Anyone could become a star, but everyone must be a human being. ~ Rafael Nadal
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
One who claims that he knows about it
Tells me the earth is a vale of sin;
But I and the bees, and the birds we doubt it,
And think it a world worth living in.
——
Whatever you want, if you wish for it long,
With constant yearning and ceaseless desire,
If your wish soars upward on wings so strong
That they never grow languid, never tire,
Why, over the storm cloud and out of the dark
It will come flying some day to you,
As the dove with the olive branch flew to the ark,
And the wish you’ve been dreaming,
it will come true.
I worked at a couple of places where I dreaded going to department meetings. Going to those meetings was like getting sucked down into a black hole. It was all doom and gloom. The meetings were a litany of grievances. The negative forces in the departments drained the energy out of you. Instead of running my usual three miles in the afternoon, I ran six to sweat out all the negative energy. What a difference when I was a member of departments where people really cared about each other and worked to help each other. Life is better when we care for each other and help each other out.
No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. . . . Don’t knock your friends. Don’t knock your enemies. Don’t knock yourself. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
Plan, plan, and plan. If planning is all we’re doing, we’re not doing much. We’re a lot like a gerbil running as fast as he can on his gerbil wheel. Whatever it is that we want we have to take a leap away from planning. Whatever we choose to do, it’s not going to be perfect, there will be challenges and setbacks. Those are wonderful gifts, they make us stronger, they sharpen our minds, they increase our vision. Is it time to say, “Enough with the planning. It’s time to leap.” Trust yourself. Trust that you are able to adapt to the challenges. Give it your best and place the outcome in God’s hands. You’ll surprise yourself.
A man is great not because he hasn’t failed; a man is great because failure hasn’t stopped him. ~ Confucius
Failure happens. It’s part of life. When we choose to push on in spite of failure we turn failure into lessons. Failure can be our best teacher if we’re open to learning, changing, and understanding how to make our failure our fuel for future success.
The temperature will hit 103 F (39.44 C) today in south Texas. Bring it on. I love the heat. I’ve got iced team in the fridge. The air conditioner is working fine. I’ll lather on some sunscreen and go for walk (while it’s still cool (in the nineties – lol). We can’t change our weather. We can change our attitude toward it. That’s how it is with a lot of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can always find a way to make it a great day. Hope you’re having one.
Francis Lebby Stanton
Year ain’t been the very best;—
Purty hard by trouble pressed;
But the rough way leads to rest,—
Here’s hopin’!
Maybe craps way short; the rills
Couldn’t turn the silent mills;
But the light’s behind the hills,—
Here’s hopin’!
Where we planted roses sweet
Thorns come up an’ pricked the feet;
But this old world’s hard to beat,—
Here’s hopin’!
P’r’aps the buildin’ that we planned
‘Gainst the cyclone couldn’t stand;
But, thank God we’ve got the land,—
Here’s hopin’!
Maybe flowers we hoped to save
Have been scattered on a grave;
But the heart’s still beatin’ brave,—
Here’s hopin’!
That we’ll see the mornin’ light—
That the very darkest night
Can’t hide heaven from our sight,—
Here’s hopin’!
The voices they’re all around us. They tell us we can’t do it. They tell us we’re foolish. They demand we listen to them if we know what is good for us. That’s why I wear earplugs. I won’t listen to naysayers. I won’t listen to people who are doom and gloom. I look for sunrises and rainbows. So what if I fail. It won’t be the first time and it won’t be the last. I’ll keep on trying. I’ll wave to the voices as I pass on by. Let’s live with hope. Let’s live with optimism. Let’s live with a vigor and vitality that refuses to quit.
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” —Māori Proverb
