Friend

With love flowing in every breathe

she treads loftly in the garden

of my heart

With a loving face and

loving behaviour

Her naivety is exposed

Attracting everybody she meets

Befriending everyond she mixes with

What a loving character

welcoming everyone with a lovely smile

She is my friend the best of all

She is my best friend,

lives in my heart and

smiles with every smile of me

Spreading the light of love

Love Love and Only Love

author: biks (copyright)

Thoughts On Time

Lately I find myself more and more conscious of the passing of time. It may be some kind of mid-life crisis, but there really and truly don’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Or so it seems.

The fact is, there are the same number of hours in a day that there always were: 24 to be exact. There are 1440 minutes in a day, 86,400 seconds. As C.S. Lewis said, “The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”

And so I find myself with time to spend like precious and oh so few pennies. I try to hoard it, but it slips through my fingers.

I find myself wondering – is time something you make, or something you find?

Every minute of our lives is made up of choices. We choose how to spend our seconds just as surely as we choose how to spend our pennies. The seconds we squander won’t ever be regained. If we put work before family, our children may grow up behind our backs, and we will find ourselves examining photographs of little children that no longer exist. We turn our heads and our daughters are off to the prom; our sons taking the keys to the car. We are left holding the shovel to the sand box with no one nearby to play.

We may sacrifice the time we spend with our families for work. We may allow people to steal slivers of time with mindless chitchat, cell phone conversations, waiting too long in line. How much time do we really need to sleep? How much sleep do we dare sacrifice before we endanger our health? Are we wasting time on things that are unimportant, like television? Benjamin Franklin said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of.”

Here’s a phrase to ponder: killing time. Why would we want to kill time? Henry David Thoreau commented, “You cannot kill time without injuring eternity.”

I’ve heard time stands for “This I Must Experience.” I hear the clock ticking, and I know I am right where I’m supposed to be, even when I believe otherwise.

There are wounds that only time can heal, and then time becomes our friend, and not a curse. The passage of time can be comforting in times of pain.

It’s all about priorities, I think, and doing the best we can to spend our minutes and seconds wisely. It’s about forgiving ourselves for mistakes and planning what we will do with whatever seconds remain. The older I get, the more I cherish every single minute, especially the minutes and seconds I get to spend with my children.

I think Will Rogers said it best: “Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”

What are we trying to save time for? That’s what we should be doing with it. We are responsible for our choices.

The clock is ticking.

By: Valerie Dansereau
source: articledashboard.com

Enlightenment

If we go through the pages of history, scriptures, mythology and fictions of different religions, we are sure to find that during those periods in the past many people, so called yogis, migrate to the jungle to meditate. They went through days and days of fasting and kept on meditating. The only reason for such act was to become 'Enlightened'.

Those were the stories of past, and past is past. However, nowadays too people are going through the same procedures to get enlightened. Quite often we are getting such news on media and such things are happening around and in our society as well.

But what actually we meant by Enlightenment? Immanuel Kant has written in his book regarding enlightenment that-- Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another.

He writes-"Sapere Aude!"

:" Have courage to use your reason!" - is the motto of enlightenment.

What do You Think About It?

A Time to Blossom

The flower has opened, has been in the sun and is unafraid. I'm taking more chances; I'm bold and proud. Paula Cole

Spring is here! I love the month of April, seeing beauty blossoming from the ground and the trees. The air smells fresh and the world feels alive and vibrant with color. Like it is waking up from a long wonderful nap, refreshed and ready, with a great big smile on its face. It is so exciting to me to see the plants and flowers breaking free of their dormancy, nourished and ready to show themselves, to grow bigger and fuller each year.

Are you feeling it? Are you ready to fully blossom into the person you know is inside?

If the answer is yes, then it is time to rub the sleep from your eyes, open them wide and take a look within you and around you. Step out of your comfortable cozy hideaway and see the wonder and beauty of new life stirring, ready to burst free. Stretch your arms toward new people, stretch your legs by exploring new places, breathe in the beauty and energy of new life.

