The Scroll Marked VII - Og Mandino

THE SCROLL MARKED VII 

I will laugh at the world. No living creature can laugh except man. Trees may bleed when they are wounded, and beasts in the field will cry in pain and hunger, yet only I have the gift of laughter and it is mine to use whenever I choose. Henceforth I will cultivate the habit of laughter. I will smile and my digestion will improve; I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened; I will laugh and my life will be lengthened for this is the great secret of long life and now it is mine. 

I will laugh at the world. And most of all, I will laugh at myself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously. Never will I fall into this trap of the mind. For though I be nature’s greatest miracle am I not still a mere grain tossed about by the winds of time? Do I truly know whence I came or whither I am bound? Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence? Why should I permit the petty happenings of today to disturb me? What can take place before these sunsets, which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries? 

I will laugh at the world. And how can I laugh when confronted with man or deed, which offends me so as to bring forth my tears or my curses? Four words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that immediately they will appear in my mind whenever good humor threatens to depart from me. These words, passed down from the ancients, will carry me through every adversity and maintain my life in balance. These four words are: This too shall pass. 

I will laugh at the world. For all worldly things shall indeed pass. When I am heavy with heartache I shall console myself that this too shall pass; when I am puffed with success I shall warn myself that this too shall pass. When I am strangled in poverty I shall tell myself that this too shall pass; when I am burdened with wealth I shall tell myself that this too shall pass. Yea, verily, where is he who built the pyramid? Is he not buried within its stone? And will the pyramid, one day, not also be buried under sand? If all things shall pass why should I be of concern for today? 

I will laugh at the world. I will paint this day with laughter; I will frame this night in song. Never will I labor to be happy; rather will I remain too busy to be sad. I will enjoy today’s happiness today. It is not grain to be stored in a box. It is not the wine to be saved in a jar. It cannot be saved for the morrow. It must be sown and reaped on the same day and this I will do, henceforth. 

I will laugh at the world. And with my laughter all things will be reduced to their proper size. I will laugh at my failures and they will vanish in clouds of new dreams; I will laugh at my successes and they will shrink to their true value. I will laugh at evil and it will die untasted; I will laugh at goodness and it will thrive and abound. Each day will be triumphant only when my smiles bring forth smiles from others and this I do in selfishness, for those on whom I frown are those who purchase not my goods. 

I will laugh at the world. Henceforth will I shed only tears of sweat, for those of sadness or remorse or frustration are of no value in the market place whilst each smile can be exchanged for gold and each kind word, spoken from my heart, can build a castle. Never will I allow myself to become so important, so wise, so dignified, so powerful, that I forget that how to laugh at myself and my world. In this matter I will always remain as a child, for only as a child am I given the ability to look up to others; and so long as I look up to another I will never grow too long from my cot. 

I will laugh at the world. And so long as I can laugh never will I be poor. This, then, is one of nature’s greatest gifts, and I will waste it no more. Only with laughter and happiness can I truly become a success. Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor. Were it not so, far better would it be to fail, for happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal. To enjoy success I must have happiness, and laughter will be the maiden who serves me.

I will be happy
I will be successful
I will be the greatest salesman the world has ever known.

The Scroll Marked V - Og Mandino

I will live this day as if it is my last. And what shall I do with this last precious day, which remains in my keeping? First, I will seal up its container of life so that not one drop spills itself upon the sand. I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches of the heart, for why should I throw good after bad? Can sand flow upward in the hourglass? Will the sun rise where it sets and set where it rises? Can I relive the errors of yesterday and right them? Can I call back yesterdays wounds and make them whole? Can I become younger than yesterday? Can I take back the evil that was spoken, the blows that were struck. The pain that was caused, No! Yesterday is buried forever and I will think of it no more.

I will live this day as if it is my last. Now what then shall I do? Forgetting yesterday neither will I think of tomorrow. Why should I throw now after maybe? Can tomorrow’s sand flow through the glass before today’s? Will the sun rise twice this morning? Can I perform tomorrow’s deeds while standing in today’s path? Can I place tomorrow’s gold in today’s purse? Could tomorrows child be born today? Can tomorrows death cast its shadow backward and darken todays joy? Should I concern myself over events, which I may never witness? Should I torment myself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, and I will think of it no more.

