Set Personal Goals

You say you have set your goals?
Congratulations!
Are they set for the right reason?
We set goals for short term objectives. Most of these objectives concern materialistic wants: money, and physical things.
Here is a suggestion to take a different point of view when working on goals.
Start with deciding what your life should be. Take some time to define your life five years from now. Here are some questions you might ask yourself.
* What are my surroundings?
* What kind of places am I in?
* What am I feeling?
* What are my emotions?
* What types of people are around me?
* What kind of feelings do I get from them?
* What am I doing? Physically?
* Where am I going? My future?
* Where have I been?
Notice there are no questions dealing with money, or named places, or named people. The answers to these questions will provide you with attitudes, feelings, values, perceptions and other non-tangible ideas that make life worth living no matter where you are, who you are with, or what you are doing!
If we have created a lifestyle that we like, then the physical part of our lives will fit right in and accompany the lifestyle because it has to!
My suggestion is to look at the lifestyle you want to create, and set your plan to achieve the lifestyle instead of the physical side of life most of us set our goals to achieve.
To go even deeper, define your values very clearly and make sure that your vision of your life in five years fits with your values.
Is it worth it?
You have heard the phrase 'plan your work and work your plan'? If you do not create your life by setting goals and a plan to reach them, someone is doing it for you. If you think about it, that is really scary! What kind of vision would some else have for you?
Think of it this way. Look back five years ago in your life. Are you today where you imagined you would be five years ago? Or are you where someone else imagined you would be?
Don't you think your life would dramatically improve if you made the plan instead of 'them'? Don't you think you might have a little more interest in your life than someone else?
I should hope so.
As the advertisement says so well:
Just do it!




-by Miami Philips, Source Unknown

Love is Understanding

You've heard it said: "Love is patient and kind." If love is patient, it may be because love is truly understanding.
Do you know what the most common craving is among pregnant women? (I'm sure this is factual.) The most common craving among pregnant women is not spicy food, pickles or ice cream. Not even close. It is for MEN to get pregnant.
Why? Because then they would know what it is like! Then they might be more patient. What most women need during times of cravings, discomfort, swollen ankles and morning sickness is... understanding.
Much of our conflict is simply misunderstanding. As a new bride, one woman moved into the small home on her husband's ranch in the mountains. She put a shoe box on a shelf in her closet and asked her husband never to touch it.
For 50 years he left the box alone, until his life partner was old and dying. One day when he was putting their affairs in order, he found the box again and thought it might hold something important.
Opening it, he discovered two doilies and $82,500 in cash. He took the box to her and asked about the contents.
"My mother gave me that box the day we married," she explained. "She told me to make a doily to help ease my frustrations every time I got mad at you."
Her husband was touched that in 50 years she'd only been upset enough to make two doilies.
"What's the $82,500 for?" he asked.
She explained, "Oh, well that's the money I've made selling the doilies."
Marge Piercy beautifully said, "Life is the first gift, love is the second and understanding is the third." But it is love that gives us life and understanding that brings about love.
Making doilies might take your mind off the problem, but it won't change anything. The path from conflict to love is not by way of arts and crafts. It is through the valley of understanding.



-by steve Goodler, Source Unknown

The Perfect Heart

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said “Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.” The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared - how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”
“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side. How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart.


-by Author Unknown,Source Unknown

The Secret Ears

“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped.
The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred.
When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
He blurted out the tragedy. “A boy, a big boy… called me a freak.”
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
“But, you might mingle with other young people,” his mother reproved him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
The boy’s father had a session with the family physician. Could nothing be done?
“I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured,” the doctor decided.
Whereupon, the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by.
Then his father said, “You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But, it’s a secret who it is.”
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs. Later, he married and entered the diplomatic service.
“But, I must know!” He urged his father, “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.”
“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but, the agreement was that you are not to know… not yet.”
The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come. It was one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to reveal that the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?”
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen, but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known.

-by author unknown,source unknown

Are You a Bucket-Filler or a Dipper?

