"INSPIRATION"
THE BEGINNING OF


"Every day that you attempt to see things as they are in truth
Is a supremely successful day."
Vernon Howard --- Contributed by Jodi Brunschwig


"The supreme happiness of life is
The conviction that we are loved."
Victor Hugo --- Sent in by Lori Hard


"On Truth and Happiness........
The search is over as we begin."
Ty Higgins --- Georgia





"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add,
But when there is nothing left to take away. "
Antoine de St. Exupery --- Submitted by Samantha Dorr


"Champions are a rare breed.
They trust God while others ask for answers.
They step forward while others pray for volunteers.
They see beyond the dangers, the risks, the obstacles, the hardships."
Unknown --- Sent in by Tracy Thomas --- Texas


"For memory has painted this perfect day
With colors that never fade,
And we find at the end of a perfect day
The soul of a friend we've made."
Carrie Jacobs Bond --- Sent in by Katie Ditmore


"In our daily lives, we must see
That it is not happiness that makes us grateful,
But the gratefulness that makes us happy."
Albert Clarke --- Bahamas


"To believe God is a Privilege,
To doubt God is an insult."
Dimeji OLOWU, UNICEF --- Lagos, Nigeria


"What a pity that so many people rather believe their doubts
And doubt their beliefs...
Why don't we just decide to have no doubts,
And believe your beliefs!
Fear and worry is just the misuse-use of the creative powers
We originally got to dream."
Jannie Putter --- South Africa


"When the light has sharply faded
And you have lost your way
Let another's love guide you
It can turn blackest night into day."
Kevin Meyers


"A rising tide lifts all boats."
John F. Kennedy --- Sent in by Dan Marignoni --- Florida
--- Author' name supplied by Lee Cichanowicz



"Listen to life, it is the wisest teacher of all."
Samuel Gilmore


"No love, no friendship
Can cross the path of our destiny
Without leaving some mark on it forever."
Francois Mauriac --- Sent in by Katie Ditmore


"We were all born with wings.
In times of doubt: spread them."
Kevin Meyers


"The only bad thing about keeping on burning your bridges
Behind you, is that the world is round.."
Labhesh Patel --- student at Stanford, from India


"Fate only takes you so far.
The rest is up to you. "
From Can't Hardly Wait --- Submitted by Angie Gill --- Oregon


"Don't deny hope it's chance to work magic!"
Lee Alan Fruits --- Washington


"History has proven,
God has never given anyone a dream
Without also including the power to achieve that dream;
It is up to us to claim the power and go after that dream,
Or just claim , it was only a dream."
Larry Bennett --- Author/OPW


"It is the darkest hour before dawn."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"If you bungle raising your children,
I don't think whatever else you do matters very much."
Jackie Kennedy Onassis --- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery


"Tell me who admires and loves you,
and I will tell you who you are."
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beauve
--- Contributed by Karina Maria --- Maryland



"Use disappointments as material for patience."
Contributed by Vanessa Bergmann --- Oregon


ALWAYS HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF

"It is not easy to live life sometimes
And face the world with a smile when you're crying inside.
It takes a lot of courage to reach down inside yourself,
Hold on to that strength that's still there,
And know that tomorrow is a new day-with new possibilities.

But if you can just hold on long enough to see this through,
You'll come out a new person-stronger,
With more understanding and with a new pride in yourself
From knowing you made it."
By Kathy Obara --- Sent in by Vicki Hoyle


"When you come to the end of everything you know
And are faced with the darkness of the unknown,
Faith is knowing one of two things will happen.
Either there will be something solid for you to stand on,
Or you will be taught how to fly."
Barbara J. Winter --- Contributed by Jamie Smelley
--- Author's name supplied by Michael M., Age 17 --- Ohio



"We can't begin to understand what God has planned for us,
But we face each day with a smile, and in his name we trust
For in this vast world.....is Love
If only we could see the dove
It seems sometimes he doesn't care
When things get rough and hard to bear
But with our Faith we can survive
Because in our hearts HE is Alive!!"
By Beth Knight --- From Arkansas, Living in England


