“Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you. ”
― Christian D. Larson

I am not my illness.

by ~ poetrice

I am not my illness.

Keira, 16

I've had depression for three years, and I used to hate the way my illness had changed me. I thought I could never be the girl I used to be. But my psychologist helped me to see that my illness can never change the inner me. In the end, I will have changed – I will be stronger for this battle – but my central values and the things that make me 'me' will always remain the same.

I am not my illness.

Mark, 23

I have schizophrenia. People call me crazy, and avoid me, because I hear voices and talk to them. Maybe I am crazy sometimes, when I have an episode. But I'm not always crazy. I may be schizophrenic, but schizophrenic is not all I am.

I am not my illness.

Jessie, 13

The girls at school all tease me because I always stutter when I talk, and sometimes I try to speak but my mouth can't form the words. They call me retarded, dumb. I've never really had any real friends, all because I have autism. They can't look past my illness and see the real me, the 'me' who longs to be accepted like any normal person. I may be autistic, but I'm still human. I still have feelings.

I am not my illness.

Chrissie, 30

I have bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Many people consider me 'unemployable', because of my illness. They say I'm 'unstable and unpredictable'. But just because I have bipolar, doesn't mean I'm unstable. I take medication to stabilise my moods, and though I have to take care not to stress out too much, my condition doesn't prevent me from working, and working well. I can actually be very efficient and organised with what I do. But people don't see it, because they never give me the chance. Bipolar disorder may be part of my life, but it doesn't define who I am or what I'm capable of doing.

I am not my illness.

Patrick, 15

The guys at school call me a wuss, because I freak out so much before exams I throw up and faint. They reckon I'm chicken. I can't tell them I have an anxiety disorder. They reckon mental illnesses are for weaklings. They don't understand. Anyone can be affected. Anxiety has been part of my life for a long time, and mostly I still manage to live normally. Why can't they see that?

I am not my illness.

Annie, 16

I had a nervous breakdown two years ago, and it led to me slowly sliding into mental illness. I missed almost a whole year of school last year. Now I'm back, and even though I know I'm not meant to take things too fast, it bugs me that people treat me like I'm going to go crazy at a moment's notice. I know I'm fragile, but why do they have to always make such a big deal of it? I'm still the same person I always was.

I am not my illness.

Samantha, 17

I have suffered from anorexia for my whole high school life. At first I got so many compliments on how skinny I was, which only pushed me further. Then people started to notice that I wasn't just pretty skinny any more, I was skeletal. They call me crazy, that I can't see myself for what I actually am. They say I'm delusional. I'm not delusional. I'm sick. I know what I'm doing is wrong, but I can't stop it. It's the illness. It's not me.

I am not my illness.

Lily, 14

Ever since the girls at school noticed I had scars on my wrist, I have been the subject of merciless taunting. My friends have turned their backs to me; they say I'm crazy. They look at me with disgust. I'm not crazy though. Or at least, I'm not crazy all the time. I'm sick. It is an illness, this addiction. It's paralysing. I still cope though. I'm still me, whatever my illness. I'm still me.

I am not my illness.

I am not my illness. My illness is not me. I am above this. I am above my illness. I. Am. Not. My. Illness.

Children Renewing Faith In Humanity

I teach Kindergarten. There is a very well known book called “The Kissing Hand.”  The story of a young raccoon who must leave his mom and begin his new adventure at school.  The raccoon was very scared.  His mom unfolded his paw and kissed the very center.  “There.” She said. “Now when ever you start to feel lonely you just remember that you’re carrying my kiss with you.”

I typically read this story to my class sometime during the first week of school.  After the store is complete each child gets a turn to come up and get their own kissing hand.  I use small heart shaped stickers and gently push one onto each child’s palm.  After the entire group had received their sticker and gone off to play there was one little boy still lingering in the book area.  Quietly he came up to me, removed the sticker from the palm of his hand, opened my fingers and as he gently pressed his sticker onto my palm he said, “You need a kissing hand, too.” 

We Learned It All in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandbox.

These are the things I learned. Save everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some, and draw and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap in the afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice — and even the little seed in the plastic cup — they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The golden rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then laid down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations always to put things back where we found them and
cleaned up our own messes.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Written by:   Robert Fulghum

Just Close Your Eyes and Believe

I believe…

that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I believe…

that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe…

that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe…

that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe…

that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I believe…

that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I believe…

that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I believe…

that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe…

that no matter how bad your heart is broken that the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I believe…

that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe…

that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.  And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I believe…

that you shouldn’t be eager to find out a secret.  It could change your life forever.

I believe…

that it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe…

that you should always leave loved ones with loving well wishes. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe…

that you can keep going long after you can’t.

I believe…

that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe…

that we don’t have to change friends, if we understand that friends change.

I believe…

that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe…

that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe…

that you either control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe…

that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, that passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I believe…

that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe…

that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe…

that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe…

that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe…

that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down, will be the ones who help you get back up.

My Resignation

I am hereby officially tendering my
resignation as an adult. I have decided
I would like to accept the responsibilities
of an 8 year-old.

I want to go to McDonald's and
think that it's a four star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud
puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So... here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause........

......"Tag! You're it."

This Is Not a Dress Rehearsal!!

"Every blade of grass has an angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow! Grow!'..."
   - Talmud

"Smile. This is not a drill. Please fasten your safety belts and restore your trays to their full upright and locked position. Dig into thoughts and memories until you've found power; that inner strength and the will to go on. Find the lingering smell that makes you think of that time... Look for the color that sparks the memory about... Show the world the person that can smile no matter what. Please keep all body parts away from the closing doors and prepare for take off. You know that in all darkness you will find a matching light. Conquer the fear of heights, spiders and ghosts. Take a shot of courage and march on through fire. Accomplish what you know you can do. It only takes a fraction of happiness and a moment of your time. Stride short and sweet with power in your footsteps. March to your own beat and rhythm. Excite the flip flops beneath you and fly on Hermes wings. Your time to shine is now, and aim that light at shadows below you. Light will stream out from you and catch others who will reflect it back. Your smile becomes there smile and show you every bit of comfortable strength it has to offer. Accept the offerings and be glad in this. This is a smile creeping across your face, and this is not a recording. Just don't forget to smile. You, this world and everyone in it is ALWAYS more beautiful when you smile."

~When the empire falls

Sometimes, that's not so easy to do these days, I know.  Those times, though, when we can't muster up the strength on our own is when we must turn to each other.  It's been said, we are all angels with only one wing.  Only when we come together can we fly.

So, I thought I would make a little hole in the world where people could come when their inspiration needs a jump start.  Hope you enjoy...

The Given Light

Once upon a time a man had heard, that in a foreign place, far away, there was a holy flame burning. So he got up and left his home to find the holy flame and bring some of its light back home to his house. He thought: 'When I have this light, then I will have happiness and life and all the people I love will have it too.'

He travelled far, far away and finally found the holy flame, with which he lit his light. On his way back he had only one worry: 'That his light could go out.'

On his way home he met someone who was freezing and didn't have any fire and who begged him to give him some of his fire. The man with the light hesitated for a moment. Wasn't his light too precious, too holy to be given away for something ordinary like that? Despite these doubts, he decided to give some of his light to the one who was freezing in the darkness.

The man continued his journey home and when he had almost reached his house a terrible thunderstorm started. He tried to protect his light from the rain and the storm, but at the end his light went out.

To return the long way back to the place where the holy flame was burning was impossible, he wouldn't have had enough strength to go back this far - but he was strong enough to return to the human being whom he had helped on his way home.

.........and with his light he could light his own again.