β
I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.
β
β
Booker T. Washington (Up from Slavery: An Autobiography)
β
Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are.
β
β
Stephanie Lahart (Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Enlighten-Encourage-Empower)
β
He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
If God closes a door AND a window, consider the fact that it might be time to build a whole new house.
β
β
Mandy Hale (The Single WomanβLife, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence)
β
Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy. Because many people live habitually as if the present moment were an obstacle that they need to overcome in order to get to the next moment. And imagine living your whole life like that, where always this moment is never quite right, not good enough because you need to get to the next one. That is continuous stress.
β
β
Dan Harris (10% Happier)
β
Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles one overcomes while trying to succeed
β
β
Booker T. Washington
β
It was so risky and so scary, and yet at the same time, so beautiful. Maybe the truth was, it shouldn't be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It's the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth. When something's difficult to come by, you'll do that much more to make sure it's even harder -if not impossible- to lose.
β
β
Sarah Dessen (Along for the Ride)
β
Some fish love to swim upstream. Some people love to overcome challenges.
β
β
Amit Ray (Walking the Path of Compassion)
β
Your strength will be found when you stop struggling with yourself, instead of thinking everyone is a struggle worth overcoming. Every obstacle in life is a lesson that teaches us, not others.
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
Maryβs childhood was rough. She was frequently beaten and chastised by the nuns who served as her protectors and brutalized by the older girls in the orphanage.
Oh how I wept those first few years of my life. My tears came like tropical storms. Every pore in my body wept. I heaved and shuddered and sighed. Everything around me seemed dark and terrifying.
β
β
Maria Nhambu (Africa's Child (Dancing Soul Trilogy, #1))
β
The tests we face in life's journey are not to reveal our weaknesses but to help us discover our inner strengths. We can only know how strong we are when we strive and thrive beyond the challenges we face.
β
β
Kemi Sogunle
β
No one else knows exactly what the future holds for you, no one else knows what obstacles you've overcome to be where you are, so don't expect others to feel as passionate about your dreams as you do.
β
β
Germany Kent
β
If you expect life to be easy, challenges will seem difficult. If you accept that challenges may occur, life will be easier.
β
β
Rob Liano
β
Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.
β
β
Les Brown
β
For those who can adapt, the path to resilience is self-evident.
β
β
Sanu Sharma
β
BELIEVE in yourself even if nobody else does!
β
β
Stephanie Lahart (Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Enlighten-Encourage-Empower)
β
Maybe thatβs what growing up was really all about. Adults always say how complicated life gets as we age, but really, I think we just look for bigger challenges to overcome. Our biggest fears stretch from sleeping without our beloved teddy bear to finding out that we have no purpose in life. Did time, maturity, and overcoming obstacles offer the kind of contentment so evident in Orvin? Or did we just simply give up and surrender to the life we were already living?
β
β
Renee Carlino (Before We Were Strangers)
β
When people try to bury you, remind yourself you are a seed.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
To believe in a child is to believe in the future. Through their aspirations they will save the world. With their combined knowledge the turbulent seas of hate and injustice will be calmed. They will champion the causes of life's underdogs, forging a society without class discrimination. They will supply humanity with music and beauty as it has never known. They will endure. Towards these ends I pledge my life's work. I will supply the children with tools and knowledge to overcome the obstacles. I will pass on the wisdom of my years and temper it with patience. I shall impact in each child the desire to fulfill his or her dream. I shall teach.
β
β
Henry James
β
When something poses as obstacle to you,surmount it and use it as a miracle to move on to greater height.
β
β
Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha (Overcoming the Challenges of Life)
β
Without being push to the wall, we will have remained in our comfortable zone. But this circumstance challenges us to find the courage to move on.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (On Eagles Wings:Rise)
β
No longer will I doubt my abilities...I will give myself a chance.
β
β
Stephanie Lahart (Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Enlighten-Encourage-Empower)
β
When all seems to be against you, remember, a ship sometimes has to sail against the current, not with it.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
I honor you for every time
this year you:
got back up
vibrated higher
shined your light
and loved and elevated
beyond
βthe call of duty.
β
β
Lalah Delia
β
The courage to live brings its own rewards.
