Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Effort and achievement and endurance make the difference in our lives. The greatest achievement to me is coming to the end of one's day, having been true and loyal to one's ideals. I can think of no greater achievement that that.   -Matthew Cowley

The best reason to take your time is that this time is the only time you'll ever have. You must take it, or it will be taken from you. It is telling that the phrase "taking your time" is synonymous with slowing down. If we want to live life fully we do best to slow down. I don't suggest that we turn back the clock, trying to retrieve a bygone era when life was slower. We couldn't even if we wanted to. But I don't believe we should want to. We should revel in our electronically supercharged, unbounded world. But to make the most of this new world, to avoid feeling overbooked, overstretched, and about to snap, to make modern life become better than life has ever been, a person must learn how to do what matters most first. Otherwise you will bulldoze over life's best moments. You won't notice the little charms that adorn each day, nor will you ever transform the mundane into extraordinary.    -Edward Hallowell

Good can come from trouble. Trauma can enliven the heart and enrich the soul. Clouds do have silver linings, and the leaf will burst again on the dry branch.      -Elaine Cannon