Eileen Anglin - instinct

"Trust your instincts. For they are coming from the angels who watch over you." ~Eileen Anglin

Charles Fowler - give it a chance

"Do not always prove yourself to be the one in the right. The right will appear. You need only give it a chance." ~Charles Fowler

THOUGHT TO PONDER: Why?

"Why do some people hurt you and then act like you hurt them? ~Steve Wentworth

Quotes on MINDFULNESS

MINDFULNESS defined:
ˈmʌɪn(d)f(ʊ)lnəs/
noun

1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
"their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition"

2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

"Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognise a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won't)." ~James Baraz (from Living Life Fully)

"Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to be present; inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now." ~Jon Kabat-Zinn (from Living Life Fully)

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THOUGHT TO PONDER: From Emotional Filmtricks

"You can be a wife material and still not be his choice. Not because you're not good enough, but because he's not looking for a wife. He's looking for fun, chill, games and nothing serious. Let him do that but with someone else! You deserve better!" ~Emotional Filmtricks

Annie Johnson Flint - strength

"But God has promised strength for the day." ~Annie Johnson Flint

Elena Duggan - permission to dream

"(Masterchef)... It gives me the permission to dream" ~Elena Duggan, Network Ten TV Masterchef 2016 Winner, 26 July 2016. She's a creative and performing arts teacher at Galston High School, NSW.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: unfashioned creatures by Mary Shelley

"We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves — such a friend ought to be — do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures." ~Victor Frankenstein from FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley

Baptiste De La Salle - on photographic decorum

"There are some people who raise their upper lip so high...that their teeth are almost entirely visible. This is entirely contradictory to decorum, which forbids you to allow your teeth to be uncovered, since nature gave us lips to conceal them." ~Baptiste De La Salle, author Of 'The Rules of Christian Decorum and Civility of 1703'

Georgia O’Keeffe - World for the moment

“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.” ~Georgia O’Keeffe

Joyce Carol Oates - writing changes everything

“One must be pitiless about this matter of mood. In a sense writing will create the mood. Generally I've found this to be true. I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes... and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.” ~Joyce Carol Oates

Ardeille Iris Pielago - draw strength

"Whenever I feel down, I draw strength from You, my Lord. I draw inspiration from my patients who are fighting battles in their early age. Live. Fight. Survive." ~Ardeille Iris Pielago

Gordon MacDonald - rest God commanded

"We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it." ~Gordon MacDonald, from Our Daily Bread

A THOUGHT TO PONDER: single beautiful thought

"The person who sows a single beautiful thought in the mind of another, renders the world a greater service than all the fault-finders combined." ~Napoleon Hill

Kenneth Wapnick Quotes

"I place the future in the Hands of God." ~Lesson 194 A Course in Miracles

"Nothing changes in the world, but everything changes in the mind as the decision maker realizes its mistake and chooses truth instead of illusion - the light of forgiveness instead of the darkness of guilt." ~Kenneth Wapnick PhD, Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles

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Mohammed Attai Quotes

"Conversations can humanise (these) experiences. Tensions can be quelled or defused just through face-to-face contact."

"Most Australians are on the same page when it comes to extremism, whether that's Muslim extremism, right wing extremism or left wing extremism."

"Unfortunately a lot of this intolerance and lack of understanding happens because there's no real interaction with that other, whether it's Muslims, or previously with Senator Hanson maybe she had less Asian interaction. In time she has increased her interaction, and she has adopted a better understanding."

~MOHAMMED ATTAI, Sydney psychologist

Source: QandA via Starts at 60
July 20, 20160

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Nelson Boswell - rule

“Here is a simple but powerful rule: always give people more than what they expect to get." ~Nelson Boswell

Kovie Biakolo Quotes

”It’s okay to want things other people have; it is quite natural and we should want good things for ourselves. But we should not fool ourselves into thinking that other people have picture-perfect lives. Everyone struggles, everyone hurts, and everyone is enduring something that they probably won’t tell you about. Whatever picture people paint their life as, rest assured that any one life in all its parts is beautiful and dark, hopeful and weary, a blessing and an everyday battle. Focus on the good parts of your life and be grateful for your own set of problems because if you knew what everyone else was going through, you would probably still choose your own life. Don’t compare yourself to anyone and while we’re at it, let’s be a little kinder to each other along the way.” ~ Kovie Biakolo

“Whenever people tell us that we’ve changed or that we’re changing, there is a tendency to wonder whether we are changing for the better or for worse. Because change isn’t usually only about bringing in new things. And sometimes the things we leave behind aren’t things, they’re people. And it’s tough to find yourself losing sight of the people who you thought knew you the best. Or perhaps, they’re losing sight of you. Either way, the vision is not so clear anymore. And everyone knows it.” ~Kovie Biakolo

