"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Excerpt from a speech entitled "Citizenship in a Republic" by President Theodore Roosevelt, at the Sorbonne on April 23, 1910
Question to Ponder If I am what I have and if what I have is lost, who then am I? In time we lose everything ......... life is a series of letting go. Eric Fromm
Life is a Gift There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend He asked her,‘Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.' This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a few remember what life was like before, and who was by their side in the painful situations.
Just think about it. • Today before you say an unkind word, Think of someone who can't speak. • Before you complain about the taste of your food, Think of someone who has nothing to eat. • Before you complain about your spouse, Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. • Today before you complain about life, Think of someone who died too early on this earth. • Before you complain about your children, Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. • Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean, Think of the people who are living in the streets. • Before whining about the distance you drive, Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. • And when you complain about your job, Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had a job. • But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another, Remember not one of us is without sin and when depressing thoughts get you down Put a smile on your face and think, you're alive and still kicking.
Stay in Boston A businessman known for his ruthless practices bragged to Mark Twain, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top." Twain retorted, "I have a better idea. You could stay in Boston and keep them."
'It might have been’ Indeed, it might have been is the lament of the unfulfilled dreamers who ponder the past with regret over what they failed to say or do because they feared the consequences.
'Visualize yourself’ Visualize yourself as an older person looking back on yourself today. How do you want to feel then? Full of regret, or satisfied that you did what your heart advised?
