Inspirations to Motivate

[Sunny]

From Oprah's "Thought for Today" --

"Everybody is in search of who they really are. Not who you were, because that person is not there anymore. Something better and improved is possible."

— Dr. Robin Smith

(how perfect)

[Sunny]

"It's quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person—beguiled, enchanted."

— Mary Chase, playwright and newspaper reporter

[Sunny]

When you haven't forgiven those who've hurt you,
you turn your back against your future.
When you do forgive, you start walking forward.

— Actor and playwright Tyler Perry

Featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, March 2006

[Sunny]

I no longer scramble blindly through hardship.
I no longer emerge from a bad time feeling relieved just to have survived.
Instead of despairing, I try to find the lesson within the experience.

— Actress Halle Berry

[Sunny]

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Sunny]

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

- Isaac Asimov

R.I.P. MKB
11/08/64-01/12/07

[Sunny]

On a lighter note for my SIL:

A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last.

--Charlie Daniels

[followsthewolf]

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

- Isaac Asimov

R.I.P. MKB
11/08/64-01/12/07

My sincerest condolences, Sunny.
I'd send a card if I knew your address.

[Sandy Eggo]

Oh Sunny, she is peaceful now, but I know you and your family will miss her terribly.  I'm so sorry.

[Sunny]

I truly appreciate the sincere words, FTW & Mojo.

My husband's family has such a different outlook on death...they see it as a new journey.

..that's inspirational.

It's still a little tough for me, but I know she's no longer in pain.

Thank you.

[Locutus]

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

- Isaac Asimov

R.I.P. MKB
11/08/64-01/12/07

I'm sorry to hear of your loss Sunny.  You and your family will be in my thoughts.

[Sunny]

TYVM, Loc.

[Sunny]

To try to be better is to be better.

--Charlotte Cushman

[Sunny]

Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it.

––Merle Miller

[Sunny]

I thought I'd share this...was part of my class discussion this week:

Coffee

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way Again........

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.
She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as
though just as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil.
In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and
in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without
saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.
She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did,
and noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After
pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became
hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.
Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt
and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat?

Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial
hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough
with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to
another level?

How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they
just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest
future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in
life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were
born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life
so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is
crying.

It's easier to build a child than to repair an adult...
This is so true - May we all be COFFEE