A little love can go a long way
A smile or wave can make someone's day brighter
A cake can make a new neighbor feel welcome
A card for a sick friend will be cherished forever
A good deed isn't limited to your friends and family
Compassion toward strangers is also welcomed
Food for the homeless
Clothes for the poor
Or even a smile to brighten their day
A little love can go a long way
Patience is a virtue that few have mastered
Life's challenges and constant changes
Leave us flustered and confused
"There is not a second to waste!"
Is the modern opinion
However, how will we fully appreciate life
If a minute or two is not spared
To smell the flowers or admire the scenery
A few minutes to be thankful for our blessings
Or a second to smile at a neighbor or friend
Precious memories are made
When one takes the time to make them
A balance must exist
Between despair and hope
Joy and Sorrow
Life and Death
For each bad day
One can hope for a better tomorrow
Someone dies on Earth
To live eternally in heaven
What is happiness without pain?
It would not be truly joy,
As there would be nothing to compare to
Overcoming challenges is part of life
Kindness, love, generosity, and compassion
Are gifts that we are given
To help give others
Can it be said that the strongest people are those who forgive?
Is it not true that anger and resentment make such a task difficult?
Why should the fighters be honored above the peacemakers?
Anyone can form a fist, but few have the courage to forgive.
Words of forgiveness might come easily to some
But to most people, the words stick in their mouths,
Heavy with hatred, immersed in pain
Forgiveness is no easy task
Especially if the culprit is someone held dear
Why make the effort you might ask?
To be wrapped in a cocoon of anger and regret
Is to be withdrawn from the love of family and friends
Cut off from the joy of living with hope and love in our hearts
Forgiveness is one of the most difficult virtues to practice
But it makes life all the more enjoyable
So tear off your wrappings of anger and suffering
Forgive the ones who caused you pain
A new day is dawning
Oh people of God
Put down your work and come forth
Take up the mantle of charity
Cloak yourself in generosity
Take mercy as your constant companion
And compassion as your shadow
Fear not! God's people will not go unrewarded!
You will be fed from the fruits of your own compassion
Clothed in good deeds
And warmed by God's love
Rejoice! You will be made immortal!
Kept alive in the hearts
Of those people whose lives you have touched
Come forth to this task! Rise to the mission!
Travel the road and fear not!
You are protected by your Christian virtues
Faults are not weaknesses
Instead, they are opportunities
In correcting one's own faults
A better person is developed
Strengths are something you already have
What is the point of perfecting yourself
When you think you are perfect?
Remember, all people have faults
But it takes a special sort of person
For children, life seems to pass by slowly
Every moment seems to take a lifetime
Little do they know
That the older they get
The more they want to hang onto the life they had
Only then does time seem to fly by
A moment spent watching television
Is a moment wasted
A moment spent with those you love
Is a moment cherished forever
Children do not always know
That their life is tricking away
Every birthday is met with excitement
Although every birthday spent is one less left
Less time to spend with loved ones
Less time to watch sunsets or count stars
Why should children ponder such a tragic thought?
In fact, life is too short to be wasted by
Thinking of what we are missing
It is better to just go along for the ride
What is happiness without sadness and regret?
