I love this picture above. It is marked The Circle of Life, but for me – it has value beyond that simple phrase. This photo to me depicts HOPE and RESILIENCE.
HOPE for the future as exemplified by this little tyke as he begins to walk in his own.
RESILIENCE as exemplified by this elderly gentleman who doesn’t let the increments of aging hold him back.
I believe HOPE and RESILIENCE will get us through the coming dark days of rising Covid cases and buoy us up until life returns to a semblance of normalcy.
HOPE
RESILIENCE
Below are some quotes to hold close reflecting HOPE and RESILIENCE
Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing well those you do hold.
Josh Billings
Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.
Anonymous
Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.
Anonymous
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
Wonderful things happen to us when we live expectantly, believe confidently and pray affirmatively.
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
Anonymous
Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.
Anonymous
Between tomorrow’s dream and yesterday’s regret is today’s opportunity.
Anonymous
They (the good old days) were never that good, believe me. The “good new days” are today and better days are coming tomorrow. Our greatest songs are still unsung.
Hubert H. Humphrey
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson
If you think you haven’t much to be thankful for, why not be thankful for some of the things you don’t have.
Anonymous
The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.
Jodi Picoult
Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
E.B. White
Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue.
Henry Rollins
What makes people resilient is the ability to find humor and irony in situations that would otherwise overpower you.
Amy Tan
Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile
Anonymous
And now for the FORK
There is one thing that gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of something ‘round the corner.
G.K. Chesterton
A young woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and contacted her clergy person to discuss her final wishes.
She explained which songs she wanted sung at the service, what words she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. As the clergy person was preparing to leave her home, she excitedly exclaimed, “Wait, there’s one more thing. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The clergy person was puzzled.
“My grandmother once told me this story,” the young woman explained. “She always remembered during social events that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.‘ It was her favorite part, because she knew that something better was coming…like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!
“So, I just want people to see me there in that casket – with a fork in my hand – and I want them to wonder ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork…the best is yet to come.’”
HOPE and RESILIENCE and a FORK: May all three remind us to have faith that our ideals will be upheld, the constitution adhered to, the country united and the pandemic squelched in 2021 – that truly, the best is yet to come.
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Happy, Healthy 2021
Iris Ruth Pastor