You have heard of the cup that overflowed. This is a story of a bucket that is like the cup, only larger, it is an invisible bucket. Everyone has one. It determines how we feel about ourselves, about others, and how we get along with people. Have you ever experienced a series of very favorable things which made you want to be good to people for a week? At that time, your bucket was full. A bucket can be filled by a lot of things that happen. When a person speaks to you, recognizing you as a human being, your bucket is filled a little. Even more if he calls you by name, especially if it is the name you like to be called. If he compliments you on your dress or on a job well done, the level in your bucket goes up still higher. There must be a million ways to raise the level in another's bucket. Writing a friendly letter, remembering something that is special to him, knowing the names of his children, expressing sympathy for his loss, giving him a hand when his work is heavy, taking time for conversation, or, perhaps more important, listing to him. When one's bucket is full of this emotional support, one can express warmth and friendliness to people. But, remember, this is a theory about a bucket and a dipper. Other people have dippers and they can get their dippers in your bucket. This, too, can be done in a million ways. Lets say I am at a dinner and inadvertently upset a glass of thick, sticky chocolate milk that spills over the table cloth, on a lady's skirt, down onto the carpet. I am embarrassed. "Bright Eyes" across the table says, "You upset that glass of chocolate milk." I made a mistake, I know I did, and then he told me about it! He got his dipper in my bucket! Think of the times a person makes a mistake, feels terrible about it, only to have someone tell him about the known mistake ("Red pencil" mentality!) Buckets are filled and buckets are emptied ? emptied many times because people don't really think about what are doing. When a person's bucket is emptied, he is very different than when it is full. You say to a person whose bucket is empty, "That is a pretty tie you have," and he may reply in a very irritated, defensive manner. Although there is a limit to such an analogy, there are people who seem to have holes in their buckets. When a person has a hole in his bucket, he irritates lots of people by trying to get his dipper in their buckets. This is when he really needs somebody to pour it in his bucket because he keeps losing. The story of our lives is the interplay of the bucket and the dipper. Everyone has both. The unyielding secret of the bucket and the dipper is that when you fill another's bucket it does not take anything out of your own bucket. The level in our own bucket gets higher when we fill another's, and, on the other hand, when we dip into another's bucket we do not fill our own ... we lose a little. For a variety of reasons, people hesitate filling the bucket of another and consequently do not experience the fun, joy, happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction connected with making another person happy. Some reasons for this hesitancy are that people think it sounds "fakey," or the other person will be suspicious of the motive, or it is "brown-nosing." Therefore, let us put aside our dipper and resolve to touch someone's life in order to fill their bucket.

---

-by an unknown Author/unknown source

Maintain Your Integrity

A while back, there was a story about Reuben Gonzolas, who was in the final match of his first professional racquetball tournament. He was playing the perennial champion for his first shot at a victory on the pro circuit. At match point in the fifth and final game, Gonzolas made a super "kill shot" into the front corner to win the tournament. The referee called it good, and one of the linemen confirmed the shot was a winner. But after a moment's hesitation, Gonzolas turned and declared that his shot had skipped into the wall, hitting the floor first. As a result, the serve went to his opponent, who went on to win the match. Reuben Gonzolas walked off the court; everyone was stunned. The next issue of a leading racquetball magazine featured Gonzolas on its cover. The lead editorial searched and questioned for an explanation for the first ever occurrence on the professional racquetball circuit. Who could ever imagine it in any sport or endeavor? Here was a player with everything officially in his favor, with victory in his grasp, who disqualifies himself at match point and loses. When asked why he did it, Gonzolas replied, "It was the only thing I could do to maintain my integrity." -by: Author Unknown, Heart At Work

---

25 Beautiful One-Liners

1. Give God what’s right…not what’s left. 2. Man’s way leads to hopeless end…God’s way leads to an endless hope . 3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing. 4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone. 5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma, but never let him be the period. 6. Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period. 7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift. 8. When praying, don’t give God instructions…just report for duty. 9. Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church. 10. We don’t change God’s message…His message changes us. 11. The church is prayer-conditioned. 12. When God ordains, He sustains. 13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning. 14. Plan ahead…It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. 15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position. 16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible. 17. Exercise daily…walk with the Lord. 18. Never give the devil a ride…he will always want to drive. 19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it. 20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back. 21. He who angers you controls you. 22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop. 23. Give Satan an inch & he’ll be a ruler. 24. Be ye fishers of men…You catch them & He’ll clean them. 25. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. -by source unknown

---

The Emperor's Seed

Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!" There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing. By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try." When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grown, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

---

-by an unknown author,unknown source

A Final Goodbye

"I am going home to Denmark, Son, and I just wanted to tell you I love you."

In my dad's last telephone call to me, he repeated that line seven times in a half hour. I wasn't listening at the right level. I heard the words, but not the message, and certainly not their profound intent. I believed my dad would live to be over 100 years old, as my great uncle lived to be 107 years old. I had not felt his remorse over Mom's death, understood his intense loneliness as an "empty nester," or realized most of his pals had long since light-beamed off the planet. He relentlessly requested my brothers and I create grandchildren so that he could be a devoted grandfather. I was too busy "entrepreneuring" to really listen.

