“You are as young as you faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fears; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. In the central place of every heart, there is a recording chamber, so long as it receives messages of beauty and hope, cheer and courage, you are young. When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of opinion, then and only then, have you grown old”

(General MacArthur)

How true this is…..how much do you invest your time in creating beauty and hope? How much cheer do you search for? Human life is short – we know more than most – lets not waste it with “snows of pessimism” but the “sunshine of hope”

Post from: Widows Quest

When tomorrow starts without me,
and I’m not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes,
all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn’t cry,
the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things,
we didn’t get to say.

I know how much you love me,
as much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me,
I know you’ll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
please try to understand,
that an Angel came and called my name,
and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready,
in heaven far above,
and that I’d have to leave behind,
all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I’d always thought,
I didn’t want to die.
I had so much to live for,
so much yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible,
that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,
the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
and all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
just even for awhile,
I’d say goodbye and kiss you
and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
that this could never be,
for emptiness and memories,
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
my heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven’s gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
from His great golden throne,

He said, “This is eternity,
and all I’ve promised you”.
Today for life on earth is past,
but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
but today will always last,
and since each day’s the same day,
there’s no longing for the past.

But you have been so faithful,
so trusting and so true.
Though there were times you did some things,
you knew you shouldn’t do.
But you have been forgiven
and now at last you’re free.
So won’t you take my hand
and share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,
don’t think we’re far apart,
for every time you think of me,
I’m right here, in your heart.

Post from: Widows Quest

You’ve changed.

Your face was joyous

Your skin so vibrant

Now I look and what do I see

A face yes, but I don’t think its me.

Oh mirror stop reflecting

The pain and the grief

Show me the hope

Show me the spirit

So if I look harder then I can see

Someone with the potential of maybe being me.

Reflections on the past

Show in the mirror

Now let the spirit of the future

Reflect the same way

So when I relax and let myself smile – what do I see?

The person that I dream will become the new me.

Reflections from my bathroom this morning put into an Anna poem (which means a badly written one!)….when I saw the old lady staring back at me! But do you know once that smile had been let loose that reflection looked a whole lot different…..try a smile a day, to keep your aging at bay!!

Post from: Widows Quest

“Don’t cry because it’s over – Smile because it happened”

This quote is a wonderful reminder to all widows and widowers that when you suffer grief, you are suffering because of the joy and love we shared. In that joy and love we should ever be grateful, in that joy and love lies our hope for the future because once we know how it really feels to love, then we are more capable of bringing love to the world.

Post from: Widows Quest

Mike King presents 6 Steps to Pull Yourself Out of a Slump posted at Learn This.

Jeremy J. Ulmer presents Life Coach Tip: Don?t Hold Back Your Greatness posted at Sales Coaching | Business Coaching | Life Coaching.

Michael Miles presents Some thoughts on coincidence posted at Effortless Abundance.

John Wolfe presents Evoking Change through Uplifting Action posted at Wind of the Soul, saying, “Taking positive, impactful action is not about being a people pleaser or doing it for attention. Performing “good” deeds to please others or to show off and garner praise stems from an inner place of doubting our own value. Performing uplifting, life affirming action should come from a place of truly wanting to make a difference and help others, while simultaneously respecting yourself.”

Broderick Allen presents Persistence posted at Broderick Allen – Personal Growth and Enjoying Life’s Journey.

Aparna presents Beauty and Personal Grooming: An anger management tip posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming, saying, “It’s so easy to preach and so difficult to practice. Especially, when you are told to control your wrath and keep your cool in the most trying circumstances. More often than not, in the heat of an infuriating situation it is very difficult to even think of following any anger management steps. More so, when you feel that your anger is completely justified. The age-old advice “Count to 10 to control your temper” simply doesn’t work when you are held in the throes of anger.”

Joshua Seth presents The Top 3 Reasons People Don’t Keep Their New Year’s Resolutions | Hypnotist, Speaker, and Author of The Weight Loss Hypnosis Solution: Joshua Seth posted at Joshua Seth Blog , saying, “‘Tis the season for goal setting isn’t it? Year after year we all make New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions…despite knowing that in a few weeks they’ll be all but forgotten! Why is this? Why do people vow to drop those extra pounds, even go so far as joining a gym, and then never do anything about it?”

hm presents Stars at Obama’s Inauguration posted at Gossip Highway, saying, “If you’re into star-gazing don’t turn your t.v. to any of the upcoming award shows. You’ll see more celebs at Obama’s inauguration festivities.”

Desikachari Nadadur presents Ways to Overcome Limiting Thought Patterns | I Am My Own Master « Self-Mastery – Enlightenment – Ascension posted at Desika Nadadur’s Self-Mastery Blog | I am My Own Master, saying, “Positive affirmations which expansive and limitless can help one to overcome limiting thinking patterns.”

Rational Anarchist presents Ordeal in Space posted at The Rational Anarchist, saying, “To paraphrase FDR, the only thing we have to fear is not understanding the fear we have.”

Isaac Yassar presents How To Realize Happiness posted at Isaac Yassar’s Overture , saying, “People seek happiness. That is the reason of their studying and working, improving their personal quality to achieve success. The question is what will happen after we reach success. Probably the answer is getting piles of money and massive personal consciousness, the mediums to reach happiness. At least that is what most people think. Is that true?”

Wally Bock presents Preparation of a Hero posted at Momentor.

