What do you do when someone you trust tells you you can’t do it? You prove them wrong.
Good Timber
Douglas Malloch
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees,
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
Don’t fear trying, attempting something new. The challenges you’ll encounter will breathe life into you. They will fuel your genius. They will build courage within you. You will be constructing a well-lived life with each attempt, with each time you step into the unknown.
Patience is the gift that gets us through the tough moments. Patience is the gift that keeps us focused on the goal. Patience is the gift that whispers in our ear, ‘hang on, tomorrow will be better than today.’
It is difficult to work for constructive change. It’s easier to get angry and lash out and attack. Working for constructive change asks us to engage with those who may view the world differently from us. Working constructively asks us to seek discover new ways of thinking about problems and daring to find solutions that may not have been previously discovered.
Amino acids are known as the building blocks of protein, which is an important component of every cell in your body. Here are a few roles that amino acids play in your overall health:
Enhanced Athletic Performance – Athletes commonly use leucine, isoleucine, and valine to improve their performance. These amino acids can be metabolized in muscle to provide extra energy during exercise.
Reduced Muscle Breakdown – Research suggests that taking amino acid supplements during recovery days after exercise reduces muscle damage as well as the soreness that comes along with it.
Improved Liver Function – Evidence suggests that taking branched-chain amino acids by mouth can improve liver function in people with poor brain function due to liver disease.
Because many foods are rich in amino acids, it’s generally easy to get your daily requirement. However, the recommended daily intake is different for each amino acid. Most foods from animal protein sources will provide all the essential amino acids you need, and many plant-based protein foods can be excellent sources of amino acids as well.
“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
Joe: “Yesterday, my wife was in the house singing at the top of her voice.”
Pete: “Did you enjoy it.”
Joe: “I sat on the porch so the neighbors wouldn’t think I was hurting her.”
A Girl
Michael Field
A Girl,Her soul a deep-wave pearlDim, lucent of all lovely mysteries;A face flowered for heart’s ease,A brow’s grace soft as seasSeen through faint forest-trees:A mouth, the lips apart,Like aspen-leaflets trembling in the breezeFrom her tempestuous heart.Such: and our souls so knit,I leave a page half-writ —The work begunWill be to heaven’s conception done,If she come to it.
As young children we make up our world through our imagination. The world we created was as real to us as the world was real to our parents. Somewhere on the journey, our imagination was pushed aside because adults are involved in the “real” world. Free your imagination and go to spaces with which you were once familiar. Ask questions like, what would be like if I did . . .? Nurture your imagination and watch the wild flowers grow and transform your life.