"Dad's dead," sighed my brother Brian on July 4, l982.

My little brother is a witty lawyer and has a humorous, quick mind. I thought he was setting me up for a joke, and I awaited the punchline - there wasn't one. "Dad died in the bed he was born in - in Rozkeldj," continued Brian. "The funeral directors are putting him in a coffin, and shipping Dad and his belongings to us tomorrow. We need to prepare for the funeral."

I was speechless. This isn't the way it's supposed to happen. If I knew these were to be Dad's final days, I would have asked to go with him to Denmark. I believe in the hospice movement, which says: "No one should die alone." A loved one should hold your hand and comfort you as you transition from one plane of reality to another. I would have offered consolation during his final hour, if I'd been really listening, thinking and in tune with the Infinite. Dad announced his departure as best he could, and I had missed it. I felt grief, pain and remorse, Why had I not been there for him? He'd always been there for me.

In the mornings when I was nine years old, he would come home from working 18 hours at his bakery and wake me up at 5:00 A.M. by scratching my back with his strong powerful hands and whispering, "Time to get up, Son." By the time I was dressed and ready to roll, he had my newspapers folded, banded and stuffed in my bicycle basket. Recalling his generosity of spirit brings tears to my eyes.

When I was racing bicycles, he drove me 50 miles each way to Kenosha, Wisconsin, every Tuesday night so I could race and he could watch me. He was there to hold me if I lost and shared the euphoria when I won.

Later, he accompanied me to all my local talks in Chicago when I spoke to Century 21, Mary Kay, Equitable and various churches. He always smiled, listened and proudly told whomever he was sitting with, "That's my boy!"

After the fact, my heart was in pain because Dad was there for me and I wasn't there for him. My humble advice is to always, always share your love with your loved ones, and ask to be invited to that sacred transitional period where physical life transforms into spiritual life. Experiencing the process of death with one you love will take you into a bigger, more expansive dimension of beingness.


-by: Mark Victor Hansen, A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

The Dark Candle

A man had a little daughter-an only and much-beloved child. He lived for her ~ she was his life. So when she became ill and her illness resisted the efforts of the best obtainable physicians, he became like a man possessed, moving heaven and earth to bring about her restoration to health. His best efforts proved unavailing and the child died. The father was totally irreconcilable. He became a bitter recluse, shutting himself away from his many friends and refusing every activity that might restore his poise and bring him back to his normal self. But one night he had a dream. He was in Heaven, and was witnessing a grand pageant of all the little child angels. They were marching in an apparently endless line past the Great White Throne. Every white-robed angelic tot carried a candle. He noticed that one child's candle was not lighted. Then he saw that the child with the dark candle was his own little girl. Rushing to her, while the pageant faltered, he seized her in his arms, caressed her tenderly, and then asked: "How is it, darling that your candle alone is unlighted? "Father, they often relight it, but your tears always put it out." Just then he awoke from his dream. The lesson was crystal clear, and its effects were immediate. From that hour on he was not a recluse, but mingled freely and cheerfully with his former friends and associates. No longer would his little darling's candle be extinguished by his useless tears. -by an unknown source

---

Death of an Innocent

I went to a party, Mom, I remembered what you said. You told me not to drink, Mom, So I drank soda instead. I really felt proud inside, Mom, The way you said I would. I didn't drink and drive, Mom, Even though the others said I should. I know I did the right thing, Mom, I know you are always right. Now the party is finally ending, Mom, As everyone is driving out of sight. As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I'd get home in one piece. Because of the way you raised me, So responsible and sweet. I started to drive away, Mom, But as I pulled out into the road, The other car didn't see me, Mom, And hit me like a load. As I lay there on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, "The other guy is drunk," Mom, And now I'm the one who will pay. I'm lying here dying, Mom.... I wish you'd get here soon. How could this happen to me, Mom? My life just burst like a balloon. There is blood all around me, Mom, And most of it is mine. I hear the medic say, Mom, I'll die in a short time. I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear I didn't drink. It was the others, Mom. The others didn't think. He was probably at the same party as I. The only difference is, he drank And I will die. Why do people drink, Mom? It can ruin your whole life. I'm feeling sharp pains now. Pains just like a knife. The guy who hit me is walking, Mom, And I don't think it's fair. I'm lying here dying And all he can do is stare. Tell my brother not to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave. And when I go to heaven, Mom, Put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave. Someone should have told him, Mom, Not to drink and drive. If only they had told him, Mom, I would still be alive. My breath is getting shorter, Mom. I'm becoming very scared. Please don't cry for me, Mom. When I needed you, you were always there. I have one last question, Mom. Before I say good bye. I didn't drink and drive, So why am I the one to die? - by: Elizabeth Beeson, Source Unknown