β
β
Rachel L. Schade (Silent Kingdom (Silent Kingdom, #1))
β
Each day offers you an opportunity to overcome obstacles and fears in your life. Those victories, however small they appear, are significant and donβt need to be measured against or compared with those of someone else. They stand on their own as important measures of your own personal capabilities.
β
β
Steve Pemberton (The Lighthouse Effect: How Ordinary People Can Have an Extraordinary Impact in the World)
β
Life is going to beat you up, it wouldn't be fair if you didn't throw some punches back at it
β
β
Bradley Bowman
β
Some people will just go with the flow of things and sway in life, while others will fight against the currents and go upstream to reach their destiny.
β
β
Anthony Liccione
β
Be like seeds; do not see dirt thrown at you as your enemy, but as ground to grow.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.
β
β
Booker T. Washington
β
Challenges are part of life. Overcoming them makes you a stronger person.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
You can't stop negative thoughts from coming in, but you can make sure they leave as quickly as they enter.
β
β
Nkem Paul (The ART of Achievement and Fulfillment: Fundamental Principles to Overcome Obstacles and Turn Dreams into Reality!)
β
Say NO to negativity and say YES to positivity. Negativity has no place in your life.
β
β
Stephanie Lahart (Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Enlighten-Encourage-Empower)
β
Failure prepares us to meet life challenges as we face each obstacle and overcome them by earning the crown from the cross we bear.
β
β
Charlena E. Jackson (No Cross No Crown)
β
Someday, you little twat, it's going to be more than that. The way we start doesn't have to be where we end up.
β
β
Mackenzi Lee (The Gentlemanβs Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings, #1.5))
β
Without difficulties, life would be like a stream without rocks and curves β about as interesting as concrete. Without problems, there can be no personal growth, no group achievement, no progress of humanity. But what mattes about problems is what one does with them.
β
β
Benjamin Hoff (The Te of Piglet)
β
Don't allow life to pass you by because you are afraid of [looking] stupid.
β
β
Richie Norton (The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live without Regret)
β
Life keeps throwing me stones.
And I keep finding the diamonds...
β
β
Ana Claudia Antunes (A-Z of Happiness: Tips for Living and Breaking Through the Chain that Separates You from Getting That Dream Job)
β
You have to prepare physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to conquer any mountain.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
If you want to catch your dreams, you have to drop your fears.
β
β
Anton Rubaclini
β
I squeezed my eyes shut and took several deep breaths, trying not to smell Jace in front of me, not to taste him on my lips. But it was useless. In that moment, Jace was everywhere. He was in my mind, he was in my heart, and he was in my memory. He smelled good. He tasted good. And the blissful aftershock still throbbing in my most sensitive places felt wonderful, when everything else in my life was an obstacle to be overcome.
β
β
Rachel Vincent (Prey (Shifters, #4))
β
Overcoming procrastination is not, I repeat, not about cramming additional work into your day . . . overcoming procrastination is about simplifying your life to make space for the activities that matter most.
β
β
Richie Norton (The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live without Regret)
β
A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
If beautiful lilies bloom in ugly waters, you too can blossom in ugly situations.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Stars do not hide from darkness. Roses do not hide from thorns. Diamonds do not hide from pressure.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
When you believe you have lost your power and control nothing will ever seem easy or simple.
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
Only when your love of roses is greater than your fear of thorns can you grow a beautiful garden.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
When the world told the caterpillar its life was over, the butterfly objected, βMy life has just begun.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
The true test of a warrior is how your 'stance' holds up after any 'circumstance'. Meaning, even after the stormiest weather, a true warrior will still reflect the brilliant rays of the magnificent sun through both his or her eyes. You may get hit by sudden lightning or take severe beatings from the cruel wind, but you will always get back up and stand strong on your feet again, soak in the sunlight, and be prepared to get hit by even the most merciless hail - time and time again.
β
β
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
β
To have a different life you have be a different person. You have to do what you haven't done. You have to become the person that fits that dream. But most of all, you have to realize that if you don't step into your story it becomes the moral of the story. Your inaction is a lesson you leave to your kids-- I was too afraid to change.
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
Life always gives us another change: It's called "To Move On".
