*Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

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tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Reaching for Perfection

The way to achieve excellence and perfection is through experience. And experience is filled with mistakes. If it were not, we would not learn very much from it.

It is admirable to aspire to perfection, but foolish indeed to expect that it will come quickly or without mistakes. It certainly pays to expect the best of yourself. It also pays to be realistic and patient.

Perfection in any endeavour is an aiming point, not a starting point. Let the desire for it push you, but don't let the absence of it stop you. If you're ever going to get anything done, you must start somewhere. More specifically, you must start where you are.

Even in our world of instant fortunes, instant communication and instant gratification, it is still true that anything of true and lasting value takes time and effort. Aim for perfection, and follow the less-than-perfect road that will get you there.

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Thinking positively

If you want to get somewhere, you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.

The secret of life isn't what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.

Help other people to cope with their problems and your own will be easier to cope with.

Never use the word impossible seriously again. Toss it into the verbal wastebasket.

Self-trust is the first secret of success. So believe in and trust yourself.

Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.

Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.

How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself - so always think positively.

Go at life with abandon; give it all you've got. And life will give all it has to you.

Go in peace my friends :-)
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Smile

A smile costs nothing, but gives much.

It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.

It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor, but that he can be made rich by it.

A Smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship.

It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature's best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone, until it is given away.

Some people are too tired to give you a smile;

Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

Go in peace my friends.
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

If you think you can't

'If you think you can do a thing, or you think you can't do a thing, you're always right.'

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win but you think you can't, it's almost a cinch you wont.
For out in the world you'll find success begins with a persons will.
It's all in the state of Mind.

Think big, and your deeds will grow;
Think small and you fall behind.
Think that you can, and you will.
It's all in your state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize.
Life's battle doesn't always go to the stronger or faster one;
But sooner or later, the one who wins is the person who thinks they can.

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Wings

When my son, Justin, was four, he found a caterpillar and put it in a jar. Each day he fed it fresh grass and leaves. In a few weeks the caterpillar was fat and ready to sleep. One morning we discovered the caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon. It hung from the top of the jar, an example of one of nature's wonders.

Justin was excited. To him it was like Christmas. He knew a moth or butterfly was about to be born, but he didn't know what kind. He was curious to know what gift nature was about to give him.

'Dad!' as he ran to me one day. 'Something's happening. Come see!'

He led me to his room. The cocoon had become translucent. We could clearly see the wings of the unborn. A few days later, a beautiful black moth broke free from its silky cage and began to lay eggs on the blades of grass, completing the life cycle of the little caterpillar.

The next day, I convinced my young son it was time to set the moth free. He took it outside, opened the jar, and the little moth flew out. It circled the yard twice, came back, and landed on Justin's arm. He picked it up, tossed it in the air, and the moth repeated its flight pattern. He tried over and over to set it free, but each time it would return to his arm.

Justin gave up. He returned his little pet to the jar. The next day he attempted to set it free again, and after a few return flights to his arm, the moth finally flew off into the tall grass.

Like a person, I believe the moth was afraid to leave what it was comfortable with. It wanted to stay with something familiar, scared to move on and experience new things.

I was once that little moth. My cocoon was my mother's love. I was comfortable wrapped in it. Like the moth, I didn't want to fly too far from it. My first job required me to move to a new city. I resisted. I was afraid. What would I find there? I liked where I was.

Many times in my life, I have faced a move and resisted. Humans are creatures of habit. We resist change. However, if I hadn't moved, I would not have experienced many new and wonderful things. I also would not have met many of my friends.

The moves have been between cities, provinces, states, and even countries. Each move gave me the opportunity to learn and experience, but best of all, I met friends. I hated leaving my old friends behind, but when I think about it, I didn't lose them. They're still my friends. I talk to them regularly. However, I have even more friends now.

I'm glad I found my wings.

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

The Oyster

There once was an oyster whose story I tell, who found that some sand had got into his shell.

It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain, for oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate that brought him to such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government, cry for election, and claim that the sea should have given him protection?

No - he said to himself as he lay on a shell, since I cannot remove it I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around, as the years always do and he came to his ultimate destiny, a stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so, was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral, for isn't it grand, what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do if we'd only begin, with some of the things that get under our skin?

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

The Art of Achievement

You hold in your hand the camel's-hair brush of a painter of Life. You stand before the vast white canvas of Time.

