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                     "Some Thoughts"

When we have a friend who encourages us to be ourselves, who loves us as we are, we have an incomparable treasure.
--Alexandra Stoddard

"Friendship doubles our joy
And divides our grief."
-- Anonymous

"My God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. . . And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will neve leave me to face my perils alone."
-- Thomas Merton

"Each birthday I am drawn to reflect on the amazing treasure of being alive. I am astounded by the aspect of existence, I marvel that I am fortunate enough to get to dance through a little segment of the universe's history. My birthday is a good opportunity to remember not to take this gift of life for granted."
--Joyce Rupp

"Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
'You owe
Me.'
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole Sky."
--Hafiz in "The Gift"

"Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Invite one to stay."

--Maya Angelou

"Give what you have to someone. It may be better than you dared to think."
--Anonymous

"Will I stop focusing forever on what was not given to me and stop regretting the gifts that were brief? Will I see the beauty right before me? Will I risk my heart and fully experience being here? Will I say yes to the life I am being offered?"
--Paula D'Arcy

"Freedom is as frightening now as it was thousands of years ago. It will always require a willingness to sacrifice what is most familiar for what is most true."

--Rachel Naomi Remen

"I will not die an unlived life.
I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise".
--Dawna Markova 

"Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow."
--Mohandas Gandhi