I had crossed the line.

I was free: but there was no one

to welcome me to the land of freedom.

I was a stranger in a strange land.

-- Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was a black woman who devoted her life to helping slaves escape their bondage.

In her youth, she had been hit on the head so she suffered dizzy spells for the rest of her life.

In spite of this, and at great risk to her own life, she guided many slaves on the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Freedom from slavery is different today but just as necessary.

It may mean freedom from being a slave to what others think of us, freedom from eating more than is healthy for us, freedom from jealousy, freedom from trying to force others to do what we want them to do.

We are free to be the very best persons we can be.

Our own freedom can be even more fulfilling when we welcome others enthusiastically into that land of freedom by allowing them the room to be themselves without fear of judgment.

In this way, by freeing ourselves, we free one another.

One law for lion and ox is oppression.

-- William Blake

What would the forest be like if deer, squirrel, and owl alike were required to sleep only at noon?

Inspirational Short Story, Female Fantasy Art, Relaxing Music

Or the sky, if all birds were forced by law to fly in lines? Or the sea, if all fish had to stay forever in schools?

We all know a lion and an ox, and we've all acted like a chicken, jackass, goat, or fox.

Now and then we're slow or fast, bright or dull, willing or not.

So when others go the way we know we must go, we will follow the same law.

But we don't have to be as others are, just to avoid being thought "strange." How truly strange life would be if everyone were the same.

We have our own way, our own good time, and own free laws to discover and obey.

Flying is largely a matter of

having the right attitude --

plus, of course, good wing feathers.

-- E. B. White

The swan flies with majesty, confidence, and grace. It is made to fly, of course, but it learns as much about flying from its parents as it knows by instinct.

It is not born with the ability to fly, but with the potential.

Each of us is born with the potential to fly in many skies.

We may sing or dance or write or run, fix machines, teach children, speak, listen, sympathize. And we can do all things well, as only humans can.

It is not the ability to do these things that makes us human, it's what we do with that ability.

Knowing how to prepare ourselves before we spread our wings is part of discovering what we can do.

When we learn to ride a bike, we know we can do it; our parent's hand on the seat helps us know it.

Wanting to soar is the first part of the flight; it is studying, practicing, and asking for help that allows us to get off the ground.

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10/25/2024

Dividers from Graphics By Sharon (dead link 06/29/11)

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