posted on October 3, 2000 08:59:02 AM newIn Heaven
In Heaven,
Some little blades of grass
Stood before God.
"What did you do?"
Then all save one of the little blades
Began eagerly to relate
The merits of their lives.
This one stayed a small way behind
Ashamed.
Presently God said:
"And what did you do?"
The little blade answered: "Oh, my Lord,
"Memory is bitter to me
"For if I did good deeds
"I know not of them."
Then God in all His splendor
Arose from His throne.
"Oh, best little blade of grass," He said.
posted on October 3, 2000 09:22:44 AM new
Solitude
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
posted on October 3, 2000 09:46:02 AM new
UNDERSTANDING
If I knew you and you knew me,
If both of us could clearly see,
And with an inner sight devine
The meaning of your heart and mine,
I'm sure that we would differ less,
And clasp our hands in friendliness;
Our thoughts would pleasantly agree
If I knew you and you knew me.
posted on October 3, 2000 10:03:24 AM new
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
posted on October 3, 2000 10:24:57 AM new
"Falseness dies; injustice and oppression in the end of everything fade and vanish away. Greed, cruelty, selfishness, and inhumanity are short-lived; the individual suffers but the race goes on. The larger view always and through all shams, all wickedness, discovers the Truth that will, in the end, prevail, and all things, surely, inevitably, resistlessly work together for the good."
THE OCTOPUS
Not a poem but still relevant. pareau, I am truly sorry for all of the unpleasant innuendoes that have been circulating about your honor and integrity and I want you to know that I don't believe ANY of them. I'm sure this is a difficult time for you but please don't leave us!!
posted on October 3, 2000 11:36:43 AM new
What is this game called life?
I often wish I knew.
I play according to the rules,
And wonder why I do.
Should we live by planned design?
Or leave to chance and fate?
In this gamble for life's rewards
Too many learn, too late.
posted on October 3, 2000 11:57:59 AM new
Nice thread!
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is
always in a good mood and always has something
positive to say: When someone would ask him how
he was doing, he would reply, "if I were any
better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was
there telling the employee how to look on the positive
side of the situation.
> > > >>>
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I
went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of
the time. How do you do it?"
Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say
to myself, you have two choices today.
You can choose to be in a good mood or you can
choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a
victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to
learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can
choose to accept their complaining or I can point
out the positive side of life. I choose the positive
side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about
choices. When you cut away all the junk, every
situation is a choice.
You choose how you react to situations.
You choose how people affect your mood. You choose
to be in a good mood or bad mood.
The bottom line: It's your choice how you live
life."
I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I
left the Tower Industry to start my own business.
We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I
made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
> > > >>>
Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved
in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a
communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care,
Michael was released from the hospital with rods
placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied. "If I
were any better, I'd be twins.
Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds,
but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as
the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the
well-being of my soon to be born daughter, " Michael
replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground,
I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose
to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?"
I asked. Michael continued, "...the paramedics were
great. They kept telling me I was going to be
fine.
But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the
expressions on the faces of the doctors and
nurses, I got really scared.
In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man." I knew I
needed to take action."
> > > >>>
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well there was a big burly nurse shouting questions
at me," said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic
to anything. "Yes, I replied."
The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited
for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,
"Gravity."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to
live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but
also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from
him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
posted on October 3, 2000 01:43:56 PM new
Nobody's Friend
My name is Gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.
I am called Gossip.
I make headlines and headaches.
Before you repeat a story, ask yourself:
Is it true?
Is it harmless?
Is it necessary?
If it isn't, don't repeat it.
posted on October 3, 2000 02:13:51 PM new
Spaz,
It's not anything to do with the thread, or with anything that you might imagine. I was just looking for a pretty place to post that, and this seemed a good one.
It's only one of my AUCTION pictures.
posted on October 3, 2000 03:09:22 PM new
Shelly: You don't owe me an apology. This situation just distresses me a lot. I have almost 3,000 posts here on AW. I am sure that if someone put their mind to it, they could go through all my posts here and make a case for my being a mass murderer. And, someone might just believe it! That's not so far fetched if a passing reference to toilet paper can be perceived as evidence of being a stalker! I find that scary.
Some time ago I received a short, cryptic e-mail from someone I had never corresponded with, warning me to be careful. I knew from what was going on at the time that the warning was about Pareau. I suspected an over-active imagination fueled by the fact that Pareau had been unpleasant to this person. I e-mailed back and flatly said that I did not believe it and I gave my reasons.
The innuendo without facts in the e-mail bothered me though as did a cryptic-seeming posting by someone else which also seemed to involve Pareau. So, I e-mailed the second person and asked her flat-out if she had ever received a real life threat from Pareau. She said no. I told her I was very relieved to hear that and then put the whole situation behind me.
posted on October 3, 2000 03:14:03 PM new
Stockticker, I do owe you an apology, and others, cept the ones I have on ignore, because it distress them, like you say. Again sorry. http://6thplace.com
posted on October 3, 2000 04:14:27 PM new
Well Irene,
Some time ago I received a short, cryptic e-mail from someone I had never corresponded with
At least you've let me off the hook on that from two perspectives. One, because we have enjoyed periodic email exchanges, and two, by your having described this one as short and cryptic.
posted on October 3, 2000 04:27:18 PM new
I'm still clueless, but just want to say that I join the ranks of those who are a bit distressed (and confused) by the accusations and innuendos that have been flung about lately. I've never believed Pareau was a threat of any kind - but, rather an interesting breath of fresh air who is honest beyond reproach. Sometimes reproach steps on my toes - but, that's o.k. with me.
posted on October 3, 2000 04:51:20 PM new
Shelly, Stockticker is so very right when she says it is not her,or me or any one of us who have not been accused that you owe an apology. When someone has been maligned and accused and made a mockery of THAT is the person who deserves the apology. You know who that person is and that is where the apology is due. You have your reasons for what you did,although I cannot fathom them at the moment. You know how I feel by my post elsewhere.
I was NOT going to mention this subject on this board but sometimes my fingers get the better of me.
posted on October 3, 2000 05:05:07 PM new
Well...any of you can address me. If I am not ignoring you, and if I notice, I will answer.
ShellyHerr, I do not know what is going on here at AW (that's OK...don't anyone feel they have to let me know. I am comfortable not knowing), but it is obvious that you have gone through a nasty adventure in the past. I can see that it has colored your perspective some.
Meanwhile...I said it last November and I repeat it now. Please let's not jump into the lynch mode, of anyone. ShellyHerr and Pareau are every bit as valuable here as the other. I am not going to judge either. They're both adults and can decide what they want to say and who they want to apologize to. Forced apologies are seldom sincere.
had to change a their to a they're so ya wouldn't think my ID had been hacked
**Disclaimer: If I appear arguementive, then I probably am just being a #*!@ today. It comes & goes. C.
posted on October 3, 2000 05:14:58 PM newRobin, would you happen to know where we put those buckets last time? They seem to have been misplaced, and we may need them in the near future.
posted on October 3, 2000 05:20:25 PM new
Why Katy! Nice to see you! I just happen to have some of those buckets right here. Keep em handy just in case! [got the guillotine as well...just in case ya know!]
. And artist and a poet.
