Dreams by Langston Hughes

"Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly,

Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams go,
Life is a barren field.” ~Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams go,
Life is a barren field,
Frozen with snow."

~Langston Hughes

WONDERFUL WORLD

Every once in a while the world opens up
and lets heaven shine through...

We open up our senses and realize
just how wonderful the simple things are
and just how beautiful nature can be:

Sunshine on an early spring morning...
A beautiful sunset...

A song that brings back memories...
Moonlight over the water...
The smell of fresh flowers after a rain...

A snowy egret skimming across a pond...
The laughter of people having fun...

A peaceful stream and a gentle waterfall...
All of these things make me love life and feel good,
And the same is true when I think of you.

You are an important part of my life
and I just want to thank you for making
my world even more wonderful!

Thank you for being you!

~Author Unknown

Source: Inspiration Line

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We're slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minute more
To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided
And bless each and every person invited

Amen!

BEND IN THE ROAD

Sometimes we come to life’s crossroads
And we view what we think is the end.
But God has a much wider vision
And He knows that it’s only a bend...

The road will go on and get smoother
And after we’ve stopped for a rest,
The path that lies hidden beyond us
is often the path that is best.

So rest and relax and grow stronger,
Let go and let God share your load.
And have faith in a brighter tomorrow.
You’ve just come to a bend in the road.

@Theolinda Foster
FB, 19 November 2012

My Holiday Wish

My holiday wish is that we may
See good in those who pass our way;
Find in each a worthy trait
That we shall gladly cultivate;

See in each one passing by
The better things that beautify —
A softly spoken word of cheer,
A kindly face, a smile sincere;

I hope each day that we may view
The things that warm one's heart anew;
The kindly deed that can't be bought
That only from good are wrought,

A burden lightened here and there,
A brother lifted from despair,
The aged ones freed from distress;
The lame, the sick, brought happiness.

Grant that before each sun has set
We'll witness deeds we can't forget;
A soothing hand to one in pain,
A sacrifice for love — not gain;

A word to ease the troubled mind
Of one whom fate has dealt unkind.
So, friend, my wish is that we may
See good in all who pass our way.


~By Phil Perkins

Today's The Day

Today I will delete from my diary two days:
yesterday and tomorrow...

Yesterday was to learn and tomorrow will be
the consequence of what I can do today.

Today I will face life with the conviction
that this day will not ever return.

Today is the last opportunity I have to live intensely,
as no one can assure me that I will see tomorrow's sunrise.

Today I will be brave enough not to let any opportunity pass me by,
my only alternative is to succeed.

Today I will invest my most valuable resource:my time,
in the most transcendental work: my life.

Today I will spend each minute passionately to make
of today a different and unique day in my life.

Today I will defy every obstacle that appears
on my way, trusting that I will succeed.

Today I will resist pessimism and will conquer the world with a smile,
with the positive attitude of expecting always the best.

Today I will make of every ordinary task
a sublime expression.

Today I will have my feet on the ground, understanding reality
and the stars' gaze to invent my future.

Today I will take the time to be happy and
will leave my footprints and my presence in the hearts of others.

Today, I invite you to begin a new season where we can dream
that everything we undertake is possible and
we fulfill it, with joy and dignity.


~Author Unknown
(Contributed by Diane who lives in New South Wales, Australia)

Live Your Best Life

I Want To Know

I want to know, when day is done,
That life has been worth living;
That I have brought somebody joy
Through kind, unselfish giving.

I want to feel, when evening falls
And shadows quickly lengthen,
That I have made somebody glad,
Some weakness I have strengthened.

I want to know, that come what may
I've left some cheer and gladness;
I want to feel, at close of day
I've banished someone's sadness.

I want to feel at day's end,
That someone's cares were lighter;
Because of kindness I have done,
May someone's life be brighter.

~Author Unknown

Reflections

"Who am I today?" I ask ...
And I wonder if I'll ever know;
I know the past has shaped me now,
Though the past was long ago.

The little moments form a blur,
The times both happy and sad,
All the people I once knew,
And the things I used to have.

They all helped me to become
Where, what, and who I am now,
And everything has influenced me
... though I'm not sure exactly how.

But I'm thankful for the memories,
From everyone I've ever met —
People I miss and people I love,
Even people I'd like to forget.