I will live this day as if it is my last. This day is all I have and these hours are now my eternity. I greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. I lift mine arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day. So too, I will beat upon my heart with gratitude as I consider all who greeted yesterday’s sunrise who are no longer with the living today. I am indeed a fortunate man and today’s hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day when others, far better than I have departed? Is it that they have accomplished their purpose while mine is yet to be achieved? Is this another opportunity for me to become the man I know I can be? Is there a purpose in nature? Is this my day to excel?

I will live this day as if it is my last. I have but one life and life is naught but a measurement of time. When I waste one I destroy the other. If I waste today I destroy the last page of my life. Therefore, each hour of this day will I cherish for it can never return. It cannot be banked today to be withdrawn on the morrow, for who can trap the wind? Each minute of this day will I grasp with both hands and fondle with love for its value is beyond price. What dying man can purchase another breath though he willingly give all his gold? What price dare I place on the hours ahead? I will make them priceless!

I will live this day as if it my last. I will avoid with fury the killers of time. Procrastination I will destroy with action; doubt I will bury under faith; fear I will dismember with confidence. Where there are idle mouths I will listen not; where there are idle hands I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not. Henceforth, I know that to court idleness is to steal food, clothing and warmth from those I love. I am not a thief, I am a man of love and today is my last chance to prove my love and my greatness.

I will live this day as if it is my last. The duties of today I shall fulfill today! Today I shall fondle my children while they are young, tomorrow they will be gone and so will I. Today I shall embrace my woman with sweet kisses, tomorrow she will be gone and so will I. Today I will lift up a friend in need, tomorrow he will no longer cry for help nor will I hear his cries. Today I shall give myself in sacrifice and work, tomorrow I will have nothing to give and there will be none to receive.

I will live this day as if it is my last. And if it is my last, it will be my greatest monument. This day I will make the best day of my life. This day I will drink every minute to its full. I will savor its taste and give thanks. I will maketh every hour count and each minute I will trade only for something of value. I will labor harder than ever before and push my muscles until they cry for relief, and then I will continue. I will make more calls than ever before. I will sell more goods than ever before. I will earn more gold than ever before. Each minute of today will be more fruitful than hours of yesterday. My last must be my best.

I will live this day as if it is my last. And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.

Home

Home... I think and dream it...
The laughs, the smiles, I know it!
Warm feelings, welcome.

Wherever there is someone thinking of you, that is the place you can call home.

The Scroll Marked IV - Og Mandino

I am nature’s greatest miracle. Since the beginning of time never has there been another with my mind, my heart, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my hair, my mouth. None that came before, none that live today, and none that come tomorrow can walk and talk and move and think exactly like me. All men are my brothers yet I am different from each. I am a unique creature.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. Although I am of the animal kingdom, animal rewards alone will not satisfy me. Within me burns a flame, which has been passed from generations uncounted, and its heat is a constant irritation to my spirit to become better than I am, and I will. I will fan this flame of dissatisfaction and proclaim my uniqueness to the world. None can duplicate my brush strokes, none can duplicate my chisel marks, none can duplicate my handwriting, none can produce my child, and, in truth, none has the ability to sell exactly as I. Henceforth, I will capitalize on this difference for it is an asset to be promoted to the fullest.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. Vain attempts to imitate others no longer will I make. Instead I will place my uniqueness on display in the market place. I will proclaim it, yea, I will sell it. I will begin now to accent my differences; hide my similarities. So too will I apply this principle to the goods I sell. Salesman and goods, different from all others, and proud of the differences.

I am a unique creature of nature. I am rare, and there is value in all rarity; therefore, I am valuable. I am the end product of thousands of years of evolution; therefore, I am better equipped in both mind and body than all the emperors and wise men who preceded me. But my skills, my mind, my heart, and my body will stagnate, rot, and die lest I put them to good use. I have unlimited potential. Only a small portion of my brain do I employ; only a paltry amount of muscles do I flex. A hundredfold or more can I increase my accomplishments of yesterday and this I will do, beginning today. Nevermore will I be satisfied with yesterday’s accomplishments nor will I indulge, anymore, in self-praise for deeds which in reality are too small to even acknowledge. I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why should the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today?