---

Letting Go

There was once a lonely girl who longed desperately for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving song birds. She took them home and put them in a small glided cage. She nurtured them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a marvellous song. The girl felt great love for the birds. She wanted their singing to last forever.
One day the girl left the door to the cage open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl watched anxiously as he circled high above her. She was so frightened that he would fly away and she would never see him again that as he flew close, she grasped at him wildly. She caught him in her fist. She clutched him tightly within her hand. Her heart gladened at her sucess in capturing him. Suddenly she felt the bird go limp. She opened her hand stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate clutching love had killed him.
She noticed the other bird teteering on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. His need to soar into the clear, blue sky. She lifted him from the cage and tossed him softly into the air. The bird circled once, twice, three times.
The girl watched delighted at the bird's enjoyment. Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss. She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest melody, she had ever heard.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too tight, the best way to keep love is to give it -- WINGS!


-by an unknown source

Please don't lie to me again

This touching sad short love story is amazing. Sometimes we lie to the ones we love because we are afraid to tell people of our feelings for them. How often has this happened to you? Well, read this touching sad short love story and perhaps you might find the courage to let people know of your feelings. Tenchi looked at the face of a girl whom he had been with for a long time. She was his childhood friend. She was lying on the hospital bed, unconcious. As Tenchi looked at her, love and sadness can be seen in his eyes. Worried that something bad might happen to her. "Yuki, please wake up." the words that he kept repeating in his mind, over and over again. "Hey cheer up now. What's the matter?" A young boy wearing a blue baseball cap told his friend, looking at her, who was crying. "I'm fine." A little girl gave the same boy a fake smile. "Ahh, something's wrong, I knew it. Yuki tell me." He insisted. But the little girl just gave him a smile, "nothing." A girl waited under a waiting shed, it was raining too hard. Everything was dark. "Yuki!" The girl heard her name. Left, right, it was her friend, Tenchi. The boy hurried to see her, he ran to the waiting shed quickly, with his uniform, dripping wet. But as soon as he got there, acted as if she didn't even hear his voice, nor knew him for who he was. "We need to talk..." He said trying to catch some air. "I thought I told you to leave me alonE!" The girl shouted as she turned her back at him. "Yuki, I can't do that!" Tenchi answered. Yuki started walking away, she had her clothes wet by the time she set her feet out of the waiting shed. "Hey, listen ok. Look I know that I made the wrong choice about telling you that I...love you....but...please, cant we just...have what we had before? FRIENDSHIP!?" Tenchi continued. Yuki stopped walking, "Look!" she turned around and faced him, "All I ask is for you to leave me alone! I'm sick and tired of this game. It can't be. You can't love a girl like me." She yelled, tears came falling from her eyes. Tenchi made his way to his friend and threw his arms around her, "I just love you!...Why can't we be together?" He was crying. "LET GO!" Yuki pushed him, and Tenchi felt pain on his right cheek, she slapped him. "Can't you understand me? I don't like the way you treat me anymore, I'm not special. You just can't love me as someone else? I hate you!" Her voice was beginning to break up, she was crying real hard, but the rain could cover it. Yuki turned her back at Tenchi and ran away. Tenchi wanted to go after her but all he could do was watch her as she goes farther and farther. As Yuki reached the sidewalk near her house, she felt pain on her left chest, her heart was aching. She couldn't breath. She placed her hand just at the place of her heart and tried to massage her chest, "It's ok, Nikk. You can do it...just a few steps and...Ughr" She took a deep breath and started walking again, slowly, but her knees felt weak, she can't move anymore and that caused her to fall on the ground. Her sister got out the house eventually and helped her to stand up. Tenchi took a deep breath and made his way to the wash room to wash the vase. There was silence. Even his loud breathing could be heard...As Tenchi went out the room, he went to the table near Yuki's bed and took the boquet of roses. "Tenchi," He heard a soft voice calling him. Tenchi turned to his right and found Yuki, awake. "Tenchi, What are u doin here?." she said. Her voice was softer than before. Her friend smiled, "I...came here to...see you.." He replied. "Tenchi...I..." She felt so much pain on her chest again. -by an unknown source

---

A Scorpion Moment

There was this Hindu who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water. He decided to save it by stretching out his finger, but the scorpion stung him. The man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water, but the scorpion stung him again.
A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him.
But the Hindu said: "It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting?"
Don't give up loving.Don't give up your goodness.Even if people around you sting.

