Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul.

Thomas Merton

From The Heaven Up Above

Why can't we sleep forever
And live inside our dreams
Sheltered from the heartbreak
That life can sometimes bring
You could live in a world
Bordered only by your mind
And never have to worry
About running out of time
You could live out all your dreams
A life of love and laughter
Your every desire is fulfilled
You'd live happily ever after
You could take the stars 
From the heavens up above
Then gift them to the one
That shares your feelings of love
You could gather every rose
For only there eyes to see
You would never have to question
Will this love forever be.

I wanted to change the world
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
Author: unknown monk around 1100 AD

Mighty Oak
Stand tall oh mighty oak, for all the world to see,
your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me.
Though storm clouds hover above you,
your branches span the sky,
in search of the radiant sunlight you
count on to survive.
When the winds are high and restless and
you lose a limb or two,
it only makes you stronger, we
could learn so much from you.
Though generations have come and gone
and brought about such change,
quietly you've watched them all yet still
remained the same.
I only pray God give to me the strength he's
given you,
to face each day with hope, whether
skies are black or blue,
Life on earth is truly a gift
every moment we must treasure,
it's the simple things we take for granted
that become our ultimate pleasures.

The eagle
Once a farmer found an abandoned eagle's nest and in it was an egg still warm. He took the egg back to his farm and laid it in the nest of one of his hens. The egg hatched and the baby eagle grew up along with the other chickens. It pecked about the farmyard, scrabbling for grain. It spent its life within the yard and rarely looked up. When it was very old, one day it lifted up its head and saw above it a wonderful sight - an eagle soaring high above in the sky. Looking at it, the old creature sighed and said to itself, "If only I'd been born an eagle".

Having a dream, living that dream, losing that dream, dreaming again and then having that dream come true again is one of the greatest feelings ever because I`m stronger.

Aaron Carter

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.
Democritus

NEVER GIVE UP

There was an old mule. One day accidentally he fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer has evaluated the situation and thought to himself, that neither the well nor the old mule was worth the efforts to save them. Thus he decided to haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well.
So the farmer called his neighbours and together they started shoveling dirt into the well. The old mule was terrified and hysterical in the beginning. But soon one hopeful idea came to his mind – every time when a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!
He repeated these words to himself again and again: „Shake it off and step up“. This way he could struggle the panic and encourage himself. After some time, the mule had stepped over the well‘s wall. Although terribly tired, he was the winner, he saved his own life. He decided to face his adversity positively and not to give up, and thus he won.
What seemed like it would bury him, actually saved him, owing to his confidence and unresting efforts.