GOLDEN THOUGHTS: Stephen R. Lawhead

7/15/19

Stephen R. Lawhead - Beyond understanding

"To see evil and call it good, mocks God. Worse, it makes goodness meaningless. A word without meaning is an abomination, for when the word passes beyond understanding the very thing the word stands for passes out of the world and cannot be recalled." ~Stephen R. Lawhead

Live Life to the Full

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

All photographs, unless noted, are my copyrights.

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place." ~Elliott Erwitt

Quotes are sourced from the Inspiration Line founded by Chelle Thompson, The Friendship Book of Francis Gay, The Happy Guy by David Leonhardt, Quotes by People on Stamps, Inspirational Quotations by Barbara J Olson and from other various sources that trickle my quotable interest.

"A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool." ~Joseph Roux

"While I gather storm of quotations, nothing inspires me most than those contained in The Bible ... Timeless!" ~Leah C. Dancel

༺♥༻༺♥༻༺♥
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving " ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“What is it in the melody of sound...which calls such visionary beauty forth from every tone?” ~R.E. Salaman

"The thoughts of the day become the dreams of the night." ~Anon

"Try to make at least one person happy every day. If you cannot do a kind deed, speak a kind word. If you cannot speak a kind word, think a kind thought. Count up, if you can, the treasure of happiness that you would dispense in a week, in a year, in a lifetime!" ~Lawrence G. Lovasik

༺♥༻༺♥༻༺♥
BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS

Inspiring and uplifting thoughts
Bring beauty to the mind,
By dwelling on the positive,
What's joyful, happy, kind.
Courage and enthusiasm,
Cheerfulness and grace,
Radiating from within
All show upon the face.

Reflecting on the beautiful,
What's pure and good and true,
Embracing all the world of wonder
That's surrounding you.
Hope, contentment, peace and love,
Your thoughts can soar on wings
So let the life within your mind
Be filled with lovely things.

~Kathleen Gillum ~
༺♥༻༺♥༻༺♥

~ Max Ehrmann ~

A Prayer

Let me do my work each day;
and if the darkened hours
of despair overcome me, may I
not forget the strength
that comforted me in the
desolation of other times.

May I still remember the bright
hours that found me walking
over the silent hills of my
childhood, or dreaming on the
margin of a quiet river,
when a light glowed within me,
and I promised my early God
to have courage amid the
tempests of the changing years.

Spare me from bitterness
and from the sharp passions of
unguarded moments. May
I not forget that poverty and
riches are of the spirit.
Though the world knows me not,
may my thoughts and actions
be such as shall keep me friendly
with myself.

Lift up my eyes
from the earth, and let me not
forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others
lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of
the world, but walk calmly
in my path.

Give me a few friends
who will love me for what
I am; and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope.

And though age and infirmity
overtake me, and I come not within
sight of the castle of my dreams,
teach me still to be thankful
for life, and for time's olden
memories that are good and
sweet; and may the evening's
twilight find me gentle still.

(The Desiderata of Happiness)

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms
with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater
and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let not this blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the council of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labours and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life
keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful, strive to be happy.

~Max Ehrmann~

Source: Internet

Silence in Harmony of the Night

What lies in the horizon
Where luminescent sunset streams?
Does it reconcile my restless frame
In cohabitation with silence
And harmonize a dreamy night?

What sets in that iridescent sky?
Where precious heavenly gem emits
Beauty and wisdom of the eventide
A cohort’s advocate of divine insight
Transfigured in a space of endless time.

What draws the opalescent light?
To kiss the incandescent liquid face
And call upon his love in penchant peace?
As sunset drifts to its blissful home
There’s silence in harmony of the night.

Words Copyright@2009, Leah C. Dancel, All rights reserved

Title Credit: Mia N of Finland as inspired by her photography of Sunset.

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

AUTUMN FINALE

A beautiful day
With sunshine bright
Pale sky, blue sky
With cravats of white clouds
Densely lining the horizon.
Down below,
Leaves red, gold and brown
Dead and withered
Are lying on the ground
Some are hanging on the trees
Moistened by the remnant
Thawed frost of the morning
Clinging on to their last hope
Unyielding to the final season.
Soon colours will vanish
And life has to perish
Destined to winter hibernation.