I am nature’s greatest miracle. I am not on this earth by chance. I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy. I will increase my knowledge of mankind, myself, and the goods I sell, thus my sales will multiply. I will practice, and improve, and polish the words I utter to sell my goods, for this is the formulation on which I will build my career and never will I forget that many have attained great wealth and success with only one sales talk, delivered with excellence. Also will I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. I will concentrate my energy on the challenge of the moment and my actions will help me forget all else. The problems of my home will be left in my home. I will think naught of my family when I am in the market place for this will cloud my thoughts. So too will the problems of the market place be left in the market place and I will think naught of my profession when I am in my home for this will dampen my love. There is no room in the market place for my family, nor is there room in my home for the market. Each I will divorce from the other and thus will I remain wedded to both. Separate must they remain or my career will die. This is the paradox of the ages.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. I have been given eyes to see and a mind to think and now I know a great secret of life for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. I will no longer be fooled by the garments they wear for mine eyes are open. I will look beyond the cloth and I will not be deceived.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. No beast, no plant, no wind, no rain, no rock, no lake had the same beginning as I, for I was conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose. In the past I have not considered this fact but it will henceforth shape and guide my life.

I am nature’s greatest miracle. And nature knows not defeat. Eventually, she emerges victorious and so will I, and with each victory the next struggle becomes less difficult.

I will win, and I will become a great salesman, for I am unique. I am nature’s greatest miracle.

The Scroll Marked III - Og Mandino

I will persist until I succeed. In the Orient young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth will I recognize that each day I am tested by life in like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed.

I will persist until I succeed. I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.

I will persist until I succeed. The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.

I will persist until I succeed. Henceforth, I will consider each day’s effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today. I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.

I will persist until I succeed. I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.

I will persist until I succeed. I will remember the ancient law of averages and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.

I will persist until I succeed. I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle I will consider as a mere detour to my goal and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.

I will persist until I succeed. Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret of those who excel in my work. When each day is ended, not regarding whether it has been a success or a failure, I will attempt to achieve one more sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again. I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails I will make another. Never will I allow any day to end with a failure. Thus will I plant the seed of tomorrow’s success and gain an insurmountable advantage over those who cease their labor at a prescribed time. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full.

I will persist until I succeed. Nor will I allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the greatest foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.
So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.


I will persist. I will win.


More thoughts here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US5aSYbOnfE

The Scroll Marked II - Og Mandino

I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more that a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force. My reasoning they may counter; my speech they may distrust; my apparel they may disapprove, my face they may reject;  and  even  my  bargains  may  cause  them  suspicion;  yet  my  love  will  melt  all  hearts  liken  to  the  sun  whose  rays soften the coldest clay.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I will bite on my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout form the roofs. Is it not so that birds, the wind, the sea and all nature speaks with the music of praise for their creator? Cannot I speak with the same music to his children? Henceforth will I remember this secret and it will change my life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden. With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls. I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the failures for they can teach me. I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine. I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many. I will love the young for the faith they holds; I will love the old for the wisdom they share. I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. But how will I react to the actions of others? With love. For just as love is my weapon to open the hearts of men, love  is  also  my  shield  to  repulse  the  arrows  of  hate  and  the  spears  of  anger.  Adversity  and  discouragement  will  beat against my new shield and become as the softness of rains. My shield will protect me in the market place and sustain me when I am alone. It will uplift me in moments of despair yet it will calm me in time of exultation. It will become stronger
and more protective with use until one day I will cast it aside and walk unencumbered among all manners of men and, when I do, my name will be raised high on the pyramid of life.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I love you. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkled my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. And who is there who will say nay to my goods when his hearts feels my love?

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And most of all I will love myself. For when I do I will zealously inspect all things which enter my body, my mind, my soul and my heart. Never will I overindulge the requests of my flesh, rather I will cherish my body with cleanliness and moderation. Never will I allow my mind to be attracted to evil and despair, rather I will uplift it with the knowledge and  wisdom  of  the  ages.  Never  will  I  allow  my  soul  to  become  complacent  and  satisfied,  rather  I  will  feed  it  with meditation and prayers. Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and
warm the earth.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. Henceforth will I love all mankind. From this moment all hate is let from my veins for I have not time to hate, only time to love. From this moment I take the first step required to become a man among men. With love I will increase my sales a hundredfold and become a great salesman. If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world.  

