Joyful

Joy is not in things;

it is in us.

Richard Wagner

Fragility

Life is fragile

and we hang by a slender thread.

Wine anyone?

Good men are like fine wine.

They start out as grapes,

and then women stomp on them.

Lots of music

I've loved and been loved

and all the rest is just background music.

Hillary Clinton quoting a friend

Resting

Slow down

and everything you are chasing

will come and find you.

John De Paola

Prizes

The best prize of all is knowing

that winning isn't always a victory

and losing isn't always a defeat.
from Doogie Howser, MD

Perks of Gardening

You can bury a lot of troubles

digging in the dirt.

Nature comforts and restores

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth

are never alone or weary of life.

Rachel Carson

Different Roads

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.

Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

O Happy Day

There was a star danced,

and under that I was born.

William Shakespeare

Ah, the joy of gossip

If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody,

then come sit next to me.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth

and quoted in "Steel Magnolias"

Individuality

Trust yourself.

Think for yourself.

Act for yourself.

Speak for yourself.
Be yourself.

Imitation is suicide.

Marva Collins

Rejoicing

This is the day that the Lord hath made;

let us rejoice an be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24

Summer Obsession

H2O: two parts heart and one part obsession.

New Bud Light Lime

Beer is proof that God loves us

and wants us to be happy.

Benjamin Franklin

No Jelly Doughnut

You can roll manure in powdered sugar,

and it still ain't no jelly doughnut.

"Two and a Half Men"

Darkness Before Light

We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise

if we have waited in the darkness.

Seasons of Life

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.

Rust vs. Real Life

The mintage of wisdom is to know that rest is rust,

and that real life is love, laughter, and work.

Elbert Hubbard

Singing

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come.

Song of Solomon 2:12

Yes, It Is

Saving the World

Only love can save the world.

Guiding Light theme song

Happy Trails

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous,

leading to the most amazing view.

Edward Abbey

Simplicity

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo da Vinci

Changing, Curious, Interested, and Happy

In spite of illness, in spite of the arch enemy sorrow,

one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration,

if one is unafraid of change,

insatiable in intellectual curiosity,

interested in big things,

and happy in small ways.

Edith Wharton

Giving more than you take

It's a matter of givin' more to this world than you take away from it. So when you die you don't owe it anything. It's bein' able to love when you want to hate- to forgive them that work against you- to tell the truth even when it hurts- to share your bread no matter how hungry you are yourself. Dyin' comes easy when you know you've done all these things right.

The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

And for the support of this Declaration,

with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,

we mutually pledge to each other

our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Declaration of Independence-1776

4th of July

I thank God for my country, and I pray for her each day.

May our people seek his guidance. Let our leaders show the way.

God has blessed my father's homeland, made her what she's come to be.

So I thank God for my country, and what she means to me.

Sunday School song lyrics

Risks Worth Taking

Don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied.

Choose to chance the rapids and

dare to dance the tide.

Garth Brooks song lyrics

Nature and Art

Keep your love of nature,

for that is the way to understand art more and more.

Vincent Van Gogh

Easing the Burden

What do we live for; if it is not to make life

less difficult for each other?
George Eliot