Thought for the day Number Seven

Nature is not a place, it is home ~ Gary Snyder

Wow, two really good ones in a row.

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back. There are some things that Time can not mend. Some hurts that go too deep."
JRR Tolkien

kwanjin - that really touched my heart. I had to "break up" with an old friend, or someone who I thought was my friend, and it was and still is quite painful...."some things that time cannot mend", that really said it quite well. I was just here at the computer, wondering if I should send her one last email, and read that.

Van Gogh on Gardening ~ But just for one's health, as you are saying, it is very necessary to work in the garden and see the flowers growing. - in a letter to his mother and sister in 1890.

That's so sad, Evelyn. I'm keeping you in my thoughts today. I know that pain quite well.

Loved the quote, Evelyn. Like you, I've recently had a falling out with someone I thought was a dear friend. So kwanjin's quote from Tolkien touched my heart too.
It's so sad when we loose friends. They are who they are and we are who we are. People don't change unless they really want to. Most people don't want to make the effort.
My Dad and Step-Mom always said that some people only learn by making their own mistakes. Sometimes the cost of their mistake is the loss of a friendship. : - (
Lot's of good people who would like to be your friend out in the world, Evelyn. Some here on DG, or the internet, some you can find in Grizzly Flats if you start looking in places you haven't looked before.
Sis told me that if I wanted to make new friends to join the Chamber of Commerce, they always need volunteers. Join a Community Service Organization, like Rotary, or Kiwanis, or even Toastmasters.
I know everyone in my town, well most all the old timers, we've had a lot of new folks moving in and out for the last few years, but my point is that when you are helping others, working with others towards a common goal, then you feel better about yourself, and others.
No cool quotes, from me today.
I do want to thank both Evelyn for her lovely quote, Gardening is essential to the body, heart and soul. : - )
I got to thank kwanjin for that wonderful quote from Tolkien. : - )
WIB~
SW

I think the BEST friends can be found..."...if you start looking in places you haven't looked before."

I like it. It's more succinct. Good job, kwan, you distilled it to it's essence. :- )
Patent it quick before someone turns it into a bumper sticker! : - )
WIB,
SW

Now, you've made me blush...

Thanks, both of you for your encouragement. I wasn't needing a "quantity" of friends. This was regarding a friend from high school, or who I thought was a friend...it is long and complicated. We are having a reunion...and she did not answer my email, but when I posed that question to a friend of her, she said that the only reason that either of them would go to the reunion would be if the other one was going. Now this is someone, who I know does not like me, and it did not bother me, but at least she told me to my face, as we have not spoken for over 50 years, and she at least reponded right away. My "friend", however, did not even respond at all, and then when I forwarded that email from her friend, she said "where is this coming from"? I explained it all to her and some other things that she had previously said to me, and still, no reply. I however, decided to give it one last try, and forwarded something relevant and a short note regarding the situation. (I told you it was complicated!)

Thanks for the offer of sending me out to look for friends...I have friends...it was just this one in particular in which I wanted to straighten things out, and may have done the opposite, but at least I spoke my mind. She will have all the time in the world to respond, or not.

There are many kinds of friendship. Some friendships last a lifetime. But there are also friendships that only endure for a certain time - it might be twenty years, five years or one year. Sometimes your feelings may not change but the other person's do. You don't have to be obsessed with the idea that friendship must last a lifetime. A friendship still has meaning, even if it only lasts a short while. the main thing is that you respond with sincerity at each encounter.

Discussions on Youth - Disaku Ikeda


(I misspelled something.)

This message was edited Jul 20, 2010 4:35 PM

I know exactly how you feel, Evelyn, and it doesn't make it hurt any less. Some people are fair weather friends. Some are by your side in foul weather. Those are the friendships to cultivate. Like flowers in your garden friendships must be cultivated to thrive.
WIB!
SW

I am like a weed. I grow on sunny and rainy days.

OK, next person continue this.

I live in California where there is an abundance of sunshine to make me grow!