“You need to make friends with yourself. It’s corny and it’s cliché but it’s also the truth. Because there will be certain times in your life that it’ll feel like you’re all you’ve got. And when those times come, you have to be enough to get by.” ~Kovie Biakolo

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Sarah Montgomery - gorgeous moments

"Love is sweet, delicate, dreamy, an eternity of gorgeous moments." ~Sarah Montgomery

From Our Daily Bread - speak to me Lord

"Lord, speak to me by Your Spirit, Your written Word, and the assurance of Your direction." ~Our Daily Bread

Heather Plett - judgment

“What does it mean to hold space for someone else? - It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.” ~Heather Plett

Quotes From Great Lives Are Made

"If we focussed less on "improving" others and and more on "improving" ourselves, I'm sure the world would be a happier, more loving and tolerant place. Reminds me of that poem by an anonymous yet insightful author:
"Build a better world", said God
And I answered "How? The world is such a vast place and so complicated now. I'm so small and useless. there's little I can do."
So God in all His wisdom said, "Just build a better you."" ~from Great Lives Are Made

"There are some pretty horrible things happening in the world and it's so easy to despair or feel we can't really do much. Yet even though we can't all make a difference in massive ways, the cumulative effect of many small actions and kindnesses can gather momentum and make significant positive differences way beyond what we can imagine. Keep the faith. Don't lose hope." ~from Great Lives Are Made, FB

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Alex Martin - Perception

"Perception cannot occur without the automatic actuation of previously acquired information." ~Alex Martin

Robert Thurman - Give thought to giving

"Practice giving things away, not just things you don’t care about, but things you do like. Remember, it is not the size of a gift, it is its quality and the amount of mental attachment you overcome that count. So don’t bankrupt yourself on a momentary positive impulse, only to regret it later. Give thought to giving. Give small things, carefully, and observe the mental processes going along with the act of releasing the little thing you liked." ~Robert Thurman

Natsuki Takaya Quotes

"Saying she doesn't mind being alone … that she's alright … There isn't a person alive who'd really feel that way." ~Natsuki Takaya

"Sometimes living can be hard, but it's only because we are alive that we can make each other laugh, cry, …be happy! In this world, if that's not a reason for being born in this world… I don't know what is." ~Natsuki Takaya

"Those who hurt others also hurt themselves." ~Natsuki Takaya

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Cherie Carter-Scott - Forgiveness

"Forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are." ~Cherie Carter-Scott

A THOUGHT TO PONDER: peace of mind

"There is no greater wealth in this world than peace of mind." ~from Positive Outlooks

Quotes on ADVERSITY, CHALLENGE and STRUGGLE

ADVERSITY

"A warrior's strength is measured by the size of her heart. She is respectfully humble, she will stand with honor, she will fight with love. In the face of adversity and for the ones she loves, she will be a voice and a shield. She will be a beacon to light the way home for the old. She will gently make way for the young. She is a Sister, Mother, Daughter, Grandmother...She is a Warrior." ~Anon

"Adversity is not a hindrance. It's just a challenge we need to overcome in order for us to succeed and reach our goal in life. Let's keep ourselves open to new learnings and some minor tweakings with both feet on the ground. Let's support and encourage one another." ~Don Luman-ag

"Adversity is our teacher. When we view adversity as a guide towards greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into this life to learn." ~Barbara Rose

"Adversity strengthens the spirit, hardens the soul, what we master becomes ours to use." ~George Daniel Anos

"And hope is like the stars - unseen in the sunshine of prosperity and only discovered during a night of adversity." ~Charles Spurgeon

"Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit." ~Napoleon Hill

"Every great personal story you have to tell involves overcoming adversity. If you shy away from adversity, you take away your ability to tell new stories." ~Farrel Droke

"God can bring showers of blessings our of storms of adversity." ~Anon


👣👣👣👣👣👣

CHALLENGE

"Challenges are spices that propel creativity and patience." ~Duoi Ampilan

"Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." ~Joshua J. Marine

"Compassion is underestimated. It takes both wisdom and strength to have it. To look beyond a person's own struggles and attempt to see the world through the eyes of another person's challenges is the highest form of humanity." ~Doe Zantamata

"‪Don't allow people to get to you. Let them deal with their challenges and contrast because they've collected those in their life's journey." ~‬Chak V Walker

"Great leaders may be found at the top of a mountain looking back upon their challenges, but the greatest leaders are often found at the foot of the mountain still helping others reach that summit." ~Robert Clancy on Lead from the Heart

"Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life. Never ask for a lighter rain, but pray to God for a better umbrella. That is the attitude." ~Jackee

“I can choose to perceive every circumstance as an opportunity to grow and stay on my mission. And if this opportunity is also challenging, that’s even better. I have a chance to rise up--like a kite rises against the wind. If there’s no wind the kite can’t fly. Have you ever tried to fly a kite when there’s no wind at all? Have you ever tried to have a great life when there’s no challenge? If there’s no challenge for me I cannot become stronger. I cannot grow.” ~Steve Chandler