Leah C. Dancel
Copyright@2011
All rights reserved
Original Title: The Final Season
Australia
28 May 2011

Trilogy

Rock, My Fortress

On top of this big broad rock,
I found a seat to sit upon;
Watching the blue ocean,
Calm and peaceful in its depth;
There’s no trace of vanity.

The waves keep tossing
relentlessly caress the shore.
Every lap sounds a rhapsody
for every note of the wind.

As the waves confront the rocks
They spray in random motion,
Pacing fast, medium and slow,
Each tempo harmoniously flows.

This rock is my throne and my shelter,
Away from the world where I falter;
My fortress from life’s distress,
Here I found solace and peace.

On this big rock I ponder,
What lies ahead and yonder?
Meditating and contemplating
For every travails besetting,
I let them go through the wind.

Copyright@2007, Leah C. Dancel, All Rights Reserved
FOT, The Entrance, NSW Australia

A Tribute to All Mothers

A Poem My Mother Taught Me

SOMEBODY'S MOTHER

The woman was old and ragged and gray
And bent with the chill of the Winter's day.

The street was wet with a recent snow
And the woman's feet were aged and slow.

She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng.

Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eye.

Down the street with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of "school let out."

Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep.

Past the woman so old and gray
Hastened the children on their way.

Nor offered a helping hand to her -
So meek, so tired, afraid to stir

Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet
Should crowd her down in the slippery street.

At last came one of the merry troop,
The gayest laddie of all the group;

He paused beside her and whispered low,
"I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."

Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed. and so, without hurt or harm,

He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were firm and strong.

Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content.

"She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
For all she's aged and poor and slow,

'And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother, you understand,

'If ever she's poor and old and gray,
When her own dear boy is far away.'

And "somebody's mother" bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said

Was, 'God, be kind to the noble boy,
Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"

~Mary Dow Brine~

Source: www.amandashome.com

START WHERE YOU STAND

(Inspiration Line Beginning)

Start where you stand and never mind the past,
The past won't help you in beginning new,
If you have left it all behind at last,
Why, that's enough, you're done with it, you're through.

This is another chapter in the book,
This is another race that you have planned,
Don't give the vanished days a backward look,
Start where you stand.

The world won't care about your old defeats
If you can start anew and win success,
The future is your time, and time is fleet
And there is much of work and strain and stress.

Forget the buried woes and dead despairs,
Here is a brand new trial right at hand,
The future is for him who does and dares,
Start where you stand.

Old failures will not halt, old triumphs aid,
Today's the thing, tomorrow soon will be;
Get in the fight and face it unafraid,
And leave the past to ancient history.

What has been, has been; yesterday is dead
And by it you are neither blessed nor banned,
Take courage, man, be brave and drive ahead,
Start where you stand.

~ By Berton Braley (1882-1966)

*****************

HEARTPRINTS

Whatever our hands touch
We leave fingerprints —
On walls, on furniture, on doorknobs and dishes;
There's no escape, as we touch we leave our identity.

Wherever I go today
Help me leave HEARTPRINTS —
Heartprints of compassion,
Of understanding and love.

Heartprints of kindness and genuine concern —
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter, or an anxious mother
Or perhaps an aged grandfather.

Send me out today to leave heartprints —
And if someone should say "I felt your touch,"
May they also sense the love
That is deep within my heart.

~Author Unknown

THE BODY IN FULL PRESENCE

The body in full presence
holds its first creative essence
in the pen that touches paper.
Lifting the glass that holds the wine,
this beckoning uncertainty is mine.

I’ll follow my line to an early death,
feeling out rhythm in the spoken breath
and startled by flame
this arrogance shall be my moth,
flying with his burning cloth.

Then humility will rise
out of poetry’s deep surmise,
and I will have confidence in my powers;
wanting this presence, burnt by the past,
I’ll die in the first line – and become the last.