I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed. 


More thoughts here -> http://www.youtube.com/user/6Advisors#p/u/1/Kv8XqgtTOdQ

The Scroll Marked I - Og Mandino

I started reading the scrolls 4 months ago and it has changed my life in so many ways. I am on the 4th scroll now and as I read a new scroll I will post the text in my blog. Happy reading and for whoever wants to create this habit, good for you!

Today I begin a new life.  Today I shed my old skin which hath, too long, suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediocrity. Today I am born anew and my birthplace is a vineyard where there is fruit for all. Today I will pluck grapes of wisdom from the tallest and fullest vines in the vineyard, for these were planted by the wisest of my profession who have come before me, generation upon generation.

Today I will savor the taste of grapes from these vines and verily I will swallow the seed of success buried in each and new life will sprout within me. The career I have chosen is laden with opportunity yet it is fraught with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those who have failed, were they piled atop one another, would cast its shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth. Yet I will not fail, as the others, for in my hands I now hold the charts which will guide me through the perilous waters to shores which yesterday seemed only a dream. Failure no longer will be my payment for struggle.  Just as God made no provision for my body to tolerate pain neither has it made any provision for my life to suffer failure.  Failure, like pain, is alien to my life.  In the past I accepted it as I accepted pain.  Now I reject it and am prepared for wisdom and principles which will guide me out of the shadows into the sunlight of wealth, position, and happiness far beyond my most extravagant dreams until even the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides will seem no more than my just reward.

Time teaches all things to he who lives forever but I have not the luxury of eternity.  Yet, within my allotted time I must practice the art of patience for God never acts in haste.  To create the olive, king of all trees, a hundred years is required.  An onion plant is old in nine weeks.  I have lived as an onion plant and it has not pleased me.  Now I wouldst become the greatest of olive trees and, in truth, the greatest of salesmen. And how will this be accomplished?  For I have neither the knowledge nor the experience to achieve greatness and already stumbled in ignorance and fallen prey to self-pity.  The answer is simple.  I will commence my journey unencumbered with either the weight of unnecessary knowledge or the handicap of meaningless experience. God has already supplied me with the knowledge and instinct far greater than any beast in the forest and the value of experience is overrated, usually by old men who nod wisely and speak stupidly. In truth, experience teaches thoroughly yet her course of instruction devours men’s years so the value of her lessons diminishes with the time necessary to acquire her special wisdom.  The end finds it wasted on dead men.  Furthermore, experience is comparable to fashion; an action that proved successful today will be unworkable and impractical tomorrow.

Only principles endure and these I now possess, for the laws that will lead me to greatness are contained in the words of these scrolls.  What they teach me is more to prevent failure than to gain success, for what is success other than a state of mind?  Which two, among a thousand men, will define success in the same words; yet failure is always described but one way.  Failure is man’s inability to reach his goals in life, whatever they might be. In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits.  Good habits are the key to all success.  Bad habits are the unlocked door of failure.  Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedeth all others is – I will form good habits and become their slaves.

As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits, as are all grown men.  I have surrendered my free will to the years of accumulated habits and the past deeds of my life have already marked out a path which threatens to imprison my future.  My actions are ruled by appetite, passion, prejudice, greed, love, fear, environment, habit, and the worst of these tyrants is habit.  Therefore, if I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits.  My bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed.


I will form good habits and become their slave. And how will I accomplish this difficult feat?  Through these scrolls, it will be done, for each scroll contains a principle which will drive a bad habit from my life and replace it with one which will bring me closer to success.  For it is another of God’s laws that only a habit can subdue another habit.  So, in order for these words to perform their chosen task, I must discipline myself with the first of my new habits which is as follows: I will read each scroll for thirty days in this prescribed manner, before I proceed to the next scroll. First, I will read the words in silence when I arise.  Then I will read the words in silence after I partake in my midday meal.  Last, I will read the words again just as I retire at the day’s end, and most important, on this occasion I will read the words aloud.


