Life Lessons

For years I've collected meaningful words - bits of wisdom so clear they need no explanation. Serene phrases in a world of chaos. They are bits of text, sayings, lyrics. Where possible, I've given credit to the author (or at least where I heard the saying). If none is mentioned, I don't know who said it or where it came from...but it's still full of meaning.
Take from these what you like and leave the rest.

We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.
-Hermann Melville

"Seduce my mind and you can have my body,
Find my soul and I'm yours forever."
~ Anonymous

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
~Oprah Winfrey

Denial is usually a cry for more experience.
~Michele Hauf, "Kiss Me Deadly"

Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson.
Failure,whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards.
Never regret your past. Rather,embrace it as the teacher that it is.
~Robin Sharma, "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari"

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Every path has a few puddles.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

Some days all you can do is smile and wait for some kind soul to come pull your ass out of the bind you've gotten yourself into.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.
-from 'Me and Bobby Mcgee' by Kris Kristofferson

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.
- Frank A. Clark

Sometimes you're the windshield
Sometimes you're the bug.
-Mark Knopfler, The Bug

Resentments are like peeing your pants - they don't affect anyone quite as much as you!

What other people think of you is none of your business.

verba volant, scripta manent
--which in Latin literally means
"Spoken words fly away, written words remain."

The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how we use them.

Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Promises mean everything, but after they are broken, sorry means nothing.

A done bun can't be undone.
-Stephen King, Insomnia

You cannot deal with the alligators until you drain the swamp and get out of the mud.

Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

As you go through life, make this your goal - watch the donut not the hole.

Fear is a darkroom where negatives are developed.

Doing nothing is a choice.

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had.

Let me tell you something about guilt. Guilt is like alcohol.
It makes you stupid, can't see the facts.
You tell yourself a story. You start believing it.
And then like a drunk - you're easy to manipulate.
-"Sonny Corinthos", General Hospital

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance
-Garth Brooks, The Dance

Until the pain gets strong enough, there will be no change.

When the numbers are running you, instead of you running the numbers - it's time to take your money off the table.
- NUMB3RS

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

Live with no excuses and love with no regrets
- Montel

It's not whether you get knocked down.
It's whether you get up again.

If you love someone tell them... because hearts are often broken by words left unspoken

Don't take everything personally.

Serenity comes when I stop expecting and start accepting.

Even if I'm on the right track, if I don't move I'll get run over.

I can't fix anyone but me, and that's a full time job!

Life's a dance, you learn as you go - Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.
Don't worry bout what you don't know - Life's a dance, you learn as you go.
- John Michael Mongtomery, Life's a Dance

Some of the most significant moments in your life
happen without you even knowing it.

Son I've made a life outta readin' people's faces, knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes. And if you don't mind my sayin' I can see your outta aces, for a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice -

- if you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Now ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin' is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep. 'cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser, And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.
-Kenny Rogers, The Gambler

You don't love a woman because she is beautiful,
she is beautiful because you love her.

The longest journey starts with the first step.

I've learned that no matter how much I care some people are just assholes.

I've learned it takes years to build up trust,
And it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others -
They are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.

I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've learned that there is a fine line between genius and insanity.

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first,
The passion fades, and there had better be a lot of money to take its place!

I've learned that ex's are like fungus, and keep coming back.

I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

I've learned that the people you care most about In life are taken from you too soon,
And all of the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

Now I believe there comes a time
When everything just falls in line
We live an' learn from our mistakes
The deepest cuts are healed by faith
- Pat Benatar, All Fired Up

I can have complete serenity at this very moment...if I live in denial.

Each new day offers a new opportunity.

Thoughts are not things and feelings are not facts; they only have the power we give them.

Never give up on the things that make you smile.

Progress not perfection.

May your lost dreams of yesterday become the reality of your tomorrow!

In life, the best things to hold on to are each other.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Fear is not a shortcoming - it's an emotion.
Our reaction to it can be the shortcoming.

