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                 Enlightened Perspective

To all my friends:

If you will take the time to read these. I promise you'll come away with an enlightened perspective. The subjects covered affect us all on a daily basis! They're written by Andy Rooney a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy........
I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.
I've learned....That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an  adult.
I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned.... That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned.... That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.
I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned.... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
I've learned.... That when you harbour bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned.... That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.
I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned ... That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

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Clear Day Moments

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them.

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

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Inner tests of courage..

Courage is not limited to the battlefield or to the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are...the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood, like fighting for what is right even when you know you are going to lose.
by - Charles R. Swindoll "Growing Strong in Seasons of Life"

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A Friend Who Cares:The Person Who Means The Most To Us.....

When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not caring, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.
by- Henri Nouwen "Out of Solitude"

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A few "Friendship Proverbs"....

Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief.

Friendships are fragile thing, and require as much handling as any other fragile and precious thing.

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; don't walk behind me, I may not lead; walk beside me, and just be my friend.

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.

Love comes from blindness, friendship from knowledge.

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Some Native American thoughts to ponder on:

*Ancient Indian Proverb: "Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; It was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

*Native American Ten Commandments:
--Remain close to the Great Spirit
--Treat the earth and all that dwell thereon with respect
--Show great respect for your fellow beings
--Work together for the Benefit of mankind
--Give assistance and Kindness wherever needed
--Do what you know to be Right
--Look after the well-being of mind and body
--Dedicate a share of your Efforts to the greater good
--Be truthful and honest at All times
--Take full responsibility for Your actions

*Loving Sun: "Just as the sun Warms the earth,
Love warms our Lives."

*Laughter: "Laughter connects us, and helps us appreciate one another. It is a universal language That needs no interpreter."

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Points To Ponder....

*Vanity Plates seen on a Mercedes Benz in California . . . WAS HIS
*Wealthy people miss one of life's greatest thrills . . . Making the last car payment.
*The trouble with Sunday drivers is, they don't drive any better during the week.
*If you can't keep a secret, you don't need to know it.
*Quote from the boss: "I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was going to blame it on you."
*If you want the world to beat a path to your door, just try to take a nap on a Saturday afternoon.
*Measure wealth not by the things you have, but by the things you have for which you would not take money.
*When your dreams turn to dust, it's time to vacuum.
*Is your holier side your altar ego?
*I need someone to refresh my memory. How many cars are allowed through an intersection after the light turns red? Is it three or five?
*What's dumber, expecting educators to be entertaining, or expecting entertainment to be educational?

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Random Thoughts and Quotes....

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us." -Henry D. Thoreau
"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end." - Henry D. Thoreau
"Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." - William Shakespeare
"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing" - John Powell
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"One of the advantages of being young is that you don’t let common sense get in the way of doing things everyone else knows are impossible." -Anonymous

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Read them and believe them....

I am nothing special; of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."
Nicholas Sparks

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."
Oscar Wilde

"Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened."
Author Unknown

"A friendship that can end, never really began."
Publius Syrus

"The scars you acquire while exercising courage will never make you feel inferior."
D.A. Battista

"The basic discovery about any people is the discovery of the relationship between its men and women."
Pearl S. Buck

"Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality."
Wayne Dyer

"Just because some one doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have."

"They say love hides behind every corner, then I must be walking in circles.

"A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart."

"Never frown even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile."

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance.
They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts, and We are never, ever the same."

"Let no one ever come to you without
leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God's kindness:
kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile."
Mother Teresa

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Seize The Moment.......

I WOULD READ THIS VERY SLOWLY..... SUGGEST THAT YOU DO TOO, IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND

I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: "Seize the moment."
Just possibly, she may be the wisest woman on this planet. Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are to rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on,I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed?
Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched Jeopardy on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain. And my personal favorite: "It's Monday".
She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect: We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain-when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on" and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something YOU want to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round
Or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast

Time is short, the music won't last.
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
you'd better slow down, don't dance so fast

Time is short, the music won't last.
Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow,"
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
And no call just to say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down, don't dance so fast

Time is short, the music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....thrown away...Life is not a race. Do take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.

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A Handy Guide To Live By....

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

There are two kinds of people; one uses their reason to learn what is good and what is bad and they act according to this knowledge; the other act as they want to, and then they use their reason to prove that what they did was good and that which they didn't do was bad.

The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.

Men are not judged by what they do not know, but by what they know, and by the manner in which they know it.

If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.

It is not what he has, nor even what he does, which directly expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.

Never grumble. It makes you about as welcome as a sidewinder in a cow camp.

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.

