♥ - WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD 03/04/2013 - ♥

 The heart is like a flower - 

unless it is open, 

it cannot release its fragrance into the world. 

The fragrance of the heart 

is made up of the qualities 

and virtues of our spirit.

Most of us have learned 

how to keep our heart closed 

in a world that would trample all over us 

if we let it. 

Being openhearted today seems 

to require tremendous courage.

It is a courage which comes 

only when we realize 

that no one can hurt us, 

no matter what they say or do. 

They may hurt our body,

 but if we have realized 

we are spirit, 

nothing outside can touch us, 

if we so decide.

Little by little, 

practice opening your heart 

to those you think have hurt you.

Realize it wasn't them that hurt you, 

it was yourself. 

And it taught you not to trust 

and you closed your heart. 

A closed heart is in need of opening.

And when you do, 

you will  begin to heal yourself.

 

Today, 

see if you can 

stretch your heart 

and expand your love 

so that 

it touches 

not only those to whom
you can give it easily, 

but also 

those
who need it so much.

~ Daphne Rose Kingma

I know you've heard it 

a thousand times before.
But it's true - 

hard work pays off. 

If you want to be good, 

you have to practice, 

practice,
practice. 

If you don't love something, 

then don't do it.

 
♥ Ray Bradbury

To reach a port 

we must sail, 

sometimes with the wind 

and 

sometimes against it. 

But we must not 

drift or lie 

at anchor.

       - Oliver Wendell Holmes

SO, 

THINK WHAT IS GOOD, 

SPEAK WHAT IS KIND,

AND 

TRY TO LIVE YOUR BEST,

THEN THIS WORLD 

WILL BE BRIGHT 

AND BEAUTIFUL 

TO YOU.

~ Unknown

”The journey of discovery 

begins not with new vistas 

but 

with having new eyes

with which to behold them."

~Marcel Proust

I believe I can help you.

He asked the man his name, 
wrote out a cheque, 
and pushed it into his hand saying, 
"Take this money. 
Meet me here exactly one year from today, 
and you can pay me back at that time."

Then he turned and disappeared 
as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand 
a cheque for $500,000, 
signed by John D. Rockefeller, 
then one of the richest men in the world!

I can erase my many worries in an instant! 

He realized.

But instead, 
the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, 
he negotiated better deals 
and extended terms of payment. 
He closed several big sales. 
Within a few months, 
he was out of debt 
and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, 
he returned to the park with the uncashed cheque.

At the agreed-upon time, 
the old man appeared. 
But just as the executive 
was about to hand back the cheque 
and share his success story, 
a nurse came running up 
and grabbed the old man.

I'm so glad I caught him! 
she cried.

I hope he hasn't been bothering you. 
Has always escaping from the rest home 
and telling people he is 
John D. Rockefeller.

And she led the old man 
away by the arm.

The astonished executive 
just stood there, stunned. 
All year long had been 
wheeling and dealing, 
buying and selling, 
convinced he had half a million dollars 
behind him.

Suddenly, 
he realized that it wasn't the money, 
real or imagined, 
that had turned his life around. 
It was his new found self-confidence 
that gave him the power 
to achieve anything he went after.

Good one, isn't it?

- MATURITY -

I am now, 

probably for the first time in my life, 

the person I have always wanted to be. 

Oh, not my body!

 I sometime despair over my body... 

the wrinkles, 

the baggy eyes, 

and the sagging butt. 

And often 

I am taken aback 

by that old person 

that lives in my mirror, 

but I don't agonize over 

those things for long.

I would never trade 

my amazing friends, 

my wonderful life, 

my loving family 

for less gray hair 

or

 a flatter belly. 

As I've aged, 

I've become more kind to myself, 

and less critical of myself. 


I've become my own friend. 

I don't chide myself for 

eating that extra cookie, 

or for not making my bed, 

or for buying that silly cement gecko 

that I didn't need, 

but looks so avant garde on my patio. 

I am entitled to overeat, 

to be messy, 

to be extravagant. 

I have seen too many dear friends 

leave this world too soon; 

before they understood 

the great freedom 

that comes with aging.

Whose business is it 


if I choose to read 


or play on 

the computer until 4 a.m., 

and sleep 

until noon? 

I will dance 

with myself 

to those wonderful tunes 

of the 60's, 
and if I, 


at the same time, 
wish to weep over a lost love ... 
I will.


I will walk the beach in a swim suit 

that is stretched over a bulging body, 

and will dive into 

the waves with abandon 

if I choose to, 

despite the 

pitying glances 

from the bikini set. 

They, 

too, 

will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. 

But there again, 

some of life is just as well forgotten ...

and I 

eventually remember 

the important things.

Sure, 

over the years 

my heart has been broken.... 

How can your heart not break 

when you lose a loved one, 

or when a child suffers, 

or even when a beloved pet 

gets hit by a car? 

But broken hearts 

are what give us strength 

and understanding and compassion. 

A heart never broken is pristine

and sterile 

and will never know 

the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed 

to have lived long enough 

to have my hair turn gray, 

and to have my youthful 

laughs be forever etched 

into deep grooves on my face. 

So many have never laughed, 

and so many have died 

before their hair could turn silver. 

I 

can say "no", 

and mean it. 

I can say "yes", 

and mean it.

As you get older, 

it is easier to be positive.

You care less about what 

other people think. 

I don't question myself anymore. 

I've even earned the 

right to be wrong. 

So, to answer your question, 

I like being old. 

It has set me free. 

I like the person 

I have become. 

I am not going to live forever, 

but 

while I am still here, 

I will not waste time 

lamenting what could have been, 

or worrying 

about what will be. 

And I shall eat dessert 
every single day. 

-Unknown-

- CREAMSICLE CAKE -

• 1 Pkg Yellow Cake Mix
• 2 Pk  Orange Gelatin
• 1 Pk Vanilla Instant Pudding
• 1 Cup 2% Milk
• 2  Large Eggs
• 2 Tsp  Vanilla
• 1 Tub Whipped Topping

Bake the cake as directed in a 9x13" pan. 

Let cake cool completely. 

Poke holes in cooled cake. 

Mix 1 package orange gelatin dessert 

with 1 c. Boiling water and 1 c. Cold water. 

Pour over cake. 

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

 Mix pudding mix with cold milk 

the other package of 

orange gelatin dessert and vanilla. 

Beat by hand with a whisk until thickened. 

Fold in the whipped topping. 

Frost the cake with the pudding mixture.

USEFUL  FOR  YOUR  KITCHEN