Poetry

Inspiration

I keep my paint brush with me
Wherever I may go,
In case I need to cover up
So the real me doesn't show.
I'm so afraid to show you me,
Afraid of what you'll do - that
You might laugh or say mean things.
I'm afraid I might lose you.

I'd like to remove all my paint coats
To show you the real, true me,
But I want you to try and understand,
I need you to accept what you see.
So if you'll be patient and close your eyes,
I'll strip off all my coats real slow.
Please understand how much it hurts
To let the real me show.

Now my coats are all stripped off.
I feel naked, bare and cold,
And if you still love me with all that you see,
You are my friend, pure as gold.
I need to save my paint brush, though,
And hold it in my hand,
I want to keep it handy
In case someone doesn't understand.
So please protect me, my dear friend
And thanks for loving me true,
But please let me keep my paint brush with me
Until I love me, too.


By Bettie B. Youngs

----

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

-Author Unknown-

The Difference Between Strength and Courage

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard,
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains,
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

May the world hug you today
With its warmth, and love
And may the wind carry a voice
That tells you there is a friend
Sitting in another corner of the world wishing you well!

----

Anyway

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Love them anyway.

If you are successful you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.
- Mother Teresa

----

The Invitation

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (A Native American Elder)

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking the fool for love,
for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow,
if you have been opened up by life's betrayals or
have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
if you can dance with wildness and let ecstacy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the
limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.
I want to know if you can betray another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful
and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty
even when it's not a pretty day,
and if you can source your life from God's presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver light of a full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done
for the children.

It doesn't matter who you are, or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

------

The Purpose

We are born with two eyes in front because we must
not always look behind, but see what lies ahead,
beyond ourselves.

We are born to have two ears ~ one left, one right,
so we can hear both sides, collect both the compliments
and criticisms, to see which are right.

We are born with a brain concealed in a skull that
no matter how poor we are, we are still rich, for no
one can steal what our brain contains, packing in
more jewels and rings than you can think.

We are born with two eyes, two ears, but one mouth
for the mouth is a sharp weapon, it can hurt, flirt,
and kill.

We are born with only one heart, deep in our ribs to
remind us to appreciate and give love from deep within.

Remember the motto: talk less, listen and see more.

----

THE SCULPTOR'S ATTITUDE

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or ...I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because I've been provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.

And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

Have a GREAT DAY ...unless you have other plans.
~ Author Unknown

----

THE ROSE

I've been buried in barren soil,
beneath rock and refuse,
my roots so badly tangled
I fear that I'd be strangled
if excavated expertly
by even the most gifted gardner
and transplanted in dark, delicious earth.I've been choked so often by frost and drought
that I would find it very peculiar
to be tucked into bed on raw April nights
and feel the fingers of sprinklers
tickle the ground above me
on an arid August afternoon.And I'm not quite sure what I'd do
if I ever poked my head above the ground
and saw the light of day.
I'm afraid I've become
so accustomed to darkness
that brightness might startle me
back to the depths of despair.
But the rose has never failed
to open its arms to the sun
even after the coldest of winters.by David C. Schrader

----

I've Learned

That you cannot make someone love you. All you can do
is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

That no matter how much you care, some people just don't care back.
That it takes years to build up trust, but only seconds to destroy it.
That it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.
That you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you'd better know something.

That you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.
That it's not what happens to us that's important. It's what we do about it.
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
That no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

That it may be easier to react than to plan ahead, but it's much less effective.
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.
That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

That either you control your attitude or it controls you.
That regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, passion fades and there had better be something stronger to take its place.
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
That learning to forgive takes practice.

That there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
That just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

That maturity has more to do with the experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
That no matter how badly your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

That background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other, and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends=change.
That your life can be changed in a matter of seconds by people who don't even know you.

That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
That the paradigm we live in is not all that is offered to us.
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being

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