"Life is a fragile and awesome gift."

"Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't be just like they were before. Damaged pieces reassembled with a golden bonding of patience and love will help form a person into an exquisite masterpiece. It is as if people have to be broken before they can become whole and complete."

"We are stronger than we think. We have emotional, spiritual and even physical resources at our disposal. We may get knocked down, but we don't have to stay down."

"As much as I enjoy romance, it's commitment that I need the most. I need to know a love I can depend on, a love that says, 'I will be with you through it all. I love you. And I will love you even when you may not be all that lovable, for sometimes I'm not very lovable either. You can count on me - always."

"Here is little habit that can make a big difference. Send sunbeams. Intentionally send a word of encouragement or appreciation every day to one person."

"It's good to remember that success may be just beyond the next failure, and you'll get there, not because you're destined to, but because you're determined to."

"The truth is, I can choose to view tough times as growing times, I can choose to see aging as seasoning and I can choose to focus on whatever good there is to be found in living. I choose. After all, it's my point of view."

"Find 100 reasons to laugh. You are bound to feel better, you will cope with problems more effectively and people will enjoy being around you. Besides unhappiness, what do you have to lose?"

"The key to good listening isn't technique, it's desire. Until we truly want to understand the other person, we'll never listen well."

"What if today you gave yourself permission to be outrageously kind? What if you extended as much good will and kindness as you can possibly muster to every person you meet? And what if you did it with no thought of reward? I'm sure of one thing: it will be a day you will never regret."

"I have not always chosen the safest path. I've made my mistakes, plenty of them. I sometimes jump too soon and fail to appreciate the consequences. But I've learned something important along the way: I've learned to heed the call of my heart. I've learned that the safest path is not always the best path and I've learned that the voice of fear is not always to be trusted."

"My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present."

"The world can use more light and less noise. More solvers and fewer blamers. More folks showing a better way and fewer folks complaining about how much better things used to be. More folks offering help and fewer folks wringing their hands about the problems. More hope bringers and fewer hope killers."

"Is there plenty of celebration in your life? How about your spiritual life? Is it an exercise in following rules and practices? Or does it look more like a joyous celebration?"

"An important decision I made was to resist playing the Blame Game. The day I realized that I am in charge of how I will approach problems in my life, that things will turn out better or worse because of me and nobody else, that was the day I knew I would be a happier and healthier person. And that was the day I knew I could truly build a life that matters."

"Causes do matter. And the world is changed by people who care deeply about causes ' about things that matter. We don't have to be particularly smart or talented. We don't need a lot of money or education. All we really need is to be passionate about something important, something bigger than ourselves. And it's that commitment to a worthwhile cause that changes the world."

"The truth is -- we are always highly motivated when something means a great deal to us. If I fell into a deep lake and I didn't know how to swim, I would become highly motivated in an instant. Climbing from the lake would mean more to me than anything else in the world. My effort would be no less than astounding and I would suddenly become one of the most excited and enthusiastic persons imaginable."

"We pay a tax to succeed at anything worthwhile. That tax is called dedication, and here's the most wonderful part. Once you pay it, once you truly dedicate yourself to something important, you'll find the price was worth it."

"We could all do with a bit more joy in our lives couldn't we? The wonderful thing is that when we start spreading joy, we begin to actually experience more joy in our lives too!"

"The world has always teemed with a wide variety of spiritual thought and many differing journeys of the heart. But too often the world has used these differences as a weapon. How much agony has been wrought by what should be a thing of beauty - religious passion?"

"Words alone can effect great good as well as evil. A few apt words have swept candidates into office, ended as well as started wars, paved the way for peace and carried with them both hope as well as despair. Words alone have ruined lives, but have also brought forth healing. It is well known the harm words can cause, but the good they can bring is equally impressive."

"I'll never have to give an account for not being more like my favorite celebrity, that shining star in my chosen field or anybody else. And at the end of my life, the question I never want to be asked is, 'How come you weren't more like YOU? You had such great potential. You were a wholly unique person -- unrepeatable and irreplaceable. Why you weren't more like YOU?"

"Do you have an anchor? I have found that a solid anchor is indispensable to one who intends to live life fully. To have an anchor is to be centered and well grounded. It is to have a vital spiritual base."

