Quotes

"All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle."

Emerson

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"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence."

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. "

Mahatma Gandhi

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"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Arthur Conan Doyle

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"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal."

Albert Pine


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In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

Sir Francis Bacon

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"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know."

Diane Arbus

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"We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."

"The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind."

Francois de la Rochefoucauld

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"There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts."

Voltaire

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"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

Khalil Gibran

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"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

Helen Keller

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"Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."

G.K. Chesterton

Kinda Sorta Different

I know I am different...kinda sorta.

I know each of my 5 children are different from the other...why, I don't know. I raised them all the same. Even still, with me growing up with 4 siblings, am I so different from each of them, being raised by the same mother and daddy.

One of my children calls me ma.
One calls me mama.
One calls me mom.
One calls me old lady...giggle
One calls me ... well...all he ever says is 'hey' so I guess that is what he calls me.

Even in the way they view me, the word they use for me is different.

I remember when each of my children were babies - fresh...isn't that funny, but they were just that ... fresh. Tiny infants, laying in the crib, sleeping their first few days of life away. I sang to them while they slept, one at a time of course, I didn't give birth to them all at the same time! With each one I had a different song. Don't know why but at the time, as I stood there leaning on the edge of the crib, embracing the moment, taking in the scent of the wonderful fragrance that only a newborn holds, I was inspired by certain songs. Blessing or not, each time they slept for their first few days of life, they got my voice in song while they slept. Perhaps the love I was feeling overrides my voice so they were able to continue to sleep peacefully while I squawked out in song.

Ok, so now you know once again how much I adore my children. That is not what I came to the computer to type out to you today though.

Differences. Puzzling to me. Most of the rose bushes in my flower garden have given up their blooms and yet one yellow rose holds on. They all drank the same sunshine and rain and yet one is different in that it endured far longer than the rest. That caused me to smile. That compelled me to reflect on people, myself and life.

At home I feel different, like I don't fit in. Being the only female in the home besides Pretty Kitty, I suppose might be why. At work I feel I don't fit in. I have to work at being comfortable with conversations taking place around me and work through words and thoughts to say in order to join in.

Even with one of my bestest friends, I still feel different when I am with them. Even though we have much in common which to me, is amazing, I still struggle with wonderings of why. Why am I so different. Why can't I feel like I fit in except when I am alone.

Even through the differences, while I travel in this current stream of life, I will do what I can to make the best of it, to embrace each day and each moment as it passes my way.

When

I have filled out stacks and stacks of job applications online and in stores and offices. I did interviews. I drove to many cities searching for places to find a job. I walked malls, going store to store leaving resumes.

After months of the effort, turns out the job I got was the one I wanted all along. It was right in front of me the whole time. A dream job for me actually. A job I never applied for or even considered there being an opening.

Why do I do that?
When will I get it?

My son was having banking trouble. Being new to having an account, it was all a bit complicated for him. He had several pages of documents to read through and figure out. I tried to help and read through the pages. I knew what needed to be done but one piece of information was missing. All we could do was wait until Monday. It was longer than he wanted to wait but it was a have to.

Sunday, I gathered the documents in readiness for a phone call to the bank on Monday. They were there, under my hand. I looked down and the top page had the number and the information we had needed. No more waiting, it had been right in front of me all the while.

Why do I do that?
When will I get it?

I went shopping with one of my sons. A rarity these days with two of them working now. We went to a shop he likes to frequent. A place he was unsure if I would enjoy. I loved the store. I loved the fragrance in the store and all they had to offer.

My son and I walked through the shop. I followed him as he pointed out one thing after another that he liked...his birthday is coming up...do you suppose there was a hidden agenda on his part? giggle

On the way home, he showed me two back ways to get to our home just in case of flooding. In this part of the world, we have had way too many times of severe flooding. The drive took longer since we were on back roads. We chatted about more personal things than we have ever brought up before. My son told me he loves me. My too tall son gave me a hug. Right when I thought he had gotten too old to hug his mom. Right when I was wondering if he was thinking spending time with his mother was not cool.

Why do I do that?
When will I get it?

Dice and Life

He shook the dice then gave them a toss. Unhappy with the results, he scooped them up in his hands and gave them a longer and harder shake. The dice fell from his hands. They rolled to a stop. He looked puzzled that his technique had not provided him his choice results.

With a sigh, once again he scooped up the dice. He held his hands eye level. The dice clicked together between his hands. He made a small opening between his fingers to peer in at the dice. His hopes and dice were in motion.

The moment came as his hands lowered to the table. The dice fell obediently from his open hands. They rolled to a stop as his arms flew up in the air in victory.

It appeared his efforts were not in vain.

I know some people who live their life just like a roll of dice. They gamble at this and that with their purchases, their jobs, their families. They treat their relationships like a roll of the dice, shaking, peering and tossing, until they feel things are in their favor. People become nothing more than the objects, just like the dice.

Chocolate

Dangerous stuff - that and fresh baked bread, but if butter is not around to melt to the dripping point on the bread - don't bother.

I rarely eat chocolate or candy bars. When I do, one of the ones I like is a Hershey dark chocolate bar. I prepare the bar as if it were a precious treasure rather than an ordinary treat.

I unwrap the bar carefully and gently separate each section. One at a time I set a piece on my tongue and try to make the moment last until I get to the last portion and that one, I savor the most.

I don't have chocolate or candy coated friends but I do treasure my friends. I do savor the time I can spend with each one.

Friends are precious you know.

During this lovely time of the year, Autumn, I can't help but enjoy the colorful changes to the leaves on the trees that surround my home. Most of them are on the ground now. Colorful leaves that were brilliant orange, fiery red, and warm yellows are now turning shades of brown.

I give a lot of thought to the Autumn leaves but not once do I recall pondering the barren branches left behind, exposed to the coming winter. Branches looking lifeless without their fluttering leaves that danced in the wind not so long ago.

There the trees stand. Once upon a season ago, they looked strong and not so vulnerable as they do now. A representation of how life can be for some. A period of time when days drag on, when waiting seems to never end.

Then Spring time comes. The ground thaws. As if the earth finally wakens and rejoices in the new life it has been given. Birds sing, critters crawl, buds form, rich color returns after the winters sleep.

Through the seasons of life when we feel vulnerable and weak, the Lord is with us. He gave us that promise. His arms will be around you. You are never alone. You will find you can accomplish far more than you ever dreamed possible, no matter what you are going through.

Embrace the warmth and comfort as the loving arms of Jesus wrap around you.

... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:20