The ABC's of Life...W is for Wonder

"We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic." ~E. Merrill Root

"Sophistication scares the wonder out of us. Cynicism downright annihilates it. Wonder leaves no room for meaness... for where wonder is, kindness is also. Wonder isn't harsh, but as gentle as rain." ~Connie Powers

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificient world in itself." ~Henry Miller

"You shall see wonders." ~William Shakespeare

"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom." ~Socrates

"If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder." ~Ray Bradbury

"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead."

~Albert Einstein

"A man is a very small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonder."

~Lord Dunsany

I hope I will always have a curiousity about life.
I hope I will always be in awe of the earth and the oceans and the heavens.
I hope I will always be amazed at all creatures (great and small).
And my biggest hope is that I will pass this "sense of wonder" on to my kids.

The ABC's of Life...V is for Volunteer

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." ~Dr. Seuss

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back." ~Maya Angelou

"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Help out...give back...lend a hand...be there. For your community...for your kids...for your world...for yourself. Donating money is great (give what you can), but there's nothing like donating your time and talents to help others. Be a coach...be a room mom...be a tutor...be a helper in a soup kitchen...be a sunday school teacher...be a fund raiser...be a Big Brother or Big Sister...just be a volunteer.

The ABC's of Life...U is for Unlimited

"You are everything that is...your thoughts, your dreams come true. You are everything you choose to be. You are unlimited as the endless universe." ~Shad Helmstetter

"In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours." ~Ayn Rand

To paraphrase the lyrics of a song from Wicked (one of my all-time favorite musicals)...defy gravity! Don't accept limits, just because someone says they're so. Some things you can't change, but until you try you'll never know. Trust your instincts. Everyone deserves the chance to fly...just close your eyes and leap!

The ABC's of Life...T is for Thankful

"It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart." ~unknown

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses." ~unknown

"There is always, always, always something to be thankful for." ~unknown

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie

Every day is a gift...be thankful for the little things...appreciate life...don't take things for granted...remember to say "thank you"...look for the silver lining. If you have a grateful heart it will fill your life with joy (and who wouldn't want more joy in their life?).