"You have a great body. It is an intricate piece of technology and a sophisticated super-computer. It runs on peanuts and even regenerates itself. Your relationship with your body is one of the most important relationships you'll ever have. And since repairs are expensive and spare parts are hard to come by, it pays to make that relationship good."

"But I give best when I give from that deeper place; when I give simply, freely and generously, and sometimes for no particular reason. I give best when I give from my heart."

"Humor can make a serious difference. In the workplace, at home, in all areas of life ' looking for a reason to laugh is necessary. A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, cope with the difficult times, enjoy the good times and manage the scary times."

"THE GOOD LIFE requires that we take pleasure in new things A GOOD LIFE requires that we take pleasure in moments.To enjoy THE GOOD LIFE we have to get ahead to enjoy A GOOD LIFE we have to make the trip A GOOD LIFE is supported by feeding our souls. Worthwhile.THE GOOD LIFE is supported by feeding our pocketbooks."

"It is a mistake to think that moving fast is the same as actually going somewhere."

"If you love people, you have no desire to judge them."

"We can never know the impact a simple smile has on another. Smiling is one of the easiest things we can do. Is there a simpler, more effortless way to give everyone you meet a moment of joy, even a sense of worth?"

"When I've lost my way or when I am confused about a path to take, I remember that most answers I need I already possess ' deep inside. I am naturally creative, resourceful and whole. If I consult my invisible compass, I'll know what to do."

"Who doesn't want to know that we notice them and value them? And who might respond to us better when they feel that they matter? It probably cannot be overstated ' it matters...that people matter."

"Yes, love your family, and also love your friends. For some friends are truly family. Love the people in your life. Love them without measure. And don't worry about spoilage. Potatoes spoil, people don't spoil."

"Wherever you are, be there. If you can be fully present now, you'll know what it means to live."

"I'm convinced that the world, more than ever, needs the music only you can make. And if it takes extra courage to keep playing in spite of your loss, many will applaud the effort. And who knows? Others may be inspired to pick up their broken instruments, their broken lives, and begin again."

"To say, 'I've been converted and that's that, is to say you have decided to quit growing. If life is about anything, it is about growing. The day I quit changing and learning is the day I die."

"One good wish changes nothing. But one good decision changes everything. Your power to choose, to make a good decision, spells the difference between wishing and making real life changes."

"Healthy people know not to gorge on anger. At the end of the day, they walk away. They choose to end it. And it's an easier choice the next time."

"The only people I am aware of who don't have troubles are gathered in peaceful, little neighborhoods. There is never a care, never a moment of stress and never an obstacle to ruin a day. All is calm. All is serene. Most towns have at least one such worry-free zone. We call them cemeteries."

"The disease of intolerance is not communicated only in religious groups. I've seen it infect racial groups, economic groups and even whole nations (where it is often cleverly disguised as patriotism). Intolerance always fences people out. It creates one group we call US. And the rest we call THEM."

"A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, cope with the difficult times, enjoy the good times and manage the scary times."

"I am discovering that I can live far better without cynicism than I can without trust."

"Of course we need to accept ourselves as we are, but we can't stop there. We also need to value ourselves enough make needed changes."

"We don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note. Only notes that are different can harmonize. The same is true with people."

"In truth I suspect that merely slowing down is not a very satisfying answer. What I need has less to do with my pace of life than my peace of life. At any speed, I crave a deep and lasting inner peace. And if it's solace I'm after, I don't need to pace myself like a turtle, change jobs or set up house on a quiet island. It is usually frenetic living, not high energy, that robs my peace of mind."

"Learn as if you might live forever and you'll live as if you might die tomorrow."

"Every problem has a gift for you in its hands (Richard Bach). And if not every problem, then just about every one. Even spectacular sunsets are not possible without cloudy skies. Troubles bring a gift for those who choose to look. And since I can't avoid my problems, why waste them? I should look for the gift. My life will be far, far richer for finding it."

"Children nurtured in kindness learn the value of understanding. Children taught to be self-sufficient, to respect others, to value education and to build life up rather than to tear it down will become adults capable of leading us to a brighter future. For (as Karl Menninger noted) what's done to children, they will do to society."