Rainbows And Roses

To utter harsh words when sweet ones would serve is like eating unripe fruit when ripe ones are at hand.

Tirukkural
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Hello Anna Regina Guyana
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Speak gently, it is better far
To rule by love than fear;
Speak gently: let no harsh word mar
The good we may do here.

Speak gently to the erring: know
They must have toiled in vain;
Perchance unkindness made them so;
O win them back again.

Speak gently: 'tis a little thing,
Dropped in the heart's deep well;
The good, the joy that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.

(G. W. Langford)
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There were three people in the room, two men and one woman, when I walked through the door. One of the men was saying "Well, I think he...." He stopped abruptly when he saw me. The woman became very red faced. I sat down and said "So, I walked into a conversation about myself and now everyone here is embarrassed except for me."

It's one of natures laws that if we bad mouth people behind their backs sooner or later we'll be caught at it. It is better to stay out of gossip and avoid the trap. As an old saying has it "A closed mouth gathers no feet."

Some people think I go through life seeing only rainbows and roses and don't look at or see the darker, uglier side of things. But I have just as much right as any one else to rage, weep and harshly judge people for the rotten things they've done to me. There are some people and some things that are near impossible to forgive. In fact, I forgive as much as I can and then just don't think about the rest of it. To carry around resentment in one's heart is a sickness.

Given the fact that everything we do has an effect on the world, to one degree or another, an effect we usually can't measure or maybe can't even know about. it is vital that we be alarmed at ourselves for sending out the words, the impressions or even the thoughts of brutality and wrath.

On the other hand the sweet, ripe fruit is always available. The good words and thoughts cast into the heart's well can bring effects for which we can be proudly responsible. But positive thinking is a habit, it requires discipline and humility and it's not for the mentally lazy. It has to be developed and it begins with denial, to refuse to accept into one's thoughts the negatives, like a baseball pitcher refusing the signals from his catcher "No. Not that one. I won't do that." Then hearing and accepting into your thoughts the right words, words of praise, approval, appreciation, love. You won't see rainbows and roses all the time, but you'll see them more often.

DB - The Vagabond
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

Come on. 11 diverse and interesting answers so far. Where's yours?

NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.

Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

I eagerly await your answer.

DB
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