Truth hurts...

... still the pain of hearing the truth is so much easier to bare than the pain you feel when you discover that you have been lied to.
~Kadri Luik~

Let your heart guide you.

It whispers, so listen carefully.
~Land Before Time~

Never mind searching for who you are.

Search for the person you aspire to be.
~Robert Brault~

All but Death, can be Adjusted ~

Dynasties repaired ~
Systems ~ settled in their Sockets ~
Citadels ~ dissolved ~

Wastes of Lives ~ resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs ~
Death ~ unto itself ~ Exception ~
Is exempt from Change ~~
~Emily Dickinson~

How wonderful it is ...

... that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
~Anne Frank~

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically.

We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
~Anais Nin~

Look For Circles Day

People will find those things that they have on their minds and see them all around. If you've paid attention to the subject line here you will remember circles and see them all around you.

This can be fun and it can be a curse, I'm really not interested in peoples shoes but a friend of mine told me that she study peoples shoes when ever she's waiting in line at the store. Every time I stand there thinking that it is taking a lot of time I remember her and the shoes and before I know it I'm studying peoples shoes. Now I'm hoping to give back by having her see circles the rest of the day. <-circle!

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving ...

... and that's your own self.
~Aldous Huxley~

November

As always there are many illnesses that has their awareness month Alzheimer's, AIDS, Epilepsy and different types of cancer are on the list. Something that stands out is Pet Cancer Awareness. Our pets also get ill and it's tough when they have been your best friends for years. My beloved cat got cancer and died many years ago and I still feel sad when I think about it.

It's also Family Stories month and Novel Writing Month and once again I'm thinking that I have to write down all those old stories that my family and relatives have told me before I forget them.

Have enough sense to know, ahead of time...

... when your skills will not extend to wallpapering.
~Marilyn vos Savant~

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... and if you don't have the sense you'll learn through trial and error like I did. Now days I either paint the walls or pay someone else to do the wallpapering.

A friend is ...

... someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.
~Jim Morrison~

A hero is ...

... someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.
~Bob Dylan~

What sunshine is to flowers ...

... smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
~Joseph Addison~

Too rough

A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?" Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough."

The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, "If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"

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I just had to post this story since it reminds me of growing up as the only girl in the neighbourhood. When ever I wanted to play house Indians or space cowboys destroyed it, my sand cookies were turning into grenades and putting flowers in your hair was an invitation to get your braids pulled. If I had only thought of looking for a "smooth one" to play with.

Tell a Story Day

The Tell A Story Day in the US was in April but the Tell A Story Day in the UK is today, being open minded about such things I see no reason for not enjoying them both.

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The dawn was closing in, embracing the world we were in, soon the night would turn to day again. We were sitting by the lake, talking while the fog rolled over the water and the loom cried in the reed. The passion of your hearts were lifting our dreams, turning them into flames that kept us warm. That is what it is like when you know every path, every rock and tree. That is what it is like when you are where you are supposed to be.

We were doing fine down by the coast, life was good but still it was lacking, life was treating us well but we still felt unhappy. Deep inside of us, we regretted that we left, even though we never had much of a choice. We kept thinking of moving back, but somehow we ended up staying one more year. That is what it is like when your life sings a different song. That is what it is like when you cannot be where you belong.

Once every season we escape from the cage with no lock of chain and with singing hearts, we travel north again. For a brief moment, not enough time, we go back to the place where our lives began. The remaining amber coals of the fire fades, reminding us that we are old now days, old and faded, weathered and seasoned. Rooted in the foreign soil by the coast, free, but not where we are supposed to be.

~:Kadri Luik 2009:~

What most people need to learn in life ...

... is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

If we limit our dreams to the things that we think that we can achieve ...

... then we are really robbing ourselves from finding our true potentials.
~Kadri Luik~

It is a curious thought ...

... but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.
~Agatha Christie~

I find hope in the darkest of days...

... and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
~Dalai Lama~

Happiness is not something ready made.

It comes from your own actions.
~Dalai Lama~

Be kind whenever possible.

It is always possible.
~Dalai Lama~

Better do a good deed near at home ...

... than go far away to burn incense.
~Amelia Earhart~

Evaluate Your Life Day

A day to stop and reflect and meditate over how your life works and where it is heading.