β
β
Ana Claudia Antunes (A-Z of Happiness: Tips for Living and Breaking Through the Chain that Separates You from Getting That Dream Job)
β
Innovation needs preparation, collaboration and the light of the soul. Every challenge provides that light - a greater depth of understanding about life and truth.
β
β
Amit Ray (Enlightenment Step by Step)
β
Dear past, I survived you. Dear present, Iβm ready for you. Dear future, Iβm coming for you.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Not everyone with a problem needs you to solve it. Sometimes all a person needs is to feel like they've been heard. Listening without judging can be more effective than injecting your opinions or trying to solve a problem that doesn't have an easy answer.
β
β
Zero Dean (Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1: Get motivated & overcome obstacles with courage, confidence & self-discipline)
β
I donβt believe in the Law of Attraction. There were things I wanted in my life that no amount of positive thinking was going to make it a reality for me. However, I have learned to believe in the Law of Tough Love. Life has thrown a dozen tragedies at me. I did what any Christian would do--prayed for the outcome I wanted, but God was tough and only gave me what I needed. I now realize that life is not about fulfilling a wish list; rather a need list. Good and bad experiences are on the horizon. How else does a person change, grow and evolve? And just like any warrior woman, I wonβt simply survive-- but thrive!
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
On the road to success there is absolutely no room for criticism of self or others. Insecurity and fear masquerade as jealousy and judgment. Finding faults in others wastes time as we attempt to remove the bricks from other peopleβs foundations β time that could be better spent building our own. And worrying about what other people think about us also wastes the time that could be better spent expanding upon what we have built.
β
β
Alaric Hutchinson (Living Peace: Essential Teachings For Enriching Life)
β
Be like a rose; no matter how many thorns you encounter in life, bloom.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
A diamond earns its sparkle from the pressure it endures.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
If you are busy focusing on the falling bricks, you will never realize that they are truly stepping stones you need to cross over to the next phase of your life.
β
β
Kemi Sogunle
β
Persevere like a seed; even when people try to bury you, flourish.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
The gift of life, gives you the greatest opportunity to live and chance to rise above any situation. With hopeful attitude you can overcome any struggle.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
β
DAY THREE I DECLARE I have the grace I need for today. I am full of power, strength, and determination. Nothing I face will be too much for me. I will overcome every obstacle, outlast every challenge, and come through every difficulty better off than I was before. This is my declaration.
β
β
Joel Osteen (I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life)
β
I made such a mess out of my life that it turned into art
β
β
Matt Barker
β
You have to make an enemy a friend to conquer his or her evil intentions.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
Face your fears and you will be able to conquer them.
β
β
Bohdi Sanders (Modern Bushido: Living a Life of Excellence)
β
A dove struggling in a storm grows stronger than an eagle soaring in sunshine.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Learn from seeds; they donβt die when you throw dirt at them; they grow.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Donβt be afraid of criticism; the tallest trees are always confronted by the strongest winds.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Turn your failures into lessons, your obstacles into opportunities, your tragedies into triumphs, and in no time you will turn your dreams into reality.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Don't let your life goals fall victim to the allure of comfortable routines.
β
β
Zero Dean (Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1: Get motivated & overcome obstacles with courage, confidence & self-discipline)
β
A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening βoutside,β just by changing the contents of consciousness. We all know individuals who can transform hopeless situations into challenges to be overcome, just through the force of their personalities. This ability to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks is the quality people most admire in others, and justly so; it is probably the most important trait not only for succeeding in life, but for enjoying it as well.
β
β
MihΓ‘ly CsΓkszentmihΓ‘lyi (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience)
β
Critics are loud, but success is louder.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Our most beautiful dreams are born from our most unpleasant nightmares.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Scars mean you fought. Wrinkles mean you lived. Heartache means you loved.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
I am a happy soul, despite all life challenges.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
Some people need a super hero to save them, but I am my own super hero. All I need is myself, my strengths and the fiery passions in my heart to overcome the obstacles in my life.
