Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy
family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the
mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the
cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw
a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the
older angel replied,

Things aren't always what they seem.

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very
hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the
couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good
night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his
wife in tears.

Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the
field. The younger angel
was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen

The first man had everything, yet you helped him. she accused. The second
family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow
die.

Things aren't always what they seem, the older angel replied.

When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold
stored in that hole in the wall

Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good
fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. He continued, Then last
night as we slept in the farmers bed, the
angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't
always what they seem.

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way
they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is
always to your advantage.

You might not know it until some time later...

A Focus for Life

Whatever you dwell upon in your mind, you give power to. So of course it
makes sense to focus on what you want rather than what you don't want. Yet
there are many ways in which the things you don't want can sneak into your
thinking.

Worry and doubt focus your thinking on what you don't want. Rather than
worrying about the bad things that might happen, direct your actions
toward making positive things happen.

Complaining can also get your mind sidetracked into thinking about what
you don't want. What do you complain about The things you don't like.
Rather than complaining, take action. Action moves you toward what you
do want.

Anger is one more way to get your thinking negatively directed. Rather
than getting angry about what you don't like, use that energy to give
you determination for what you want to achieve.

Keep your mind positively focused on the good things that life can
offer. Those things will grow stronger and more abundant in your world.

A Real Freind's Test

REAL FRIEND TEST !

This is GOOD..I expect it back too!

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens
your refrigerator and helps himself (and doesn't feel even the least
bit weird shutting your 'beer/Pepsi drawer' with her foot!)

A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders
soggy from your tears..

A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names. A real friend
has their phone numbers in his address book.

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend
comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed. A real
friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real
friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could
blackmail you with it.

A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend
expects to always be there for you!

A simple friend reads this e-mail and deletes it. A real friend passes
it on and sends it back to you!

The Power of Holding Hands

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy
and a girl, playing in the sand.

They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water's
edge with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when
they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and
knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.

I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had
happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they
ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and
sat down to build another castle.

I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things
in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and
energy creating, are built on sand.

Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave
will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up.
When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will
be able to laugh.

24 Interludes of Life

1. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth even that
fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile.

2. There are moments in life when you really miss someone that you want
to pick them up from your dreams and hug them. Hope you dream of that
someone.

3. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you
want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the
things you want in life.

4. May you have...Enough happiness to make you sweet Enough trials to
make you strong Enough sorrow to keep you human Enough hope to make you
happy And enough money to keep you comfortable.

5. When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But we often took
so long at the closed door, that we don't see the one which has been
opened for us.

6. The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch, swing
with, never saying a word and then walk away feeling like that was the
best conversation you've had.

7. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but
it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

8. Always put yourself in other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you,
it probably does hurt the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle a strife; A cruel word may wreck a life A
timely word may level stress A lovely word may heal and bless.

10. The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly
themselves and not to twist them with our own image, otherwise we love
only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.

11. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything,
they just make the most of everything that comes along the way.

12. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the
right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we should know
how to be grateful for that gift.

13. It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like
someone and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget
someone.

14. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have
searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the
importance of people who have touched their lives.

15. Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, the romance and
find out you still care for that person.

16. A sad thing about life is that when you meet someone who means a lot
to you only to find out in the end that it was never bound to be and
you just have to let go.

17. Love starts with a smile, develops with a kiss and ends with a tear.

18. Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been
disappointed, to those who still believe even though they've been
betrayed, need to love those who still love, even though they've been
hurt before.

19. It hurts to love someone, and not to be loved in return but what is
most painful is to love someone and never finds the courage to let the
person know how you feel.

20. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You
can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and
heartaches.

21. Never say goodbye when you still want to try; Never give up when you
still feel you can take it; Never say you don't love that person anymore
when you can't let go.

22. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love
you back. Don't expect love in return, just wait for it to grow in
their hearts but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

23. There are things you love to hear but you would never hear it from
the person whom you would like to hear it from, but don't be deaf to
hear it from the person who says it with his heart.

24. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was
smiling. Live your life to the fullest so that when you die, you're
smiling and everyone around you is crying.