"If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance and care." ~Marvin J. Ashton

 "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 Broadsheet 

"Life challenges, like illness can make us bitter and resentful. But being bitter and resentful is a choice. Let your pain make you soft, not hard. Compassionate, not cruel. Gentle, not unkind. Choose to be loving and tenderhearted. Take care of each other and be kind." ~Marcel Lawrence

“Life is full of challenge. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn. When a chapter of your Life Book is completed, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are.” ~Beth Hoffman

"Life is never without a need, never without a problem, never without a challenge." ~Anon

"No one can choose your mountain or tell you when to climb. It's yours alone to challenge. At your own pace and time." ~from Valley Vet

“No one is without troubles, without personal hardships and genuine challenges. That fact may not be obvious because most people don't advertise their woes and heartaches. But nobody, not even the purest heart, escapes life without suffering battle scars.” ~Richelle E. Goodrich

"Repeat after me; I am stronger than this challenge. And this challenge is making me even stronger." ~MRJ Mermaid Musings

"Stand up to your obstacles; do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have." ~Zen Proverb on Strength

“The candle is the light of life that is constantly thriving to hang on and light up the darkness of life. (Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a candle in the wind. He was a fighter fighting the odds to survive. And he did so with incredible power to change the world.) Whether your life is long or short upon the earth, it is remarkable that our little flames burns on in spite of the wind, or the challenges of life.” ~Enock Maregesi

"The essential key to discovering your best is to stand up to life's challenges even when you're knocked down." ~the plus code/fb

"The tests we face in life's journey are not to reveal our weaknesses but to help us discover our inner strengths. We can only know how strong we are when we strive and thrive beyond the challenges we face." ~Kemi Sogunle

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

"There's always a new challenge to keep you motivated." ~Sean Connery

"To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist." ~Gail Sheehy

"We all have the power to push past life's challenges." ~Chris Norton

"We are often challenged to do “great things” for God. Actually, God is more pleased when we do small things for him out of loving obedience. They may be unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them acts of worship." ~Rick Warren

"We don't develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity." ~Barbara De Angelis

"We must meet the challenge rather than wish it were not before us." ~William J. Brennan

"What greater aspiration and challenge are there for a mother than the hope of raising a great son or daughter?" ~Rose Kennedy

“When facing adversity, we may think we’ve reached our limit, but actually the more trying the circumstances, the closer we are to making a breakthrough. The darker the night, the nearer the dawn. Victory in life is decided by that last concentrated burst of energy filled with the resolve to win." ~Daisaku Ikeda

“When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves…Everything can be taken from a human but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. “ ~Viktor Frankl

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back." ~Paulo Coelho

"You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope." ~Thomas Merton

"Your greatest moments of challenge are a call to defy your timid habits of safety and rush out into life." ~Bryant McGill

RELATED QUOTES

"There is no illness on earth for which God has not provided a remedy through Nature." ~Paracelsus

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Giotto di Bondone Quotes

"Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbour." ~Giotto di Bondone

"The sincere friends of this world are as ship lights in the stormiest of nights." ~Giotto di Bondone

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Mary Davis Quotes

"A few moments of quietude each day is your greatest gift. Stop, breathe, open and just listen. There is infinite wisdom 

in the silence of the heart. " ~Mary Davis 

"Friends are diamonds who reflect the light of our spirit." ~Mary Davis

“To walk into nature is to witness a thousand miracles.” ~Mary Davis

"You have more strength than you know, more calm than you believe,  more power than you imagine,  more courage than you dream." ~Mary Davis

Mary Field Belenky - judgment

"Really listening and suspending one's own judgment is necessary in order to understand other people on their own terms. As we have noted, this is a process that requires trust and builds trust." ~Mary Field Belenky

Isabella Rossellini - elegance

'True elegance is for me the manifestation of an independent mind.' ~Isabella Rossellini

Kristian Kan - dream a reality

"Keep dreaming and create reality." ~Kristian Kan

A THOUGHT TO PONDER: see the light

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." ~Aristotle

Roshi Joan Halifax - Compassion

"Compassion has enemies, and those enemies are things like pity, moral outrage, and fear." ~Roshi Joan Halifax

Quotes from THE WRITER's STUDIO

"If you go too far in your writing, it is easy to pull back in the editing. But if you don't go far enough, it can be much harder to push it out later. Daring is the X factor in creativity." ~The Writer's Studio

"One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make when just starting out is to mix up the separate elements of the process." ~TWS

"Stories like flowers take time to grow. They only come into full bloom at the end of the process." ~The Writer's Studio

"When it comes to writing a novel or screenplay mistakes and difficulties often turn out to be opportunities. The point is you can’t necessarily go with your first option." ~The Writers' Studio

"When it comes to writing good there is only one rule - what works works." ~The Writers' Studio

"When you are writing a first draft, the most important thing is to get it written. It doesn’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t matter how you do it." ~The Writers' Studio

"Writers are sensitive people and if you want to write, it will most likely to stir up certain fears. Dealing with one's fears is part of the process." ~TWS

"Writing a first draft is an act of discovery where you need to learn to mine your imagination. You can refine what comes out later." ~TWS

"Writing a novel or screenplay is a four part process – planning, writing, re-writing and editing."

