After A While

After a while,

You learn the difference between holding

A hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn,

That love doesn't mean leaning and company

Doesn't mean security.

And you begin

To learn that kisses are not contracts and

Presents aren't promises.

And you begin,

To accept your defeats with your head up and

Your eyes open, with the grace of an adult,

Not the grief of a child.

And you learn

To build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans.

After a while, you learn that even sunshine

Burns if you get too much.

So plant your own garden,

And decorate your own soul, instead of waiting

For someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn

That you can endure...

That you really are strong,

And you really do have worth.

~Author Unknown To Me~

From the glow of enthusiasm, I let the melody escape. I pursue it. Breathless I catch up with it. It flies again,

it disappears, it plunges into chaos of diverse emotions. I catch it again, I seize it, I embrace it with delight....

I multiply it by modulations, and at last I triumph in the first theme. There is the whole symphony.

~Ludwig Van Beethoven~

What Is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
And to endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether
By a healthy child, a garden patch or
A redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
Easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

~This page was created by Designs By GoldenRose.~

2003