-by an unknown source

Beauty Tips

A dear old lady was asked what she used to make her complexion so beautiful and her whole being so bright and attractive. She answered: "I use for my lips, truth I use for my voice, kindness I use for my ears, compassion I use for my hands, charity I use for my figure, uprightness I use for my heart, love I use for any who do not like me, prayer." by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

---

Give Thanks

I may never see tomorrow; there's no written guarantee, And things that happened yesterday belong to history, I cannot predict the future, I cannot change the past, I have just the present moment, I must treat it as my last, I must use this moment wisely for it soon will pass away, and be lost to me forever as part of yesterday, I must exercise compassion, help the fallen to their feet, Be a friend unto the friendless, make an empty life complete, The unkind things I do today may never be undone, And friendships that I fail to win may nevermore be won, I may not have another chance on bended knee to pray, And thank God with humble heart for giving me this day. -by an unknown author

---

Fact about Guys and Girls

GUY FACTS:
When a guy calls you, he wants to be with you

When a guy is quiet, He's listening to you...

When a guy is not arguing, He realizes he's wrong

When a guy says, "I'm fine," after a few minutes, he means it

When a guy stares at you, he thinks you're the most beautiful thing in the world

When you're laying your head on a guy's chest, he has the world

When a guy calls you everyday, he is in love

When a (good) guy say he loves you, he means it

When a guy says he can't live without you, he's with you till your done

When a guy says, "I miss you,", he misses you more than you could have ever missed him or anything else

GIRL FACTS :
When a girl is quiet, millions of things are running through her mind.

When a girl is not arguing, she is thinking deeply

When a girl looks at you with eyes full of questions, she is wondering how long you will be around

When a girl answers, "I'm fine," after a few seconds, she is not at all fine

When a girl stares at you, she is wondering why you are so wonderful

When a girl lays on your chest, she is wishing for you to be hers forever.

When a girl calls you everyday, she is seeking for your attention.

When a girl wants to see you everyday, she wants to be pampered.

When a girl says, "I'll love you forever," she means it.

When a girl says that she can't live without you, she has made up her mind that you are her future.

When a girl says, "I miss you", no one in this world can miss you more than that.

-by an unknown author

Never Alone

I just had to write to tell you how much I love you and care for you.

Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends.
I hoped that soon you'd want me to walk along with you, too. So, I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you.

I waited .... you never called. I just kept on loving you.
As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted so much to touch you. I spilled moonlight onto your face, trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have.
You didn't even think of me.
I wanted so much to comfort you.

The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into glorious morning for you. But you woke up late and rushed off to work. You didn't even notice.
My sky became cloudy and my tears were the rain.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Oh, if you'd only listen. I really LOVE you.
I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the vibrant blue sky. The wind whispers my love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vivid colors of all the flowers.
I shout it to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and compose love songs for birds to sing for you.
I warm you with the clothing of my sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent. My love for you is deeper than any ocean and greater than any need in your heart.
If you'd only realize how I care.

My dad sends his love. I want you to meet him. He cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So, please, call on me soon. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait forever.

Because I LOVE YOU.

Your Friend, Jesus

-by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

Can you love me for me?

Can you ever love me for me? For the me that I am true and true Can you love me with my imperfections? Can you see me as I am and not as what you want me to be? Can you ever love me for me? For the me that makes mistakes and speaks without thinking Can you love me even when I am unreasonable? Can you see me as I am and not for the Angel you seek? Can you ever love me for me? For the me that cries when a stranger child is hurt Can you love me when I am sad without me having a reason to be? Can you see me as I am not as what I once was? Can you ever love me for me?