"Writing a novel or screen play is an adventure and an act of discovery. You can't control the process. Your stories take you to places you never realised you needed to go. And often what you didn't know at the start turns out to be the best parts of your story." ~The Writer's Studio

"Writing is a confidence game. There is no failure just a big field to wander in." ~TWS

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SUB-QUOTES:

"Blood, sweat and tears help mould the story." ~Mandy Moo

"The art of letting go should never be underestimated...it is in this space creativity flows as obstacles are removed. Dare I say fear and writer's block are one of the same?" ~Mandy Moo

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IN ORDER OF THINGS:

I

"The first step when creating a story is to make your readers care for your main character. Then get them into as much trouble as you possibly can." ~TWS

“That’s how stories happen — with a turning point, an unexpected twist. There’s only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s like Tolstoy said, Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” ~Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

‘Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, make a good tale...’
From The Hobbit by J. R. Tolkein

II

"Writing is an act of faith. Make this a general rule when writing your first draft, everything your internal critic says is irrelevant at this stage." ~TWS

“I have spent a good many years since―too many, I think―being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction or poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all.” ~Stephen King

III

"Much of the craft of writing is about creating a moving experience for your reader. It is all about making the reader want to keep turning the pages. This doesn’t just happen by accident." ~TWS

“Nobody reads a book to get to the middle.” ~Mickey Spillane

IV

"In the end we only regret the chances we never took, the relationships we were afraid to have and the decisions we took to long to make." ~TWS

"Don't go to the grave with your story unsung in your heart." ~Anon

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~Maya Angelou

“Stories, like people and butterflies and songbirds' eggs and human hearts and dreams, are also fragile things, made up of nothing stronger or more lasting than twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks. Or they are words on the air, composed of sounds and ideas-abstract, invisible, gone once they've been spoken-and what could be more frail than that? But some stories, small, simple ones about setting out on adventures or people doing wonders, tales of miracles and monsters, have outlasted all the people who told them, and some of them have outlasted the lands in which they were created.” ~Neil Gaiman

V

"If you want to write a novel or screenplay you need to take your main character on a journey where they are placed under extreme pressure and change as a result. This is the role of structure and this is what will evoke an emotional response in your readers." ~TWS

“You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are.” ~Joss Whedon

VI

"Every character needs to think they are the main character of the story. For them to come to life on the page they need to be given a life of their own outside the story." ~TWS

“You can never know enough about your characters” ~W. Somerset Maugham

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” ~William Faulkner

VII

"It is not as though there are a very small percentage of people born with talent and the rest of us might as well give up. Writing is an art and a craft that takes time to master." ~TWS

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” ~Stephen King

VIII

"When you are writing a first draft you are just creating the marble. Just get something down so you have something to re-write and edit later." ~TWS

"The angel was always in the marble." ~Michelangelo

IX

"Many people are of the opinion that writers are born not made and only a select few have the talent required to write worthwhile stories. While everyone has very different skills, we believe that is not necessarily the case. In fact, we see people dramatically improve their writing and story telling ability by learning the craft, applying the tools and techniques and doing the work." ~TWS

"I don't think that talent or gift, if such things exist, has anything to do with what the final receipts will be. My notion is that anyone who speaks, by reason of that speech, has prospects of achieving important imaginative writing. I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead old-fashioned notions of perseverance, application and industry... It comes down in every instance to this dualism between what one wants and what one may be afraid to have." ~Gordon Lish

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." ~Richard Bach

X

"The first draft is about finding the story and character journey. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Many writers when they are just starting out make the mistake of comparing their first drafts to a completed, edited and published book. ...... Writing a novel or screenplay is a refiners craft and requires that you have a process that keeps you on track. When you write your first draft allow yourself to make mistakes and try things." ~TWS

"The first draft is just telling yourself a story." ~Terry Prachett, Freedom With Writing

♥*✿*•♥

"People tend to look at successful writers, writers who are getting their books published and maybe even doing well financially, and think that they sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have and what a great story they have to tell; that they take in a few deep breaths, push back their sleeves, roll their necks a few times to get all the cricks out, and dive in, typing fully formed passages as fast as a court reporter. ..... But this is just the fantasy of the uninitiated. I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts. All right, one of them does, but we don’t like her very much. Very few writers know what they’re saying until they’ve done it." ~Anne Lamott

XI

"Writing is a mood changing activity. Most likely you will rarely feel like writing. The key thing is to just sit down and do the work regardless of how you feel. When you finish you will be so glad you did. The act of writing has its own reward." ~TWS

