A steady rain

I'm not sure if I'm alone in my thoughts and feelings these days. I don't talk it up much. But with the economy the way it is... my brother (an electrician by trade) may lose his home... my niece and hubby just had their first child - a premie by 5 weeks. He's still in the hospital for a few more weeks... assuring that the bills will be tremendous. A swine flu is going around... not sure how dangerous it is or isn't, but still... Sometimes it seems like applecart upset...

... sometimes its easy to feel tied up in knots...

...or locked into a corner...


...or stirred into a frenzy...



...or crushed by a stone's weight...


...or like life is a little dry...


So I've decided to put these quotes up in my office:

Extraordinary people...

Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.

—Robertson Davies.

When things go wrong...

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint on the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So, stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things go wrong that you mustn't quit.

—Unknown

Don't get discouraged...

Don't get discouraged; it is often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.

—Unknown

The person who removes a mountain...

The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

—Chinese proverb

We gain strength...

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.

—Eleanor Roosevelt

Courage doesn't always roar...

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I'll try again tomorrow."

—Mary Anne Radmacher-Hershey

You must have long range goals...

You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures.

—Charles Noble.

Develop an attitude of gratitude...

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

—Brian Tracy

Nothing in the world...

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, "Press on," has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

—Calvin Coolidge

Action is the antidote...

Action is the antidote to despair.

—Joan Baez

You will face...

You will face many defeats in your life, but never let yourself be defeated.

—Maya Angelou

Life shrinks or expands...

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

—Anais Nin

Our society is so caught up...

Our society is so caught up in winning, we forget that most of the great men and women in history have, at one time or another, failed at something. Often repeatedly, and discouragingly. But each failure is nothing more than a brick in the wall that forms the foundation of our success. We can't forget that.

—Carlton Young

Don't wait...

Don't wait for your ship to come in. Row out to meet it.

—Unknown