The New Year

The new year stands before us,

like a chapter in a book,

waiting to be written.  We can

help write that story by setting goals.

~ Melody Beattie ~

Anger

Anger is an acid that can do more harm

to the vessel in which it is stored

than to anything on which it is poured.

~ Mark Twain ~

Human Connections

Cherish your human connections:

your relationships with family and friends.

~ Joseph Brodsky ~

Spirit of Christmas

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love

and of generosity and of goodness. It 

illuminates the picture window of the soul,

and we look upon the world's busy life

and become more interested in people than in things.

~ Thomas S. Monson ~

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas

and a happy and healthy 2019.

Happiness

Happiness is a by-product of

an effort to make someone else happy.

~ Gretta Brooker Palmer ~

Joy

If you're not having a good time,

find something else that gives you some joy in life.

~ Penny Marshall ~

R.I.P.

A Reasonable Goal

You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder.

When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it,

then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness.

Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it.

That's the only way to get to the top.

~ Emil Zatopek ~

Czech Middle Distance Runner

Mountaintops

Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.

~ J. Philip Everson ~

Stress

The truth is there is no actual stress or anxiety in the world;

it's your thoughts that create these false beliefs.

You can't package stress, touch it, or see it.

There are only people engaged in stressful thinking.

~ Wayne Dyer ~

Our Great Hope

Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil;

our great hope lies in developing what is good.

~ Calvin Coolidge ~

Genius of Life

The genius of life is to carry the spirit of childhood into old age.

~ Aldous Huxley ~

Where You're Headed

Even though there are days I wish I could change some

things that happened in the past, there's a reason the

rear view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big;

where you're headed is much more important than

what you've left behind.

The Final Exam

     Anyone who has been a student remembers that to pass the course, you had to pass the infamous...Final Exam!  Just thinking back on all the final exams I had to study for, gives me shivers.  Many times as I was studying for the exam, I would day dream about how great it would be if I knew all the questions that were going to be on the exam ahead of time.  Just think how much less studying I would have to do!

     Knowing the questions before any final exam would certainly make life easier.  What we don't realize, is that there is a question that each one of us will be asked sometime during our lifetime.  It may be asked by someone else or it may be asked by ourselves.  The question is..."What have you done with your life?"  It's a question that will certainly make us stop and think and could be an extremely difficult question to answer.  The answer we provide, to others or to ourselves, will either bring feelings of peace and satisfaction or feelings of frustration and anxiety.  The former feelings will be felt if we have tried to do as much with our lives as we possibly could.  The latter feelings will be due to the realization that we have wasted our time and have not accomplished things that we knew we could, but were hesitant to try.

     The good news is...we already know the question, so we can prepare the answer we will give.  The bad news is...we are already taking the exam!  It's called life.  Fortunately, the exam lasts for years.  And each one of us will have a varying number of years to complete the exam.  Every day is an opportunity to contribute to our answer.  Eventually, however, we will be told, "The exam is over, put your pencils down."  Until then, how are you composing your answer to the question, "What have you done with your life?"

A Smile

We shall never know all the good a simple smile can do.

~ Mother Teresa ~

Our Possessions

We are not the sum of our possessions.

~ George H. W. Bush ~

Old Guys

Old guys can still do fun things.

~ George H. W. Bush ~

High Moral Principle

America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle.

We as a people have such a purpose today.  It is to make kinder the face of the nation

and gentler the face of the world.

~ George H. W. Bush ~

R.I.P.