“One must be pitiless about this matter of mood. In a sense writing will create the mood. Generally I've found this to be true. I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes... and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.” Joyce Carol Oates

"Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change." ~Julia Cameron

XII

"One of the great pleasures of reading a good novel or watching a great film is that you get to enter the dreamworld of the story. It is the same when you write your novel or screenplay, particularly if you write most days, the dream of your story becomes alive in your imagination and your story starts to write itself." ~TWS

“We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images - a dog hunting through garbage cans, a plane circling above Alaskan mountains, an old lady furtively licking her napkin at a party. We slip into a dream, forgetting the room we're sitting in, forgetting it's lunchtime or time to go to work.”John Gardner

"Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing." ~Iris Murdoch

XIII

"Writing is all about getting the words out of your head and onto the page and shaping them in a way that resonates with your readers. The words create a deep communication between you and your reader." ~TWS

“Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is that you’re having a relationship with your mind.” ~Natalie Goldberg

"You should write because you love the shape of the stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page." ~Annie Proulx

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Quotes from Lailah Gifty Akita

“A cup of tea is all I need to keep working." ~Lailah Gifty Akita

"Awake all living souls and shine thy light." ~Lailah Gifty Akita

“Daily dance is my delight.” ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

“Every battle you have to fight, is an opportunity for the glory of God to be revealed. The greater the obstacles, the greater the victory.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita

"Every fresh morning brings freshness of sacred-being." ~Lailah Gifty Akita

“Every new day is a sacred gift with new sacred grace.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita

“I love the paradise of being between the pages of a book.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita

“The path of light is the quest for knowledge.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

"The strength of every individual is the grace for great work." ~Lailah Gifty Akita

“You have to make an enemy a friend to conquer his or her evil intentions.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

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From OUR DAILY BREAD - best road

"Lord, we cannot see the path ahead, so we must trust that the way is right and that it is the best road for us to take. Please encourage us, and teach us as we let You direct our path." ~Our Daily Bread

Carl Ewald - rejoice

“Take spring when it comes and rejoice.
Take happiness when it comes and rejoice.
Take love when it comes and rejoice.”
~Carl Ewald

James Openheim - happiness

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet." ~James Openheim

John Maeda - Simplicity

"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful." ~John Maeda

Quotes on SNOW

NOTE: It's WINTER in AUSTRALIA while most parts of our northern counterpart endure a sweltering SUMMER. Such is the opposite of the season, time of day and its compass' direction. Here's a compilation of quotations.

THEIR FIRST SNOW

Jindabyne NSW

June 18, 2019

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." ~Carl Reiner

"A snowman is the perfect man. He's very well rounded and comes with his own broom." ~Anon

"Be like snow - cold, but beautiful." ~Lana Del Rey

"Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - leaves its impress upon the soul of man." ~Orison Swett Marden

"I leaned out one last time and caught a snowflake on my tongue. They tasted so good, so pure and so divine, like nothing I had ever tasted from the sky." ~Shannon A. Thompson

"I miss the snow. I miss looking at it, walking in it, tasting it. I used to love those days when it was so cold everyone else would be tucked away inside trying to stay warm. I would be the only one out walking, so I could look across the fields and see miles of snow without a single footprint in it. It would be completely silent - no cars, no birds singing, no doors slamming. Just silence and snow." ~Damien Echols

“January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow." ~Sara Coleridge

"Life is like a blanket of snow. Be careful how you step on it. Every step will show!" ~Anon

"Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand." ~Henry David Thoreau

"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." ~Zen

“Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem." ~William Hamilton Gibson

"Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night will always fill my heart with sweet clarity." ~Novala Takemoto

"Snow makes cities innocent again, reveals the frailty of the human gesture against the void." ~Glen Duncan

"Snow provokes responses that reach back to childhood." ~Andy Goldsworthdy

"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven." ~Anon

“Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together." ~Vista M. Kelly

"Snowing is an attempt of God to make the dirty world look clean." ~Mehmet Murat ildan

“Snowmen fall from heaven....... unassembled." ~Anon

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event." ~Anon

"The next time you see snow—in life or in photos—thank God for the forgiveness and the freedom from sin’s p'enalties that this beautiful, natural gift pictures for all who have put their trust in our Savior." ~Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread)

“The snow began to fall again, drifting against the windows, politely begging entrance and then falling with disappointment to the ground." ~Jamie McGuire

"The snow did not even whisper its way to earth, but seemed to salt the night with silence." ~Dean Koontz

“The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches." ~E.E. Cummings

“The snow is sparkling like a million little suns." ~Lama Willa Miller

"The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only." ~Joseph Wood Krutch

“The very fact of snow is such an amazement." ~Roger Ebert

"The wonder of a single snowflake outweighs the wisdom of a million meteorologists." ~Anon

