The Parable of True Love

The old woman sat on the antique rattan rocking chair. Her eyeglasses were perched precariously on her nose as she concentrated on her sewing chores. A gentle breeze swept the wisp of whitish hair on her temples.

Beside her sat her teen-age granddaughter. She was like a fresh flower recently bloomed. Without warning she suddenly blurted out, "Grandma, why is true love so difficult to find?"

The old woman with a kindly face stopped sewing and touched her granddaughter's head affectionately. After a moment, the young girl cuddled closer, resting her head on the old woman's lap.

"Listen and I will tell you why," began the grandmother.

"Many centuries ago, when the world was young, true love existed everywhere. It was available for the asking. Because of this, men and women took true love for granted, so God decided to keep true love." She stopped and smiled as she gently stroked the young girl's soft tresses. "God asked a pair of angels to keep true love."

"First, they buried true love in the ground. But man and woman easily dug it out. Next, the angels took true love to the highest mountain. But again, man and woman easily climbed to the top. Then the angels submerged true love in the deepest sea. Man and woman swam to the bottom of the body of water and with ease retrieved true love."

"So true love is easy to find," commented the young girl. "For man and woman will dig, climb and swim."

"Yes ... but finally the angels kept true love in the hearts of man and woman. Since then, people have had difficulty searching for true love. For they look everywhere except in the one place that they should keep it."

The Risk of Love

There is a risk involved in everything
Every time you share a smile
Every time you shed a tear
You are opening yourself up to hurt.

Some people tread slowly through life,
Avoiding the closeness risk brings,
Sidestepping the things they can not understand
Turning away from those who care too much-
Those who care stay too long,
Those who hold too tightly.

There is never an easy way to love
You cannot approach it cautiously
It will not wait for you to arm yourself.

It does not care if you turn away
It is everywhere, it is everything.
Love is the greatest of all risks.

It is not reliable, it is not cautious,
It is not sympathetic
It is unprejudiced and unmerciful.
It strikes the strongest of mind,
And brings them to their knees in one blow.

Even in the best of times, love hurts.
It hurts to need, it hurts to belong,
It hurts to be the other part of someone else,
Without either of your consent.

But, from the moment it overtakes you,
It hurts worse to be all alone.
The risk of love never depletes;
It grows stronger and more dangerous with time.
But, it is in the total surrender of all defense,
That we, no matter weak or strong,
No matter willing or captive,
No matter what, we truly experience love.

Despite the many things love is not,
Outweighing it all are the things that love is.
Love is surrender without a loss.
It is a gift without the cost.
It consumes your every thought and desire,
Every breath you take.
It is the fire that fuels you
To do more than pass through life;
It urges you, instead, to live.

No matter the outcome, having felt love,
You will never be the same.
It may scar your heart and soul
And leave you only memories of forever.
Or, it may cause every day of your life
To feel like there is no need for tomorrow.
But, love is worth it. It is worth the risk...

For in all of life,
Love is truly the only risk worth taking.

Top Ten Tiger Woods Lessons for Success:

1. Expect to win.
Know in your heart that you are a winner.

2. Let your expectations show.
Express no doubts, let your competitors and your friends know that you have none.

3. Work, practice, work, and practice some more.
At the top of his field, he can still be seen hitting buckets of balls until dark
- even if he's just won.

4. Dress and act like a winner.
This is a part of keeping yourself in a winning frame of mind.

5. Have a sense of drama - don't create it but know it when you see it.
You don't have to seek out publicity, but know how to accept and use it when it
comes to you.

6. Know that there is always room to grow.
Being the best does not mean you can't be even better.

7. Hang with the winners.
They understand the pressures and situations in which you will find yourself.

8. Put yourself in situations where you are not known as a success.
May be difficult, but this helps you to stay real.

9. Value and protect your free time and do what you enjoy.
The discipline of being a winner needs a safety valve from time to time.

10. Remember those who need help.
Somewhere, someone helped you - be willing to give back.

by Diana Robinson, Ph.D.

The Love Story

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived; happiness, sadness, knowledge, and all the others, including love.

One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave.

Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island paradise until the last possible moment. When the island was almost totally under love decided it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help. Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked, "Richness, Can I come with you on your boat?" Richness answered, " I'm sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you anywhere."

Then Love decided to ask Vanity for help who was passing in a beautiful vessel. Love cried out, "Vanity, help me please." "I can't help you", Vanity said, "You are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat."

Next, Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, " Sadness, please let me go with you." Sadness answered, "Love, I'm sorry, but, I just need to be alone now."

Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, "Happiness, please take me with you." But Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn't hear Love calling to him.

Love began to cry. Then, she heard a voice say, "Come Love, I will take you with me." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived on land the elder went on his way. Love realized how much she owed the elder.

Love then found Knowledge and asked, "Who was it that helped me?" "It was Time", Knowledge answered. "But why did Time help me when no one else would?", Love asked. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

Life is short...

This is a beautiful story.
Just wanted to share with you this wonderful story...

Life is short, so smile and be grateful as long as we are here.



The girl in the picture is Katie Kirkpatrick, she is 21 . Next to her, her fiancé, Nick, 23. The picture was taken shortly before their wedding ceremony, held on January 11, 2005 in the US . Katie has terminal cancer and spend hours a day receiving medication. In the picture, Nick is waiting for her on one of the many sessions of chemo to end.



In spite of all the pain, organ failures, and morphine shots, Katie is going along with her wedding and took care of every detail. The dress had to be adjusted a few times due to her constant weight loss.



An unusual accessory at the party was the oxygen tube that Katie used throughout the ceremony and reception as well. The other couple in the picture are Nick's parents. Excited to see their son marrying his high school sweetheart.



Katie, in her wheelchair with the oxygen tube , listening to a song from her husband and friends.



At the reception, katie had to take a few rests. The pain did not allow her to stand for long periods.



Katie died five days after her wedding day. Watching a woman so ill and weak getting married and with a smile on her face makes us think..... Happiness is reachable, no matter how long it lasts .

We should stop making our lives complicated.

Life is short

Break the rules

forgive quickly

love truly , laugh constantly

And never stop smiling

No matter how strange life is

Life is not always the party we expected to be

but as long as we are here, we should smile and be grateful.

Will you still love me even if I’m not perfect?

Will you still love me even if I’m not perfect? Will you still love me even if I’m not the kind of person you wished I were? Will you still look into my eyes with warmth even if you saw my shadows? Will you still hold my hand even if you knew there will be times I’d let you down?

For though I yearn to take care of you as I should, though I desire to love you with a love that never falters and fades, my knees tremble this very moment that you hold me in your arms.

Shall I kiss you? Shall I hold your hand and bask in the light of your spirit knowing that I have my darkness, knowing there will be times that the light of my love will sometimes be overshadowed by the darkness that is in me?

Sometimes I’d be silent and I might bore you. I may not laugh at your jokes, and you may not understand the spell that’s enshrouding me. Sometimes I’d get troubled and I’d fail to put into words what the hell it is that troubles me. I wouldn’t be good company then, and I couldn’t make you smile.

Sometimes I’d get moody and I might not enjoy the things you’d like us to do together. Sometimes I’d lose my temper and I’d no longer act like the fine person who stands before you today. Sometimes I’d get jealous and I might say things I don’t really mean. Sometimes I’d talk too much that I might drive you away.

Sometimed I’d get touchy and I’d get easily hurt. And no matter how mature I try to be, at times I’d act in childish ways. I’d demand things I shouldn’t, I’d say thing I shouldn’t say. And no matter how much I desire to protect you and make you happy, sometimes I’d be the one who’d cause you the most pain.

If you will love me I cannot promise you that I will not hurt you. I cannot promise you that I will not make you cry and that I’ll never break your heart. But if you will love me, I will bare my whole self naked before you, and I will reveal to you my soul. If you will love me, you can be certain that it is I that you will love, not a mask that fools you and gives you only what your eyes desire to see. If you will love me, you can be certain that you will love the depths of me, all of me that is in me, and I in turn will love you with all of me, with all my soul, with all my mind, with all my spirit, with all my flaws and beauty, and with all my very heart.