"What you can't get out of...
Get into wholeheartedly."
Mignon McLaughlin
--- Compliments of Martha Varzaly ---Pennsylvania



" Love is the biggest motivation & healing
It at times gives sorrow but people don't hesitate to borrow,
It is not the story of today or tomorrow
The time I cherish the most
My mother's love & care is what I can boast
My friends who love me give me the reason to survive
I hope & I wish the silent motivation they all give
I have them all in my memories
I will reach the place for which my heart cries
And I am sure of it cause I believe & I have faith.
And for that I will til eternity wait."
Prakash --- From India --- Living in Ghana, Africa


"It is only by striving for beauty and love
In all our relationships,
That we can hope to become
Guardians of our individual and collective futures."
Roland Stahler--- Contributed by Richard Chorley --- Amsterdam


"Nothing is great like friendship on earth,
No jewel No pearl has got it's worth.
No one except a friend can be trusted,
Your life will never ever get rusted."
Prakash --- Living in Ghana, Africa


"Family means too much,
Friends are too valuable,
And life is too short,
To put-off sharing with people,
How much they really mean to you,
And pursuing whatever it is that makes you happy."
Chuck Wiltraut --- Pennsylvania


"Courage is doing what you are afraid to do.
There can be no courage without fear."
P. Hayes --- Ohio


"Fear is nothing except a drain of energy and
Not a power unto itself. Trust in yourself,
For therein lies the true power."
Lori Hard


"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get
Only with what you are expected to give...
Which is everything. "
Katherine Hepburn --- Contributed by Kelly Timlin --- Minnesota


"I believe life is a series of near misses.
A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all.
It's seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.
It's seeing what other people don't see
And pursuing that vision."
Howard Schultz --- owner of Starbucks Coffee
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"Those who hear not the music... think the dancers mad."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Kari Scarlett --- Alberta, Canada


"Never complain about growing old,
Because so many never get the chance!"
Author Unknown --- Contributed by Wayne Lincoln


"It is not doing the things we like to do,
But liking the things we have to do
That makes life blessed."
Robert Hege --- North Carolina


"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, this is no other life but this."
Henry David Thoreau
--- Contributed by Robyn Mauza --- British Columbia, Canada



"Life is too short to settle for anything less than a 110% effort!"
Rick Irving --- Texas


"Yesterday's failures are today's seeds
That must be diligently planted to be able to abundantly harvest
Tomorrow's success."
Pete Zafra --- California


"Give, and forget!
Receive, and remember!"
Author Unknown --- Sent in by Fran Sawyer --- Florida


"The heights of great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upwards in the night."
Winston Churchill --- Contributed by Mike Ver Velde --- California


"To be without some of the things you want,
Is an indispensable part of happiness."
Bertrand Russell --- Contributed by Lori Hard


"If you believe in something, no proof is necessary.
If you don't, none is sufficient."
Author Unknown --- Contributed by Fran Sawyer --- Florida


"(Think of one's self as a teakettle) :
Though up to it's neck in hot water,
It continues to sing."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson
--- Used by Nelson Mandela in his Inaugural Speech
--- Originally sent in by Robin Bates --- California
--- Author's Identity kindly sent in by Sheryl Walker --- Victoria, B.C.



"Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see.
Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere.
But if you listen to the sound of your own voice,
You can rise above doubt and judgement.......
And you can see forever. "
Nancy Kerrigan --- Contributed by Kelly Timlin --- Minnesota


"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
If you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."
Confucius --- Contributed by Scott
--- Author's name provided by Dipesh Patel --- Massachusetts



"You can not help someone become a better person...
Unless you are that person."
Written/Submitted by Dan Kelly and all his friends --- Illinois


"No birth certificate is issued when friendship is born. There is nothing tangible. There is just a feeling that your life is different and that your capacity to love and care has miraculously been enlarged with out any effort on your part. It's like having a tiny apartment and somebody moves in with you. But instead of becoming cramped and crowded, the space expands, and you discover rooms you never knew you had until your friend moved in with you."
Steve Tesich --- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan


"We stare into the fire of life, the flame of the soul,
Yet we stand, so far away,
Basking in the eternal energy that flows from within it,
We stand back, too scared to approach the flames."
Kevin R. Hutson


"Prayer is:
.... the salve on the wounds of our spirit
that we order from God in our moments with Him."
Robert Gary Lee --- Maryland


"Life was made to be enjoyed as well as endured."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"You have to eat the first piece of candy
Before you can eat the whole bag."
Natalie M. D'Alessandro --- Indiana


"A friend is someone who dances with you in the sunlight,
And walks with you in the shadows."
Heather Kowalski


"As long as I'm faced in the right direction,
It does not matter the size of my steps."
Erica Lawrence --- California


"Where you find true friendship,
You find true love."
Submitted by Sally & Paviter --- Singapore


"Realists don't fulfill their ambitions.
There must be a dreamer in all of us."
Contributed by Reed Barrett Kuehn --- Wisconsin


"Friendship is the only concrete that can hold the world together!"
Woodrow Wilson --- Contributed by Jennie --- Texas
--- Author of quote provided by Jill --- 11/00



"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.
One is roots.
The other is wings."
Hodding Carter Jr. --- Contributed by Brandi Nunnery


"You will find, as you look back upon your life,
That the moments when you really lived
Are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."
Henry Drummond
--- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan



"I am who I am,
You are who you are,
So, be who you are, not what you are."
Teo Chee Huen


"Life Is A Challenge - Meet It!
Life Is A Song - Sing It!
Life Is A Dream - Realize It!
Life Is A Game - Play It!
Life Is Love - Enjoy It!"
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
--- Submitted by Vinod K.Reddy --- India



"The purpose of learning is growth,
And our minds, unlike our bodies,
Can continue growing as we continue to live."
Mortimer Adler


Just Be Willing

"When the sun awakens in the morning,
When the moon arises in the night,
Where the peace awaits you in the silence,
Where the love enfolds you in the light.

Just be willing to sit in the silence,
Just be willing not to know,
If you're willing to sit in the silence,
Then your light will surely grow.

All you need to do is just be willing,
All you need to do is just relax,
Where the peace that passes understanding,
Gently guides you on your chosen path.

Just be willing to sit in the silence,
Just be willing not to know,
If you're willing to sit in the silence,
Then your peace will surely grow.

Take one breath and then you take another,
Breathe love in and then you breathe it out,
It's a circle with no start or ending,
That's what love itself is all about.

Just be willing to sit in the silence,
Just be willing not to know,
If you're willing to sit in the silence,
Then your love will surely grow."
Jack and Janet Needham
---- Authors of "The Zebra Hunter" - A Journey of Truth, Love, and Compassion



"Keep your faith in all beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone."
Roy R.Gilson --- Contributed by Tania --- Moscow


"Love can never give too much,
But those of us who love
Can give in too much."
Alfred Stuart Jr.


"Let your hook be always cast;
In the pool where you least expect it
Will be a fish."
Ovid --- Contributed by Peggy O'Neil


"Like the number of apples
Contained within a single apple seed
Each opportunity that we seize
Contains an untold number of benefits."
By Rick Irving --- Texas


An Old Arabic Proverb
"To the pure, all things are pure."
Contributed by Brad


"If you don't like something change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Don't complain."
Maya Angelou --- Contributed by Lisa Watson-Kulbeth


"What you are is God's gift to you.
What you make of yourself is your gift back to God."
Kelly Jeppesen


"Let her, that would move the world,
First move herself."
Sandy J.H. --- New Jersey