---

A Girl in a CD Store

There was once a guy who suffered from cancer... a cancer that can't be treated. He was 18 years old and he could die anytime. All his life, he was stuck in his house being taken cared by his mother. He never went outside but he was sick of staying home and wanted to go out for once. So he asked his mother and she gave him permission. He walked down his block and found a lot of stores. He passed a CD store and looked through the front door for a second as he walked. He stopped and went back to look into the store. He saw a young girl about his age and he knew it was love at first sight. He opened the door and walked in, not looking at anything else but her. He walked closer and closer until he was finally at the front desk where she sat. She looked up and asked, "Can I help you?" She smiled and he thought it was the most beautiful smile he has ever seen before and wanted to kiss her right there. He said, "Uh... Yeah... Umm... I would like to buy a CD." He picked one out and gave her money for it. "Would you like me to wrap it for you?" she asked, smiling her cute smile again. He nodded and she went to the back. She came back with the wrapped CD and gave it to him. He took it and walked out of the store. He went home and from then on, he went to that store everyday and bought a CD, and she wrapped it for him. He took the CD home and put it in his closet. He was still too shy to ask her out and he really wanted to but he couldn't. His mother found out about this and told him to just ask her. So the next day, he took all his courage and went to the store. He bought a CD like he did everyday and once again she went to the back of the store and came back with it wrapped. He took it and when she wasn't looking, he left his phone number on the desk and ran out... !!!RRRRRING!!! The mother picked up the phone and said, "Hello?" It was the girl!!! She asked for the boy and the mother started to cry and said, "You don't know? He passed away yesterday..." The line was quiet except for the cries of the boy's mother. Later in the day. The mother went into the boy's room because she wanted to remember him. She thought she would start by looking at his clothes. So she opened the closet. She was face to face with piles and piles and piles of unopened CDs. She was surprised to find all those CDs and she picked one up and sat down on the bed and she started to open one. Inside, there was a CD and as she took it out of the wrapper, out fell a piece of paper. The mother picked it up and started to read it. It said: Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me? Love, Jacelyn The mother opened another CD... Again there was a piece of paper. It said: Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me? Love, Jacelyn -by an unknown author Love is... when you've had a huge fight but then decide to put aside your egos, hold hands and say, "I Love You"

---

The Choice

"Your wife has suffered abuptio-placenta. The baby is now on its eight month but he's in distress; his heart is beating faster than that of a running dog's. You will have to make a choice, sir. Shall we try to save your wife or your child?" I struggled to assimilate the doctor's words as I ran my sweaty palms over my hair. Was she asking me which of the two I had to give up? I didn't have an answer. I had read somewhere what they would have to do with the child should I tell them to save my wife. It was unthinkable? Silently, I shook my head. The doctor compassionately nodded her head and said, "This is difficult, I know. Please take all the time you need to think. You may want to tell your wife about our dilemma." I entered my wife's room and sat beside her. She was breathing heavily and pain lined her brows severely. "What's wrong?" she said breathlessly. "They say I have to choose between you and our child. I choose both of you, not either one of you," I cried. "Save the child, sweetheart. And when I'm gone, promise to take care of the baby and our four other girls. I'll be okay," my wife calmly said. I shook my head again then, slowly turned away. There was only one other place to go now. I knelt on the pew of the vacant chapel and faced the cross. At the side, I could see the images of three Saints: Francis, Raymond, and Martin. I bowed my head as my tears flowed, saying, "Lord, I may get the best doctor in the world for my wife and child but if I don't have Your Blessing, she will not be able to do anything for them. But I trust that You love me, that You love Teresita and the baby. Have mercy on us. I promise that though You may choose to take them both, I will still Love You." As I wept quietly, I seemed to see the Lord smiling down at me through my eyes of faith. He stretched out His hand and held my shoulder. I looked up then. I dried my tears, stood up, and left the chapel. As I went to my wife's room, the doctor looked up expectantly. I smiled at her and said, "Just do the best you can." Hours later, at 3:00 a.m., an attendant came in and roused me from the restless doze I had fallen into. "Your wife has given birth!" she said excitedly. "And the child?" I asked eagerly. "It's a boy! You can see him at the nursery tomorrow. We have to warn you that he's in an incubator though." I couldn't say a word. Tears of joy started to pour down on my cheek and once more, I fell on my knees saying, "Thank You, Father. Thank You." Two months later, at my son's baptism, the priest asked me, "What shall we name the child?" I proudly answered, "Francis Raymond Martin, Father." -by Theodore A. Yulo Jr., unknown source

---

Gossiper

A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor.Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended. Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage. "Go to the marketplace," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road." Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told. The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me." The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown the feathers all away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand. "You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong." -by an unknown author, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul

---

The Beauty of Love

The question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a boy and a girl clasping clean hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?"

And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love."

-by an unknown author, 5th portion of the Chicken Soup for the Soul

Alfred Tennyson on Love

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all."

Winston Churchill Quote

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time."

Abraham Lincoln

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Bertrand Russel on Fulfillment

"The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live."

Helen Keller on Happiness

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."