Happiness is not getting what you want, it is wanting what you get.

It's never to late to be what you might have been.
~ George Elliot

When you're flat on your back, there's no way to look but up.

Ulcers are what you get from mountain climbing on mole hills.

Hope is knowing the good in us will overcome the bad.

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

You meet people who forget you.
You forget people you meet.
But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget.
Those are your "friends".

I am the author of my life - unfortunately, I'm writing in pen & can't erase my mistakes.

Today is the tomorrow that I worried about yesterday.

It is what it is.

One hour at a time..
One day at a time..
One step at a time.

To live or just exist - the choice is yours.

There is no situation too difficult to be bettered and no unhappiness to great to be lessened.

Love
1 Corinthians chapter 13
I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains - but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burnt - but if I have no love, this does me no good.

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.

Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.

When I was a child, my speech, feelings and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me.

Meanwhile these three remain; faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.

A girl and a guy can be just friends, but at one point or another they will fall for each other.. Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever.

Always tell the truth.
That way you don't have to remember what you said.

Never walk unescorted through your own mind - it can be a dangerous neighborhood.

Happy, Joyous & Free

Wherever you go - there you are.

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place."
~ Zora Neale Hurston

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap -
be ready to receive a ton of shit.

It came to pass; it didn't come to stay.

If it is to be,
it is up to me.

True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable.

I've learned...that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned...that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned...that money doesn't buy class.
I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned...that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
I've learned...that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned...that the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

Everything always works out, one way or another.
It may not be the way you want,
But it always works out.

Do not be discouraged.

I get the best feeling in the world when you say hi or even smile at me because I know, even if its just for a second, that I've crossed your mind.

You can't change yesterday,
but you can ruin today by worrying about tomorrow.

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over.

Strong, independent women -
well they come along rarely in your life.
The man who lets that slip through his fingers -
Is a perfect idiot.
-General Hospital

Just Remember... Everything is ok in the end. If it's not ok, then its DEFIANTLY not the end!

Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

How important is it?

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

HALT: Don't get
too Hungry,
too Angry,
too Lonely, or
too Tired!!

Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

Have patience with all things,
but first with yourself.

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

Friends: Never asks for anything to eat or drink
Best friends: Just help themselves

Friends: Calls your parents by Mr. and Mrs. and Grandpa is Grandpa
Best friends: Calls your parents dad and mom and Grandpa is GRAMPS!

Friends: Would bail you out of jail
Best friends: would be sitting next to you sayin' "Damn we f*cked up"

Friends: Won't laugh at you.
Best Friends: Will embarrass your ass when everyone is around!

Friends: Has never seen you cry
Best friends: Won't tell everyone else you cried...just laugh about it with you in privately when your not still down.

Friends: Asks you to write down your number.
Best friends: Have you on speed dial

Friends: Borrows your stuff for a few days then gives it back.
Best friends: Loses your shit and tells you, "My bad...."

Friends: Only knows a few things about you
Best friends: Could write a very embarrassing biography on your life story...

Friends: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing
Best friends: Will kick the ASS of the entire crowd that left you.

Friends: Would knock on your front door
Best friends: Walk right in and say "I'M HOME"

Friends: Know some of your embarrassing moments...
Best Friends: Are next to you making them!

Friends: You have to tell them not to tell anyone
Best friends: They already know not to tell...

Friends: Are only through high school
Best Friends: They are for life

Friends: Will be there to take your drink away from you when they think you've had enough
Best Friends: Will look at you stumbling all over the place & say "Bitch drink the rest of that you know we don't waste good shit!"

Friends: Will leave you in a ditch
Best Friends: Will drag you out of the ditch and laugh at your ASS later!

Friends: will help you move
Best Friends : will help you move the bodies

Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

One needn't make a crisis out of an incident.

Keep an open mind.

There comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama & the people who create it & surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.

