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.




What does it mean to be different? How does it feel? Is it okay to act or look or be different from everyone else at times?
Sometimes, maybe even most of the time, it feels safer to blend into the crowd. We don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. But sometimes it's when we are different that we discover new things no one has ever thought of or done before.
We don't want to spend our whole lives doing only what others do. And there are times when we must take a stand if what others are doing is wrong.
Perhaps it's good practice to try to do some little thing differently once in a while, to stand out from the crowd, just to get used to it. We might even like it.
After all, if no one ever dares to be different, how would our world ever change for the better?




My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue,
An everlasting vision of the everchanging view,
A wonderous woven magic in bits of blue and gold,
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold.

-- Carole King



Our lives are patchwork quilts of mismatched fabrics, all stitched together by an invisible seamstress.
The tattered, blood-red scraps of quarrels, the beige of pastry crust baked on Saturdays in a grandmother's kitchen that always smelled sweet, the brilliant colors of our happy moments -- picnics and sunsets and laughter -- all these are necessary pieces of the tapestry of our lives, even our cold, white doubts and emptiness.
All the colors of life sewn together with the green thread of growth. We are a mixture of feelings and experiences.
Often, we want to cut away a square of painful memory. But without it, our quilt would lose its beauty, for contrast would disappear. If a piece is removed, the rest is weakened and incomplete.



Come stand by my side where I am going,
Take my hand if I stumble and fall.
It's the strength that you share when you're growing,
That gives me what I need most of all.

-- Hoyt Axton




Take time everyday to do something silly.




Let your conscienous be your guide.

-- Jiminy Cricket


Crickets sing on summer nights because it's their nature to do so. They don't think about whistling or trumpeting or sleeping or changing the world. They've figured out their role on earth, and they do it.
We are a bit more complex than crickets, and most of the time that's lucky.
In most of our affairs it's our conscience more than sheer instinct that helps us choose those thoughts and acts and feelings that are right for us.
Each of us has that little voice inside, relentless as a chirping cricket, telling us what to do. Even in the middle of our toughest decisions, we always have within us the solution that is right for us.
All we have to do is listen -- and trust.




Finish each day and be done with it.
Tomorrow is a new day, begin it well.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson



Two of the most useless phrases in the English language are "what if" and "if only." We waste so much time and energy thinking about what we might have done and wishing we had acted or reacted differently. We imagine how things might have turned out "if only . . ."
All of us make mistakes. To go back and wonder and wish about our yesterdays prevents us from living fully today. Each day is a fresh chance; a new beginning.
We can only squeeze what we can out of the moment and let the drops fall where they may. Some will evaporate and some will form rainbows.
Can I forget about yesterday and start a fresh new day?



The Optimist Creed

Promise yourself....
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come ture.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the prescence of trouble.....

The author of this creed is unknown.



One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Scenes from his life flashed across the sky and he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to him and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life had flashed before him, he recalled that at the lowest and saddest times of his life there was only one set of footprints.

Dismayed, he asked, "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. I don't understand why, when I needed you most, you would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious child. I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering when you saw only one set of footprints...

That was when I carried you."



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