ABOVE YOU

Poet:  William C. Glessing

Conquer mountains tall and oceans deep,
Overcome every hill and dale,
Reach for the stars in the universe,
Dream big and dare to fail.

You’re never too old or never to young
To reach places no one else has been,
Do the things that stir your soul,
And keep doing them over again.

Jump off mountains or out of airplanes,
Start living, if you have never fought
To live a life that will stir your heart,
It makes no difference if you succeed or not.

What matters most is the challenge
By doing things that make others pale,
Statt doing the deeds that some dare not.
Dream big and dare to fail.

What does it matter if you don’t succeed,
It only matters that you feel the pride
Of putting some excitement into your life
And of knowing that at least you tried.

Don’t be afraid to lose or fail,
Just give it all you’ve got,
You will find your life more rewarding
If in its enthusiasm you get caught.

Aim for those stars high in the sky
And never settle for anything less,
Don’t even ask how far they are
And don’t even try to guess.

Just reach out as far as you can,
For that is all you need to do
To fulfill all your wishes and dreams,
And to find the real you.

So try living a life of excitement,
Go on a search for the Holy Grail,
Do things that will stir your soul,
Dream big and dare to fail.

Take Time:
Take time to think-
It is the source of all power.
Take time to read-
It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to play-
It is the source of perpetual youth.
Take time to be quiet-
It is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware-
It is the opportunity to help others.
Take time to love and be loved-
It is God’s greatest gift.

Take time to laugh-
It is the music of the soul.
Take time to be friendly-
It is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream-
It is what the future is made of.
Take time to pray-
It is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to give-
It is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to work-
It is the price of success.

There is a time for everything. . .

Lou Holtz
Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.

Scott Hamilton
The only disability in life is a bad attitude.

Albert Einstein
Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Benjamin Franklin
A small leak can sink a great ship.

Aristotle
He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.

Marie Curie
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

Thomas A. Edison
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

Bill Gates
Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.”

I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. “Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.” He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.” “You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.

Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.

Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time. It was nice to meet you
Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.” “What brought this on?” she asked with a smile. “Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

Author Unknown

Over the past few years I have watched the popularity of whitewater rafting grip the vacation market. “Strange”, I thought. “Why would floating down a river become such a hotly contested vacation destination?” Today, I understand this phenomena completely. There is a wisdom and lesson that only the river can teach. It is a lesson that I intend to learn as often as possible.

Whitewater rafting has become one of America’s favorite recreational activities for many reasons. There are several theories on this but I think the majority of them miss the mark. The fans argue that what makes the whitewater experience so compelling, so satisfying, and so incredibly exhilarating is that it is REAL! This primal adventure is beyond comparison. “This ain’t your daddy’s video game adventure!”

Although I consider this to be partially true. I believe that the reason that whitewater rafting has become so popular is because it teaches everyone who travels the river the most important spiritual lesson we could ever learn. All students understand the lesson while they are on the river but often forget it when they return to civilization.

On the river, all you have is the “now.” That is the ultimate high and profound lesson that the river teaches. The past and the future are of no value when you are amidst the challenge of navigating the whitewater rapids. What happened upstream or what might happen downstream are of no consequence while you become completely absorbed in the joy of the present.

NOW. It is all that there is. The river drives this message home with tremendous clarity and excitement.

Stop and think of how different life would be for you if you could apply this simple wisdom to your life. I often sit incredulously when I realize how I have let past upsets disrupt my peace of mind. That can’t happen on the river!

On the river the distinctions of past, present and future become amazingly clear. Very simply you recognize that the wake that is left behind does not navigate the raft. Likewise the future is uninteresting when compared to the exhiliaration of being totally 100% in the here and “now.”

The metaphor is quite profound.

Over the years I have watched tourists navigate the rapids and it never ceases to amaze me! When you watch a group of vacationers all get “the NOW” message together, the exhiliaration is beyond comparison as they leave the past behind and partake in the challenge of the moment. The excitement and enthusiasm is contagious and a wonder to behold.

Likewise, I often wonder how these vacationers return to their lives and if they remember the message they learned on the river?

NOW.

Every time I feel the need to make excuses I remember the lessons that I have learned on the river.

NOW.

Guess where I am headed for my next vacation?

All aboard!

NOW.

Be careful what you agree with.

Harald Anderson is the co-founder of artinspires.com a leading online gallery of Motivational Posters.”When Art Inspires, Dreams Become Realities. His goal in life is to become the kind of person that his dog already thinks he is. http://www.artinspires.com

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read

Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,

For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,

A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play

He stood right before me with his head tilted down

And said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,

With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,

I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side

And placed the flower to his nose

And declared with overacted surprise,

It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too.

That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”

The weed before me was dying or dead.

Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.

But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”

but instead of him placing the flower in my hand,

He held it mid-air without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed for the very first time

That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun

As I thanked him for picking the very best one.

You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play,

Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see

A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life, And appreciate every second that’s
mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose

And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose

And smiled as I watched that young boy, Another weed in his hand,

About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

Author Cheryl Costello Forshey

FRIENDSHIP

“A friend is someone who walks in when the

rest of the world walks out.”

“True friends are like diamonds, precious

but rare.”

“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow.

Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.

Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

DREAMS

“A dream is in the mind of the believer,

and in the hands of the doer”

“You are not given a dream,

without being given the power to make it come true.”

GOD

“God sometimes puts us in the dark for us to see the light.”

“God is able to do immeasurable deeds.”

“Where God guides, He always provides.”

“God’s help is only a prayer away.”

“God without man is still God. Man without God is nothing.”

“Prayer changes things.”

LOVE

“Love is never having to say you are sorry.”

“When you love a person, you are giving him,

the power to hurt you.”

“Love is having to see more than what meets the eyes.”

“You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.”

“True love is like ghosts,

which everybody talks about and few have seen.”

THE FUTURE

“Heal the past; live the present; dream the future.”

“Do not start today, with the broken pieces of Yesterday.”

“Destiny is not a matter of chance.

It is a matter of choice: it is not a thing to be waited for,

it is a thing to be achieved.