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Illinois ladies facing bc

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  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    No one can give a definition of the soul.  But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world of goodness, truth and beauty.  The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it--to remain children of light

    .Albert Schweitzer Reverence for Life

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079
    edited May 16

    When I was six or seven years old, growing up in Pittsburgh, I used to take a precious penny of my own and hide it for someone else to find.  I was greatly excited at the thought of the first lucky passerby who would receive a gift in this way, regardless of merit, a free gift from the universe. . . . I’ve been thinking about seeing.  There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand.

    Annie Dillard

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    It's not how physically strong you are that matters, it's the level of commitment that you hold in your heart that will get you through the hard parts.

    Scott Rogers

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    Dwell not on the past.  Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed.

    Eileen Caddy

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    Yesterday is experience.  Tomorrow is hope.  Today is getting from one to another as best we can.

    John M. Henry

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with good will for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow.  To live continually in thoughts of ill will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison hole.  But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to find the good in all—such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of happiness; and to dwell day by day in thoughts of peace toward every creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor.

    James Allen

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    Ten times a day something happens to me like this--some strengthening throb of amazement--some good sweet empathetic ping and swell.  This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know:  that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.

    Mary Oliver

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    I want first of all to be at peace with myself.  I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out these obligations and activities as well as I can.  I want, in fact—to borrow from the language of the saints--to live "in grace" as much of the time as possible.  I am not using this term in a strictly theological sense.

    By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony.  I am seeking perhaps what Socrates asked for. . . "May the outward and inward person be at one.

    "Anne Morrow Lindbergh Gift from the Sea

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    And so it's good that we remember

    Just as soon as we've discovered

    That the things we do in life

    Will always end up touching others

    .Paul O'Neill

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    Self-respect cannot be hunted.  It cannot be purchased.
    It is never for sale.  It cannot be fabricated out of public relations.
    It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places,
    when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it;
    knowing the beautiful, we have served it;
    knowing the truth, we have spoken it.

    Whitney Griswold

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    The life of the individual has meaning only insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful. Life is sacred, that is to say, it is the supreme value, to which all other values are subordinate.

    Albert Einstein

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    No life can be barren which hears the whisper of the wind in the branches, or the voice of the sea as it breaks upon the shore; and no soul can lack happiness looking up to the midnight stars.

    William Winter

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    What is important is to realize that whether we understand fully who we are or what will happen when we die, it's our purpose to grow as human beings, to look within ourselves, to find and build upon that source of peace and understanding and strength that is our individual self.  And then to reach out to others with love and acceptance and patient guidance in the hope of what we may become together.

    Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    We are all born with a belief in God. It may not have a name or face. We may not even see it as God. But it is there. It is the sense that comes over us as we stare into the starlit sky, or watch the last fiery rays of an evening sunset. It is the morning shiver as we wake on a beautiful day and smell a richness in the air that we know and love from somewhere we can’t quite recall. It is the mystery behind the beginning of time and beyond the limits of space. It is a sense of otherness that brings alive something deep in our hearts.   

      -Kent Nerburn

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort--the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person--having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

    Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    The value of all service lies in the spirit in which you serve and not in the importance or magnitude of the service. Even the lowliest task or deed is made holy, joyous, and prosperous when it is filled with love.    -Charles Fillmore

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    A sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the unbearable.

    Moshe Waldoks

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill Be a scrub in the valley--but be The best little scrub by the side of the rill; Be a bush, if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass, And some highway happier make; If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass--But the liveliest bass in the lake! We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew, There's something for all of us here. There's big work to do and there's lesser to do And the task we must do is the near. If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail, If you can't be the sun, be a star; It isn't by size that you win or you fail--Be the best of whatever you are!

    Douglas Malloch

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    It is unity we are talking about, not uniformity.  What is needed is to respect one another's points of view and not to impute unworthy motives to one another or to seek to impugn the integrity of the other. Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another and to cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.

    Desmond Tutu

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. . . what wine is so sparkling, so fragrant, so intoxicating, as possibility!

    Søren Kierkegaard

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done—this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.    –

    Thomas Dekker

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    If I keep my eyes open, I see bugs and snakes and intricate tiny flowers and cool rocks and nice smiles and beautiful architecture and gentle kindness.  If I keep my heart young I notice great places to play, nice sunsets, cool hideouts, neat ice formations, and strange and unusual birds and animals. Life is never ordinary.  We can make it seem ordinary by closing our eyes and hearts to its wonder, but that's not life's fault.  I prefer to notice the little things and then leave them be--never trying to take them with me or preserve them--because that's what life's supposed to be, and that's what makes me happy and keeps away disappointment.

    tom walsh

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079


    The quest for perfection will stop you from getting results throughout
    your life.  Realize right now that perfection is a relative term.  What
    seems perfect to you will seem flawed to someone else; what seems
    perfect to them will seem ridiculous to you.  It's all a matter of opinion.
    Do the best you can and let go.  History will judge what you have done.
    And more often than not, it will forget and forgive all of us.
    Enjoy the journey.  It's perfect as it is.  All is well.

    Joe Vitale

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    I Choose

    to live by choice, not by chance;

    to make changes, not excuses;

    to be motivated, not manipulated;

    to be useful, not used;

    to excel, not compete.

    I choose self esteem, not self pity.

    I choose to listen to my inner voice, and not to the random opinion of others.

    un-attributed.

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    When you honor your most authentic self--your Spirit--you are allowing your Light to shine and touch the world.  Living authentically, in its simplest terms, is living your Truth, the truth in your heart and soul. It's allowing yourself to be guided by Divine Truth and Wisdom, each and every day, and doing your Highest, most authentic work in the world. It's joyfully creating and living your Highest purpose!

    Valerie Rickel

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    There is something quite powerful and life-giving in the act of givingthanks.  It is a lot like recharging a battery.  As you open your mindand let your heart sing for joy, you can receive a recharging ofspiritual energy in your mind, body, spirit, and activities of your dailylife.  There is no greater tonic and perhaps no more potent tonic forour spirit than gratitude.  When we are grateful for the blessings wealready have, our very attitude of gratitude attracts extra good tous.  Thanksgiving is like a powerful magnet that can draw usto friends, love, peace, joy, health, and material good.

    John Marks Templeton

    Worldwide Laws of Life

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    There is a vitality, a life force, an energy that is translated through you; and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.

    Martha Graham

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    Soul is what gives us the life energy that carries us through the mundane of the daily life to the most meaningful dimensions of life.  The problem is not that we didn't get enough soul to make life meaningful; the problem is that the soul is what we are required to nurture in ourselves.All we get is the raw material to make one

    .Joan Chittister

    Seeing with Our Souls

  • illinoislady
    illinoislady Posts: 45,079

    To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done—this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.

    Thomas Dekker