Definition of Success

To laugh often and love much;
to win respect of intelligent persons
and the affections of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give one's self;
to leave the world a little better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition.;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm,
and sung with exultation;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived --
this is to have succeeded.

[a variation of 'Success' by Bessie A Stanley (1904)
often erroneously attributed to R W Emerson]

Broken Wings

The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word “Mother,” and the most beautiful call is the call of “My mother.” it is a word full of hope and love, a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart. The mother is every thing – she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness. He who loses his mother loses a pure soul who blesses and guards him constantly.

Every thing in nature bespeaks the mother. The sun is the mother of earth and gives it its nourishment of hear; it never leaves the universe at night until it has put the earth to sleep to the song of the sea and the hymn of birds and brooks. And this earth is the mother of trees and flowers. It produces them, nurses them, and weans them. The trees and flowers become kind mothers of their great fruits and seeds. And the mother, the prototype of all existence, is the eternal spirit, full of beauty and love.

--- Kahlil Gibran

Way Back Into Love

The Friend

There are lots and lots of people who are always asking things,
Like Dates and Pounds-and-ounces and names of funny Kings,
And the answer's always Sixpence or a Hundred Inches Long.
And I know they'll think me silly if I get the answer wrong.
So Pooh and I go whispering, and Pooh looks very bright,
And says, "Well, I say sixpence, but I don't suppose I'm right."
And then it doesn't matter what the answer ought to be,
'Cos if he's right, I'm Right, and if he's wrong, it isn't Me.

Thoughts

Thought for the Moment

Buddha Quote

"There are only two mistakes one can make
along the road to Truth;

not going all the way,
and not starting."

The Lotus

First blooming in the Western Paradise,

The lotus has delighted us for ages.

Its white petals are covered with dew,

its jade green leaves spread out over the pond,

And its pure fragrance perfumes the wind.

Cool and majestic,

it raises from the murky water.

The sun sets behind the mountains.

But I remain in the darkness,

too captivated to leave.

RYOKAN