"There's just something beautiful about walking in snow that nobody else has walked on. It makes you believe you're special." ~Carol Rifka Brunt

"There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's." ~Clyde Moore

"When snow falls, nature listens." ~Antoinette van Kleef

"With every falling flake, a unique spark of interest falls from heaven." ~P. Miller

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MARIQUITA NOSCE TANDOC Quotes

"A home is a place of relaxation and comfort, highlighted by a mess here and there." ~Mariquita Tandoc

"The sun is smiling. The day is warming up. There is no denying we are face to face with Spring!!" ~Mariquita Nosce Tandoc

"The sun is the earth's golden star." ~Mariquita Tandoc 4 September 2016

‪"They (grandchildren) make our "sunset years" worth living." ~‬Mariquita Nosce Tandoc 2020

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Rebecca Baldwin - dreams

"Let your dreams lead you to where your soul knows it belongs." ~from The Spiritual Compass (Mindful Wishes) by Rebecca Baldwin

Ben Blakeney - NAIDOC WEEK

"Here my people chanted—their stories of the dreamtime—of the spirit heroes—and of earth's creation—and our painted bodies flowed in ceremony." ~Ben Blakeney, Aboriginal actor and direct descendant of Woollarawarre Bennelong,, during the opening ceremony of Sydney Opera House.(NAIDOC Week)

B.C. Forbes Quotes

"Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter." ~B.C. Forbes

"Real riches are the riches possessed inside." ~B. C. Forbes

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Elizabeth Glaser - HONESTY

"Life has taught me that I have nothing to lose by being honest." ~Elizabeth Glaser, 1947-1994

Margaret Deland - satisfaction

"One must desire something to be alive: perhaps absolute satisfaction is only another name for Death." ~Margaret Deland

Stuart Avery Gold Quotation

"Through meditation you discover that while it is the brain that moves the body, it is the mind that moves the world." ~Stuart Avery Gold

"To flourish, know your fears. To truly flourish, rid yourself of your fears." ~Stuart Avery Gold.

"You must do in order to master the circumstances of life, or risk having the circumstances of life master you." ~Stuart Avery Gold

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A THOUGHT TO PONDER: Forgive

"Forgiveness is the choice that leads to peace. Today forgive, not because others say it’s the right thing to do, but because as God’s creation, you are worthy of peace." ~James Blanchard Cisneros

Quotes from Nutura Organic

"When your child tells you about friends, school, or the life story of the snail they just found, listen closely, ask questions, and follow up on things later on. This shows that you are interested and they can trust you - which will be important for the big stuff later in life." ~Nutura Organic

Chef Jose Andres Quotes

"As chefs, we cook to please people, to nourish people." ~Jose Andres

"Food is about making an interaction with ingredients. If you talk to them, they will always tell you a story." ~Jose Andres

"There is nothing better than picking up sun-warmed tomatoes and smelling them, feeling them and scrutinizing their shiny skins for imperfections, dreaming of ways to serve them." ~Jose Andres

"What if every lawn was transformed into a farm instead of expensive upkeep of grass." ~Chef Jose Andres

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Thomas Babington Macaulay - a king without desire

"I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read." ~Thomas Babington Macaulay

Krista Tippett Quotes

"Become wiser by learning to hold transformative conversations, ask generous questions and listen with presence." ~Krista Tippett, Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and host of On Being (on art of conversation)

"Kindness is a mist edifying form of instant gratification." ~Krista Tippett

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John Paul Warren - move that transforms

"Faith move mountains. Love transforms hearts." ~John Paul Warren

From OUR DAILY BREAD - help to make time

"Dear Lord, as I look around at those who share this life with me, help me to make time to spend with them—for encouragement, challenge, and perhaps just plain conversation." ~Our Daily Bread

Janet S. Braza Quotes

"Everybody here complains about my hair's highlights. They told me that it makes me older and lousy. Oh, people how can a gardener be old that kicks with shovels and forks? I tell you, the reaping I sowed is sweet as it keeps my blood pumping in great vigor. Kalabaw lang ang tumatanda." ~Janet S. Braza

"Even the perennial grasses are as fresh as the youngs when dewdrops kiss their tiny pores." ~Janet S. Braza

"One good thing there's a sweet true embrace, when we're gone we can not reciprocate the feeling anymore." ~Janet Braza, 29 September 2016

"Politics is now a jungle where all kinds of beast live." ~Janet S. Braza

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POSITIVE THOUGHT: beauty of life

"‪Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Egor Kraft - colours of dream

“Imagine you saw a colour in your dream, which you have never seen before. It doesn't consist of any colours or shades that you know. Trying to describe that colour would be as difficult as trying to belive that there is enough love & compassion in the world so every human can feel happiness.” ~Egor Kraft

HW Becker - love is alive

"Shine brightly and even the hardest heart will notice that love is alive in you." ~HW Becker