“Never count your friends on sunny days for they all will be around, count your friends on the rainy days when the clouds are grey and lightning shakes the ground."

I think it's a song but I can't find a reference.

To continue what you went and started kwan,

"I am constantly growing and adapting to the world changing around me.
Some see me as a weed, others as a beautiful flower,
growing in the cracks of the sidewalk."

Next person gets the next line! : - )

"Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by."
~part of a Christina Rossetti poem~

WIB,
SW

Sharon started it! LOL

"Criticizing another's garden doesn't keep the weeds out of your own."
Unknown

"Roses are red,
Violets are blue;
But they don't get around
Like the dandelions do."
Slim Acres

Okay, we'll blame dear Sharon! LOL!
I happen to like Dandelions. Especially rubbing them on a kid's chin to turn it yellow. I also like to blow all the seeds off the seed head.
Good ones kwanjin. : - )
WIB,
SW

Thanks everyone for your support...as usual, I jumped to conclusions, as she (my friend) was just very busy...she emailed me and told me and now I suppose everything is OK.

Nichiren writes of a “friend in the orchid room” (WND-1, 23). This expression means that, just as orchids in a room impart their exquisite fragrance to all who enter, we should strive to be the kind of friend who has a positive and uplifting effect on others.

All you have to do is become like the orchid. In the East, the orchid is a symbolic of a person of lofty character. Therefore, please develop your character so that it exudes a beautiful orchidlike fragrance.


Discussions on Youth – Daisaku Ikeda

Evelyn, if someone does not want to be your friend, it is their loss.

Evelyn, I like that and I am glad your friend is still your friend.

"One kind word can warm three winter months."
Unknown

One was never my friend...the one who said the hurtful words, but the other still is, probably to the dismay of the other one. Still, I do not know why she is friends with the other, but that is not my business. at least our friendship is restored, as we knew each other since junior high, when we went to church together.

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing. It's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it."
Margaret Thatcher

Excellent advice for all of us, kwanjin!

My DB in OR sent me this today. He and I are Masters at Lounging. LOL

Interesting observation and confession as well. Yesterday I got up at 5:30AM and worked until quite late. Needless to say, I accomplished quite a bit, and had time to spare, which I managed to use wisely. Now today was a very different picture. I was unable to sleep due to pain and slept little so today, even though I woke up at the same time, I was not able to repeat yesterday's performance. I went back to sleep and slept until 10. It was already hot so I had to stay in until later, so my accomplishments were much less today. It was not just a matter of having the time, but the quality of my well-being, having sufficient sleep the night before. I was still a bit in pain today as well, so I need to pace myself when feeling over-ambitious.

Does anyone else have that problem?

I have been recovering from 4 surgeries and I have gotten into poor habits as for so long I was unable to do any gardening. Since the beginning of the year, after I took one last fall, I felt I had to quit all my meds. (Pain, sleeping, anxiety and muscle relaxers...) That last one was the one that made the "cocktail" near-deadly as I never took more than prescribed, but had several falls. (2 of them down our staircase!) So now, the hardest one of all was the Ambien...as I had been taking it for years. Just recently I was able to actually get 6 hours of sleep at night, as it has been difficult training the brain to not rely on chemicals. Now to train myself in order to have consistency. It will take time, but I really do want to have beautiful gardens, not just so-so, as they are now. As well the quality of my life will improve as my health and good habits do...

I have really enjoyed in participating in these quotations, poetry and folk sayings. They do have meaning...that is what I was getting to...sorry for the rambling...

~ Evelyn

Evelyn,
You get a full 6 hours a night? I haven't been able to sleep all through the night since before my first kid was born. Really.
I also have Fibromyalgia, and I have many days like the ones you describe. Feel free to dmail me on the subject. Basically, you have to pace yourself, and take one day at a time.

I will say this though, and it had better count as my thought for today.

"Pain is God's way of reminding you that you are still alive."
Don't know who said it.

