FEBRUARY

Waiting for life

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.
But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid.
Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

-- Alfred D. Souza

Attachment

It matters very much that you get your head out of
yesterday because that is attachment.

So as many times as you have to "throw water in
your face" to bring yourself to today, you do that.

- John-Roger (From: The Tao of Spirit)

DOUBTS

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow
will be our doubts of today.

Franklin Roosevelt

FAILURE

Because a fellow has failed once or twice,
or a dozen times, you don't want to set him
down as a failure till he's dead or loses
his courage - and that's the same thing.

George Lorimer

WHO WILL YOU DECIDE TO BE TODAY?

The Power Of Choice

How many choices have you made already today?
How many more choices will you make by the end of the day?
Believe it or not, the power within your choice is astonishing.

With your choice you have:
The power to build, or the power to destroy.
The power to listen, or the power to ignore.
The power to encourage, or the power to discourage.
The power to understand, or the power to confuse.
The power to reach out, or the power to turn away.
The power to compliment, or the power to criticize.
The power to hope, or the power to fear.
The power to act, or the power to stand still.

Your choice gives you the power to decide WHO you
are each and every day.

Regardless of the choices that you made yesterday, last week,
last month or last year, today brings forth a new possibility.

Who will you decide to be today?

DREAMS

Make big plans; dream big dreams; and
reach for the opportunities that surround
you. Big dreams do come true.

Dr. Criswell Freeman

From Time to Time

From time to time,
we all feel a little disappointed
with our lives and perhaps the people
in them. We start questioning our daily
routines; a sense of loneliness touches
our hearts, and we wonder what life
is really all about. When you reach
this point in your life, take a moment
and forget about what has gone before....
and start believing in what you really want
today. It is by redirecting our lives that
we can keep ourselves headed in the
right direction, and it is by standing still
that we allow time to just pass us by.

It is looking at the sunrise or a sunset
and appreciating its beauty for ourselves
that enables us to understand
some of life's mysteries.
No two people see the word the same way,
nor do the think of feel
or even experience things around them
with the same exact perception.

Don't try to mold yourself or your life
into a design that isn't you;
rather, paint your days
with all the colors you so desire
and enjoy the artwork that you alone
can create.

DIFFICULTIES

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.

Seneca




BE YOURSELF

Be who you are and say what you feel, because
those who mind don't matter, and those who
matter don't mind.

Dr. Suess

PERSEVERANCE

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy
is that one often comes from a strong will,
and the other from a strong won't.

Henry Ward Beecher

FREEDOM

The free man is he who does not fear to go to
the end of his thought.

Leon Blum



ADAPTING

Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you
have to endure, but make a point of trying to
alter or correct conditions so that they are
most favorable to you.

William Frederick Book

CHARACTER

Courtesy, kindness, sincerity, truthfulness,
thoughtfulness and good manners translated
into behavior reflect one's true character.

Harry F. Banks

LAUGHTER

Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit
of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy,
a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your
depression, and help you to put in perspective that
seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter
at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think
clearly toward the solution that is certain to come.

Og Mandino

PROCRASTINATION

While we ponder when to begin,
it becomes too late to do.

Quintilian

YOUR BEST

The best is good enough.

German Proverb



THE FOOTWORK

We often pray for purity, unselfishness, for the
highest qualities of character, and forget that
these things cannot be given, but must be earned.

Lyman Abbott

Enough Love

There is no difficulty that enough
love will not conquer; No disease
that enough love will not heal; No
door that enough love will not open;
No gulf that enough love will not
bridge; No wall that enough love will
not throw down; No sin that enough
love will not redeem..

It makes no difference how deeply
seated may be the trouble; How
hopeless the outlook; How muddled
the tangle: How great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will
dissolve it all...If You only could
love enough you would be the
happiest and most powerful
being in the world.....

Emmet Fox

Tomorrow Is Not Promised

Sometimes people
come into your life
and you know
right away that
they were meant to be there,
they serve some sort of purpose,
teach you a lesson
or help figure out who you are
and who you want to become.

You never know who
these people may be:
your neighbor, child, long
lost friend, lover, or even
a complete stranger
who, when you lock
eyes with them,
you know at that very
moment that they
will affect your life
in some profound way.