It would not be happiness at all
For we would not appreciate what we have
Nothing can compare to
A father's pride of his children
Seeing his daughter
Take her very first steps
Watching his son
Play his first soccer game
Teaching his daughter how to drive
And rejoicing when she passed her driving test
Celebrating when his son
Was accepted into a university
Walking his daughter down the isle
On her wedding day
Nothing is as special
As a father's love of his children
There is nothing more powerful
Than a mother's love for her child
A child who is raised in an environment
Where the mother cherishes her child
And takes pride in her child's accomplishments
Is a child who will be successful
And happy in life
Mothers were put on Earth for a reason
To teach the children of the world
To be kind and compassionate
Intelligent and thoughtful
But most importantly,
To be able to dream of a better world
Sisters
Teasing, Laughing
Smiling, Joking
Picking you up when you fall down
A smile to cheer you up
Words of sympathy when you fail
Fights may occur and people get hurt
But sisters forgive and forget
Their hearts open and ready to start over
Each is forever loved in the other's eyes
Things may happen
Life's journeys cannot be predicted
But sisters are always there for each other
Friends for life
Sisters forever
Compassionate, Caring
Sympathetic, Joyful
Sisters
Wise and knowledgeable
They have an answer to every question
That a child could ask
Old as they are,
Their eyes shine with a brilliance
Only age can bring
Honor and respect
Should be theirs
Although we may not have time
To spend more than an hour or two with them
Grandparents are too valuable
To ignore
The youth must remember
To talk to their grandparents
Learn the secrets
Of his or her own past
For soon enough
It will be too late
The opportunity is forever gone
The love of a family
Creates a bond:
Stronger than death
More powerful than hate
Unifying in diversity
A beacon of hope in a sea of failure
A family's love is a powerful bond
A light in the darkness
Love for a wounded heart
Joy in sadness
Acceptance of loss
Hope for better times
The bond of a family takes time to grow
Decisions must be made:
Unity over discord
Forgiveness after arguments
Acceptance of failures
Pride of achievements
A family's love is a powerful bond
That cannot be broken
The forest awaits
Hundred-year-old trees tower above
Holding up the sky with their branches
Secrets of long ago bear heavily upon the travelers
Muffled footsteps break the silence
A fox weaves between the mighty tree trunks
It looks up calmly at the intruders
Not at all frightened
Sunlight breaks through the canopy
And dapples the forest floor
Greens and golds intermingle
A bright, shifting pattern in a dark world
A hidden brook trickles quietly
Adding to the silence
Instead of breaking it
The travelers walk on
The sky, as blue as a robin's egg
As beautiful as a clear spring day
Birds soar and butterflies flutter
Entranced with the beauty of their surroundings
Trees stretch their branches
In an attempt to reach the sky
The sky touches all parts of the earth
Many secrets are kept from us
The breeze alone can speak its language
In turn, it speaks to us, although we do not understand
All honor the sky!
Without its beauty, a lonely existence awaits
Ripples drift across the surface of the old pond
Small minnows dart between the gray rocks
Fireflies play along the surface
A willow branch trails in the still water
Peace emanates from the surroundings
The night is still and silence prevails
Nothing disturbs my quiet abode
A breeze caresses the trees
A whisper of air against my ear
The pond is disturbed for the last time
The night is silent once more
I sit on a crooked tree branch
Leaning against it
As I stare out into the distance
Mountains tower above
Darkened shadows with white tips
Shrouded in pale mystery
Meadows crowd the land below
Alive with all colors of the rainbow
Purple, pink, and even gold
Along with colors only dreamed of
A brook runs past
Laughing as it trips over itself
Tripping and falling
An endless cycle of life
The breeze rustles the leaves above me
Playing hide-and-go-seek among the branches
It whispers to me all the secrets of old
I look down
The tall grass sways in the wind
An ocean of joy in this world of thought
Becoming part of my magnificent dream
There is no noise
Nothing stirs
My priceless memory is preserved
Forever in my thoughts
Hundreds of children
Roam the school
Backpacks hang
Off everyone's
Shoulders
Faces are never
The same on each
Person
Some are happy
Smiling and
Laughing
Some are sad
Moaning and
Sighing
The recess bell
Rings
The children
Are transformed
They run to the
Black-top or
Gossip in the
Halls
Laughter and freedom
Written on their faces
Fifteen minutes later
The bell shrilly
Rings
The children
Walk back
To class
Old emotions
Frozen on every
A river, cheery and merry,
Is a picture of perfect happiness.
It laughs as it trips and falls,
Crashing into obstacles in its way.
Never angry nor upset,
It sweeps you off your feet.
Taking you away
From all worries and burdens.
