowd
That lead us into the land of content, or help us to find our own.
But it is keeping to true ways,
Though the music is not so loud,
And there may be many a shadowed spot where we journey along
alone;
In flinging a prayer at the face of fear, and in changing into a song a
groan -
Dear, these are the things that count.
 

My dear, it isn’t the loud part
Of creeds that are pleasing to God,
Not the chant of a prayer, or the hum of a hymn, or a jubilant shout or
song.
But it is the beautiful proud part
Of walking with feet faith-shod;And in loving, loving, loving through all, no matter how things go
wrong;
In trusting ever, though dark the day, and in keeping your hope when
the way seems long alone

Dear, these are the things that count.

Seeking for Happiness By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Seeking for Happiness By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 
Seeking for happiness we must go slowly;
The road leads not down avenues of haste;
But often gently winds through by ways lowly,
Whose hidden pleasures are serene and chaste
Seeking for happiness we must take heed
Of simple joys that are not found in speed.
 
Eager for noon-time’s large effulgent splendor,
Too oft we miss the beauty of the dawn,
Which tiptoes by us, evanescent, tender,
Its pure delights unrecognized till gone.
Seeking for happiness we needs must care
For all the little things that make life fair.
 
Dreaming of future pleasures and achievements
We must not let to-day starve at our door;
Nor wait till after losses and bereavements
Before we count the riches in our store.
Seeking for happiness we must prize this -
Not what will be, or was, but that which is.
 
In simple pathways hand in hand with duty
(With faith and love, too, ever at her side),
May happiness be met in all her beauty
The while we search for her both far and wide.
Seeking for happiness we find the way
Doing the things we ought to do each day.

Courage by Fion Lim

Courage by Fion Lim

Courage is not only gifted to the few brave ones,
It is something that lies within you,
Where you can draw upon its strength and power,
In times of crisis, fears and decisions.
 

Courage is not something mysterious or unattainable,
It is something that you can exercise in your daily life choices,
You can let it bring to you untraveled paths,
And make you more conscious and aware of your life.
 

Courage does not have to roar to be heard,
It does not mean being totally fearless and being invincible,
It could mean taking actions, taking risks, taking a stand,
Standing up for yourself, standing by your choices,
And sticking to your dreams when others jeered.
 

Courage could be the will to live in spite of the struggles,
In spite of your fears and phobias, in spite of what others said,
In spite of criticisms and disapproval, in spite of mistakes and
failures,
In spite of everything that stands between you and your dreams.
 

Courage could mean trying over and over again when you failed,
Admitting that you are sorry when you are in the wrong,
Saying I love you when your love is angry,
Having a baby when the idea of being a parent scared you,
Listening to your heart when others called you a fool,
Following your dreams even when others discouraged you,

And staying true to yourself when others want you in another way.
Hold steadfast to your dreams, your heart and yourself,
And courage will not abandon you,
But follows you whenever you choose to go.