YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CAN DO UNTIL YOU STAND UP AND TRY

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Was changing channels with no idea what I wanted to watch when I stumbled on "Dave". It was running half through the movie at that point. I know because I have seen it for the ___th time having a CD on file somewhere. It was at this scene when President Dave spoke the lines......
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"You'll never know how much you can do until you stand up and try."
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I like that. It should be our battle cry in life.
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We're not junk. God does not make junk. Everything that we need is given us in terms of talent... opportunities... our free will... and life. We're programmed for success. Believe it or not... we are!
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The thing is ....our perceptions of self-worth are so screwed up. Just when did being beautiful, thin-tall-white skinned, being well-connected, having more money, having an expensive car, living in a luxurious mansion, being in a circle of wealthy friends, knowing somebody powerful in high government be the benchmark of success?
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Well, those things have their uses, too, but they don't guarantee success and happiness where it matters most. It matters most when you can look everybody in the eye and say..... this is ME .... imperfect but definitely unique and one of a kind.
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Being me means that you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do with who you are and what you have to help better you, your tiny part of the world, or of the bigger world outside. You may not achieve the big successes by the world's standard in your life time but .....you can be the success that which you are to yourself since day one of creation.
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It is what you think of yourself.... or what you actually do.... which truly defines your life on earth. And there is no benchmark to work with. You are your own benchmark. You compete with yourself. You travel at your own pace... at your own time... with your own set of talent.
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And God who sees everything makes sure that you get the corresponding complement of tools that you may be needing to help you along. But you have also to remember to ask Him for those or if you feel that you need more help. Do what you have to do while putting your faith and hope on a God who truly wants you to be happy and successful.
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Further, you can't achieve anything just sitting there on the fence trying to figure out how the universe operates. That's not the way it goes.
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Understanding that, you then can move along confidently to being the big success you were truly meant to be. You will 'soar like wings on eagles' and 'not grow weary or be faint'. By God's design.
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Don't settle for less. There's so much you can do.
Blessings, everyone.

 

 

 

BE A FIRST-RATE VERSION OF YOURSELF

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Saw this in my inbox this morning..... to quote/unquote
“Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland

I agree! Because as I understand it each and every breathing living person God created on this lovely planet is unique... unique in a special way. There's nobody else like him or her. Because He is the Divine Creator  we then are His masterpieces. It's first-rate from head to toes, no matter your race color or creed.

But sometimes we forget that. And instead go frenzy trying to copy someone or somebody we think are 'great' in looks, behavior, fashion or lifestyle. Which, incidentally, is how media, magazines, talk shows, and advertising find their reason for being. Well, as an old wise lady once said..... 'even they have their uses, too' .. I guess.

Meantime, I'll be fine with mine..  meaning in spite of my crooked smile, wrinkles determined to embed themselves permanently, flaws and imperfections, penchant for all things beautiful which may not be the popular criteria for beautiful, happy with good stuff-flaring temper if things don't measure up, diehard preference for colors green blue yellow - quite boring they say, and everything else which has shaped me today off the experiences of a thousand yesterdays both good and bad.

Now why do I bother telling you about that? It's to say that we each are much the same... in our flaws and imperfections and all the good in there, too. In our differences and sameness lie the blueprint of our uniqueness. Nobody else is like us nor are we somebody else's clone.

Be happy with you. You are far more than you think you are. We are each first-rate... originals... and that, my dear friends, is by God's design. God knew what He was doing when He made you! Or her.. or him.. or them. Let's work to keep it that way..... beautifully original!

May God bless you and your loved ones with His grace, peace, and love.

THERE'S ONLY ONE YOU

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This is for a young kid I know .............

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” --- John Jakes

Unquote.

There can never be anyone else like you on this planet. Or if there be other civilizations out there in the universe, I'm pretty sure you would have no copies out there too. Whoever you are, whatever you are ... crazy, funky, opinionated, brusque, rough, goofy, sweet, gentle, brilliant, stupid, lazy, or other types and names we humans are prone to call ourselves with, good or bad --- you the total package is still an original and unique.

So I don't get it why some people have to play this 'wish I were somebody else' game. Pretending to be somebody else is not cute. Not liking where we are or who we are won't help us in any way. We may not have perfect lives, perfect looks... but that's still okay. Perfection is a journey we all take as we travel in the direction of our final home. But we may or may not achieve it on this planet or in this lifetime. I have yet to see or hear about someone genuinely being the epitome of perfection right here right now. So meantime in-between the lessons and peeling off of unwanted layers (the bad we have gathered through the years), we must deal with our flaws and weaknesses ... live it from day to day.

And to be real with that we must be true to ourselves. We are who we are .. warts and all. But we do our best with what's there in us. We change where we should. Like what is to like. Grow up, mature, progress, develop, change for better. Live the best way we can with all that. Hang on to the hope that one day at the end of the journey we will become perfection in its shining form -- so magnificent that we will not wish to be anyone else ever at all.
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Blessings to you and your loved ones.

CREATED TO BE ONE OF A KIND

The person sitting across me on the train was a young girl probably in her twenties, slim and petite, with long black hair, chinky eyes, asian nose, thin lips, and pale white skin. Nothing extraordinary in her dressing as I see it duplicated in every young girl or boy anywhere out on the streets.... the casual tee-n-denims and a backpack loosely carried on one shoulder. But she is different.

Because this person I see is so much more than her physical attributes. Her preferences in life, people, food, fears and stuff would probably cause a raised eyebrow. Too how much more would it surprise me if I learned about the insights, perspective, observations and impressions she holds on the bigger world outside. What about family, education, relationships, hopes and dreams? What about her capacity for pain and learning, joy and love, patience and understanding? How much can she hold or give from the heart? What does she do when life gets tough or tougher? Is she one to break into a smile for the slightest reason?

I look around the train and see more faces. Maybe having similar tastes in clothes, maybe liking spaghetti like I do, have parents, families, children, or working at jobs from 9 to 5.. or maybe unemployed like thousands more in the big city... and other teeny-weeny identical things life throws at people at one time. But that's as far as similarities go.

She's different and there's no one else like her inside the train nor out there in the world. And so are we. We are different. Because we were created to be each one of a kind. Uniquely individual. And that makes us so very special. So very specially different. :-)