On the next day I will repeat this procedure, and I will continue in a like manner for thirty days.  Then I will turn, to the next scroll and repeat this procedure for another thirty days.  I will continue in this manner until I have lived with each scroll for 30 days and my reading has become a habit. And what will be accomplished by this habit?  Herein lies the hidden secret of all man’s accomplishments. As I repeat the words daily they will soon become a part of my active mind, but more important, they will also seep into my other mind, that mysterious source which never sleeps, which creates my dreams, and often makes me act in ways I do not comprehend. As the words of these pages are consumed by my mysterious mind I will begin to awake, each morning, with a vitality I have never known before.  My vigor will increase, my desire to meet the world will overcome the fear I once knew at sunrise, and I will be happier than I ever believed possible to be in this world of strife and sorrow.

Eventually, I will find myself reacting to all situations which confront me as I was commanded in the scrolls to react, and soon these actions and reactions will become easy to perform, for any act with practice is easy. Thus a new and good habit is born, for when an act becomes easy through constant repetition it becomes a pleasure to perform and if it’s a pleasure to perform it is man’s nature to perform it often.  When I perform it often it becomes a habit and I become its slave and since it is a good habit that is my will.

Today I begin a new life. And I make a solemn oath to myself that nothing will retard my new life’s growth.  I will lose not a day from these readings for that day cannot be retrieved nor can I substitute another for it.  I must not, I will not, break this habit of reading from these scrolls and, in truth, the few moments spent each day on this new endeavor are but a small price to pay for the happiness and success that will be mine. As I read and re-read the words in the scrolls to follow, never will I allow the brevity of each scroll nor the simplicity of its words to cause me to treat the scroll’s message lightly.  Thousand of grapes are pressed to fill one jar with wine, and the grapeskin and pulp are tossed to the birds.  So it is with these grapes of wisdom from the ages.  Much has been filtered and tossed to the wind.  Only the pure truth lies distilled in the words to come.  I will drink as instructed and spill not a drop.  And the seed of success will I swallow.

Today my old skin has become dust. I will walk tall among men and they will know me not, for today I am a new man with a new life.


More thoughts here -> http://www.youtube.com/user/6Advisors#p/u/2/AKXKh2z9bs4

Special: My interpretation of "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
Out of all the uncertainty in life, we should thank God for what we have - choice and freedom to act on things that we want to do. It is also a statement that people should be resolute in their dealings with life


In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
No matter what happens... mistakes, shortcomings, errors, failures, we should not give up and even if we make these mistakes (under the bludgeonings of chance) no matter how hard it is.... continue on


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
If we continue to pursue our dreams, we will face choices that might scare us but we have to be strong and face those fears otherwise we cannot move on 
An analogy here is like the early sailors... they thought the world was flat... but because they wanted to prove the world wrong and because they took to their dreams they ended up being right and conquering their fears


It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
No matter what life throws at us we have a choice... a choice to do what we want to do or a choice to give up and say its too hard....

So the question the poem is really asking is.... will you or will you not give up on your dream? because if you dont give up on your dream and just say ill try something else.... thats all that will happen

Toy Soldiers

Left... right heart to heart
We all fall down, toy soldiers
Every bit torn apart
Battle wages on, toy soldiers

**Eminem's song "Like toy soldiers" struck me relates to how life treats us at times

I have a love to call my own

A rose that blossoms
Rare, a love to call my own
Time will not bring down

One, Four, Three

So special to me
My heart to yours: One, Four, Three
Words not enough, see?

You

In my arms, my love
The wind blows, the flowers dance
Behold! It is you

Patience

A gift lies in wait
King of trees takes years to sprout
Truth, written in stone


In the end its all worth it
You have to stand the test of patience
Maktub!

Raison d'être

Reason for being
All things perfect in his time
We walk, we follow

Questions, confused

life and death, purpose...
resist not! road ahead is blurred
humans were born, reason...

Traveling down the road that cant be seen, that which lies ahead is the end of life.

Sums of time, Haiku

you, on my shoulder
history, make thy mark today!
love, everlasting

mystery, unfolds
the blessing that changed our lives
love, everlasting

sacrament of love
happiness, eternity
love, everlasting

trials shall come
a choice, the road less traveled
love, everlasting

face the morning sun
our most precious memories
an angel watches