‘THE BODY IN FULL PRESENCE’
From River Flow
New and Selected Poems
©David Whyte and Many Rivers Press

THE ARTSY SIDE OF ME

"Where you look from is only half the picture." ~Zoe Leonard

TRAVELLER'S SONG

"Brevity is the soul of wit." ~Hamlet

THE SURVIVORS

"I'm starting at the mirror. I see a happy version of myself." ~Leah C Dancel

DEUTERONOMY 32:2

"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants."

LETTERS TO YOU

“Words are only postage stamps delivering the object for you to unwrap.” ~George Bernard Shaw

LOVINGLY YOURS

“You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.” ~Coco Chanel

Queen at HEART

"You don't need to be a queen to look good." ~Leah C Dancel

WELCOME 2023

Thank you visitors from all over the world!

By ERICA FRANCIS

Katulad po ng b'wan,
Hindi man kita mayakap at mahawakan,
Hindi kita pagsasawaang tulaan,
At sa puso ko'y mananatili ka,
Ngayon, bukas at magpakailanman.

TRADEMARK™

©My quote for life.

I PUT MY TRUST IN YOU

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you."~Psalm 143:8 ~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

MOTHER'S DAY 2021

"Here I write my thoughts: insights, perspectives, ideals, dreams, frustrations, let-downs, drawbacks and setbacks, my imperfections ... I got to live... with them in all colours." ~Leah C. Dancel, May 9, 2021

BEYOND MEASURE

“To know when you have enough is to be rich beyond measure.” ~Lao Tzu

THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSINGS

"Father, we thank you for the abundant blessings you have given to our family today, tonight, and in the days to come. Amen."

A DIADEM OF SMILE

… is set with precious stones and jewels carved by my children and GRANDCHILDREN. ~Leah C. Dancel, July 20, 2020

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2020

James 1:17 - "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above."
Thank you Sweet Girls and Family for your kind thoughts, as always. Love. Mum xxx

SWEET INDEPENDENCE OF SOLITUDE

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great person is the one who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PROVERB

"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love ... and then we return home."

SILENCE IS MY SOLACE

"Some people survive and talk about it. Some people survive and go silent. Everyone deals with unimaginable pain in their own way, and everyone is entitled to that, without judgment. So the next time you look at someone's life covetously, remember … you may not want to endure what they are enduring right now, at this moment, whilst they sit so quietly before you, looking like a calm ocean on a sunny day. Remember how vast the ocean's boundaries are. Whilst somewhere the water is calm, in another place in the very same ocean, there is a colossal storm." ~Nikita Gill

HELLO WORLD

"The hearts of little children are pure, and therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss." ~Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa) OGLALA LAKOTA

THREE SCORE AND NINE

“It is not the length of life, but depth of life.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

ANGEL

"For every moment you feel alone, there is an Angel whose presence means you never have to feel alone again." ~Anna Taylor

INTEGRITY

"… — the quality of being honest and fair." ~MWebster

"I'll carry my sunshine with me wherever I go" ~ Miss Jean Gall (The Friendship Book of Francis Gay 1981)

"God from a beautiful necessity is Love." ~ Martin Farquhar Tupper

Naturally Homegrown

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

I AM HOME

"I have arrived. I am home.
 In the here. In the now.
 I am solid. I am free.
 In the ultimate I dwell."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

PROTECT ME O LORD

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.

VIEW of HOPE

"Stand tall in face of adversity to have the greatest view of hope’s precious light." ~Robert Clancy

"When you find time on your hands, put them together in prayer." ~Our Daily Bread

"Remember the day's blessings; forget the day's troubles"~Anon

A BIRTHDAY SURPRISE 2018

"Great teachers don't always have the best lessons. But they always have the best relationships with kids." ~Songs for Teaching

COMING OF AGE

“My inner peace positively affects every aspect of my life” ~Birthday Power Thought

"The beauty of being old is knowing that you did not get there alone and that you have a chance to get older." ~Emilio Laxamana Aguinaldo

MY PLACE FOR SERENITY

... be quiet, please...

