Inspirations

I was on a plane going to Italy in May 1993 when somebody sitting next to me really inspired me. She was a model traveling to Milan for a job, I don't remember her name, or where she lived, but her words and her life truly made an impact on me. She was only 19 years old on the outside, but far older on the inside. I know a lot of people believe that beauty and brain don't mix, but it was certainly not the case with her. She had traveled the world at a very young age, and even though she was still carrying a favorite teddy bear with her, she also carried a little photo album with quotes taped to every page. She certainly was not talking like your normal 19 year old, and, to my surprise, she did a lot of listening. It was that day I started getting interested in quotes, and I have made a similar photo album with quotes referring to the people in that photograph. I cherish it, and it reminds me of a fellow traveler.

Favorite Inspirations

Anytime You Feel Like Quitting through your career, perhaps you'll remember this story of one of our people:

He failed in business in '32.
He ran as a state legislator and lost in '32.
He tried business again in '33 and failed again.
His sweetheart died in '35.
He had a nervous breakdown in '36.
He ran for state elector in '40 after he regained his health.
He was defeated for Congress in '43, defeated again for Congress in '48, defeated when he ran for the Senate in '55, and defeated for the vice presidency of the United States in '56.
He ran for the Senate again in '58 and lost.
This man never quit.
He kept on trying till the last.
In 1860, this man, Abraham Lincoln, was elected President of the United States.

Author Unknown

Heaven and Hell - The Real Difference

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, "Come, I will show you hell."
They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.
"Come, now I will show you heaven," the Lord said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first - the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well-nourished.
"I don't understand," said the man. "Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?"
The Lord smiled, "Ah, it is simple," he said. "here they have learned to feed each other."

By Ann Landers

I asked God

I asked God to take away my pride.
God said "No".
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said "No".
His spirit was whole, his body was only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said "No".
Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said "No".
I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said "No".
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said "No".
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said "No".
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.
I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said... Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

Rules for being human

You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.

You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant or stupid.

There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error... experimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately works.

A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

There is no better than here. When your there has become a here, you will simply attain another there that will, again, look better than here.

Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

The answers are inside you. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is Look, Listen and Trust.

You will forget all this.

The Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the frontier key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently. Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

If I had my life to live over

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was
stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried
much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the
fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather
ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a
summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it
melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and
not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television
- and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth
would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical,
wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have
cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing
inside me was my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said,
"Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's"..
more "I'm sorry's".. but mostly, given another shot at life,
I would seize every minute.. look at
it and really see it.. live it.. and never give it back

(by Erma Bombeck)

Inspirations for Mothers

Inspirations for Parents of Disabled Children

Favorite Quotes

  ~Silvia's World~
 
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Last Updated: July 02, 2006
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