β
β
Imania Margria
β
A butterfly is a caterpillar who never gave up on his dream to fly.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Learn from the ocean; not fearing turbulence, it uses the wind against it to rise instead.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
Before your reach your destination, you'll find yourself going through the wilderness. There's some survival skills that you'll need master through the wilderness journey. While in the wilderness, your faith will be tried and tested. You'll become humble. Your vision for your life will get clearer. You're in training for your purpose. You'll lose some friends, because there's some folks who are only with you because of where they think your journey will lead THEM. Don't worry, they're a little confused... but it was meant for them to get lost during this phase. Walk on. Continue on your journey. Soon, you'll be approaching the mountain. Get ready to climb!
β
β
Yvonne Pierre (The Day My Soul Cried: A Memoir)
β
All improvements, transformations, achievements, liberations; everything you want to change about yourself and your life; everything you want to make happen, any obstacle you want to overcome, any crisis you must surviveβthe prerequisite is being able to allow yourself to feel whatever it is you feel and not pretend to feel something you donβt.
β
β
Augusten Burroughs (This Is How: Surviving What You Think You Can't)
β
The next time that something seemingly bad happens to you, look for the divine in it. Look for the soul in the mundane, every day occurrences of your life. Look for the spark, look for the light.
β
β
Leigh Hershkovich
β
Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy. Because many people live habitually as if the present moment were an obstacle that they need to overcome in order to get to the next moment.
β
β
Dan Harris (10% Happier)
β
Success is judged not by the position you reach in life but by the obstacles you have overcome.
β
β
Sandeep Jauhar (Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician)
β
It is impossible to graduate from the University of Life with no scars.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
β
In later years, I confess that I do not envy the white boy as I once did. I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.
β
β
Booker T. Washington (Up from Slavery)
β
The misery that oppresses you lies not in your profession but in yourself! What man in the world would not find his situation intolerable if he chooses a craft, an art, indeed any form of life, without experiencing an inner calling? Whoever is born with a talent, or to a talent, must surely find in that the most pleasing of occupations! Everything on this earth has its difficult sides! Only some inner driveβpleasure, loveβcan help us overcome obstacles, prepare a path, and lift us out of the narrow circle in which others tread out their anguished, miserable existences!
β
β
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
β
Guess what? βSomedayβ almost never comes around. It gets lost somewhere between the shouda, woulda, couldas of your life. Let go of whatever is holding you back and dare to live β boldly, bravely, and courageously - now. Remember, none of these elements mean you have to be fearless. Itβs absolutely okay to be afraid! Acknowledge that part of yourself and then push beyond that fear, whatever it may be. Iβm not brave. . . . Iβm just taking every opportunity to LIVE.
β
β
Kendra Thomas
β
Each day is an opportunity for you to expand your horizon, to achieve your maximum potential. You may have encountered some obstacles along the way, but don't allow those moments to hinder your progress. In life, we all faces challenges that we must overcome. The importance is to learn from those difficulties and become stronger.
β
β
Amaka Imani Nkosazana (Sweet Destiny)
β
One who is content with what he has, and who accepts the fact that he inevitably misses very much in life, is far better off than one who has much more but who worries about all he may be missing . . . the relative perfection which we must attain to in this life if we are to live as sons of God is not the twenty-four-hour-a-day production of perfect acts of virtue, but a life from which practically all the obstacles to God's love have been removed or overcome. One of the chief obstacles to this perfection of selfless charity is the selfish anxiety to get the most out of everything, to be a brilliant success in our own eyes and in the eyes of other men. We can only get rid of this anxiety by being content to miss something in almost everything we do. We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to let almost everything else go, we will probably be able to retain the one thing necessary for usβ whatever it may be. If we are too eager to have everything, we will almost certainly miss even the one thing we need. Happiness consists in finding out precisely what the "one thing necessary" may be, in our lives, and in gladly relinquishing all the rest. For then, by a divine paradox, we find that everything else is given us together with the one thing we needed.
β
β
Thomas Merton (No Man Is an Island)
β
Death, like so much in life, is a lesson, which must be understood and cherished, not feared; it is a rite of passage we all must encounter at one time or another; it helps build our character and makes us stronger if we can endure its painful aftermath.
