The Shower
Some say crosses are not given to those who cannot bear
But I feel that is too simplistic, like a pink ribbon to wear.
The heart of the matter, the truth be it told
is that IT sucks, IT bites, no matter how old.
Brought up to be pretty, tough and bright,
Woman are told to be the beacon of light
And when IT makes you want to yell
Think of the others who have gone through the same hell.
Surely they would say that IT was worth all the tears
Though IT tried to destroy and brought out all of your fears.
The same strength that lies in numbers lies in you as well
And when you find it your heart will surely swell.
For the gift of you has grown bigger, stronger and has more power
Than a million crosses growing strong in a forest after a shower.
- Anna Soeiro For Dragonfly's Delights, April 2008
If I Had My Life To Live Over
I'd like to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier
than I have been this trip. I would take fewer
things seriously. I would take more chances. I
would climb more mountains and swim more
rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but
I'd have fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly
and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh,
I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over
again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to
have nothing else. Just moments, one after
another, instead of living so many years ahead
of each day. I've been one of those persons who
never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a
hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter
than I have.
If I had my life to live over, I would start
barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way
later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I
would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick
more daisies.
- Nadine Stair, 85 years old from Louisville, Kentucky
The Rules of Being Human
You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.
You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life.
Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know.
The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.
There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success. Maybe more. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude and ultimately your behavior) then you can go on to the next lesson.
Learning lessons does not end.
There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn. “There” is no better than “here”. When your “there” has become a “here” you will simply discover another “there” that will again look better than your “here.” Don’t be fooled by believing that the unattainable is better than what you have. Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.
What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you.
Remember that through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort you can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success. The answers lie inside of you. The solutions to all of life’s problems lie within your grasp.
All you need to do is ask, look, listen and trust yourself.
~Cherie Carter-Scott in "Chicken Soup for the Soul"
somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
by E. E. Cummings
somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously)her first rose
or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing
(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands
sent by K Grimble In Memory Of Pauline Grimble
It’s difficult to
accept that the
life I lead
may be over at
any moment.
But when I do realize it,
a deep appreciation
for life, just as it is, each moment, in all I do,
washes over me
and I can
experience joy
ever present, and pass it on
to others.
~Peter Grahame from "Contemplations of the Heart, A Book of Male Spirit"
copyright 2005
The Moment
Every Moment I prepare for Dying
This is from Being
Smothered Shaken Choked
Which is it
Adult abusers did Not Kill Me
Or I chose to live
At this moment Do I choose to Live
After Breast Cancer
I am coming out of
Expecting to Die
I am using all that has happened
To Live Now ~by Jana Morgana 1933-2006
Bill Hemmer: "You said cancer changes your life, and oftentimes for the better."
Joel Siegel: "Yes.... Gilda Radner... said this in her book. What cancer does is, it forces you to focus, to prioritize, and you learn what's important. I mean, I don't sweat the small stuff. I used to get angry at cab drivers. It's not worth it.... And when somebody says you have cancer, you realize it's all small stuff. And what Gilda said is, if it weren't for the downside, everyone would want to have it. But there is a downside." ~American Morning, CNN, 13 June 2003
"During chemo, you're more tired than you've ever been. It's like a cloud passing over the sun, and suddenly you're out. You don't know how you'll answer the door when your groceries are delivered. But you also find that you're stronger than you've ever been. You're clear. Your mortality is at optimal distance, not up so close that it obscures everything else, but close enough to give you depth perception. Previously, it has taken you weeks, months, or years to discover the meaning of an experience. Now it's instantaneous." ~Melissa Bank
