Smartening Up

"All I ask of you is one thing, particularly of young people: please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism -- for the record, it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen!"~ Conan O'Brien

Who Has The Upper Hand?

"I kind of like it when the guy has the upper hand. I have so many upper hands in my life... If you're a strong female, it can get old---" ~ Anon.

Vinyl Quotes

I love quotes. I will always continue collecting anything that sparks my interest. Anything from funny, thought-provoking or just plain mushy. The interesting thing about it is that I bought one that you can stick onto your wall. They're these vinyl stickers that come pre-cut with words or designs in different shapes, sizes and colours. To start off my collection, I found the perfect quote that will go on my empty white wall which appropriately says...

"LOVE conquers all..."

:)

<3

The Value of a Romantic Gesture

Quote Of The Day

“I see when men love women. They give them but a little of their lives. But women when they love give everything.”
—Oscar Wilde

Praise Song For The Day

Elizabeth Alexander read a poem she had composed for Barack Obama and his Inauguration Day today. It's called 'Praise Song For The Day'.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

ALEXANDER: A farmer consider the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

Reflection of You

A boy and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the boy fell, hurt himself, and screamed “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

To his surprise, he heard the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain, “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” Curious, he yelled: “Who are you?” He received the answer: “Who are you?”

Angered at the response, he screamed: “Coward!” He receives the answer: “Coward!”

He looked to his father and asked:
“What’s going on?” The father smiled and said: “My son, pay attention.”

And then he screamed to the mountain:
“I admire you!” The voice answered:
“I admire you!” Again the man screamed: “You are a champion!”

The voice answered: “You are a champion!”

The boy was surprised, but did not understand.

Then the father explained:
“People call this “ECHO”,but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do.

Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you have given to it.”

LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE......IT’S A REFLECTION OF YOU!

Enter A Relationship

"Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something: they're trying to find someone who's going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take." --Anthony Robbins

Acceptance

"If you can't accept me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best."

Interesting quote...

Socratic Teaching

This is a way to divert myself from being productive by writing an entry. I'm putting together an assignment for my history student and I came upon a write-up in regards to why should anyone study history. And the author led to discussing the one of the famous philosopher, Socrates. I'll let you read the paragraph that made me ponder myself:

For Socrates, perhaps the highest virtue can be summed up in the phrase, "Know thyself." In other words, of all the things in the phenomenal world, there is not one so important as yourself. To know yourself means to be aware of what it is that makes you who you are. And in this respect, the one thing which reveals this knowledge is history. But people do not live alone, they live in society. And it is in society that the individual comes into contact with other individuals, all of whom are on the same quest, in varying degrees. So, for Socrates, knowledge of self does not hinge upon reflection or introspection, but conversation, hence the Socratic dialogue.

In that thought, life is a on-going journey that we all take on alone or along with friends and family. We search meaning in what we do and with the people we have or had relationships with. Everyone will always ask the rhetorical question, what is my purpose in this life?

I'm always searching my purpose, my meaning in life and who I truly am...

Shake You

I want to shake you, shake you and say, "I care. I care!!"
You find the most genuine from the most unexpected.
I care. But I might stop if you keep being so distant.

~ Sara Angela

Double Dose of Dereon

This one is my workout song...



"If you like it then you should put a ring on it." Haha...

Then a break-up song...



I'm liking the black-and-white theme Beyonce had going in her two videos.

UPDATE!
Apparently the song "If I Were A Boy" was ripped off from this other female artist named BC Jean. I actually like her version of the song much better than Knowles'.

Inspirational Quote of the Day

“See every difficulty as a challenge, a stepping stone, and never be defeated by anything or anyone.”

~ Eileen Caddy (from ‘The Dawn of Change’)

The Little Prince

I remember reading The Little Prince by Antione de Saint-Exupery in high school and fell in love with it.

I found one quote that stood out for me tonight...

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other

but in looking outward together in the same direction."

Love Poems of Rumi

People want you to be happy.

Don't keep serving them your pain!

~ Deepak Chopra

The Agony of Lovers

The agony of lovers

burns with the fire of passion.

Lovers leaves traces of where they've been.

The wailing of broken hearts

is the doorway to God.

~ Deepak Chopra

The Love Poems of Rumi

Positivity

With the last few mopey postings I've made, I think need to change up the mood. So I found some really inspirational quotes from Randy Pausch. He's a professor and an author who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away just this July 25th of 2008. His last mission before he passed away was to share his wisdom of positivity all around him. In every lecture he asked his audience "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

I just chose the ones that struck me, which was an abridged version of his "Last Lecture" talk on Oprah...

• “I don’t choose to be an object of pity.”
• “Experience is what you get, when you don’t get what you want.”
• “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.”
• “Decide if you’re Tigger or Eeyore.”
• “Live with integrity.”
• “A good apology has three parts: 1. I’m sorry! 2. It was my fault! 3. How do I make it right?”
• “Wait long enough and people WILL show you their good side. Be patient.”
• “Show gratitude.”
• “Don’t complain; just work harder.”
• “If you live your life the right way, the Karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.”