QuoteS/PoemS!

I am a quote/poem person in case you didn't already know that. :-) I love reading the wisdom of other people. Hence, I'm going to post some quotes & poems on this lovely blog. Why not? 

"Don't judge others just because they choose to sin differently than you do."

DANCE

as though no one is watching you.

LOVE

as though you have never been hurt before.

SING

as though no one can hear you.

LIVE

as though Heaven is here on earth.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Adults Vs. Children

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms, and fly with it until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say "Thee" and "Thou" and "grant me this; give me that." My kids say, "Hi God!!! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle, I step around it. I see muddy shoes and clothes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with. 

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from?

-Author Unknown

Little Eyes Upon You

There are little eyes upon you

and they're watching night and day. 

There are little ears that quickly

take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager 

to do anything you do;

And a little boy who's dreaming 

of the day he'll be like you.

You're the little fellow's idol,

you're the wisest of the wise.

In his little mind about you,

no suspicions ever rise.

He believes in you devoutly,

holds all you say and do;

He will say and do, in your way

when he's grown up just like you.

There's a wide-eyed little fellow

who believes you're always right;

and his eyes are always opened,

and he watches day and night.

You are setting an example

every day in all you do;

For the little boy who's waiting

to grow up to be like you.

-Author Unknown

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed, redeemed, redeemed. Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands-

One for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

Today- Elder John Longden (Assistant to the 12 Apostles)

"Today is here. I will start with a smile, and resolve to be agreeable. I will not criticize. I refuse to waste my valuable time.

Today has one thing in which I know I am equal with others- time. All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes, hours-- 24 golden hours each day. 

Today I will not waste my time because the minutes I wasted yesterday are as lost as a vanished thought.

Today I refuse to spend my time worrying about what might happen. I am going to spend my time making things happen.

Today I am determined to study to improve myself, for tomorrow I may be wanted, and I must not be found lacking.

Today I am determined to do things I should do. I firmly resolve to stop doing the things I should not do.

Today I begin by doing and not wasting my time. In one week, I will be miles beyond the person I am today.

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will make a success with what material I have.

Today I will stop saying, "If I had time," for I never will "find time" for anything- if I want time, I must take it.

Today I will act toward other people as though this might be my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes." (in Conf. Report, Apr. 1966, 39; or Improvement Era, June 1966, 512)

24 Interludes of Life

1. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth- even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile. 

2. There are moments in life when you really miss someone that you want to pick them up from your dreams and hug them. Hope to dream of that someone.

3. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want in life.

4. May you have: enough happiness to make you sweet; enough trials to make you strong; enough sorrow to make you human; enough hope to make you happy; and enough money to keep you comfortable.

5. When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But we often look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

6. The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch swing with never saying a word and walking away feeling like that was the best conversation you have had.

7. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

8. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably does hurt the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle a strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a lovely word may heal and bless.

10. The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves and not to twist them with our own image, otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.

11. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything that comes along the way.

12. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we should know how to be grateful for that gift.

13. It takes a minute to have a crush on someone; an hour to like someone; and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

14. Happiness lies for those who cry; those who hurt; those who have searched; and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

15. Love is when you take away the feeling; the passion; the romance, and find out you still care for that person.

16. A sad thing about life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you only to find out in the end, that it was never bound to be, you just have to let it go.

17. Love starts with a smile, develops with a kiss, and ends with a tear.

18. Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been disappointed; to those who still believe even though they've been betrayed; and to those who need to love those who still love even though they've been hurt before.

19. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to the let the person know how you feel.

20. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

21. Never say goodbye when you still want to try; never give up when you still feel you can take it; never say you don't love that person anymore when you can't let go.

22. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back. Don't expect love in return- just wait for it to grow in their hearts. If it doesn't, be content that it grew in yours.

23. There are things you love to hear, but you would never hear them from the person you would like to hear them from. Don't be deaf to hearing them from the person who says them with his heart.

24. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life to the fullest so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone around you is crying.

-Author Unknown

"I will laugh at the world. No living creature can laugh except man. Trees may bleed when they are wounded, and beasts in the field will cry in pain and hunger, yet only I have the gift of laughter and it is mine to use whenever I choose. Henceforth, I will cultivate the habit of laughter. I will smile and my digestion will improve; I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened; I will laugh and my life will be lengthened, for this is the great secret of long life and now it is mine. I will laugh at the world.

And most of all, I will laugh at myself, for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously. Never will I fall into this trap of the mind. For though I am nature's greatest miracle, am I not still a mere grain tossed about by the winds of time? Do I truly know whence I cam or whither I am bound? Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence? Why should I permit the petty happenings of today to disturb me? What can take place before this sun sets, which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries? I will laugh at the world.

And how can I laugh when confronted with man or deeds which offend me so as to bring forth tears or my curses? Four words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that immediately they will appear in my mind whenever good humor threatens to depart from me. These words, passed down from the ancients, will carry me through every adversity and maintain my life in balance. These four words are: "this too shall pass." I will laugh at the world.

For all worldly things shall indeed pass. When I am heavy with heartache, I shall console myself that "this too shall pass"; when I am puffed with success, I shall warn myself that "this too shall pass." When I am strangled in poverty, I shall tell myself that "this too shall pass"; when I am burdened with wealth, I shall tell myself that "this too shall pass." Yea, verily, where is he who built the pyramid? Is he not buried within its stone? And will the pyramid, one day, not also be buried under sand? If all things shall pass, why should I be of concern for today? I will laugh at the world.

I will paint this day with laughter; I will frame this night in song. Never will I labor to be happy; rather, will I remain too busy to be sad. I will enjoy today's happiness today. It is not grain to be stored in a box. It is not wine to be saved in a jar. It cannot be saved for the morrow. It must be sown and reaped on the same day and this I will do, henceforth. I will laugh at the world.

And with my laughter, all things will be reduced to their proper size. I will laugh at my failures and they will vanish in clouds of new dreams; I will laugh at my successes and they will shrink to their true value. I will laugh at evil and it will die untasted; I will laugh at goodness and it will thrive and abound. Each day will be triumphant only when my smiles bring forth smiles from others and this I do in selfishness, for those on whom I frown, are those who purchase not my goods. I will laugh at the world.

Henceforth, will I shed only tears of sweat, for those of sadness or remorse or frustration are of no value in the market place, whilst each smile can be exchanged for gold and each kind word, spoken from my heart, can build a castle. Never will I allow myself to become so important; so wise; so dignified; so powerful, that I forget how to laugh at myself and my world. In this matter, I will always remain as a child, for only as a child, am I given the ability to look up to others; and so as long as I look up to another, I will never grow too long for my cot. I will laugh at the world.

And so long as I can laugh, never will I be poor. This then, is one of nature's greatest gifts and I will waste it no more. Only with laughter and happiness can I truly become a success. Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor. Were it not so, far better would it be to fail, for happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal. To enjoy success, I must have happiness and laughter will be the maiden who serves me.

I will be happy. 

I will be successful."

-Author Unknown

"We know not what lies ahead of us. We know not what the coming days will bring. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing, gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing, we do know. Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith." -Gordon B. Hinckley