John Adair - Leaders

"Leaders who know their strengths and weaknesses as leaders are likely to be far more effective that the ones who remain blind to them. They are also on the road to humility--that priceless attitude of openness to life that can help a manager absorb mistakes, failures, or personal shortcomings." ~John Adair

Alda Merini - open book

"Every wrinkle on our faces is a story lived with courage, pride, smile, cry, love. I'm like the words of an open book, peeled by time, before the eyes of the world." ~Alda Merini

Dr. John Ortiz Teope Quotes

"Another Lesson Learned: Pretending to be somebody is so difficult to do, coz at the end you’re scam can be easily discovered.But pretending to be nobody is so easy, for the reason that the silent and humble nobody might be the great somebody which is greatly powerful than anybody." ~Dr. John Ortiz Teope, PhD,EdD,DM,DES

“I am an advocate Federalism and I like to see the Philippines under a federal system of government. But, the transition from a Unitary to a Federal form is not a walk by the park. There is a necessity to properly educate the Filipinos regarding its advantages and disadvantages. Coz, if it would not happen and people would just accept Federalism based on the bandwagon. One thing for sure there will be so many resistances on the time of its transition and operationalization.” ~Dr. John Ortiz Teope, PhD,EdD,DM,DES (National President, 1st Philippine Pro-Democracy Foundation)

Source: FB

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Chellene Lianna - what God intends you to be

"You live and learn and become wiser and stronger and more the person God intends you to be if you choose that path. No one can or should take your dream away." ~Chellene Lianna

Auliq Ice - old-fashioned

“Manners and politeness will never become old-fashioned.” ~ Auliq Ice

A THOUGHT TO PONDER: From NATIVE AMERICANS

"Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes so that when my life fades as the fading sunset, my spirit can come to you without shame." ~Native American Quote from Native Americans FB meme

Ken Kersey - seeds

"You can count the seeds in the apple, but not the apples in the seed." ~Ken Kersey

Sarah Dressen - town on a map

"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go." ~Sarah Dressen

John Forbes Nash - mysterious equation

"I've made the most important discovery of my life. It's only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found." ~John Forbes Nash

Senator Richard Gordon Quotes

“Duterte is clever and unorthodox in his foreign policy. He obviously made other world leaders listen and make things happen.” ~Senator Richard Gordon (November 2018)

“He was speaking to the whole world, an entire audience of the world, and people are looking at him. And the words the world wanted to hear — rule of law, dispatch in business, lack of corruption, justice for all men — was spoken in well crafted language for the high and low." ~Senator Richard Gordon on Pres RR Duterte's Inaugural Speech, 30 June 2016 (when reached by phone.)

"If we want our country to succeed, we need our President to succeed." ~Senator Gordon on Pres. RR Duterte, December 2016

"Malaki ang obligasyon ng gobyerno sa taumbayan. Pero higit na mas malaki ang obligasyon ng magulang sa kanilang mga anak." ~Dick Gordon on PTA (Parents Teachers Association

"There is utter lack of professionalism. Who would now testify? Tao ang tunay na talo. Binilad niyo yung tao. Inimbita niyo. Pinatay niyo. Ninakawan tayong lahat ng katarungan. Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo." ~Dick Gordon, On the death of Mayor Espinosa (2016)

"We need to concentrate less on what he says and focus more on what he does.” ~Sen. Dick Gordon on President Duterte , 27 July 2017

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Presidential INAUGURATION SPEECH of President Rodrigo R Duterte

Author's Note:

A very special feature I wholeheartedly give place in my Golden Thoughts blog of the newly sworn President of the Philippines' Inaugural Speech which took place in Malacanang Manila Philippines yesterday, 30 June 2016. Every line offers great inspiration not only to the people of my country of birth, but to the world at large as well.

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"President Fidel Ramos, sir, salamat po sa tulong mo making me President; President Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Senate President Franklin Drilon and the members of the Senate; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the members of the House of Representatives; Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; His Excellency Guiseppe Pinto and the members of the Diplomatic Corps; incoming members of the Cabinet; fellow workers in government; my fellow countrymen. [applause]

No leader, however strong, can succeed at anything of national importance or significance unless he has the support and cooperation of the people he is tasked to lead and sworn to serve.

It is the people from whom democratic governments draw strength and this administration is no exception. That is why we have to listen to the murmurings of the people, feel their pulse, supply their needs and fortify their faith and trust in us whom they elected to public office. [applause]

There are many amongst us who advance the assessment that the problems that bedevil our country today which need to be addressed with urgency, are corruption, both in the high and low echelons of government, criminality in the streets, and the rampant sale of illegal drugs in all strata of Philippine society and the breakdown of law and order. True, but not absolutely so. For I see these ills as mere symptoms of a virulent social disease that creeps and cuts into the moral fiber of Philippine society. I sense a problem deeper and more serious than any of those mentioned or all of them put together. But of course, it is not to say that we will ignore them because they have to be stopped by all means that the law allows.