β
β
Imania Margria (Secrets of My Heart)
β
The ones whose light will remain with me long after they have burnt out are the ones that had grace. Because it's rare that the gift comes with grace. Some of the biggest arseholes I've ever met are the most gifted. Because it's "pretty girl" syndrome. Being gifted is like being born beautiful. You don't have to work a day in a year in your life for it. You were born with it. In one sense, it's like blue blood, money, gift, or beauty. They are the things that should make you the most humble, because they are not the things you have earned. They are the things you were given. Yet, it is my experience that they male people the most spoiled. And the people who work the hardest, and who have overcome the most obstacles on their life, who have reason to beat their breasts are the most humble, sometimes. I can't get over that. it's bewildering to me. To make it through success and still have manners, to still have curiosity, intellectual curiosity, to still have some grace, to keep your dignity, that is really... rare.
β
β
Bono (Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas)
β
This has been her life for the past fifty years, this striving to help save the world a little bit, to push it just a bit farther into the right. This action was the only thing that sustained her during the hard times [when] only her purposeful life propped her up from total collapse, and she thought how strange that she had taught the morality play Everyman all those years but didnβt fully understand its central lesson or how true it was: We are our good deeds, and they alone will come with us into the afterlife.
β
β
Ray Smith (The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen)
β
Are you able to remain humble and kind when things do not go the way you want or expect? Be kind when you are in pain; be kind even when your life seems to be falling apart around you. Be humble not only when you succeed but also when you fail. Kindness in word and action, and humble in thought and belief. It is important to not only say and do the βrightβ thing, it is important to also think and believe it - which is being genuine in nature of peace embodiment.
β
β
Alaric Hutchinson
β
Those who overcome the temptations of mediocrity and achieve everything they want in life have an extraordinarily compelling why that drives them. They have defined a clear life purpose that is more powerful than the collective sum of their petty problems and the countless obstacles they will inevitably face, and they wake up each day and work towards their purpose.
β
β
Hal Elrod (The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM)
β
The secret of making lasting change is to acknowledge and accept that real change takes time and patience. We didn't get chronically ill overnight. We didn't gain weight in one week or even one month. Good chance, it may take us longer than twenty-one days to overcome whatever we're facing. Whether it's something physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination, we may need to be realistic in our goals for meaningful change to happen. The first step is getting started!
β
β
Dana Arcuri (Reinventing You: Simple Steps to Transform Your Body, Mind, & Spirit)
β
If a person is plagued by religious doubts,as many are in their youth, he takes to persecuting unbelievers; if troubled by love, he turns it into marriage; and when overcome by some other enthusiasm, he takes refuge from the impossibility of living constantly in its fire by beginning to live for that fire. That is, he fills the many moments of his day, each of which needs a content and an impetus, not with his ideal state but with the many ways of achieving it by overcoming obstacles and incidents which guarantees that he will never need to attain it. For only fools, fanatics, and mental cases can stand living at the highest pitch of soul; a sane person must be content with declaring that life would not be worth living without a spark of that mysterious fire.
β
β
Robert Musil (The Man Without Qualities: Volume I)
β
Β Β If your expectations are always those of someone content to live without physical challenge, then when it comes time for mental, moral, or emotional challenge you fail to meet it because you are out of practice. Meeting and overcoming obstacles are skills that can be honed, as opposed to talents with which we are born. The best way to prepare for the inevitable shit that life occasionally hands us all is to live in a way that prepares you for it. If you can treat personal tragedy like a heavy set of 20 squats, you'll do better than someone who has never met any challenge. Intentionally placing yourself in the position of having to complete a task when you don't know if you can is the single best way of preparing to be in that position unintentionally.