For these memories have helped me grow,
They've made me calm, yet strong,
And now there's a story to my life,
That they've been writing all along.

So, thank you for the memories,
Without them, who would I be? —
Because somewhere in my memories
Are the things that define me.

~Author Unknown
(Contributed by Nori who lives in Trabuco Canyon, California)

Source: Inspiration Line Magazine

Listen To The Dream In You

Listen
To the dream within you.
It’s there
In whatever
Puts stars in your eyes
And makes your heart sing.

Listen
To your feelings,
And you will hear
Who you are
And what you must do.

Listen
To your needs,
And you will know
Where to find
What you are looking for.

Listen
To the wisdom within.
It is trying to lead you
To your destiny.

Listen
To the song in you,
And your life
Will be one of harmony.
You will be
Who you were meant to be.
You will be complete
And at peace
And happier than you’ve ever been,
If only you will

Listen
To the dream within you.

Copyright ©1996 By Nancye Sims

LOVE AND FAITH

(From the author of Desiderata)

You are not poor if you
love something, someone,
humanity maybe, and have faith

that you will somewhere,
sometime be satisfied, though you
know not how.

You may even feel that your
sorrow is but a school to teach
you the virtues of sympathy and
gentleness, that will avail
you hereafter, though you know
not where.

I am not always on the highway
that leads to this hilltop,
but I have seen the lighted road
stretching on and on;
sometimes I have even fancied
that I saw the windows of
the castle aglow.

And I have hastened my steps
to be in time for the feast,
and taken counsel of my courage
lest I falter and fall on the way.

May I keep this vision of
the castle ever before my eyes,
and a belief in my heart
that the journey is worth while,
and the castle and the glow
in the windows not all illusion.

by Max Ehrmann

Our Friendship

May our friendship last forever;
May I sail upon your sea.
May we go through life together;
May there always be a "we"...

May I be your endless sky;
May you breathe my gentle air.
May you never wonder why
Each time you look for me, I'm there ...

May we be for each a smile
Like the warm, life-giving sun;
Yet when we're in pain awhile,
May our suffering be one ...

May we share our special days,
The happiness of one for two;
And if we must go separate ways,
Let my love remain with you.

By Nicholas Gordon

THE COLD WITHIN

Six humans trapped by happenstance in dark and bitter cold
Each possessed a stick of wood — or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs, but the first one held hers back,
For, of the faces around the fire, she noticed one was black.

The next one looked cross the way saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.
The third one sat in tattered clothes he gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought of wealth he had in store,
And keeping all that he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.
The black man's face bespoke revenge as the fire passed from his sight,
For he saw in his stick of wood a chance to spite the white.

And the last man of this forlorn group did naught except for gain,
Giving just to those who gave was how he played the game.

Their sticks held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof enough of sin;
They did not die from cold without —
They died from cold within.

~By James Patrick Kinney

Regarding the identity of the poet, the following letter appeared in a Dear Abby column on October 25, 1999:

DEAR ABBY: My husband, James Patrick Kinney, wrote the poem "The Cold Within" in the 1960s. It is gratifying to know he left something behind that others appreciate. He submitted it to the Saturday Evening Post; however, it was rejected as "too
controversial for the times." Jim was active in the ecumenical movement. His poem was sent in to the Liguorian, a Catholic magazine. That was its first official publication to my knowledge. Since then, it has appeared in church bulletins, teaching seminars and on talk radio, listed as "Author Unknown." If that was done for legal protection, I understand.

My family is always happy to see it appear, but we do think the true author should be given credit.

Source: Inspiration Line

Great Spirit

O Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me!
I am small and weak, I need your
strength and wisdom.

Let Me Walk In Beauty, and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make My Hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make Me Wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let Me Learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I Seek Strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy-myself.
Make Me Always Ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.

So When Life Fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you
Without Shame.

Prayer from the Children of the Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota Tribe

Source: Inspiration Line

IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME

If tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry the way you did today,
While thinking of the many things, we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me, I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name, and took me by the hand,

And said my place was ready, in heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind all those I dearly love.

Then as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought, I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for, so much left yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible, that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared, and all the fun we had.

So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me, I'm right there, in your heart

Abridged Version ~ Author Unknown
(Contributed by John in Mojave, Arizona)

Source: Inspiration Line