And sometimes things
happen to you
and at the time they
seem painful and unfair,
but in reflection you realize
that without over
coming those obstacles
you would have
never realized
your potential strength,
will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost
moments of true greatness
and sheer stupidity
all occur to test the
limits of your soul.

Without these small tests,
whether they be events,
illnesses or relationships,
life would be like a smoothly
paved straight flat road to nowhere,
safe and comfortable,
but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet
who affect your life
and the successes and
downfalls you experience
create who you are,
and even the bad experiences
can be learned from,
In fact, they are probably
the poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays
you or breaks your heart,
forgive them,
for they have helped you
learn about trust
and the importance of
being cautious to
whom you open your heart...

If someone loves you,
love them back unconditionally,
not only because
they love you,
but because they are
teaching you to love
and opening your heart
and eyes to things
you would have never
seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment
and take from it everything
that you possibly can,
for you may never be
able to experience it again...

Talk to people you have
never talked to before,
and actually listen,
let yourself fall in love,
break free and set your sights high...

Hold your head up
because you have
every right too.
Tell yourself you are a
great individual and
believe in yourself...
for if you don't
believe in yourself,
no one else will believe
in you either.
You can make of your
life anything you wish.

Create your own life
and then go out and live in it!
"Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last...
Tomorrow is Not Promised"

Observe

If I could get you to observe with your mind and
your ears for just 30 minutes, you would start
transcending the limits of your personality.

When we start to observe without judgment, the
answer we have been seeking arrives naturally.

- John-Roger
(From: Spiritual Warrior, The Art of Spiritual Living)

When Difficulties Arise
"Hang In There"

Difficulties arise in the lives of us all.
What is most important is dealing
with the hard times, coping with the
changes, and getting through to the
other side where the sun is still
shining just for you.

It takes a strong person to deal with
tough times and difficult choices.
But you are a strong person. It takes
courage. but you possess the inner
courage to see you through. It takes
being an active participant in your life.
but you are in the drivers seat, and
you can determine the direction
you want tomorrow to go in.

Hang in there... and take care
to see that you don't lose sight
of the one thing that is constant,
beautiful, and true. Everything
will be fine - and it will turn out
that way because of the special
kind of person you are.

So... beginning today and lasting
a lifetime through - Hang in there,
and don't be afraid to feel Like the
morning sun is shining... just for you.

Douglas Pagels

What is Love?

Love is. It is noninterfering. It is supporting. It's
that which says, "Look, I may not understand
everything going on, but that doesn't mean you can't
do it, just because I don't understand it."

Love is.

- John-Roger (From: The Way Out Book)

CHANGE

Change, not habit, is what gets most
of us down; habit is the stabilizer
of human society, change accounts for
its progress.

William Feather

JUDGMENT

When you judge another, you do not define them,
you define yourself.

Wayne Dyer

PROGRESSION

The most successful businessman
is the man who holds onto the old
just as long as it is good and grabs
the new just as soon as it is better.

Robert P. Vanderpoel

Blessings in Life

I have found that the deepest, most meaningful
aspects to my life are often the ones that first appear
to be so ordinary and inconsequential. The source
of the blessings in my life is deep within, past
whatever abilities or attainments I have or don't
have, past any circumstances or fortune, past
whatever can be seen as a cause or an effect. That
source is still invisible and unknown and yet the
most real aspect of my life.

Praise be to God.

- John Morton (From: The Blessings Already Are)

BALANCE

Part of human nature resents change, loves
equilibrium, while another part welcomes
novelty, loves the excitement of disequilibrium.
There is no formula for the resolution of this
tug-of-war, but it is obvious that absolute
surrender to either of them invites disaster.

J. Bartlet Brebner

DREAMS

If you don't have a dream, how are you going
to make a dream come true?

Oscar Hammerstein

ATTITUDE

Within you right now is the power to do things
you never dreamed possible. This power becomes
available to you just as you can change your
beliefs.

Maxwell Maltz

Love yourself no matter what.

- John-Roger

EXPERIENCE

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

Rodin

COURAGE

The difference between getting somewhere
and nowhere is the courage to make an
early start. The fellow who sits still and
does just what he is told will never be told
to do big things.

Charles M. Schwab