The Lucky One

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.

~Thomas Jefferson

Megan Lopez . The most popular girl at Notre dame High. She was head cheerleader, Prom Queen, Student Body President and a straight-A student. She was so perfect that it made me want to dislike her, but I couldn't. Because the truth was that Megan was a really nice person.

When I passed her in the hallway at school, she always smiled at me but rarely stopped to talk. Megan was friendly with everyone, but her true friends were all in the popular crowd. And I wasn't exactly hanging with them.

But when I saw Megan at the drugstore one Saturday morning, she was chatty and all smiles. "Hi, Diane," she said. "How are you?"

I smiled back. "I'm doing great. How about you?"

"I'm good, but kinda tired. I had to cheer last night."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about the game. Did our team win?"

She nodded. "You weren't there?"

I shrugged. "I don't go to a lot of school stuff."

"Oh, you should. It's really fun."

I shrugged again and said nothing. But in my head, I thought, "Well, sure, everything is fun if you're Megan Lopez."

I glanced at Megan's cart and spotted several bottles of hair conditioner. Megan's hair was gorgeous and I instantly decided to switch brands.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Megan said, starting to push her cart down the aisle. "Have a fun weekend."

"Yeah, you too," I said, already knowing that she would.

I grabbed a bottle of Megan's brand of conditioner and the other things I needed and then went through the checkout line. Megan got behind me in line.

I waved awkwardly and said, "Hi again."

She smiled and waved back.

I paid for my stuff and went out to my car, an old hatchback. It was my brother's car, which was passed down to me when he went away to college. It was a real junker, but it was mine.

I put my stuff in the back and was climbing into the car when I heard someone calling my name. It was Megan. “Diane, your car -- it's so cute!”

"You think my car is cute?"

"Well, not the car itself, but the windows. that's really sweet."

I nodded and glanced at my car windows. I'd forgotten about the car's homemade decorations. On one window were the words, "I love you," written in wipe-off marker. Another window said, "You are beautiful," and a third read, "I believe in you."

"That's so nice," Megan said, "but I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"Oh, I don't," I said, suddenly ashamed of my cute car windows.

"Then who wrote on your car?"

"Well, um, my dad did," I answered quietly.

"Your dad did that? Your dad took the time to write on your car windows, just to, you know, make you feel good?"

I nodded, wishing like crazy I'd thought quickly enough to make up an imaginary boyfriend from another school. But I'd told the truth, which was beyond embarrassing.

I looked at Megan and realized she had tears in her eyes. "My dad would never do that for me," she muttered. "You are so lucky."

My mouth dropped open. Megan Williams thought I was lucky?

"I bet your mom's great too, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess. She stays at home a lot. She bakes cookies and helps me with my homework and stuff."

Megan sighed. "I'd give anything to have a family like that."

"But you have everything," I said. "A perfect life."

She shook her head. "Not really. Not in the ways that matter."

After that, Megan always stopped to talk with me in the hallway. We even started hanging out outside of school. I'd offer to meet her at McDonald's or Subway, but she always wanted to come to my house. She seemed to love talking with my parents over a homemade dinner and playing board games with my family.

It was totally uncool, but it was what Megan wanted to do. I didn't understand why, but I didn't care. I'd always wanted to be friends with someone like Megan. I thought hanging out with her would make me popular and that would make me happy.

But just being Megan's friend made me happy. The other stuff didn't matter anymore.

Months later, Megan and I were talking about the day my dad wrote on my car windows. "I was so jealous of you," she admitted. "People think I have this great life, but I have struggles too."

I nodded because now that we were friends, I knew the truth about Megan's life.

"But you know what? I decided something that day," she said. "Rather than feel bad that I don't have a dad that would do something like that for me, I decided to hang out with your family." She looked at me, determination in her eyes. "Someday when I'm married, I'm going to have a family like yours. My kids are going to feel so loved."

I realized in that moment that many things in this life are beyond our control. We can't change the family we were born into. Whether they're terrific or completely dysfunctional, we can only do our best to learn from what we're given.

Megan did that. And she showed me that I was the LUCKY ONE after all.

LIFE

Life isn't about trying to be perfect, impressing people, or succeeding at everything. It's about making mistakes and learning from them, surrounding yourself with people that bring out the best in you and love you when you're being yourself. It's about getting through the tough times and realizing that they're only making you stronger and having faith that you are right where you belong, where God has intended you to be all along.


Enjoy life...to have a better life...:)
God bless all of you. <3 <3

Only you can be YOU- No one--anywhere -- is exactly like you.

   

You're different. You're special. But maybe you don't really feel like that. Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of a crowd? You look around, and you can't see anyone you know ... and you're sure that no one in that crowd knows you. You've had that feeling, haven't you? When you're standing in the middle of that crowd you have a strong feeling that no one even knows you exist. And just at that moment you probably also feel like there's nothing special about you at all. You're just another person ... another face in the crowd. Well, that's not an unusual feeling to have. You're not the first person to feel that way. But you're wrong. I can guarantee it. You're not just another face in the crowd. As I said a moment ago, you are unique... you are special ... there is no one else in all the world exactly like you. And no, I am not just trying to make you feel good. What I'm saying is absolutely true. Scientists have proved it. In the first place, you know that police and government departments use fingerprints to identify people. They put some ink on your fingers and press them on paper, and they can tell by the patterns that your fingers leave if you really are the person you say you are. That's because no two people in the world have the same fingerprints. And that's only one way you are different. Some scientists in Japan have discovered that your lips are special too. Just like your fingerprints, your lips have little markings on them, little grooves in the skin ... and everyone has a different pattern. And there's something else that really is well known ... no one else smells exactly like you. That's not an insult. It's a fact. That's why police tracking dogs can follow one person's trail for long distances just by the smell they leave behind on the ground they touch. But that's only a small beginning of the ways you are different -- you are unique. Eyes can be used for identification -- just like fingerprints -- because every eye in the world is different.  One doctor in the United States made a study of what is inside of people ... and he discovered that even your stomach is different from everyone else's. No two are exactly the same size or shape. Then there is your heart. It's different, too. No two people in the world have hearts that are exactly the same size or shape. Then there is the system of veins and arteries that carries your blood all through your body.  It's also different. So you see ... you are unique. You are different. No one -- anywhere -- is exactly like you.  YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL !!!                                  May God Bless Us All...... Have a Better Life. :)