The biggest liar you'll ever have to deal with, probably watches you shave his face in the mirror.

Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

The world is blessed most by men who do things, and not by those who merely talk about them.

Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much.

The life of man is made up of action and endurance; the life is fruitful in the ratio in which it is laid out in noble action or in patient perseverance.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

Sin, by its deadly infusions into the soul of man, wastes and eats out the innate vigor of the soul, and casts it into such a deep lethargy, as that it is not able to recover itself.

Generally, you ain't learnin' nothin' when your mouth is a-jawin'.

When love and skill work together expect a masterpiece.

Telling a man to go to hell and makin' him do it are two entirely different propositions.

It's easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good deed and have it found out by accident.

It isn't the pace of life that brothers me, it's the sudden stops.

To act is easy; to think is hard.

Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Life is always difficult in proportion to its intensity and reality.

You really never learned to swear until you tried to ride a mule.

As the tree is fertilized by its own broken branches and fallen leaves, and grows out of its own decay, so men and nations are bettered and improved by trial, and refined out of broken hopes and blighted expectations.

Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

Impatient people water their miseries and hoe up their comforts; sorrows are visitors that come without invitation, and complaining minds send a wagon to bring their troubles home in.

Blessed are they that can laugh at themselves for they shall never ceased to be amused.

We have all of us sufficient fortitude to bear the misfortunes of others.

No matter who says what, don't believe it if it don't make sense.

The only thing worse than suffering an injustice is committing an injustice.

The length of a conversation don't tell nothin' about the size of the intellect.

It requires greater virtues to support good fortune than bad.

The cowboy who exaggerates too much soon finds that everyone else has left the campfire.

Life is a long lesson in humility.

It's better to sit on your horse and do nothing than to wear him out chasin' shadows.

Quiet minds can not be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.

It's best to keep your troubles pretty much to yourself, 'cause half the people you'd tell 'em to won't give a damn, and the other half will be glad to hear you've got 'em.

That light at the end of the tunnel......is the headlamp of an on coming train.

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age.

Don't get mad at somebody who knows more 'n you do. It ain't their fault.

To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.

Never joke with mules or cooks as they have no sense of humor.

Comin' as close to the truth as a man can come without actually gettin' there is comin' pretty close, but it still ain't the truth.

Never take another man's bet. He wouldn't offer it if he didn't know something you don't.

Mark Twain once said, "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in 7 years.

Every quarrel is a private one. Outsiders are never welcome.

The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired.

There never was a horse that couldn't be rode; there never was a man that couldn't be throwed.

Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them.

Never take to sawin' on the branch that's supportin' you, unless you're bein' hung from it.

Every man and woman is a volume, if you know how to read them.

Never follow good whiskey with water, unless you're out of good whiskey.

The true art of memory is the art of attention.

Man's the only animal that I know, that can be skinned more than once.

The actions of men are like the index of a book; they point out what is most remarkable in them.

Honesty is not somethin' you should flirt with-you should be married to it.

A book may be compared to you neighbor; if it be good, it cannot last too long; if bad, you cannot get rid of it too soon.

When you get to where you're goin' the first thing you do is take care of the horse you rode in on.

A man's fame is like his hair. It grows after he is dead, and is just about as useless to him.

Never lie unless you have to, and if you don't have a damn good lie, stick to the truth.

The best way to keep your word is not to give it foolishly.

You don't need decorated words to make your meanin' clear. Say it plain and save your breath for breathin'.

False friends are like our shadows, keeping close to use when we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade.

Nobody ever drowned himself in his own sweat.

Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

False happiness is like false money; it passes for a time as well as the true, and serves some ordinary occasions; but when it is brought to the touch, we find the lightness and alloy, and feel the loss.

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

Despair is like forward children, who, when you take away one of their toys, throw the rest into the fire for madness. It grows angry with itself, turns its own executioner, and revenges its misfortunes on it own head.

There is no evidence that supports the notion that life is serious.

Our deeds are seeds of fate, sown here on earth, but bring forth their harvest in eternity.

It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

Genius is the gold in the mine; talent is the miner who works and brings it out.

A conscience is what hurts when all you other parts feel so good.

Gossip, pretending to have the eyes of Argus, has all the blindness of a bat.

Middle age is when the broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

Wise anger is like the fire from the flint; there is a great ado to bring it out; and when it does come, it is out again immediately.

Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away 3 days before you need it.

Marriage is the Keeley cure for love's intoxication.

Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

Ovid Finely compares a broken fortune to a falling column; the lower it sinks, the greater the weight it is obliged to sustain.

By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

Death is like thunder in two particulars; we are alarmed at the sound of it, and it formidable only from that which has preceded it.

