“Teenager Me—a teenager? If she suddenly stood, here, now, before me, would I need to treat her as near and dear, although she s strange to me, and distant? Shed a tear, kiss her brow for the simple reason that we share a birthdate? So many dissimilarities between us that only the bones are likely still the same, the cranial vault, the eye sockets. Since her eyes seem a little larger, her eyelashes are longer, she s taller, and the whole body is tightly sheathed in smooth, unblemished skin. Relatives and friends still link us, it is true, but in her world nearly all are living, while in mine almost no one survives from that shared circle. We differ so profoundly, talk and think about completely different things. She knows next to nothing— but with a doggedness deserving better causes. I know much more— but not for sure. She shows me poems, written in a clear and careful script I haven t used for years. I read the poems, read them. Well, maybe that one if it were shorter and touched up in a couple of places. The rest do not bode well. The conversation stumbles. On her pathetic watch time is still cheap and unsteady. On mine it s far more precious and precise. Nothing in parting, a fixed smile and no emotion. Only when she vanishes, leaving her scarf in her haste. A scarf of genuine wool, in colored stripes crocheted for her by our mother. I ve still got it.”
“the problem with the world, is, far too many people drain their energy into what is wrong with their life; instead of holding gratitude for what s right in their life.”
“No matter how old I get, I keep running into people who are smarter, nobler, and kinder. I really ought to start listening to them and telling my pride to shut up. I had gods tell me not to go to Asgard. I had witches tell me not to go to Flagstaff. You told me this plan wouldn t work. But I barreled ahead anyway for my own reasons. I still have plenty of growing to do.”
“The word of lust touches the body, the word of love touches the soul: feed the soul and starve the body.”
“Hope floats but effort propels.”
“Thousands of hopeful days came to naught before this one. This was a golden day. Never give up.”
“Without appreciation (for yourself, others and life itself) there is no growth”
“Manifestation is like a flower, you must put so much intent into its energy before you can sight its beauty.”
“Of the obstacles we face while traversing life, the most challenging are often the ones we create from within and project onto our path.”
“They say if you re a better person today than you were yesterday you re well on the road to perfection. So I figure if I m a real snot today, tomorrow I should make huge progress.”
“When you fall so many times, you become the master of flight.”
“Motivation is desire or inspiration. A motive is a reason. What s your reason?”
“It’s sometimes difficult to align our wants with our needs, for old programing and new paradigms vibrate at very different levels.”
“When we assign ourselves the mission of changing others who show no want or need to change, it blocks our spirit-it drains us-and prevents us from attracting into our lives that which we need to grow.”
“Small but growing is better than big and stuck.”
“Comparison kills...There will always be someone ahead of you and someone behind you in life...When you see someone behind you...feel blessed for you are ahead of them...When you see someone ahead of you...feel inspired for your own growth...Compare yourself to YOU of yesterday, if that s what you like to do...so you can become better today !”
“Sometimes you can grow more in a shorter amount of time with the right company than years of soul-searching alone, or by living the same patterns you ve lived for your entire life.”