Anne Frank on Happiness

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

Albert Schweitzer

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

ANGEL - Sarah Maclachlan

spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always one reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there

so tired of the straight line
and everywhere you turn
there's vultures and thieves at your back
and the storm keeps on twisting
you keep on building the lie
that you make up for all that you lack
it don't make no difference
escaping one last time
it's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

Corita Kent

Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.

Way Back Into Love..

I've been living with a shadow overhead
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I've been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on

I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away
Just in case I ever need em again someday
I've been setting aside time
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
Oh oh oh
I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there ?
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere

I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me through the night ?
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions
All I want to do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end
There are moments when I don't know if it's real

Or if anybody feels the way I feel

I need inspiration

Not just another negotiation
All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can't make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart to you

I'm hoping you'll show me what to do

And if you help me to start again

You know that I'll be there for you in the end

Bertrand Russell: quote about life...

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

adapted

rants..

this day sucks....
i smell chlorine...on the floor...
i'm so bored...
i miss my friends...
multiply hangs on me...
i wanna go to the mall but i can't..
i'm broke....
i miss my nanay..
i miss butchoy...
i miss my old life...
i am so bored!!!!!

Don't Fight Back

When I was a boy, I used to work in a sport center. My job was to look after the target in the dart-shooting area. I had to pull out the darts after each game and get them ready for the next player. Sometimes I used to get annoyed at some men who would start a new game even before I had all the darts pulled out...and some of those sharp darts just missed my hand and even my head. And these throwers seemed to get a special delight out of scaring me, they often threw unusually fast.
I was not happy about this and so I consulted one of my teachers about it. He told me, "Sure, they are carelessly throwing those darts, but they don't mean to hurt you. It is nothing personal. That is just their way of blowing off steam when they are upset about something. In other words, they have a problem. But don't fight back. If you do, then you, too, have a problem!"
It's the same in life. When someone wrongs you, it is his or her problem. When you return evil for evil, then you have a problem, perhaps an even worse one, for your reaction was intentional.

--Tom Haggai in Quote

Decision Making

There is an old legend which tells of a powerful genius who promised a beautiful girl a gift of rare value if she would go through a filed of corn and select the biggest and ripest ear she could find. She must do this as she was walking along, and she was not allowed to turn back. The value of the gift would be in proportion to the size and perfection of the ear.

She started out, and passed by many fine ears. But she was so anxious to find the biggest and best, that she kept on going without plucking any. Then the ears began to grow smaller and smaller and smaller, until they became so stunted that she was ashamed to pick any. And not being allowed to go backward, she came out of the field without anything in her hand.

Because she could not make up her mind, she missed everything.

Rash Judgment

Bishop Potter of New York was sailing for Europe. As he went aboard the large ocean liner, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After looking over his quarters, he went back to the purser's desk and asked if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained that ordinarily he never did this sort of thing but he had been to his cabin and had met the man would occupy the other bed, and judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person.

The purser accepted the responsibility of caring for the valuables and remarked, "It's all right, Bishop. I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has just been up here and deposited all his valuables for the same reason."

Personal Savior

Many years ago a wealthy English family took their children to the country for a holiday. Their host turned over his estate to them for a weekend. The children went swimming in the pool. One of the boys began to drown and the other boys screamed for help. The son of the gardener jumped in and rescued the boy. Later, the grateful parents asked the gardener what they could do for the youthful hero. The gardener said his son wanted to go to college. "He wants to be a doctor," he said.
The visitors shook hands on that. "We'll be glad to pay his way," they told him.

Years later, Winston Churchill was stricken with pneumonia and the king of England instructed the best doctor be found to save Prime Minister Churchill. The doctor turned out to be Dr. Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

After he was well again, Churchill said to Fleming, "Rarely has one ,man owed his life twice to the same rescuer."
It was Fleming who had saved Churchill in that swimming pool.

Would the Truth Have Made Him Free?

"A client of mine," said the lawyer, "was in court suing for compensation. He had an arm and a leg in a cast, and his head in bandages."
"The judge, who knew him, leaned over and asked, "George, how do you feel?"
"About ready to die," answered the battered-up George.
"But I don't understand. The police account of the accident says here that right after the accident, you told Sergeant Buka that you were fine."
"Well, that's not quite right." said George. "It was like this: after that big truck hit me and my horse and wagon, I was knocked cold. When I came to, I saw Buka's car with the blue light going on around... Then Buka walked over to where my horse was in the ditch, he shook his head and took out his gun and shot her. Then with the gun still smoking, he walked over to me and asked, "How do you feel?"
"And I said, "I feel fine."