2019 - BLUE MOUNTAINS

"To be happy, love must mean more to you than anything." ~Robert Holden

A MEANINGFUL LIFE

"When you reveal who you really are, your life becomes meaningful beyond all human conditions and limitations." ~Susan Shumsky

JOURNEY

"Our life on earth is just a fragment of our journey." ~ A.D. Williams

GREATER BLESSINGS

"Every pain that you learn to tolerate leaves you healthier than it found you" ~G. Teodoro, Jr.

PEACE

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

DREAM ON

"Every dream that you left behind is a piece of your future that won't exist." ~Steve Jobs

FLY AWAY HOME

Au revoir to the LAND of LONG WHITE CLOUDS

Written in the Sand

"Keep dreaming and create reality." ~Kristian Kan

NO EXPLANATION

"Beauty is a form of genius — is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon." ~Oscar Wilde

LAO TZU

Tao Te Ching

AUTUMN

"Seasons change and so do you. Trust the rhythms of your life." ~Project Happiness

KNOW THYSELF

"To know others is wisdom, to know oneself enlightenment." ~Lao Tzu

MY WORLD

"The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself." ~Michel de Montaigne

COMPANION

"Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion." ~Rumi

VALORIZAR CADA MOMENTO

"May you be
Strengthened by
Yesterday's rain,
Walk straight in
Tomorrow's wind, and
Cherish each moment
Of the Sun today."
~Ojibwa Prayer

BEST WISHES TO MY GUESTS

"The best feeling in the world is being loved back by the person you love." ~ Anon

2015

"A book of quotations can never be complete." ~Robert M. Hamilton

SUNSHINE IN AUTUMN

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” ~Henry David Thoreau

VERMILLION SEAL

"The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind." ~Albert Einstein

PRECIOUS GIFT

"I look at life as a gift of God." ~Joyce Cary

LIVE WELL

"Daily find something to laugh about. A sense of humor and a good belly laugh relieves stress, inspires hope, keeps you alert and connects you to others." ~Total Body Wellness

Table of Contents

Reading Bench

BARBARA JEAN OLSON

DAVID LEONHARDT - The Happy Guy

FRANCIS GAY FRIENDSHIP BOOKS

HUMOUR

DEEP THOUGHTS

FAMILY

HOME -Echo

WHAT HITS WOMEN

OUR DAILY BREAD QUOTES

BLISSFUL BLESSING

WHAT HITS MEN

BIBLE QUOTES

ODE TO THE POETS

From My Desk

I feel so honoured to find that there are websites who sourced some of their materials from my blog as I have sourced mine from others. It is great to be able to channel some wonderful thoughts of my great friends to be shared to many others, hoping it will give them some uplifting words to live by.
Learning words of wisdom from people helps me to be philosophical and practical in my approach to life. Of course, I follow my own conviction trying not to compromise any conventions. I certainly do not lean on my own understanding either. We all need divine inspired guidance. My parents were my first teachers who taught me some "nuggets of wisdom". To them, I am indebted my knowledge of life to which they molded my intellectual and spiritual well-being.

Prayer

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” ~Reinhold Niebuhr

"Prayer is an essential tool for us to talk with God and to build a closer relationship with Him, so we can become more like our Father. " ~Douglas S Winnail

"Prayer is our pathway not only to divine protection, but also to a personal, intimate relationship with God." ~ Shirley Dobson

"Prayer is the wing wherewith the soul flies to heaven and meditation the eye wherewith we see God." ~ Ambrose of Milan
"Having a life time of prayer, talking to God become natural as breathing...it's the presence of God ... moment by moment reality" ~ Anon
"Prayer is and remains always a native and deepest impulse of the soul of man." ~ Thomas Carlyle

"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart." ~John Bunyan

*****
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." ~ Charles M. Schulz

Content and Honour

"O God, help us to perform our duties with laughter and kind faces; and let cheerfulness abound with industry. Give us to go blithely on our business all this day, and bring us to our resting beds weary and content and undishonoured; for Jesus Christ's sake." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

