If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
~Buddha

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Life begets life. Energy becomes energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.
~Sarah Bernhardt

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And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
~Abraham Lincoln

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Learn to accept change and welcome chance

"People don't want to change unless forced to. We've been conditioned to structure and control our lives in order to resist change, to stop change altogether if possible, to be secure, to make rules, to make plans, to organize, to enforce, and so forth. The problem with all this is that it doesn't work anymore. We're de-energized and confused, afraid of the world, unsure of ourselves. Why? Because our sense of control is a complete illusion, however complex and pervasive. It doesn't square with the world as it is, just some obsolete and chicken-shit version we made up so we could "control" it. * Vagabonding is an effective technique for trashing this illusion, one that works because it makes you feel good. You can again make your life fun instead of fucked, and you do this by paying attention to change and chance, which manifest everywhere, in all persons and places. The vagabond accepts change and welcomes chance, for they are the sure signs of energy flow, and the center of life. * Serving change and chance, which is vagabonding, automatically and unfailingly elevates you and expands your potentials so that you can meet their delightful demands."
--Ed Buryn, Vagabonding in the USA (1980)

Your time off is a measure of the quality of your life

"Your time off is a measure of the quality of your life. Setting yourself the goal of more personal freedom is as valid as -- and ultimately more practical than -- a goal of financial riches and material abundance. Today, our society provides more opportunities than ever before for survival with style, for living well without having to become a cultural robot. Living on the fringe of society is easier and much more rewarding than living in the pressurized statistical middle, where all the rules are. But beware, a taste of freedom almost inevitably leads to a craving for it. It hooks you, and it's wonderful. Most people can't understand this, because they've forgotten what it was like to be free. They think it's impossible, whereas the truth is that freedom is right in front of you; you simply have to want it enough to take it. People fear the struggle for freedom, but never credit the rewards."
--Ed Buryn, Vagabonding in the USA (1980)

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NO DAY BUT TODAY within ANOTHER DAY
(another incredible song from the musical RENT... we should all learn)

The Heart May Freeze Or It Can Burn
The Pain Will Ease If I Can Learn

There Is No Future
There Is No Past
I Live This Moment
As My Last

There's Only Us
There's Only This
Forget Regret
Or Life Is Yours To Miss
No Other Road
No Other Way
No Day But Today

There's Only Yes
Only Tonight
We Must Let Go
To Know What's Right
No Other Course
No Other Way
No Day But Today

I Can't Control
My Destiny
I Trust My Soul

My Only Goal
Is Just - To Be

There's Only Now

There's Only Here
Give In To Love

Or Live In Fear
No Other Path
No Other Way

No Day But Today

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“Ever since my house burned down
I see the moon more clearly
I gazed upon all the Eden’s that have fallen in me
I saw Eden’s that I had held in my hands
but let go
I saw promises that I did not keep
Pains I did not soothe
Wounds I did not heal
Tears I did not shed
I saw deaths I did not morn
Prayers I did not answer
Doors I did not open
Doors I did not close
Lovers I left behind
And dreams I did not live
I saw all that was offered to me
That I could not accept
I saw the letters that I wished for
But never received
I saw all that could have been
But never will be”

~Gregory Colbert, ASHES & SNOW

"Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!"
~Kalidasa

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"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one."
~John Lennon

"Courage is the way of the heart..."
~Osho

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
~Anatole France

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain

Ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things -- When you think you cant go any further, you can go twice as far!

"For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear, or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze."
~Richard Bode

"One of the disciplines of building a rich, soulful life seems to be a simple act of, on a daily basis, remembering what is most important to us while positively affecting the lives of others."
~A new friend's quote... succinctly put describing well how i try to live my life.

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."
~Mark Twain

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"There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness."

~James Blount, NO BRAVERY

MY ANSWER to ASHES and SNOW

Ever since my house was rebuilt
I feel the sun more deeply
And as I gaze out across the water
I am reminded of all the gifts that have been given me
That I have recognized and savored.
I saw promises to myself that I achieved
Pain that I lived through and embraced
Wounds that I did not hold on to
Tears I wept openly
I saw deaths that I celebrated with Life
Prayers I gave for others
Doors I feared to open but faced
Doors I did not close to others
Lovers I will never stop loving
And dreams that I dared to grab
I saw all that was offered to me that I had accepted
And have been blessed by their touch
I saw all the love and friendship within my life
And I realized these gifts all remain within me
I saw all that could have been
But became more than I ever dreamed
Because I found the courage to live the way of the heart
For what greater gift could you give or receive
Than to be fully present within the moment
Without walls of any kind
To share your "self" without condition or fear
And celebrate LIFE…

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I have decided today that HUGs are a LIFE ENERGY to my spirit... genuine, deep, full body, tightly wrapped, SAVORING HUGs.... in MANY daily doses... because without which, my spirit feels the emptiness of its absence acutely ... so there can never be enough HUGs... (big teeth grin emoticon here...)

"What greater gift could you give or receive... than to be fully in the moment... without walls of any kind.... and share your "self" without condition or fear... and celebrate LIFE"
~ME

"Love grows... we never lose...."
~My own thought...

"If you cant take the HEAT... don't do the TWEAK!!!!"
~a quote from today while shopping with my husband... lol

"In A Perfect World... people would have consideration, respect, and tolerance for all cultures, races, religions, and alternative lifestyles... To live their lives free of fear and violence"
~ME