Mothers and Math

A teacher in one of the public schools put this question to little Jimmy in the math class, "James, suppose your mother made a cake and there were ten of you at the table-- your mother and father and eight children. How much of the pie would you get?"
"A ninth ma'am," was the prompt answer.
"No, no James. Now pay attention," said the teacher. "There are ten of you. Ten, remember. Don't you know your fractions?"
"Yes, ma'am," was the swift reply of little Jimmy, "I know my fractions. But I know my mother, too. She'd say she didn't want any."

Little Sins

Two sinners visited a holy man and asked his advice. "We have done wrong," they said, "and our conscience is troubled. What must we do to be forgiven?"
"Tell me of your wrongdoing, my sons," said the old man.
The first man said, "I committed a great and grievous sin."

The second man said,"I have done some small things, nothing much to worry about."
"All right," said the saint. "Go and bring me a stone for each sin."
The first man came back with a big boulder. The second man cheerfully brought a bag of small stones.

"Now," said the old man, "go and put them all back where you found them."

The first man lifted the rock and staggered back to the place where he had gotten it. The second man could not remember where half the stones belonged, so he just gave up. It was too much like work.
"Sins are like these stones," said the old man. "If a man commits a great sin, it is like a heavy stone on his conscience. But with true sorrow it is removed completely. But the man who is constantly committing small sins which he knows to be wrong, gets hardened to them and feels no sorrow. So he remains a sinner.

"So you see, my sons," concluded the old saint, "it is as important to avoid little sins as well as the big ones."

The Bible in Figures

A prisoner was confined to solitary confinement and was given a Bible as his only companion. So he studied it very carefully for several years. Long before the days of computers, he discovered the following facts about the Bible:
It contains 3,586,489 letters.
It has 773,692 words.
It has 31,173 verses.
It has 1,189 chapters.
The word "and" occurs 46,277 times.
The middle verse in the entire Bible is verse 8 of psalm 118.
All the letters of the alphabet are found in Ezra 8:12.
The longest verse is Esther 8:9.
The shortest verse is John 11:35.
Those were the amazing facts which that prisoner researched out of the Bible.
We are nowhere told that the message of the Bible touched the prisoner's heart.

Treasure in Heaven

A wealthy man lay on his deathbed. His entire life had been centered around money. As his life ebbed away, he presumed that in the afterlife, money would also be everything. So he gave orders that a purse filled with gold coins be placed inside his casket alongside his body. His last wish was carried out.
In the next world, it took the bookkeeper a long time to find his name in any of the good books. In fact it took so long that he got very hungry and thirsty just waiting. He looked around and sure enough, he saw an attractive eatery not far away. "Aha," he said to himself, "it's just like I thought. It's a good thing that i brought some money along with me."
His mouth was already watering as he approached the restaurant. But before he sat down to eat, he was told that the money he had brought along had no value now. In fact, only money that was of any value now was the money he had given away on earth. The rich man dropped his head in deep thought, but could not remember having given any money away..so now he had none.
As an Englishman of another stripe let his tombstone explain:
"What I spent I had.
What I kept I lost.
What I gave I have."

Working For God

Joe had always been a helpful neighbor and so the lady next door asked him if he could drive her little son to the hospital. Actually, Joe had other plans but he did not know how to say no. So he sat the little boy onto the car seat, fastened his seatbelt, and started off on the 50-mile trip to the hospital.
As they were driving along, the little boy slowly turned to Joe and asked, "Are you God?"
Startled, Joe said, "No."
The boy continued, "I heard my mommy asking God for some way to get me to a doctor. If you are not God, do you work for him?"
Joe replied,"I guess so-sometimes. And now you asked, I will be doing it a lot more."

the magic mustard seed

A Chinese lady who had lost her only son went to the man of religion in her village and said, "Is there anything you can give me to reduce the pain that I feel?"
"Yes," he said. "There is a wonderful thing you can do. I want you to go and get me a mustard seed from a home that has no problems. When yo find it, you bring it to me and I will use it to relieve your pain."
So the lady started out and came to a big mansion. Nothing could possibly be wrong here!" She knocked on the door, told what she was looking for, and they answered, "You've come to the wrong house." And then they told her all their problems..
As she was listening to their problems, she thought, "I know something about problems.. maybe I can help these people with theirs." So she listened to them; and this helped people.
She kept on searching for her magic mustard seed. But no matter where she went, she could not find that seed. Everyone everywhere had some kind of troubles.
But she really did find the magic mustard seed, because in trying to help others solve their problems, she forgot all about her own.