The courage within you.

The courage not to bow to pressure,

the courage to stand alone, 

the courage to maintain one's determination,

the courage to look deep into one's heart, 

and confront one's own cowardice and prejudice,

the courage to challenge difficulties

Those who possess these kind of courage are true victors.

Empowerment

Praising others is not pampering them. 

In a stress-filled society, words that warm the heart are more significant than ever. 

They sustain and strengthen others, inspiring them to strive toward personal growth.

Gone With The Wind

I wish you were a stain

but you are so easily changed.

Like a spineless feather

the wind blows you away.

Falling down like snowflakes

when I needed you to stay.

I swim upstream

and you are gone with the tide.

I learn that people never change

they just learn how to hide.

A Glass of Water

A psychologist walked around the room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they would be asked the 'half empty or half full' question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight does not matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass does not change, but the longer I hold it the heavier it becomes".

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they began to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralysed - incapable of doing anything".

It is important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down.

The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies,

and still defying fortune's spite,

revive from ashes and rise.

I close my eyes to watch tiny little dancers 

like jeweled birds cross the dark screen of my eye lids.

- Janet Fitch, White Oleander - 

Let us not look back in anger,

nor forward in fear,

but around in awareness.

- James Thurber -

What people in the world think of you is really none of your business. 

- Martha Graham - 

Pure silence

We sit silently and watch the world around us.

This has taken a lifetime to learn. 

It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another 

and not say anything and still feel content.

The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence.

It is a waste for silence is pure. 

Silence is holy. 

It draws people together because only those who are comfortable
with each other can sit without speaking. 

This is the great paradox.

- Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook - 

The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd.

The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been. 

- Albert Einstein -