Remain independent of any source of income that will deprive you of you freedom and personal liberties.

I find the great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

Don't worry about biting off more than you can chew. Your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger n' you think.

Learning is like mercury, one the most powerful and excellent things in the world in skillful hands; in the unskillful, the most mischievous.

A man with a edgy smile is like a dog with a waggin' tail; he's not happy, he's nervous.

Joys are our wings; sorrows our spurs.

Makin' it in life is kinda like breaking horses: you're gonna get thrown a lot. The simple secret is to keep gettin' back on.

Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.

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Consipiracy

Have you ever noticed that when you're of a certain age, everything
seems uphill from where you are? Stairs are steeper. Groceries are heavier. And, everything is farther away.

Yesterday I walked to the corner and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become! And, you know, people are less considerate now, especially the young ones. They speak in whispers all the time! If you ask them to speak up they just keep repeating themselves, endlessly mouthing the same silent message until they're red in the face! What do they think I am, a lip reader?

I also think they are much younger than I was at the same age. On the other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am. I ran into
an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't
even recognize me. I got to thinking about the poor dear while I
was combing my hair this morning, and in doing so, I glanced at my own reflection..... ...Well, REALLY NOW ......even mirrors are not
made the way they used to be!
Another thing, everyone drives so fast today! You're risking life and limb if you just happen to pull onto the freeway in front of them. All I can say is, their brakes must wear out awfully fast, the way I see them screech and swerve in my rear view mirror.

Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days. Why else would they suddenly start labeling a size 10 or 12 dress as 18 or 20? Do they think noone notices that these things no longer fit around the waist, hips, thighs, and bosom? The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank, but in reverse. Do they think I actually "believe" the number I see on that dial? HA! I would never let myself weigh that much! Just who do these people think they're fooling?
I'd like to call up someone in authority to report what's going on -
but the telephone company is in on the conspiracy too: they've printed
the phone books in such small type that no one could ever find a
number in here! All I can do is pass along this warning: Maturity is
under attack! Unless something drastic happens, pretty soon

"everyone" will have to suffer these awful indignities.

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Words of wisdom

ON PUBLISHING OR PERISHING
I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because
someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at
the top.
- English Professor, Ohio University

ON MARTIAL ARTS AND METAPHYSICS
Deja Fu: The feeling that somehow, somewhere, you've been
kicked in the head like this before.

ON HUMILITY
To err is human, to moo is bovine.

ON DEEP THOUGHTS
A day without sunshine is like a TV without a screen.
- rubin

ON YOUTH
Some people say that I must be a horrible person, but that's
not at all true. I have the heart of a young boy.
...In a jar.... On my desk. -- Steven King

ON PROBLEM SOLVING
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins
to resemble a nail.

ON MATERIALISM
He who dies with the most toys, is, nonetheless, still dead.

ON INFINITY
If you had everything, where would you keep it?

ON ECONOMICS
The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.

ON REVISIONIST HISTORY
What was sliced bread the greatest thing since?

ON MATERIAL SCIENCE
Character density: The number of very weird people in any
university.

ON EXTINCTION
Save the whales. Eat broccoli.

ON LITERATURE
This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It
should be thrown away with great force. -- Dorothy Parker

ON PROPHECY
The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to
refuse.

ON WORLD POLITICS
Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find
a rock.

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The positive side of life

Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.

How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.

Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.

Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.

Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?

Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.

If Walmart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.

We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day, and know that someone who thinks you're great
has thought about you today!..

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Read each sentence slowly and think about it...

Love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear.

Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you. Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.

You can only go as far as you push.

Actions speak louder than words.

The hardest thing to do is watch the one you love, love somebody else.

Don't let the past hold you back, you're missing the good stuff.

Life's short. If you don't look around once in a while you might miss it.

A BEST FRIEND is like a four leaf clover, HARD TO FIND and LUCKY TO HAVE.

Some people make the world SPECIAL just by being in it.

BEST FRIENDS are the siblings God forgot to give us.

When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your BEST FRIEND will be there.

TRUE FRIENDSHIP "NEVER" ENDS. Friends are FOREVER!!

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile!

What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the person who made you cry?

Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them.

Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end.

Most people walk in and out of your life, but only friends leave footprints in your heart.

Remember, every minute spent angry is sixty seconds of happiness wasted.

AWESOME PRAYER: May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. "I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

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I wish you enough

Recently, I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said: "I love you. I wish you enough."

She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough.Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."

They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories that I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing."Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?" I asked.

"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral," he said.

"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?"

He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them," he continued. Then, turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory:

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

He then began to sob and walked away.

My friends, I wish you enough!