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Quotes and Other Thoughts... To preface these quotes and observations, I should say that words are very precious to me. They are more important and valuable than we often realize. Even when taken out of context, words have power. While there are words from many sources, none of them represented here indicates my attachment to the source, but rather that what I see or feel when I read the words, put together this way, is touching or valuable to me. "Is devotion to others a cover for the hungers and the needs of the self, of which one is ashamed? I was always ashamed to take. So I gave. It was not a virtue. It was a disguise." Anais Nin "I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung." - Tagore "Our desires presage the capacities within us; they are harbingers of what we shall be able to accomplish. What we can do and want to do is projected in our imagination, quite outside ourselves, and into the future. We are attracted to what is already ours in secret. Thus passionate anticipation transforms what is indeed possible into dreamt-for reality." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour. I dripped it carelessly, Ah! I didn't know, I held opportunity." - Hazel Lee "Each of us has the right and the responsibility to asses the road which lie ahead and those over which we have traveled, and if the future road looms ominous or unpromising, and the road back uninviting, then we need to gather our resolve and carrying only the necessary baggage, step off that road into another direction. If the new choice is also unpalatable, without embarrassment, we must be ready to change that one as well." Maya Angelou "Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you." - Annie Dillard "Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind." Leonardo da Vinci "Fine friendships, like fine wine develop slowly, with deliberate care and attention. The best unfold slowly into a true reflection that combines the unique character of the individual elements." ~ Me "Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are." — Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve "True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice." - Samuel Johnston "Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you." - Samuel Johnston "True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation." - George Washington "I can never think of promoting my convenience at the expense of a friend's interest and inclination." - George Washington "Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." - Ludwig van Beethoven "A friend should be a master at guessing and keeping still." - Friedrich Nietzsche "A friend to all is a friend to none." - Aristotle "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug or just a friendly pat on the back ... I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." -William Jennings Bryan "Nothing endures but change." - Heraclitus Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option. "Life is too short for drama & petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly." "You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it." - Charles Buxton "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." - Fr. Alfred D'Souza "Anticipation - It's a ticklish thing really, Quivering, exciting, waiting, Until it dies - Killed by it's own self Lost through virtue of being there." - Dal Perry Past the beggar and the suffering walked he who asks, "Why, oh god, do you not do something for these people?" To which god replied, "I did do something, I made you." "The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'." - unknown "A monoculture is not only Hollywood, but Americans trying to export democracy. I don't think you can in any way export culture with guns or tanks. " - Bernardo Bertolucci "Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." - C.E.M. Joad "They say that age is all in your mind. The trick is keeping it from creeping down into your body." - Author Unknown A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and said that because they had been so good that each one of them could have one wish. The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband. Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands. The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger... Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!! Gotta love that fairy!