From Henry David Thoreau's 'Walden' (1850): 'If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.'
Keep listening. He's out there, somewhere, and he's playing your song.
The Dalai Lama's Instructions for Life
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 3. Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 8. Spend some time alone every day. 9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. 10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. 12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. 13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past. 14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality. 15. Be gentle with the earth. 16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before. 17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. 18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
I'm working on these, but have a long way to go.. _________________________________________________________________
We all need to work on seeing things in their proper perspective, don't you think?
That's a tough one. I'm an almost-vegan Swedish-American, grown-up former farm girl who works in an ancillary medical field. If life were perfect, I would be back on the farm now. Or a princess.
It isn't the paper or the bow, it's what's inside the package that counts.
I cannot understand why people call them "dumb animals." There is nothing dumb about them. They have emotions, unique personalities, are capable of great compassion, and even mourn the loss of loved ones. The inability to communicate in a human language does not make a creature less intelligent. They communicate in so many other ways. Have you really looked into the eyes of a Jersey cow lately?
What Gives Me Hope
The innocence and acceptance of animals; they don't care what you look like in the morning. A fresh breeze after the rain. Rainbows. The ocean!
If I were Mayor, I'd make the world a better place by
If I were president, I would do my best to toughen and enforce laws against animal abuse. Stop wars for oil and "religious" wars. Stop the slaughter in Darfur and free Tibet.
What/who changed my life and why
My friend Margaret, who faced breast cancer and several CVAs with courage and humor to the very end. She will always be my hero.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The first step towards getting anywhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are." - Anonymous
"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; But sometimes it is letting go." -Hermann Hesse
"When nothing seems to help I go and watch a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before." -Jacob Riis
"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message; that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives. " The Dalai Lama
"When the Grandmothers speak, the Earth will be healed; when the Grandmothers pray, wisdom will be revealed. When the Grandmothers sing, the Earth will be made whole." Hopi Prophecy
Happy Birthday, dear Marcia! I hope all is well in your corner of the
world, and that you enjoy a very special, happy birthday celebration! I'll be thinking of you and sending
you lots of good wishes! Love and birthday hugs, Laurie
Happy holidays, Marcia! I hope
you are doing well and keeping
warm, and that you weren't in the path of that big ice storm! I'm sending you my warmest wishes for a
bright and beautiful holiday! Love and peace to you always, Laurie
Happy Belated Birthday, I am sorry I didn't get to it sooner. I have been out of town the entire month of July (still am out of town) so it is harder for me to keep up on me emaill etc. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!