''Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is
both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up,
gives us a bigger perspective, and energizes us. All these trips that we lay on
ourselves the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the
identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the
addictions of all kinds never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that
temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right
here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being
fully awake. When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched,
you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any
resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover
how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space.
Start where you stand and never mind the past. Don’t
give the vanished days a backward look; the world won't care about your old defeats.
Forget the buried woes and dead despairs. Here is a brand new trial right at
hand. The future is for him who does and dares. One’s potential is so huge and
so vast, yet, why is it, that so many fail, and usually come last? Exercise
your brains; allow your nerves to rewire. Mull your mind, work it hard, allow
it to perspire while gathering information which you need and must acquire.“Success will never lower its standards to accommodate you. You have to raise your standards to achieve it. God provides food for every bird but not its nest. Rise up to the challenges ahead of you and conquer your fears.”
You’ll laugh often and much, win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, appreciate beauty, find the best in others, leave the world a bit better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.''
