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“Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.”
When you have a bunch of keys, it’s so rare for the first one you randomly pick to be the right one. Let’s say you have a dozen in the bunch and you have no clue which one opens a particular lock. You may have to try six, seven, or…
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“Begin anywhere.”
In track and field, there’s a clearly defined “start” or line that tells runners where to begin the race. They can’t just begin anywhere. But in life, you can. Whatever life changes you want to make, this quote, by music composer John Cage, is a simple one to remember when…
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“It’s the rough side of the mountain that’s the easiest to climb; the smooth side doesn’t have anything for you to hang on to.”
This quote comes from Aretha Franklin during a 1964 interview for Ebony Magazine; and it serves as a great illustration for life. Turns out, a smooth mountain and a smooth life are quite similar because they both leave you with nothing to hang on to. On a smooth terrain, it’s…
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“It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.”
One of the things in life that you have no control over is where you’re born. You often have no say over where you grow up either. You also have no control over unforeseen circumstances and events. Whether it’s a physical location or a non-physical circumstance, these things make up…
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“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.”
If you look up the meaning of the word “ruin” you won’t find anything positive. As a noun, it’s something in a state of destruction. As a verb, it’s the act of destroying something. So the “ancient ruins” explored by historians and archeologists are aptly called “ruins.” The conditions of…
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Living Life Poetically: Unanswered Prayers
Reflect on all the things you’ve prayed for that never came to pass–those prayers that seem to have gone unanswered. It’s natural to feel disappointed and unheard. The poem “Unanswered Prayers” addresses those prayers that seem to fall on deaf ears. Unanswered Prayers We don’t always get what we want.Our…
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Living Life Poetically: The Storm Within
“The Storm Within” is a poem about having a storm that’s not outside in the elements but inside you. Sometimes life can feel like there’s a storm raging within. And the feeling and effects can be very similar to what occurs outside. The Storm Within It seems the storm has…
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“Sometimes failure is the beginning of success.”
This quote comes from a novel by Astrid Scholte. It makes us imagine ourselves accomplishing a particular goal with our first step or attempt being falling flat on our face. It reminds us that sometimes there’ll be failures on our road to whatever destination we’re trying to reach. And sometimes…
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“Everybody, at some point in their life, has fallen down and not felt like getting back up, but you have to, no matter how difficult it is.”
Sometimes you feel like you have no energy or motivation left in you after a major letdown. This quote, by Charlie Hunnam, is a reminder that everyone has had moments when getting back up feels almost impossible. But no matter how impossible it feels, you have but two choices: to…
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Living Life Poetically: Dream Catchers
“Dream Catchers” is a poem inspired by a conversation I had with someone close to me. They had good intentions. But my goodness, talking to them was such a buzzkill. I felt like I had to defend every decision I was making toward my personal goals and objectives, and every…