Seduce my mind and you can have my body,
Find my soul and I'm yours forever.

Common Sense Is Not So Common

Great expectations can lead to great disappointments.

There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters,
who never did,
and who always will.

True friends stab you in the front.

You will never be the person you want to be if you keep blaming others for who you are.

Expectations are premeditated resentments.

Click the above picture to view a larger size image.

Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

If you're having a pity party for more than five minutes - you are enjoying it!

Mind your own business.

Remember yesterday, dream of tomorrow, but live for today.

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.
or
If you keep doin' what your doin'
you'll keep gettin' what your gettin'

You have to be willing to get rid of the life you have planned, so to have the life that is waiting for you.

GOD heals everything.

Glance at the past, but don't stare at it.

It helps to learn the difference between being responsible to others and being responsible for others.

If you think handling everything is too much, try letting go.

Listen to the message,
not the messenger.

The way to get anywhere is to start from where you are.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

When you feel left out, reach out.

No is a complete sentence.

Measure yourself by your best moments not your worst.

"I have loved to the point of madness;
That which is called madness,
That which to me,
Is the only sensible way to love."
-F. Sagan

Things fall apart so that other things can fall together.

Feel, Deal and then Heal
(Feel it, Deal with it and then Heal from it)

You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Humble people don't think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.

Listen and learn.

This too shall pass.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

He can who thinks he can,
and he can't who thinks he can't.
~Jack Cheng

It's hard to be hateful when you're being grateful.

You must be present to win.

Self-will can get me what I want right now, God's will can provide what I need for eternity.

If you find yourself in a rut, stop digging.

Good friends are like stars....
you don't always see them,
but you know they are always there.
Keep them close.

Never give up on your dreams.
Hold on to hope.
Trust your instincts...
Anything is possible.
~D.K.

Other A.A.& Al-Anon Slogans for Recovery - very good life lessons For many years Al-Anon has played an important part in my life. The slogans have been a source of comfort and direction when things looked bleak and hopeless.
Take what you like and leave the rest.

Recovery is a process, not an event - it takes time.

Just For Today...

Change the things I can.

Al-Anon doesn't give us the choice between feeling good or feeling bad - it gives us the choice between feeling and not feeling.

Recovery is an inside job.

There ain't no big deals!

Focus on the program - not the problem.

"It's alcohol-ISM, not alcohol-WASM !"

We came to AA to save our ass, and found out our soul was attached.

Hope
Unity
Gratitude
Serenity
not drugs

Hit your knees...not the bottle!

Being Recovered from Alcoholism is like getting a gunshot wound. You can recover from it but it does NOT make you bulletproof. You can recover from alcoholism but it does not make you Immune from Alcohol.

No matter how far off the path we've stumbled, we're no more than 12 steps away from the solution!

Seven missed meetings makes one weak.

"A.A. also stands for "Attitude Adjustment."

"I can only carry the message, I can't carry the drunk!"

If you want serenity, put your Higher Power between you & your problem.

No matter what - you don't have to pick up.

HOPE is
Helping
Other
People
Everyday!

Recovery, Relationship & Inspirational Sites

Al-Anon Chat rooms - acceptance regardless of your situation can be found here
Beezone Addiction page
Dryspace - Recovery website & blogs
Loving You - Relationship Site<
Recovery Greetings - A.A., Al-Anon Slogans
Serenityman - quotes, stories and really beautiful pictures

A personal message to R.K. (for whom this page was created)
With luck, in these words you will find wisdom, guidance, solace and answers. I thought about explaining them and why I felt they were important - but I came to the realization - words are interpreted differently by everyone - if I've chosen the words well, they need no explanation, only contemplation. I've often looked over these words, simply scanning over the passages. Looking for just the right one to bring my life into focus. And so often, it was there. I've repeated many of them to you and my friends, when I had no explanations to offer in a particular situation. I hope you find in these words what you need at the right time.