If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
~Anne Bradstreet
17th Century poet
It is not our difficulties that cause the trouble in our lives but rather our adverse reaction to them.
When we start recognizing every difficulty as a blessing in disguise, changes begin to take place and our lives become remarkably trouble free.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
2 more quotes from Khalil Gibran
Out of suffering have emerged the most strongest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.
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The deeper sorrows carve into your being......The more joy you can contain!!
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The deeper sorrows carve into your being......The more joy you can contain!!
Friday, November 21, 2008
We always have the choice."
"We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become
increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us
kinder.
We always have the choice."
~Dalai Lama
No matter how harsh or painful any circumstance in your life may be right
now, there is a high road and a low road leading from it.
You get to choose which one you'll take.
increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, and make us
kinder.
We always have the choice."
~Dalai Lama
No matter how harsh or painful any circumstance in your life may be right
now, there is a high road and a low road leading from it.
You get to choose which one you'll take.
WORRY
"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy."
- Leo Buscaglia, American author
Worry has never healed a body, solved a problem, brought a love back, or
created a problem-free future.
And no one, at the end of life, has ever said they wished they'd worried
more.
On a day like today, so filled with possibilities, there are an infinite
number of things we can do to make our lives better.
Worry is not one of them.
- Leo Buscaglia, American author
Worry has never healed a body, solved a problem, brought a love back, or
created a problem-free future.
And no one, at the end of life, has ever said they wished they'd worried
more.
On a day like today, so filled with possibilities, there are an infinite
number of things we can do to make our lives better.
Worry is not one of them.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Look around you. Is it time for a belief change?
"I was in terrible shape till one day I realized a simple thing.
When I believed my own thoughts I suffered. When I didn't believe them I didn't suffer. Everything changed for me that day."
~Byron Katie
Self-help author and creator of "The Work"
On the day you begin believing you are worthy of the best life possible you'll invite it in and it will come.
Until then, your life will simply be a reflection of whatever belief you are embracing at the moment.
When I believed my own thoughts I suffered. When I didn't believe them I didn't suffer. Everything changed for me that day."
~Byron Katie
Self-help author and creator of "The Work"
On the day you begin believing you are worthy of the best life possible you'll invite it in and it will come.
Until then, your life will simply be a reflection of whatever belief you are embracing at the moment.
EXPERIENCE
"Experience is not what happens to a man, it's what a man does with what happens to him."
~Aldous Huxley
English Novelist
By choosing to find the benefit in every experience, every experience becomes a blessing.
~Aldous Huxley
English Novelist
By choosing to find the benefit in every experience, every experience becomes a blessing.
Live your life so that, at the end, you're the one who is smiling and
A young woman went to her mother, told her about her life and how things
were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make
it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as though every time one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the
first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last
she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a
word.
In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter
to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the
hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the
coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity, boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. But after being subjected
to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its
inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain
and adversity do I wilt, become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets
hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when
things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around
you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate
yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you
a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you
strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to
make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best or most of
everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along
their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can't go forward 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.
Live your life so that, at the end, you're the one who is smiling and
everyone around you is crying.
were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make
it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as though every time one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the
first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last
she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a
word.
In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter
to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the
hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the
coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity, boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. But after being subjected
to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its
inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain
and adversity do I wilt, become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets
hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when
things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around
you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate
yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you
a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you
strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to
make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best or most of
everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along
their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can't go forward 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.
Live your life so that, at the end, you're the one who is smiling and
everyone around you is crying.
Regret is an appalling waste of energy
Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it, it's only good for wallowing in."
~ Katherine Mansfield, British writer, 1888-1923
Mistakes are like ugly seeds that if planted in the dark soil of forgetfulness may eventually sprout and grow into beautiful blessings.
If we insist on taking them out ever so often to examine their ugliness, however, they will never be anything but unattractive and utterly useless.
~ Katherine Mansfield, British writer, 1888-1923
Mistakes are like ugly seeds that if planted in the dark soil of forgetfulness may eventually sprout and grow into beautiful blessings.
If we insist on taking them out ever so often to examine their ugliness, however, they will never be anything but unattractive and utterly useless.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Friendship
In the sweetness of friendship,
Let there be laughter,
And the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of the little things,
The heart finds its morning,
And is refreshed!!
Khalil Gibran
Let there be laughter,
And the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of the little things,
The heart finds its morning,
And is refreshed!!
Khalil Gibran
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