ROCK IN THE SANDBOX
A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had
with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic
shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he
discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.
The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With no
little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by
using his feet.
(He was a very small boy and the rock was very huge.)
When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he
couldn't roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved,
pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock
tipped and then fell back into the sandbox.
The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved ~but his only reward was to
have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into
tears of frustration.
All this time the boy's father watched from his living room window as the drama
unfolded.
At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the
sandbox. It was the boy's father.
Gently but firmly he said; "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that
you had available?
Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the
strength that I had!"
"No, son," corrected the father kindly. "You didn't use all the
strength you had. You didn't ask me." !!!!!!
With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the
sandbox.
Author Unknown
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Knowledge
is Power
Know who you are
Know what's your stance
Know the only way you'll move
Is only to advance
Know there's a boundary
Drawn in the ground, real fine
Know no matter how close you come
To never cross the line
Know who you were
Know what you can be
Know the greatness of your soul
If only you would see
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If I Had
My Life To Live Over...
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and
the sofa faded.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because
my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in
storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass
stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while
watching life.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would
go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
There would have been more "I love yous"... more "I'm sorrys"...
but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it
and really see it... live it... and never give it back.
Copyright © Erma Bombeck
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Roles And How We
Play Them
Whenever I'm disappointed with my
spot in my life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out
for a part in a school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being
in it, though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were
awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her,
eyes shining with pride and excitement. "Guess what Mum," he shouted,
and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me: "I've been
chosen to clap and cheer!"
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Somebody...
SOMEBODY
is very proud of you.
SOMEBODY is thinking of you.
SOMEBODY is caring about you.
SOMEBODY misses you.
SOMEBODY wants to talk to you.
SOMEBODY wants to be with you.
SOMEBODY hopes you are not in trouble.
SOMEBODY is thankful for the support you have provided.
SOMEBODY wants to hold your hand.
SOMEBODY hopes everything turns out all right.
SOMEBODY wants you to be happy.
SOMEBODY wants you to find him/her.
SOMEBODY wants to give you a gift.
SOMEBODY wants to hug you.
SOMEBODY thinks you are a gift.
SOMEBODY admires your strength.
SOMEBODY wants to protect you.
SOMEBODY can't wait to see you.
SOMEBODY loves you for who you are.
SOMEBODY treasures your spirit.
SOMEBODY is glad that you are their friend.
SOMEBODY wants to get to know you better.
SOMEBODY wants to be near you.
SOMEBODY wants you to know they are there for you.
SOMEBODY would do anything for you.
SOMEBODY wants to share their dreams with you.
SOMEBODY is alive because of you.
SOMEBODY needs your support.
SOMEBODY will cry when they read this.
SOMEBODY needs you to have faith in them.
SOMEBODY trusts you.
SOMEBODY hears a song that reminds them of you.
_________________________________________________________________________________
GARDEN
FOR A HAPPY LIFE
Plant three rows of peas:
Peace of mind
Peace of heart
Peace of soul.
Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness.
Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be happy
Lettuce really love one another.
No garden should be without turnips:
Turnup for service when needed
Turnup to help one another
Turnup the music and dance.
Water freely with patience and Cultivate with love.
There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.
To conclude our garden
We must have thyme:
Thyme for fun
Thyme for rest
Thyme for ourselves.
Pretty nice garden, don't you think?
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THE
PRISON
"I
have never been contained except when I made the prison."
--Mari Evans
When you concern yourself with doing only what others 'think' you can do,
you
lay the floor of your prison.
When you conform your activities based on what others might say, you
put the bars around your prison.
When you allow what others have done or
are not doing to determine what you can do, you
build the roof of your prison.
When you allow fear, competition or
greed to guide your actions,
you
lock yourself up and throw away the key.
It is our concern over what others say,
do, and think about us that
imprison our mind, body and spirit.
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TO
BE OR NOT TO BE
Positive not Negative
Happy not Sad
Succeed not Fail
Constructive not Destructive
Freedom not Confinement
Leader not Follower
Confident not Insecure
Truth not Fiction
Embrace not Withdraw
Accepting not Judgmental
Strong not Weak
Future not Past
Build not Destroy
Forward not Backward
Fearless not Fearful
Quality not Quantity
Half Full not Half Empty
IT IS MY CHOICE - I HAVE CHOSEN!
-Anne Boisvert
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The
bug or the windshield....
Some
days you will be the bug. Other days you will be the windshield. What counts
most is how you cope with each. Being the bug, in life, is quite a challenge.
"Bug-days" are those days when absolutely everything goes wrong. It
feels like life is literally squishing you. Can you go with the flow until the tide turns? The tide will always turn. Think positively because any
negativity that you own will come back at your ten-fold.
Being the windshield, in my estimation, has a lot to do with the kind of days or
moods that we can fall into in which we dissociate from our feelings. Why? Well,
because, when we go through the day without care and respect for how we feel we
also go through that day without care and respect for how others feel. In essence if we aren't being the most compassionate and
emotionally stable (consistent) that we can be then we are squishing the every
day vulnerability of anyone that crosses our path.
If I had to choose I'd rather be the bug. My only qualification to that would be
that I'd be the bug that never gets entirely squished and that just doesn't
stick to the windshield.
Each day, is a new day. Remember that. You don't have to live this day in
yesterday's mood. Be the bug that won't stick and roll with the windshields that
you come into contact with knowing all the while that once you bounce off there
is freedom, space, air, and most importantly so much room to grow.
After we hit enough windshields we begin to learn how to steer away from them.
We begin to learn how to pace ourselves so that the wind is always at our backs
and the way ahead is not cluttered with obstacles.
Thought Of The Day email edition. Copyright (C) 2001 Ms. A.J.
Mahari (soul@golden.net)
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There's A
Hole In My Sidewalk
In Five Easy Chapters
I walk down a street and there's a big hole. I don't see it and fall into it.
It's dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to find my way out. It's not
my fault !
I walk down the same street. There's a big hole and I can see it, but I still
fall in. It's dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to get out. It's
still not my fault.
I walk down a street. There's a big hole. I can see it, but I still fall in.
It's become a habit. But I keep my eyes open and get out immediately. It is my
fault.
Chapter Four
I walk down a street. There's a big hole. And I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down a different street.
-- Author Unknown