The paints are your thoughts, emotions and acts.

You select the colours of your thoughts; drab or bright, weak or strong, good or bad.

You select the colours of your emotions; discordant or harmonious, harsh or quiet, weak or strong.

You select the colours of your acts; cold or warm, fearful or daring, small or big.

You visualize yourself as the person you want to be.

You strive to make the ideal in your mind become a reality on the canvas of Time.

Each moment of your life is a brush stroke in the painting of your growing career.

There are the bold, sweeping strokes of one increasing, dynamic purpose.

There are the lights and shadows that make your life deep and strong.

There are the little touches that add the stamp of character and worth.

The art of achievement is the art of making life - your life - a masterpiece.

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Wishes

Once upon a time, when I was a little boy who lived in an orphanage, I had always wished that I could fly like a bird. It was very difficult for me to understand why I could not fly, ‘cause then I could go find my very own mother and father.

There were birds at the zoo that were much bigger than I, and they could fly. 'Why can't I?' I thought. 'Is there something wrong with me?'

I met another little boy who was crippled. He had always wished that he could walk and run like all the other little boys and girls. 'Why can't I be like them?' he thought.

One day when I ran away from the orphanage, I came upon a park. That is when I saw that little boy who could not walk or run, playing in the sandbox. I went over to the boy, and asked him if he had ever wanted to fly like a bird.

'No,' said the little boy, who could not walk or run. 'But I have wondered what it would be like to walk, run, and play like other little boys and girls,' he told me.

'That is very sad. Do you think we could be friends?' I asked the little boy, who was playing in the sandbox.

'Sure. I really need a friend,' said the little boy.

We played together for hours. We made sandcastles and we made funny sounds with our mouths, sounds that made us laugh really, really hard. Then the little boy's father came, with a wheelchair, to pick up his son. I stood up, brushed myself off, and ran over to the boy's father. I asked him to bend down so that I could whisper something into his ear.

'That would be OK, I guess,' said the man.

I ran over to my new friend and said, 'You are my only friend, and I wish that there was something that I could do to make you walk and run like other little boys and girls. I can't, but there is one thing I can do for you.'

I turned around and told my new friend to slide up onto my back. Then I began to run across the grass as fast as I could.

Faster and faster I ran, carrying the crippled little boy on my back. Harder and harder, I pushed across the park. Faster and faster, I made my legs travel until they hurt. I ran in a never-ending circle around the boy's father and the old wheelchair. Soon the wind silently whistled across our little faces, gliding past us as though we were both large eagles, soaring above the highest mountains.

The boy's father began to cry as he watched his beautiful crippled son, riding on my back, flapping his arms up and down in the wind, while all the time yelling, and screaming at the top of his voice ... 'I am flying, Daddy, I am flying!'

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Living life and having fun

A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the furniture. I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent cleaning. I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect - 'in case someone came over.' Then I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the condition of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't quite figured this out as yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short, so enjoy it! Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, or even ponder the difference between want and need? Dust if you must, but there's not much time, with rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead. Dust if you must, but the worlds out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. And when you go - and go you must, you, yourself will make more dust! It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived ... and remember, a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.

Go in peace my friends
tigerlily
Posts: 2676
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:02 pm
Location: Imperius

Re: Imperius Cathedral, Diocese of Saint Kaylia

Post by tigerlily »

Baby Camel and Mother

A mother and a baby camel were lying around, and suddenly the baby camel asked, “mother, may I ask you some questions? Mother said, “Sure! Why son, is there something bothering you? Baby said, “Why do camels have humps?” Mother said “Well son, we are desert animals, we need the humps to store water and we are known to survive without water”. Baby said, “Okay, then why are our legs long and our feet rounded?” Mother said, “Son, obviously they are meant for walking in the desert. You know with these legs I can move around the desert better than anyone does!” Baby said, “Okay, then why are our eyelashes long? Sometimes it bothers my sight”. Mother with pride said, “My son, those long thick eyelashes are your protective cover. They help to protect your eyes from the desert sand and wind”.

Baby after thinking said, “I see. So the hump is to store water when we are in the desert, the legs are for walking through the desert and these eye lashes protect my eyes from the desert then what in god’s name are we doing here in the Zoo!?”

Moral: Skills, knowledge, abilities and experiences are only useful if you are at the right place.

Go in peace my friends
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