"Beauty is power; a smile is its sword." - John Ray

"A perfect day is when the soul smile." ~from The Untold Stories

"A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears."~Anne Roiphe

"Basic beauty lies in the way a woman walks; it is health and an attitude to life." ~Nancy Astor

"Goodness is beauty in the best estate." ~Christopher Marlowe

"Integrity reveals beauty." ~Thomas Leonard

"Of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand." ~Khalil Gibran

“Real beauty is about looking life right in the face and seeing all its magnificence reflected in your own.” ~Valerie Monroe

"A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside."~Denis Waitley

"A warm smile is the universal language of kindness." ~William Arthur Ward

"Beautiful isle of the sea,
Smile on the brow of the waters." ~George Cooper

"When you smile about the life you live, you end up living a life worth smiling about." ~Unattributed

"Your smile brings beauty to both you and humanity." ~A.D. Williams

“Your smile lights up a room like a candle in the dark. I can still hear the song of your laughter.” ~Anon

Three Score 2010

"Live, love, learn, think, give, laugh. try."

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." ~Robert Browning

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

A BIRTHDAY FAIR
By Yesu Ben

At long last, clouds have lifted and dispersed;
The pikes have reappeared; the land is wet;
The air smells of fresh earth; anguish reversed;
Yellow flowers dressed in green – proud and set
For a new day’s longed for exchange of views,
The meadow has become a noisy place;
Flora in brightest fashion clothes and shoes;
A conversation lively, vines embrace;

On privacies and on oppressive trees,
On rain, on covert sneak of weed on ground;
they’re drinking to the renaissance with glee
A cycle’s been concluded; life is found!
The conscious world sings, breathes and is aware!
With tenor voice that echoes in the air!

August 11, 2018

A birthday tribute on my 68th

Just Enjoy Life

Work hard at what you like to do and try to overcome all obstacles

Laugh at your mistakes and praise yourself for learning from them

Pick some flowers and appreciate the beauty of nature

Say hello to strangers and enjoy the people you know

Don't be afraid to show your emotions laughing and crying make you feel better

Love your friends and family with your entire being they are the most important part of your life

Feel the calmness on a quiet sunny day

Find a rainbow and live your world of dreams always remember life is better than it seem

A Friend

A friend is like a flower
A rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.

A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.

A friend is like those blades of grass
you can never mow,
Standing straight, tall, and proud
in a perfect little row.

A friend is like a heart
that goes strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have a friend?