"In the transfer of thought from mind to mouth,
Many a fool is born.
But those same thoughts spring forth as a pristine fountain,
When first they flow through the heart."
Jim Cook --- Texas


"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,
Nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship;
It is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one,
When they discover that someone else believes in them
And is willing to trust them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson --- Contributed by Gary Harrington --- Michigan


"It seems to me we can never give up longing
And wishing while we are thoroughly alive.
There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good,
And we must hunger after them."
George Eliot --- Contributed by L. Modany --- Pennsylvania


"Resolve to be thyself;
And you know that he who finds himself,
Loses his misery."
Matthew Arnold --- Contributed by Hilary Walker


"If you stand out in the rain long enough,
You will eventually see the rainbow."
Greg King --- South Africa


"All things are possible until they are proved impossible.
And even the impossible may only be so, as of now."
Pearl S. Buck --- Contributed by L. Modany --- Pennsylvania


"We attract what we dwell on,
And what we dwell on we become."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"The most important factor in the miracle of life is YOU!"
Pete Zafra --- California


"Sorrow looks back...
Worry looks around...
But, faith looks up."
From 'God's Little Instruction Book'
--- Contributed by Gillian Manson --- North Carolina



"Faith sees the invisible,
Feels the intangible,
And achieves the impossible."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"Happiness is a sunbeam,
Which may pass through a thousand bosoms
Without losing a particle of its original ray;
Nay, when it strikes on a kindred heart,
Like the converged light on a mirror,
It reflects itself with redoubled brightness.
It is not perfected till it is shared."
Jane Porter
--- Contributed by Jessica Guidobono --- British Columbia, Canada



"All dreams, hopes, and wishes that you think about
Were given to you by a Higher Power
That knows you absolutely have the ability
To fulfill any or all of them!"
Pete Zafra --- California


"It's the simple things in life that mean the most."
Adriene Oftedahl --- Arizona


"Love is eternity gift wrapped,
And life is the unwrapping."
Sent by Jody C. Burnett --- California


"Do the thing you fear the most...
And death of fear is certain."
Janet Crooks --- New Jersey


"stay strong
stay strong through the night,
to thine own self be true.
never do change,
and always remain you.
for god made you special
and gave you something no one else
can take away.
he doesn't want you to hide that gift
it is to be used everyday.
so stay standing
when your legs feel weak
and when the world seems all wrong.
when people try to tear you down,
leap up and say
i will stay strong."
By Johnny Murray


"For every sixty seconds of anger,
You lose one minute of happiness."
Author unknown --- Contributed by AW --- New Jersey


"No try not,
Do or do not,
There is no try!"
Yoda to Luke Skywalker from Star Wars
--- Contributed by Ernest Saenz
--- Contributed by Lois Hoffmann
--- Contributed by Ross B., Age 19 --- NSW, Australia
--- Correction sent in by Steve Astle --- California



"Tomorrow I shall stand on the mountaintop
and my voice shall roar across the land,
for I and the universe are one.

Tomorrow the energy of all eternity
shall be seen in my eyes,
for I and time are one.

Tomorrow you will become one with my soul,
for you and I are one.

Tomorrow I will be filled with unconditional love,
for I am love.

Tomorrow."
Doug Bryant --- Florida


"Thoughts and actions are major ingredients in the miracles of life."
Pete Zafra --- California


"Begin doing what you want to do now.
We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment,
Sparkling like a star in our hand
--- and melting like a snowflake."
Marie Beyon Ray
--- Contributed by Jessica Guidobono --- British Columbia, Canada



"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
If I can ease one pain,
Then my life will not have been in vain."
Adapted from a poem by Emily Dickinson
--- Contributed by Lynn Bump --- Georgia



"Falling Doesn't Make You a Failure,
Staying Down Does."
From 'God's Little Instruction Book'
--- Contributed by Gillian Manson --- North Carolina



"It is not the Quantity of your life,
But the Quality that really matters."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Courtney Smith --- Virginia