Being a navel gazer by nature I really like this kind of thing. Reflecting, analysing and playing around with possibilities in my mind to find the best way to make the changes that will move things in the right direction. This way of doing things has brought many good changes to our lives since I've found ways to save money as well as bring the family together that way. What can be done to help me get what I wish for, what am I willing to do and what way is the best way to do it. It's amazing how the little things can make such a huge difference in the end.

The trouble with organizing a thing ...

... is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they're organized for.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder~

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In January I decided to make sure to make my life better organized, today I realize that this quote is so true. I'm still not better organized but I'm better at organizing. =/

When the first baby laughed for the first time...

... the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl.

~James Matthew Barrie (Peter Pan)~

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There is truly something wonderful and "magical" about the laughter of a child. I've read that children laugh about 600 times a day and adults laugh about 30 times, it's sad to think that we lose a bit of the magic of life simply because we grow up.

Freedom From Bullies Week

The topic of bullying is close to my heart and I've spent many days of my life pondering the subject. Why do some people feel that they have the right to treat others so poorly? How can bullying be prevented and stopped? There are no easy answers of course but that doesn't stop me from wondering about it.

I'd like to see myself as the one that stood up for the bullied ones but when I take a close look at myself I see two sides. I've practised what I preach for sure, I've talked to the loners and supported them when the bullies roared their ugly heads, I've been in support groups and I've taken the time to try and help in any way I could. But ... I'm not always a nice person. There's that new girl in school, she really rubbed me the wrong way and I said and did some really nasty things simply because I didn't like her and her opinions. My friends pesky little brother is another of my victims. I disliked him greatly and I'd push him into thorny bushes and stinging nettles when ever I got a chance. I'm certain that if you could talk to either of them they'd be able to tell you what a horrible bully I was and perhaps still am.

Now, someone might feel the need to be polite and try to comfort me by saying "I'm sure it wasn't that bad", but the point is that that's exactly how bullies justify what they do, "it's not that bad" or "they deserved what they got". Some words, some actions that seems small and trivial to you might hurt for a life time for another person.

The girl from school works as a journalist now, I've read some of her articles and I still dislike her style and her opinions. Some things never change I guess. The pesky little brother has left the country and is now working as an investment banker. From what I've heard from his father he never comes back to visit and I'm wondering if I'm one of the reasons why.

I've also seen bullying at its very ugliest and it ended with the victim committing suicide. My friend and I did all that we could to help that victim but what we did simply wasn't enough. The memories still haunts us two decades later and we keep asking ourselves and each other, what else could we have done?

Today when most people have computer and internet access it's easy to search the topic online and get information, support and advice and I do hope that people remember that. I also hope that people realise that this is not simply a "kids" thing, this can happen to adults too. The internet with all its twists and turns can be a good place to find caring people to talk to when everything else is a mess.

The greatest disease in the world isn't medical.

It's being unwanted, unloved and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases but the only cure for despair is love. There are those who are dying for a piece of bread but many more are dying for a piece of love. Share it everyday.
~Grey's Anatomy~

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One of the great things with love is that it doesn't cost you (money) to share it.

Slow down and enjoy life.

It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
~Eddie Cantor~

We come to love not by finding a perfect person ...

... but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.

~Sam Keen, from To Love and Be Loved~

Beginnings are usually scary ...

... and endings are usually sad, but it's everything in between that makes it all worth living.

~Sandra Bullock in "Hope Floats"~

A person who knows how to laugh at himself ...

... will never ceased to be amused.
~Shirley Maclaine~

To forgive is to set a prisoner free ...

... and discover that the prisoner was you.
~Lewis B. Smedes~

A bend in the road is not the end of the road...

... unless you fail to make the turn.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world ...

... the master calls a butterfly.
~Richard Bach~

Leif Eriksson Day

Leif Eriksson what the first European that's been documented to have set foot on American soil. Was he the first one? There is no way of knowing but we all know that he wasn't the last. Others supposedly followed before Columbus but once again the poor documentation leaves us guessing.

Isn't it amazing how history can change simply because of the bits and pieces we know and don't know. What people in general accept as the truth might not be the truth at all. Now I wish there was a way a day for the possible truths in this world too, a "What if?" day perhaps.

Use what talent you possess:

... the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
~Henry Van Dyke~