β
β
Mark Rippetoe (Strong Enough? Thoughts from Thirty Years of Barbell Training)
β
In the face of an obstacle which it is impossible to overcome, stubbornness is stupid. If I persist in beating my fist against a stone wall, my freedom exhausts itself in this useless gesture without succeeding in giving itself a content. It debases itself in a vain contingency. Yet, there is hardly a sadder virtue than resignation. It transforms into phantoms and contingent reveries projects which had at the beginning been set up as will and freedom. A young man has hoped for a happy or useful or glorious life. If the man he has become looks upon these miscarried attempts of his adolescence with disillusioned indifference, there they are, forever frozen in the dead past. When an effort fails, one declares bitterly that he has lost time and wasted his powers. The failure condemns that whole part of ourselves which we had engaged in the effort. It was to escape this dilemma that the Stoics preached indifference. We could indeed assert our freedom against all constraint if we agreed to renounce the particularity of our projects. If a door refuses to open, let us accept not opening it and there we are free. But by doing that, one manages only to save an abstract notion of freedom. It is emptied of all content and all truth. The power of man ceases to be limited because it is annulled. It is the particularity of the project which determines the limitation of the power, but it is also what gives the project its content and permits it to be set up. There are people who are filled with such horror at the idea of a defeat that they keep themselves from ever doing anything. But no one would dream of considering this gloomy passivity as the triumph of freedom
β
β
Simone de Beauvoir (The Ethics of Ambiguity)
β
When life hands you questions, answer them.
When life hands you mysteries, unravel them.
When life hands you enigmas, decipher them.
When life hands you tasks, accomplish them.
When life hands you problems, tackle them.
When life hands you skills, develop them.
When life hands you talents, sharpen them.
When life hands you friends, cherish them.
When life hands you family, value them.
When life hands you acquaintances, treasure them.
When life hands you opponents, confront them.
When life hands you acquaintances, celebrate them.
When life hands you allies, support them.
When life hands you riches, multiply them.
When life hands you possessions, protect them.
When life hands you pleasures, ration them.
When life hands you experiences, relish them.
When life hands you students, instruct them.
When life hands you mentors, study them.
When life hands you teachers, esteem them.
When life hands you disciples, inspire them.
When life hands you gurus, honor them.
When life hands you lessons, remember them.
When life hands you teachings, impart them.
When life hands you demands, tackle them.
When life hands you obstacles, challenge them.
When life hands you troubles, overcome them.
When life hands you burdens, conquer them.
When life hands you titles, cherish them.
When life hands you degrees, employ them.
When life hands you medals, welcome them.
When life hands you awards, appreciate them.
When life hands you blessings, count them.
β
β
Matshona Dhliwayo
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Thinking back, ladies, looking back, gentlemen, thinking and looking back on my European tour, I feel a heavy sadness descend upon me. Of course, it is partly nostalgia, looking back at that younger me, bustling around Europe, having adventures and overcoming obstacles that, at the time, seemed so overwhelming, but now seem like just the building blocks of a harmless story. But here is the truth of nostalgia: we donβt feel it for who we were, but who we werenβt. We feel it for all the possibilities that were open to us, but that we didnβt take. Time is like wax, dripping from a candle flame. In the moment, it is molten and falling, with the capability to transform into any shape. Then the moment passes, and the wax hits the table top and solidifies into the shape it will always be. It becomes the past, a solid single record of what happened, still holding in its wild curves and contours the potential of every shape it could have held.
It is impossible - no matter how blessed you are by luck or the government or some remote, invisible deity gently steering your life with hands made of moonlight and wind - it is impossible not to feel a little sad, looking at that bit of wax. That bit of the past. It is impossible not to think of all the wild forms that wax now will never take. The village, glimpsed from a train window, beautiful and impossible and impossibly beautiful on a mountaintop, and you wonder what it would be if you stepped off the train and walked up the trail to its quiet streets and lived there for the rest of your life. The beautiful face of that young man from Luftknarp, with his gaping mouth and ashy skin, last seen already half-turned away as you boarded the bus, already turning towards a future without you in it, where this thing between you that seemed so possible now already and forever never was. All variety of lost opportunity spied from the windows of public transportation, really. It can be overwhelming, this splattered, inert wax recording every turn not taken.
βWhatβs the point?β you ask. βWhy bother?β you say. βOh, Cecil,β you cry. βOh, Cecil.β But then you remember - I remember! - that we are even now in another bit of molten wax. We are in a moment that is still falling, still volatile, and we will never be anywhere else. We will always be in that most dangerous, most exciting, most possible time of all: the Now. Where we never can know what shape the next moment will take. Stay tuned next for, well, letβs just find out together, shall we?
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Cecil Baldwin