Use PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) instead of NMA (Negative Mental Attitude)

Build strong confidence and you are on your way. You do this by attacking the "disadvantage complex."
Don't be tricked, tripped, and trapped by the disadvantages complexes if one or more are bothering you.

                                                                  " I'm too Old."

The truth is you are never too old to change. You are not too old to change until you give up.Only when you reach to the point where you don't care anymore - then, and only then-are you old. You are not old until you have lost your vision.

                                                               " I'm handicapped."


The most serious handicap any person can have is an impossibility complex. For him, everything is impossible. You are not handicap until you think you are.

                              " I don't have time, money, or energy to do what I'd like to do."


Are you sure? Many successful businessman started from nothing. You will find time if you spend your time wisely. you always have energy if you will not allow yourself to be drained from useless and nonsense issues.

                                                " I am from a lowly background."


So what? No one's background or past is disadvantageous unless he makes it so in his thinking! Remember, any disadvantage rightly handled can be turned into an advantage.

                              " I came from a broken home. I had an awful childhood."


" My parents quarreled, then divorced, and I was shuttled back and forth. I am afraid I am an emotional cripple for the rest of my life." Is that so? Only if you want it to be. It's your choice.

                                                " I don't know the right people."

So what? Get acquainted with big people. If you have a reason. Don't be afraid. Successful and important people are usually interested in helping other people with good ideas. All you need is the nerve to contact these kind of people. You can build a friendship with famous people if you forget your inferiority feelings, muster great nerve and walk up confidently to enthusiastically introduce yourself.

                                            " I don't have a good education."


"My I.Q. is lower than others." So What. "First prizes don't always go to the brightest and strongest man. Again and again the man who wins is the man who is sure that he can."

       
         You are not a failure. You are not an accident. You are special with unique potentials.  Your life here on earth has a purpose. One of that purpose is for you to be successful in all your endeavors, plans, goals and dreams. Don't let  negativism pull you down, Stand up and Go for it!  May God bless us all richly! :)

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.

Here are some simple ways to keep little things from taking over your life:

1.  Ask yourself the question. "Will this matter a year from now?"
Is what you are worked up over going to matter a year from now? If not, don't let it destroy you today.

2.   Practice Humility. The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others; the easier it is to feel peace inside.

3.  Remember that you become what you practice the most. How do you spend your time? What you do is what you become.

4.  Everyday, tell at least one person something you like, admire, or appreciate about them. Telling others that you appreciate them takes almost no effort, but pays enormous dividends.

5. Choose your battles wisely. Every circumstance or problem is not worth the fight. There will always be things and people that don't do right.

6. Life is a test. It is only a test. When you look at life as a test, you begin to see each issue as an opportunity to grow.

7.  Remind yourself that when you die, your "In Basket" won't be empty. The purpose of life isn't necessarily to get all done, but to to the right things.

8.  Learn to live in a present moment. "Life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans."

9. Think of what you have, instead of what you want. Contentment is not always waiting for some future event to happen.

10.Understand the statement " Wherever you go, there you are." We tend to believe that if we were somewhere else, we'd be happy. Whatever you are thats what you'll be wherever you go.

11. Become a better listener. Most of us are only adequate listeners, but the best gift you can give someone is to listen.

12. Be grateful when you're feeling good and graceful when you're feeling bad. Good and bad come and go. No one is either happy or sad all the time.


13.Resist the urge to criticize. When we judge or criticize someone it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.

14. See the Innocence. One of the most frustrating aspects of life is not being able to understand other people's behavior. We see them as "guilty" instead of  "innocent". But, when you see others as not trying to hurt you, you can relax.

Do Your Best

It’s not always easy to know which path to follow, which decision to make, or what to do.

Life is a series of new horizons, new hopes, new days, and changes that come to you. And we all need some help with these things from time to time.

Remember these things: Dream it. Do it. And discover how special you are. Be positive, for your attitude will affect the outcome of many things. Ask for help when you need it; seek the wisdom the world holds and hold on to it. Make some progress every single day. Begin. Relieve. And become.

Give yourself all the credit you’re due; don’t short change your qualities, your abilities, or any of the things that are so unique about you. Remember how precious life can be. Imagine. Invest the time it takes to reach out for your dreams; it will bring you happiness that no money on earth can buy. Don’t be afraid; no mountain is too big to climb if you do it at your own pace.

What’s the best thing to do? That’s simple:

Do Your Best.

And everything else will fall into place.

Most Richly Blessed

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy, 

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing, I asked for----

but everything I have hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my

unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men,

most richly blessed.                    

                                          Anonymous