GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

          

        The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

         I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

         I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!"  and she gave me a giant squeeze.

           "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."

         "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated   her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm  getting one!"

       she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.  We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we  would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she  easily made friends wherever she went.

       She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed  upon her from the other students. She was living it up.  At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our  football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and  stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the  microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

           As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up  If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year  and don't do one productive thing; you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but  rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out  in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun  all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in  tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be  all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of  advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

       These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

       We make a Living by what we get; We make a Life by what we give. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.   If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. "Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns.

And many a person turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor’s cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far.

So stick in the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worse,

That you must not quit.

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass.

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum

And think you’re a wonderful guy.

But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum

If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please—never mind all the rest,

For he’s with you clear to the end.

And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years

And get pats on the back as you pass.

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

The use of the male gender is acknowledged.

We chose not to alter the poem to make it politically correct.

Thanks for letting it be

Desiderata

          Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. 

              Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

           Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

         Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

        Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

              You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

               Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

        With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

 Antoine Clamaran Live Your Dreams lyrics

 Who do you follow when you're lost in your dreams

 Who do you whisper your sweetest melodies

 In the darkness and the moonlight

 You're... searching for the one

 I will take away those memories

 Coz angels like the sun

 When you

 Live your dreams, live your life

 Happiness is now and forever

 I want you to know that

 You can love you can fly

 Don't you know its minor the matter

 You know this when you

 When there are crumbles

 Disappears before your eyes,

 The beyond, the emptiness

 There's only you and I

 I'm the energy and the thunder

 That raises through your heart

 I'm that everlasting love in you

 No matter where you are

 When you

 Live your dreams, live your life

 Happiness is now and forever

 I want you to know that

 You can love you can fly

 Don't you know its minor the matter

 You know this when you

 Live your dreams, live your life

 Happiness is now and forever

 I want you to know that

 You can love you can fly

 Don't you know its minor the matter

 You know this when you

 You can live, you can love

 You can live, you can love

 When you

 Live your dreams, live your life

 Happiness is now and forever

 I want you to know that

 You can love you can fly

 Don't you know its minor the matter

 You know this when you (x2)

 You can live

 You can love

Your Life Begins When You Do.

You may think you are postponing the longing of your soul until life aligns itself with your vision, until elements conspire to be more favorable...but as it happens, life just lolls along at the same remarkable consistent and disinterested cadence. Life is impartial. YOUR personal, subjective life (dreams, satisfactions, contentment, achievements, vision, fullness, passion, aspirations) begins when you begin.

From my teens into adulthood, I said, "I want to be an artist." One day I changed the sentence to, "I am an artist." My view changed. Life began. I looked behind me and saw that I had been accidentally living as an artist. I had been laying down a path that was only now visible to eyes that had begun to see. Beginning my life as an artist made my heart's longing and the small, tentative labors of my hands - visible and tangible. I began by opening the door and simply believing that I could live my dream. I began living that dream by seeing that I could.

Daily Inspiration

After receiving grace of a God, the devotee can never be the same again, never look at life again in the old way. By grace we are directed deeper into spiritual life, pointed in the right direction, carefully guided on the San Marga, the straight path to our supreme God. After grace has been received, our thoughts are enlivened, our life is inspired with enthusiasm and energy, and we live daily in the joyous knowledge that everything is all right, everything is happening around us in accord with our karma, our dharma and God's gracious will.

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

(1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today.

HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE GRACE

OF GOD YET?

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing

God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that,

and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge

to the back or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness

from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing

to trust that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God as God abides in you.

Dance together with God,

trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,

please share this message with someone else,

for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards; so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance

To pay attention to every act is to be a hero.

Expression:

A hero actor is one who has great attention for every act of his. He makes sure that none of his words or actions are ordinary or waste. He ensures perfection in everything he does. This naturally brings the best out of him.

Experience:

Since I pay constant attention to everything I do, I find that I am able to give my best. I am then satisfied with whatever is happening since I know what I do is not as important as how well I do it.

Follow Your Dream

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Abraham Lincoln Didn't Quit

The sense of obligation to continue is present in all of us. A duty to strive is the duty of us all. I felt a call to that duty.
Abraham Lincoln
Probably the greatest example of persistence is Abraham Lincoln. If you want to learn about somebody who didn't quit, look no further.
Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.
He could have quit many times—but he didn't and because he didn't quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country.
Lincoln was a champion and he never gave up. Here is a sketch of Lincoln's road to the White House:
1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to
work to support them. 1818 His mother died.
1831 Failed in business.
1832 Ran for state legislature—lost.
1832 Also lost his job—wanted to go to law school but couldn't get in.
1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
1834 Ran for state legislature again—won.
1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature—defeated.
1840 Sought to become elector—defeated.
1843 Ran for Congress—lost.
1846 Ran for Congress again—this time he won—went to
Washington and did a good job.
1848 Ran for re-election to Congress—lost.
1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state—rejected.
1854 Ran for Senate of the United States—lost.
1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party's national convention—got less than 100 votes.
1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again—again he lost.
1860 Elected president of the United States.
The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, "It's a slip and not a fall."
Abraham Lincoln After losing a senate race.

Make It Come True

In 1957 a ten-year-old boy in California set a goal. At the time Jim Brown was the greatest running back ever to play pro football and this tall, skinny boy wanted his autograph. In order to accomplish his goal, the young boy had to overcome some obstacles.

He grew up in the ghetto, where he never got enough to eat. Malnutrition took its toll, and a disease called rickets forced him to wear steel splints to support his skinny, bowed-out legs. He had no money to buy a ticket to get into the game, so he waited patiently near the locker room until the game ended and Jim Brown left the field. He politely asked Brown for his autograph. As Brown signed, the boy explained, "Mr. Brown, I have your picture on my wall. I know you hold all the records. You're my idol."
Brown smiled and began to leave, but the young boy wasn't finished. He proclaimed, "Mr. Brown, one day I'm going to break every record you hold!" Brown was impressed and asked, "What is your name, son?"
The boy replied, "Orenthal James. My friends call me O. J."
O. J. Simpson went on to break all but three of the rushing records held by Jim Brown before injuries shortened his football career. Goal setting is the strongest force for human motivation. Set a goal and make it come true.
Dan Clark

Love yourself. . . 
 flirt with your understanding. . . 
romance with dreams. . . 
get engaged with simplicity genuineness. . . 
divorce the ego. . .