My last thought for the day,
Thank you Creator, for giving me another day, even if I'm in pain. I am thankful for the good things that happen, the smiles I give and get, my friends, and most especially for You!

Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

Seneca said it better than I ever could.

"What a great blessing is a friend with a heart
so trusty you may safely bury all your secrets
in it, whose conscience you may fear less than
your own, who can relieve your cares by his
conversation, your doubts by his counsels,
your sadness by his good humor, and whose
very looks give you comfort."
~Seneca~

Walk In Beauty!
SingingWolf

"When you least expect it, a common thread --
golden, at that -- begins to weave together the
fabric, of friendship.
~ Mary Kay Shanley ~

WIB!
SW

That is perfect. Thank you.


"A truth perverted is more terrible than any simple mistake."


"Pax Vobiscum"

SW ~ I don't get 6 hours of sleep each night, but *most* nights. Not last night, however. I have allergies and last night I was "stuffed up" and got little sleep...also getting up several times as well.
("If it ain't one thing, it's another"...another common saying...LOL!)I probably should have just stayed up and read, but I wanted the sleep so much! I have been getting up at 5:30 for 3 days in a row, trying to establish better sleep habits, but I know that it does not happen in a week, as it took me a full 6 months just to get to the point of about 6 every night....for one who used to sleep 8 hours every night.

Now - just to get some of the things done on my "to do" list! LOL!!! That seems to be the hard part, as an unorganized, undisciplined person is trying to get both organization and discipline....especially being "short-sleeped"....

"Plan your life and live your plan"...Did someone say that? Or something like it....

An old and common saying..."Use it or Lose it!"

Oh boy, Evelyn! I know what you mean...I have sleep deprivation regularly. Luckily, I can take naps during the day. I try not to but, sometimes, it's a must.

Don't know who said this, but it certainly is my philosophy -

"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I'm going to keep on making them!"

also -

"It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt."

I love them both!! LOL

evelyn,
Yup, sleep is good to get.
Just an observation, but why is it, when you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, that the first medication given to you by the Dr. is an antidepressant? Wouldn't it make more sense to give the patient a sleeping pill for the short term? I digress.
I am not sure about the wording or who said it, but it works for me, evelyn.
kwan, it saddens me to think about how true your saying was. Scarey, innit?
Welcome to Garden_Gal, I hope you enjoy this thread as much as we do. Every once in a while the nice fellow who started the thread pops in with a great saying, but he's been busy lately. It was a good idea, and we can Thank Desert Pirate for starting this.
I loved the saying about mistakes. Really that is the best way to learn.
Okay, I loved both of them. Keep 'em coming. : - )
WIB!
SW

I had one earlier but have since forgotten it. I'll have to make do with this one...

“There are no 7 Wonders of the World in the eyes of a child. There are 7 MILLION."

SW ~ Thanks for the kind thoughts about my FM. I quit my Ambien...it was the hardest of all, but I am finally, after 8 months, getting almost 6 hrs a night. Not every night, but most...

I got this from the "All About Thyme" website http:abouthyme.com

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free
'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
—"Simple Gifts"

Too cool evelyn. Thank you for sharing that poem with us. : - )
People get all caught up in stuff that really doesn't matter, and forget what does. Sleep is good, getting off the pills is even better. I'm really proud of you, 'cause it isn't always easy. : - )

Works for me kwan. I hadn't heard it before, but it's always good to try to see the world with the eyes of a child. It's a lot more fun anyway! : - )

Okay, I hope I got this one right. I was watching the History Channel the other night, and when I heard this one I had to scribble it down. Any misquoting is due to my lousy memory.

"The more you acquire,
The more you desire."
~Horus~

WIB~
SW

Love the Horus quote - kind of wraps up the American mainstream materialistic charge happy brand-name-driven culture, doesn't it? If there could only be one quote to live by (and I'm so glad we have lots of them), I think this is definitely a front-runner -

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. – Dr. Seuss

Oh, boy, you said it!

Thanks for the Laugh, Garden_Gal.
Kind of hard to top that. LOL!
WIB!
SW