Inspirational Short Story, Female Fantasy Art, Relaxing Music

Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.

-- Anne Frank

Anne Frank had good reason to be unhappy, full of fear, and deeply discouraged.

Years of her life were spent in a small apartment hiding from the Nazis who wanted to destroy her and her family.

Yet even in this little hiding place she had happiness.

It was something she had inside which did not depend on what happened around her.

She had riches of the heart. She had faith that kept her going.

She had love and concern for her family and others which made even a restricted life very rich with feelings.

It is tempting to believe that we will be happy when we have something outside ourselves which will make us happy.

But happiness is not something we have to find outside; the seeds are in our hearts already.

I feel no need for any other faith than my faith

in human beings.

-- Pearl S. Buck

We owe each other respect. We cannot expect to be respected if we don't respect others around us.

When we respect others, we respect their property and personal belongings as well as their self-esteem and their right to voice an opinion.

Respect is a way of cooperating with each other.

We can imagine a submarine where crew members did not respect each other's personal belongings or their ability to do the job.

The ship would soon stop functioning because of the chaos.

In a family we live in close quarters, like a submarine crew.

Respect for each other is one of the things which keeps chaos from breaking out.

When we grow in respect for each other's property, abilities, and self-esteem, we soon see how valuable each member of our crew really is.

The only sense that is common in the long run

is the sense of change -- and we all

instinctively avoid it.

-- E. B. White

Nature reveals to us a world that is always changing. No two sunsets are alike.

Inspirational Short Story, Female Fantasy Art, Relaxing Music

Winter brings invigorating days while spring brings new buds and blossoms every day.

Summer brings lazy warmth and star-filled evenings while fall brings crisp afternoons and a sense of nostalgia.

Even though nature shows us a constantly changing world, we often resist the changes in our own lives.

Changes can be both hard and sad, yet they are a part of life.

Perhaps we are moving on to a new school or a new neighborhood, or perhaps we are feeling the changes that come with a divorce in the family.

With every change we say a sad goodbye to something old, something familiar -- in the same way we feel sadness for summer's end when the first leaves begin to fall.

Yet every change also offers us the excitement and potential of a new season -- with its own opportunity for new smells, special gifts, and invigorating days.

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10/25/2024

Dividers from Shrubbery's Graphic Collection (dead link 12/29/09)