What do you see? What do you imagine? What do you feel?

This time of year makes me think of my own life and reflect on how I have grown each year - and how I want to grow this year. For many years in my not-to-distant past, I consistently tried some new things and took on new challenges, but it was as if I was experiencing this growth in a terrarium - a confined, safe space that I had created. It was as if I was a bonsai tree, growing slowly, carefully clipped and shaped to remain small and neat. Now bonsai trees are beautiful works of nature and art, but inside, I felt like a wildflower, wanting to grow fast and freely, spread out and mingling with other flowers. What I wanted was to experience more of life outside my carefully manicured and neat life I had created.

Does this sound at all familiar to you?

Maybe you are living your life well, yet you know there is something inside you that is wanting to poke its head out and blossom, yet you keep it contained. Maybe it is a dream career; a passion from childhood you want to re-ignite; an experience you would love to have; or just a way you would like to "be".
What if you took the time this month to discover what it is inside you that is eager to break free, nourish it and feel the joy of watching yourself blossom?

author:Stefanie Zizzo
source: goarticles.com

Build Your Own Self-Esteem: Your Guide to Self-Improvement

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won't even remember. Donít let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work EnvironmentBeware of "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People's BehaviorBulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers, all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing EnvironmentYou canít be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past ExperienceIt's okay to cry and say "Ouch!" when we experience pain. But don't let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World ViewLook at what you're looking at. Don't wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination TheoryThe way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn't mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people's experience, so you'll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldnít come down from heaven and tell you - "George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self."
In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life's options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means "self change". The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

author:Jun Yuan LIM
source: goarticles.com

Beyond Positive Thinking

Positive Thinking is one of the common mantras promoted by the countless self-help gurus and books out there. But what is it and does it work?

Simply, positive thinking is to have an optimistic outlook on life and to keep your thoughts productive and constructive. Old sayings like, "every cloud has a silver lining" is examples of positive thinking. Can this simple method produce good results in life and provide you with happiness?

Well, the theory behind positive thinking is all good and well, however, it can be a lot harder than it first seems. When you are happy and content, then maintaining such a positive attitude can be quite easy. The problems occurs when one is sad and even feeling a little depressed. To start positive thinking at this juncture can be extremely difficult.

You can feel depressed inside and yet try hard to think positive thoughts like saying to yourself, "every cloud has a silver lining". Does it make you feel any better? Probably not! And therein lays the problem with positive thinking alone. It can be quite a superficial exercise and it doesn't necessarily change your state.

The missing part is the emotions. Or should I say, the positive emotions. You see, we can say positive things all day in a rote manner without it actually changing our mood. The power in positive thinking comes when you combine it with your emotions. Your emotions are literally life. It is what gives you life. If you have no emotions, you may as well not be living, for what is there to experience?

To help yourself when you are feeling a little down or are in a difficult situation, yes think positive but add one more ingredient, emotion. You need to feel the nice feelings that come with positive thought in order for it to help.

Try this exercise. Picture yourself at a time when you really enjoyed yourself, a time when everything was going well in life. Now, simply imagine yourself in your own body at that time and see who is around you, what is around you, the scenery, the sounds, the smells, the tastes, get every sense working and bathe yourself in the moment. Take a few moments to do this and as you immerse yourself in the environment, you can begin to feel the sensations of joy, happiness and warmth flow in your body. Really, do this exercise and you will see what I mean and enjoy the moment.

Now, when you come out of the visualization exercise you will be feeling better already, can you feel it? Things can seem a little easier and you can start to refocus your thoughts and feelings onto more productive and positive areas of life. Things are not always as it seems and taking time out to refocus and visualize can help to shift your emotions to putting you back on track to better and better things. When you master this, the you will see better results and truly taking positive thinking beyond.

author: Waiman Yau
source: goarticles.com