Kate presents Cherish the Time posted at Advice on Love, Life, and Everything Between, saying, “A look at how to cherish the time with loved ones and build lasting memories”

Naren Ghimire presents A Simple Secret to a Fulfilling Life | Spiritual Pub posted at Spiritual Pub, saying, “Why does life seem meaningless, empty, and worthless? What are the reasons behind such feelings? Is there a way to cope with such feelings and find meaning and fulfillment in life again? This article will be answering these questions to its best.”

Carole Gold presents There’s Only One of Us posted at Carole Gold, saying, “Want to quickly feel more optimistic about the economic challenges we face AND actually impact the future?”

Jim presents Success Finds Hard Work, Talent & Passion posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Stephen Martile presents How to Change Your Thoughts, Fast! posted at FreedomEducation.ca by Stephen Martile, saying, “Not many people know this, but I’ve been trained in NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. With this training I’ve been able to change thought patterns fast. How fast? I’m talking seconds, not hours, days or even months. In this video I’ll show you exactly how I change thoughts fast using NLP.”

Donald Latumahina presents 8 Essential Life Lessons for True Success posted at Life Optimizer.

Applying the Law of Attraction presents How the Law of Attraction Will Alter Your Life Course posted at Applying the Law of Attraction Membership Library, saying, “Living within the Law of Attraction is definitely going to take you off the course you were headed down before you found this secret of the ages. What’s so amazing is that you find no more use for the stuff that you once thought was necessary.”

Erin Pavlina presents Tears of Hope and the Power of Perseverance posted at Erin Pavlina’s Blog, saying, “A friend of mine and member of my mastermind group, Aimmee Riley, wrote a book called Tears of Hope about her experiences growing up in Lebanon during their civil war. When I first heard about her book I was very hesitant to read it. I knew she had suffered terrible hardships during her life and I am so sensitive to the suffering of others that I figured I would just be sobbing the whole time I read it. I didn’t want that experience so I put off reading her book. But one of the other members of my mastermind group assured me that the story is told in such a way that I would not be overwhelmed…”

Anita Bern presents This year everything is going to be different… really! posted at Social anxiety disorder.

Jon Chambers presents Motivation (Article) posted at The Mind Of Jon.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of positive thinking using our
carnival submission form.

Post from: Widows Quest

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”

Lin Yutang

I often get asked “Where do I get the strength to carry on?” Well, often it is through the love you have gained, often it is through the love of family and friends, often it is your own desire to live through the pain like your loved one would want you to…and often it is in communities that just understand how you feel. A community that is there for you in those sleepless nights, those days that seem so dark. Wherever your strength provider lies, you will find it….of that I have no doubt. Why because as human beings we were born to live, we were born to love….and someway our minds and our sould will find a way…

Post from: Widows Quest

This is a tough road, there are no easy answers.

But there is hope.

Hope lies in us all taking responsibility and standing by our values, standing together and making creating the future that we want.

These words may have been meant for the US population however I believe there are huge lessons for us all. Grief can feel never ending, grief is an incredibly rocky road however when we dig deep into our human emotions we will find the strength to SOMEHOW overcome the problems and find a path to happiness.

Today is one of hope, today we can dig into that hope felt for the world and feed off that hope in our own lives.

Post from: Widows Quest

Once their was a smile, now there is resignation

Once their was a young woman full of life

Now there is a woman affected by death

Once there was a woman who lived to love

Now there is a woman afraid of loving.

Once there was a woman who looked full of hope

Now there was a woman in search of hope.

And yet,  once there was a woman who thought she appreciated life and indeed love

But now there is a woman who truly understands that you never fully appreciate it….. 

….Until its gone.

[istockphoto]

Post from: Widows Quest

I Shall Be Glad
by Grace Noll Crowell If I can put new hope within the heart
Of one who has lost hope,
If I can help a brother up
Some difficult long slope
That seems too steep for tired feet to go,
If I can help him climb
Into the light upon the hill’s far crest,
I shall begrudge no time
Or strength that I spend, for well I know
How great may be his need.
If I can help through any darkened hour,
I shall be glad indeed.

For I recall how often I have been
Distressed, distraught, dismayed,
And hands have reached to help, and voices called
That kept me unafraid.
If I can share this help that I have had,
God knows I shall be glad.

Post from: Widows Quest

That is true, none of us can know how someone else is feeling. However, I believe that hope is much better than despair. Let me tell you a true story.

Her heart was breaking, her grief was overwhelming her. She couldn’t face life without him. She spent a week tidying her house, setting her finances straight, seeing her friends….then went and bought her tablets and her drink which was finally going to make her happy…and take her to him. She drove into the countryside and swallowed quickly, she couldn’t wait to get to him. As she saw the sky disappear she suddenly realised that she was going to die….she suddenly realised how much she really did value life. Was it too late?

Fortunately a stranger came by that car and she was rushed to hospital….she recovered slowly and as she strengthened she realised how precious life was, how she didn’t want to die, she just had to learn how to live again. She didn’t know how, but one thing she did know was that she had been given a second chance and she was going to find a way…..not a day has gone by without her thinking

• How much she misses him
• How much she loves her family and friends
• And, how much she values life

So when you think there is no hope, just remember that if we give in there is no hope……however, if we continue to fight there is always hope.

How do I know all this to be true, how do I know that living is a gift….well, the person above was me. I know the feeling but I tell you, not one day goes by that I am not grateful to that stranger…..even when my heart is breaking and I feel like giving up.

If you are that lonely, that depressed then tell us all, let us all be there for you….. just like that stranger was for me….

[istockphoto]

Post from: Widows Quest