Thought for the Day

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Today I smiled, and all at once
Things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else,
A little bit of hope I had.
Today I sang a little song,
And felt my heart grow light.
I walked a happy little mile,
With not a cloud in sight.
Today I worked with what I had,
And longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds,
Were flowers at my door.
Today I loved a little more,
And complained a little less.
And in the giving of myself,
I forgot my weariness.

~ Author Unknown ~

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katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.
Horace Mann

Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with this priceless treasure?" Author Unknown

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Recipe For Life
4 cups of Love
2 cups of Loyalty
3 cups of Forgiveness
1 cup of Friendship
5 spoons of Hope
2 spoons of Tenderness
4 quarts of Faith
1 barrel of Laughter
Take Love and Loyalty, mix it thoroughly with Faith.
Blend it with Tenderness, Kindness & Understanding.
Sprinkle abundantly with Laughter.
Bake it with Sunshine.
Serve daily with Generous helpings.

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.
- Author Unknown

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.
Calvin Trillin

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Love and Time
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

The Wise Woman's Stone
A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.
Author Unknown

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

We are all at different paths
In our lives,
But no matter where we go,
We take a little of Each other every where!
Opportunity may knock once,
But temptation bangs
On your front door forever.
A bad attitude is like a flat tire.
You ain't going no where
Till you change it.
The best thing About the future
Is that it comes only
One day at a time.
Out of difficulties grow miracles.
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
At the end of the day saying,
I will try again tomorrow.
Only those who risk going too far
Can possibly find out
How far one can go.
Though no one can go back and
Make a brand new start,
Anybody can start from NOW
And make a brand new ending.
We may not have it all together,
But together we have it all.

Unknown

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Just One

I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise, to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day.
As I moved through the morning dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion.
I saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin.

As I approached, I realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.
I asked the youth the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back into the sea."

As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear to me and I countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference."
The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said,

"I made a difference to that ONE."

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Smiling is infectious Very Happy

Smiling is infectious,
You catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner,
and someone saw my grin,
When he smiled I realised,
I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile,
Then I realised its worth,
A single smile just like mine,
Could travel round the earth.
So if you feel a smile begin,
Don't leave it undetected -
Let's start an epidemic quick
And get the world infected!

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Pray Don't Find Fault

Pray don't find fault with the man who limps
or stumbles along the road,
unless you have worn the shoes he wears
or struggled beneath his load.
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,
though hidden away from view,
or the burden he bears, placed on your back
might cause you to stumble too.
Don't sneer at the man who's down today
unless you have felt the blow
that caused his fall or felt the shame
that only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
that were his if dealt to you,
in the selfsame way, at the selfsame time,
might cause you to stagger too.
Don't be too harsh with the man who sins
or pelt him with word or stone,
unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,
that you have no sins of your own -
for you know perhaps if the tempter's voice
should whisper as softly to you
as it did to him when he went astray,
it might cause you to stumble too.

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

The Cracked Pot

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’ The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’ ‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’ ‘For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’ Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

The Colours of Friendship

Once upon a time the colours of the world started to quarrel.
All claimed that they were the best;
the most important,
the most useful,
the favourite

GREEN said:
"Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was
chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

BLUE interrupted:
"You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the
water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

YELLOW chuckled:
"You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet:
"I am the colour of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

RED could stand it no longer, he shouted out:
"I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I bring fire into
the blood. I am willing to fight for a cause. I am the color of danger and of
bravery. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

PURPLE rose up to his full height:
He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the colour of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me, for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey."

Finally INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the colour of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

So the colours went on boasting,
each convinced of his or her own superiority.
Their quarrelling became louder and louder.
Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening.
Thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly.
The colours crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.
In the midst of the clamour, rain began to speak: "You foolish colours,
fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest.
Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose,
unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colours united and joined hands.

The rain continued:
"From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across
the sky in a great bow of colour as a reminder
that you can all live in peace.
The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow."

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world,
and a Rainbow appears in the sky,
let us remember to appreciate one another.

by Unknown

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

The Value of a Smile

A smile cost nothing, but gives much.

It enriches those who receive,
without making poorer those who give.
It takes but a moment,
but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it,
and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it.

A smile creates happiness in the home,
fosters good will in business,
and is the countersign of friendship.
It brings rest to the weary,
cheer to the discouraged,
sunshine to the sad,
and is nature's best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen,
for it is something that is of no value to anyone
until it is given away.

Some people are too tired to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours,
as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

by Anonymous

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

The Trouble Tree

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pick up truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterwards he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied." I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

He paused. "Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.

katemha · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Posts: 21

Live For Today

..................................Oooo
Some people .............( .....)
come into our lives..... ) ../
and quickly go.......... (__/
oooO
(..... ) .......Some people
..\.. ( ........become friends
...\__)...... and stay a while...

leaving beautiful .....Oooo
footprints on our ....(...... )
hearts.....................)... /
.............................(_ _/
oooO
.(..... )...... and we are
...\... ( .......~ never ~
....\__) ......quite the same

because we have
made a good friend!!