Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only God knows what is best for you. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless. Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. Don't run through life so fast that you forget. don't forget a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily. Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift: that's why we call it The Present'.

-- Author Unknown

'Too Much'

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedules, didn't know it was coming, or were too rigid to depart from their routines.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. Ever since, I've tried to be a little more flexible. How many women out there will eat at home because their husbands didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something was thawed? Does the word refrigeration" mean anything to you? How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched "Jeopardy" on television? I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in half an hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't." Check one: "I have clothes in the dryer." "My hair is a mess." "I wish I had known yesterday." "I had a late breakfast." "It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." My sister died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together. Because we Americans cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect. We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college. Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.

One morning we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Some day when things settle down a bit." When anyone calls my seize-the-moment friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of roller blades and skip the elevator for a bungee cord. My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

I AM THANKFUL... For the taxes that I pay, because that means that I am employed. For the mess to clean after a party, because that means that I have been surrounded by friends. For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because that means I have enough to eat. For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine. For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning & gutters that need fixing, because that means I have a home. For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech. For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking & that I have been blessed with transportation. For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm. For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear. For a pile of laundry & ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear. For weariness & aching muscles & my feet that hurt at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard. For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive. And finally........for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends like you who are thinking of me!