© 1990-2010 Adrianne Goff (All rights reserved)

~~~ AND REMEMBER ~~~

It's not wise to count your friends
on a bright sunny day,
when the sky is blue
and smiles come so easily.

Instead wait for a storm,
when the clouds are dark and
the day grows cold,
and laughter is not heard
in your heavy heart.

Then when a friend comes
and stands beside you
and lifts your spirits to the sky
and laughter is in your heart,
he or she deserves the name ...

FRIEND.

Thank you, my Friend,
for braving the storms with me
and for making the sunny days so much brighter.

You are You
You are strong when you take your grief and teach it to smile.

You are brave when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.

You are happy when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.

You are loving when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.

You are wise when you know the limits of your wisdom.

You are true when you admit there are times you fool yourself.

You are alive when tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.

You are growing when you know what you are but not what you will become.

You are free when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.

You are honorable when you find your honor is to honor others.

You are generous when you can take as sweetly as you can give.

You are humble when you do not know how humble you are.

You are thoughtful when you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are.

You are merciful when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.

You are beautiful when you don't need a mirror to tell you.

You are rich when you never need more than what you have.

You are you when you are at peace with who you are not.

~Anon~
*****
Stand Up in For Yourself;
Stand Up and be Yourself

Stop hiding!
Stop holding yourself back and playing yourself down!
Stop worrying about how you look and what people are saying.
Stop listening to what people are saying and trying to find out if they are whispering about you.
Stop waiting for someone to tell you that you are okay or to make you feel special.
Life is special!
It is a special gift.
This is your life!
Now take your gift and live it out in the open!
Decide today that you are going to live out loud!

Living out loud means having the courage to be exactly who you are without apology.
It means admitting your mistakes without beating yourself up.
It means not taking who you are and what you have for granted.
Release all shame!
Release all guilt!
You cannot live out loud if you are hiding behind what was.
Living out loud means focusing on what is, right now, and that is you!

To live out loud means showing up as your authentic self, without your makeup or your toupee.
It means acknowledging your shortcomings and celebrating your strengths.
Living out loud means broadcasting your needs, your likes and your dislikes as they relate to your fears and frustrations.
It means that you let people know exactly who you are and expect them to be as thrilled as you are about who you are.

In order to live out loud you must have faith in yourself and in the process of life.
You must have principles you live by and standards by which you can govern and gauge yourself.
Most important, in order to live out loud you must love yourself enough to tell yourself and everyone else the absolute truth about you.
When you can do that, you can live out loud and be very proud about what the world will hear about you.

Until today, you may have been living your life in a whisper.
Just for today, take one step toward pumping up your volume.
Stand up in yourself! Stand up and be yourself!

~Iyanla Vanzant~

TO WONDER

To wonder, to know,
To explore, always asking:
What am I?
Who am I?
What will become of me?
Of my knowledge?

Am I squandered on the world?
Cheapening existence through vanity?
How long before I am fit to say, I know this!
Rather than, I think this.

That in itself questions self,
Whether our thought and mind is
Our own knowledge and assurance.
At what point in time do we stop marching?

Pencil upon paper, sight upon colour and light.
A fixation upon what we comprehend
And that, which is incomprehensible.
Are we gambling with the gifts we are given?

Are they gifts?
The ability to question choice, life, the air we breathe;
The sun, the moon, clouds, stars, the earth, wind, rain, height.

Re-reading leads.
Random, our teachers abandon us,
Fending for all you are on your own
'Tis a lonely path all humans follow, trying to fill the void
With relationships, contact with others, family, friends.

I advanced myself only through victory.
Victory against what?
If there’s nothing to fight against,
How do we advance at all?
Do we fight against self-doubt?

From the Original Manuscript Written by Lily Dancel, Wyndham College
Poetic Concept:
Leah C. Dancel
Copyright@2007
All rights reserved
Quakers Hill NSW
AUSTRALIA

Remember today all the blessings you have

Remember today that you are alive.
Sometimes we tend to forget.
You have a purpose that is all your own.
No one else is you.
You have dreams and hopes and desires.
Listen to your heart for a while.

Remember today all the blessings you have.
There's beauty in every direction you look.
Enjoy the abundance that is already yours.
The world is a wonderful place and you're here.

Remember today that you get what you give.
Your world is a mirror of your inner self.
Love will be yours when you give it away.

Remember today that life is creation.
As long as you live you can always contribute
your own special voice.
Remember today is a special time.
Make the best of it while you can.

No String Attached

I've nothing else to offer,
So, to you, it's love I'll send,
It's nothing that I borrowed,
And it's nothing that I'd lend.

It has no dollar value,
And it can't be overused;
It isn't fragile, so it can't break,
Though, often it's abused.

I've given it to others,
But each time it's unique,
