I shall not pass this way again
“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing,
therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human
being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not
pass this way again.”
Stephen Grellet, 1773-1855
French-born Quaker Minister
Add comment April 11th, 2006
The Man Who Thinks He Can
If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t
It’s almost a cinch you won’t
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.
Continue Reading Add comment March 23rd, 2006
Look To this Day
[Sanskrit proverb]
Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!
Continue Reading Add comment March 20th, 2006
Don’t Quit
By Alice Enzie Zimmerman
Written 1948 - See letter and article below
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When we might have won had we stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the winner’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night slipped down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver lining of the clouds of doubt
And you can never tell how close you are –
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
For we know the Father above looks down,
He sees our struggles and holds the crown.
He knows the way though it’s rough and drear,
He will give strength so we need not fear.
He offers to you the refreshing cup
Of the water of life; then in faith look up.
Continue on ‘til the crown is won
Which he will give when our work is done!
Continue Reading Add comment March 20th, 2006
I do not choose to be a common man
-Dean Alfange
I do not choose to be a common man.
It is my right to be uncommon.
I seek opportunity, not security.
I do not be wish to be a kept citizen.
humble, and deluded by having the state to look after me.
I want to take claculated risk.
To dream, and to build.
To fail, and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a doll.
I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existance.
The thrill of fulfilment, instead stale utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence,
nor my dignity for a handout.
I will never cower before any master, nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid;
to think, and to act for myself; to enjoy the benefits of my creation.
And to face the world, boldly, and to say,
this I have done.
This is what it means to be a man
Continue Reading Add comment March 20th, 2006
Just Between Us
Today…
I wish you a day of ordinary miracles
Fresh pot of coffee you didn’t have to make yourself
An unexpected phone call from an old friend
Green stoplights on your way to work or shop
I wish you a day of little things to rejoice in
The fastest line at the grocery store
A good sing along song on the radio
Your keys right where you look
I wish you a day of happiness
and little bite-size pieces of perfection
that give you the funny feeling
that the Lord is smiling on you,
holding you so gently
because you are someone special and rare
I wish you a day and a life of Peace, Happiness and Joy!
Continue Reading Add comment March 14th, 2006
There is Greatness Within You
-Bill Cross
Throughout your life,
always pursue sensitivity and kindness
as your chosen way.
A sense of humor is wonderful;
hold on to yours.
Being able to laugh at the world
will see you through many hard times.
Guard against bitterness and sarcasm;
they can destroy you.
Be yourself;
the world will benefit from your talent.
Search for people who love
and appreciate you for who you are
and who encourage you to improve.
Don’t be satisfied with less than all you can be,
for you have greatness within you.
Continue Reading Add comment March 14th, 2006
The Guy in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934
When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.
Continue Reading Add comment March 14th, 2006
Gestalt Prayer
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
And if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.
Continue Reading Add comment March 13th, 2006
The Road not Taken
Robert Frost : Mountain Interval (1920)
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Continue Reading Add comment March 12th, 2006
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