Erosion of faith and trust in government – that is the real problem that confronts us. Resulting therefrom, I see the erosion of the people’s trust in our country’s leaders; the erosion of faith in our judicial system; the erosion of confidence in the capacity of our public servants to make the people’s lives better, safer and healthier. [applause]

Indeed ours is a problem that dampens the human spirit. But all is not lost.
I know that there are those who do not approve of my methods of fighting criminality, the sale and use of illegal drugs and corruption. They say that my methods are unorthodox and verge on the illegal. In response let me say this:
I have seen how corruption bled the government of funds, which were allocated for the use in uplifting the poor from the mire that they are in.

I have seen how illegal drugs destroyed individuals and ruined family relationships.
I have seen how criminality, by means all foul, snatched from the innocent and the unsuspecting, the years and years of accumulated savings. Years of toil and then, suddenly, they are back to where they started.

Look at this from that perspective and tell me that I am wrong.
In this fight, I ask Congress and the Commission on Human Rights and all others who are similarly situated to allow us a level of governance that is consistent to our mandate. The fight will be relentless and it will be sustained. [applause]

As a lawyer and a former prosecutor, I know the limits of the power and authority of the president. I know what is legal and what is not. [applause]

My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising.[applause]

You mind your work and I will mind mine. [applause and cheers]

“Malasakit;” “Tunay na Pagbabago; Tinud-anay (real) nga Kausaban(change)” [applause]

– these are words which catapulted me to the presidency. These slogans were conceptualized not for the sole purpose of securing the votes of the electorate. “Tinud-anay nga kabag-uhan (real change). Mao kana ang tumong sa atong pang-gobyerno (this is the direction of our government).” [applause]

Far from that. These were battle cries articulated by me in behalf of the people hungry for genuine and meaningful change. But the change, if it is to be permanent and significant, must start with us and in us. [applause]

To borrow the language of F. Sionil Jose, we have become our own worst enemies. And we must have the courage and the will to change ourselves.
Love of country, subordination of personal interests to the common good, concern and care for the helpless and the impoverished – these are among the lost and faded values that we seek to recover and revitalize as we commence our journey towards a better Philippines. [applause]

The ride will be rough. But come and join me just the same. Together, shoulder to shoulder, let us take the first wobbly steps in this quest.
There are two quotations from revered figures that shall serve as the foundation upon which this administration shall be built.

“The test of government is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide for those who have little.”
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
[applause]

And from (Abraham) Lincoln I draw this expression:

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong; You cannot help the poor by discouraging the rich; You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer; You cannot further the brotherhood by inciting class hatred among men.”
[applause]

My economic and financial, political policies are contained in those quotations, though couched in general terms. Read between the lines. I need not go into specifics now. They shall be supplied to you in due time.
However, there are certain policies and specifics of which cannot wait for tomorrow to be announced.

Therefore, I direct all department secretaries and the heads of agencies to reduce requirements and the processing time of all applications, [applause] from the submission to the release. I order all department secretaries and heads of agencies to remove redundant requirements and compliance with one department or agency, shall be accepted as sufficient for all. [applause]

I order all department secretaries and heads of agencies to refrain from changing and bending the rules government contracts, transactions and projects already approved and awaiting implementation. [applause]

Changing the rules when the game is on-going is wrong.
I abhor secrecy and instead advocate transparency [applause]

in all government contracts, projects and business transactions from submission of proposals to negotiation to perfection and finally, to consummation.
Do them and we will work together. [applause]

Do not do them, we will part sooner than later. [applause]

On the international front and community of nations, let me reiterate that the Republic of the Philippines will honor treaties and international obligations. [applause]

On the domestic front, my administration is committed to implement all signed peace agreements in step with constitutional and legal reforms.
I am elated by the expression of unity among our Moro brothers and leaders, and the response of everyone else to my call for peace.
I look forward to the participation of all other stakeholders, particularly our indigenous peoples, to ensure inclusivity in the peace process. [applause]

Let me remind in the end of this talk, that I was elected to the presidency to serve the entire country. I was not elected to serve the interests of any one person or any group or any one class. I serve every one and not only one. [applause]

That is why I have adapted as an article of faith, the following lines written by someone whose name I could no longer recall. He said:
“I have no friends to serve, I have no enemies to harm.” [applause]

Prescinding therefrom, I now ask everyone, and I mean everyone, to join me as we embark on this crusade for a better and brighter tomorrow.

But before I end, let me express the nations, on behalf of the people, our condolences to the Republic of Turkey of what has happened in the place. We offer our deepest condolences.

Why am I here? Hindi kasali ito diyan. [laughs] The past tense was, I am here because I love my country and I love the people of the Philippines. I am here, why? Because I am ready to start my work for the nation. [applause]

Thank you and good afternoon.

—From Presidential News Desk

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Source: FB