Its meaning's always different;
It depends on what you seek.

It's something you can store away
To feel when you're in need,
But never is it on display;
Its beauty can't be seen.

I'm giving it "no strings attached,"
No costly warranty;
This love that I am sending
Has a lifetime guarantee.

~Anon~

Always There for Us

"In the silence of our hearts,
God walks with us;

In our garden of thoughts,
He touches our hearts.

In the wings of our words,
He bestows meaningful ideas;

And in the core of our dreams,
He provides hope and meanings of Life."

~Mar Razalan

A VANISHED FRIEND

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.

And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.

'Tomorrow' I say! 'I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him.'
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner, yet miles away,
'Here's a telegram sir,' Jim died today.'
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

~Anon~

Remember to always say what you mean. If you love someone, tell them. Because when you decide that it is the right time it might be too late.

Seize the day
Never have regrets.
And most importantly,
stay close to your friends
and family, for they have helped
make you the person that you are today.

SMILE, even through your tears! ~JBY
~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

BEAUTY

It is when beauty arrives,
To wake us up and come alive,
Guide our eyes to the sky,
To look within and we will shine.

Keep the flame of hope burning bright,
To see our inner light come to life,
And then the winds blow and we begin to breathe,
To hold that moment that never leaves.

Seek the beauty within the world,
Grasp the life we hold deep inside,
Embrace everything from our soul,
Until we reflect the light from our eyes.

The light gives life to the colours of change, Blending into one that remain the same, Adorning the blue stained sky,
Dreams reign high while clouds entwine.

And the depths of the ocean below,
Reflects our tears through rain and snow, Crystallised in the blink of our eyes,
A momentary glimmer of the radiant light.

Stars awaken as we look above,
And pain slowly fades to love,
Reawakened as we morph to dust,
And dissolve in all that is and ever was.

We reveal of what is inside,
Within the lineaments of our soul,
A beauty mirrored from our eyes,
It is a teardrop filled with the world.

Beauty is the essence of the heart,
As love is expressed into an art,
A light that is born that guides us home,
A dream that dawns of all we've known.

A birth into the unborn again,
A commencing where all become still,
A starting where we stopped to rest,
A momentary time that we fulfill.

Patrick Graven
FB

The day is DONE

The day is done,
it cannot be changed.
My actions and my thoughts
reflected my own spirit
on this day of some,
I am proud,
of some I am not.

When I wake,
there will be new chances...
To think and act
with wisdom and compassion.

There will be new temptations
to be petty,
small or selfish...

May I choose wisely and well
from waking to day's end...
And be a blessing to all I meet.

~Anon~

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

We Are Collective

Let the real revolution begin.
This is a fight to save our country's future.
To salvage the gains we have so far achieved
when we decided to put the right man in Malacanang.
To ensure that everything he does
and all he has accomplished will bear fruit
instead of simply going to waste.
To cut our ties of dependence to oligarchic structures
whose only desire is to enslave us.
To chart our own course.
Fueled by a longing to break free from the past.
To see a country where we all enjoy real economic progress.
To see the day when Filipinos do not need to migrate.
To stand proudly among the brotherhood of nations.
Not as beggars but as equals.
Duterte has shown us the way.
But evil forces conspire to block that path.
Using every weapon in their arsenal to fool and deceive us.
This we cannot allow.
Because we are Legion.
We are the Multitude.
We are Collective.

LIFE in its ESSENCE

"To thine own self be true, , Thou canst not then be false to any man."~ William Shakespeare

A Hebrew origin, means 'the joyous one'

Leah is magnetic and seductive
She carries a sense of her own power
She has a great skill for teaching others
She sees the ironies of life all too clearly
Her capacity for sympathy is celebrated
She is a mistress of persuasion
Her strong powers of endurance set her aloft
Her home is haven of security
She may be prone to exhibitionism
Nothing is free from her scrutiny.

Leah ~ also means "weary" relinquishing her heart to love, for she is a hopeless romantic, putting others before herself, for she knows no other way but to give a helping hand, her reassuring smile is there for all to see, no cause is too great, for giving up is unknown to her, she loves a challenge to do her best.

You are artsy and elegant. Your imagination allows you to place yourself in other people’s shoes, which allows you to easily understand and sympathize with those around you.

You are calm and rational.
You are also GIVING and KIND - a Great FRIEND.
You are EASY GOING and TRUSTING.
However, you are too SENSIBLE to fall for mind games. EELSIE'S BIRTFAIR

❤❤❤

"What is a friend? I will tell you, it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself." ~Frank Crane

"Friendship is a sheltering tree." ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) English Poet

"The essence of a perfect friendship is that each friend reveals himself utterly to the other, flings aside his reserves, and shows himself for what he truly is." ~Robert Benson

"A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty." ~Anon

"The voice of the Lord is the voice of common sense, which is shared by all that is ~Samuel Butler (1835 - 1902)
May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

~Apache Blessing~

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