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Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is as important as the one we pass on ourselves; for that judgment touches the very center of our existence. We stand in the midst of an almost infinite network of relationships: to other people, to things, to the universe. And yet, at three o'clock in the morning, when we are alone with ourselves, we are aware that the most intimate and powerful of all relationships and the one we can never escape is the relationship we have with ourselves. No significant aspect of our thinking, motivation, feelings or behavior is unaffected by our self-evaluation. ~ ~ Nathaniel Brandon ~ ~   Comes the Dawn Veronica A. Shoffstall After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean security; and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts, and presents aren't promises; and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child. And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain. And futures have a way of falling down in midflight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure... that you really are strong, and you really do have worth and you learn and learn with every goodbye you learn.   "If I WERE TO TRY to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the best I know how the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." ~ ~ Abraham Lincoln ~ ~   Please, Mom and Dad.... My hands are small. I don't mean to spill my milk. Please slow down so I can keep up with you. Don't slap my hands I don't understand. Please look at me when I talk to you. It lets me know you are really listening. My feelings are tender. Don't nag me all day. Let me make mistakes without feeling stupid. Don't expect the bed I make or the picture I draw to be perfect. Just love me for trying. Remember I am a child, not a small adult. Sometimes I don't understand what you are saying. I love you so much. Please love me just for being me. Not just for the things I can do.   There is nothing I can give you which you have not, but there is much, very much, that while I cannot give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take Heaven! No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present instant. Take Peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow, behind it, yet within reach is joy. There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see, we have only to look! I beseech you to look! Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy, or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it and you touch the angels hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me that angel's hand is there; the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys too; be not content with them as joys. They too conceal diviner gifts. And so at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the world sends greetings but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever the day breaks and the shadows flee away. ~ ~ FRA GIOVANNI ~ ~   To Every Parent There are little eyes upon you, And they are watching night and day. There are little ears that quickly take In every word you say, There are little hands all eager to do Everything you do, And a little child who's dreaming of the day he'll be like you. You're the little child's idol, You're the wisest of the wise, In his little mind about you, No suspicions ever rise; He believes in you devoutly, Holds all you say and do. He will say and do in your way when He's grown up to be like you. There's a wide eyed little child who Believes you're always right, And his ears are always open and he Watches day and night, You are setting an example Everyday in all you do For the little child who's waiting To grow up to be like you.   "Childhood Should be a Journey . . . Not a Race"   My mother kept a garden, a garden of the heart, She planted all the good things that gave my life its start. She turned me to the sunshine and encouraged me to dream, Fostering and nurturing the seeds of self-esteem… And when the winds and rains came, she protected me enough - - But not too much - - she knew I’d need to stand up strong and tough. Her constant good example always taught me right from wrong - - Markers for my pathway that will last a lifetime long. I am my mother’s garden. I am her legacy – And I hope today she feels the love reflected back from me.   Homepage This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page