2018-22- Kindness…

When I was a nursemaid at the home of the landowners, a nun who happened to pass once gave me something square and white. Timidly I licked it and discovered that it was sweet and delicious.

I realize now that it must have been a sugar cube; but still, more than twenty years later, I remember clearly the joy I felt then.

It's not just children; everyone seems to be deeply touched by unexpected joy brought to them by others and is unable to forget it.

To do something kind for another is never a bad feeling; it fosters a spirit of caring for other people. And who knows, after a hundred years, human beings may even learn to cooperate with one another...

~ Sayo Masuda

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“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”

~ Plato

2018-21 - Achieve it…

People always ask me, "So, what does it take to reach out and touch your dreams?"

To them I always say, "Are you hungry? Is there a fire that burns you up inside? How bad do you want it? How bad do you need it? Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming with that one thing on your mind?"

"Cause if you want it all, you've got to lay it all out on the line!"

~ Tim McGraw

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“When it comes to fighting for your dreams, be a dragon. Breathe fire.”

~ Richelle E Goodrich

2018-20 - Work...

You know how when you step on court your coach is like "go go go!"? And all throughout you just keep telling yourself to hit harder and harder and keep at it?

You know how much you treasure those five-minute timeouts? You know how good you feel at the end of a session? You know how you're glad you''re tired? No pills, no shots, just plain energy.

I want to work like that. Whether I have to write ten thousand words or send five hundred emails, brainstorm for hours at a time, I want to have that energy. To keep fighting. To know it's all worth it.

~ Thisuri Wanniarachchi

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Happiness lies in the joy of achievement, and in the thrill of effort.

~ Franklin D Roosevelt

2018-19 - Power of observation...

Sophia was asked to speak to the students of a local medical school.

"Sophia, what do we need to be better doctors?" the students asked.

"Doctors," Sophia said, "need strong stomachs and a strong powers of observation." Then she opened a canister. The putrid smell quickly moved through the classroom. Sophia stuck a finger in the jar, pulled it up, and then licked it. She passed the jar around encouraging each doctor in training to do the same. Each did, and though many felt nauseas, no one got sick.

"You all have very strong stomachs," she said. "But your power of observation needs some work."

"What do you mean?" they asked. "We did just what you did."

"There is one difference," she replied. "The finger I dipped in the jar was not the finger I licked."

~ David W Jones (For the Love of Sophia)

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You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.

~ Richard Branson

2018-18 - Change...

Then it hit me like a hammer... change doesn't require me to leave my life behind and start anew. I'm not required to quit my job, move across the world, sell all my belongings, or start a new extravagant hobby.

I can... but I don't have to.

Change can be as simple as appreciating the joyful tune of a singing bird, the delicate shape of a soaring snowflake, or the pleasant hope of a sprouting sapling.

I could make change as simple, or as complex, as I pleased.

~ Avina Celeste

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We are the change that we seek.

~ Barack Obama