Roy Exum
I’ve never claimed to be a smart guy, and my daily tumble through the world around me assures me there is always something new that I don’t understand. Now there is a website on my computer that is so clock full of goodness that I want it but don’t know what I’d do with it if I got it!
It is called Pinterest. I looked it up on Wikipedia to learn “Pinterest is a web and mobile application company that offers a visual discovery, collection, sharing, and storage tool. Users create and share the collections of visual bookmarks (boards).
Boards are created through a user selecting an item, page, website, etc. and pinning it to an existing or newly created board.
Well, I don’t know how to “pin” (yet) but I do know I can spend hours looking at other people’s boards because they are filled with the greatest wisdom, one-liners, advice and ideas that I ever saw. Some are pictures with words printed on them. Other are just a clever type face or written in hand but there are more tasty morsels than I could ever memorize.
On a lazy Monday afternoon spent waiting on the New Year, here are some “pins” I picked out before the time comes this week to re-pot:
“The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there” – Vince Lombardi
“When others demand that we become the people they want us to be, they force us to destroy the person we really are. It’s a subtle kind of murder. The most loving parents and relatives commit this murder with smiles on their faces.” – Jim Morrison (Poet and lead singer of The Doors.)
“Not everyone has to like you. Not everyone has taste.”
“It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again” – Buddha
“Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.” – Zig Ziglar
“I like cancelled plans. And empty bookstores. I like rainy days and thunderstorms. And quiet coffee shops. I like messy beds and over-worn pajamas. Most of all, I like the small joys that a simple life brings.”
“I love places that make you realize how tiny you and your problems are.”
“Fools take a knife and stab people in the back. The wise take a knife, cut the cord, and set themselves free of fools.”
“Never run back to what broke you.”
“If the words don’t add up, it’s usually because the truth wasn’t included in the equation.”
“When someone is going through a storm, your silent presence is more powerful than a million empty words.”
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”
“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma
“No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up … and never give up.”
“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad but it’s the only way you can do anything good.” – William Faulkner on writing.
“The one who doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, but tells you what you need to hear. Keep that.”
“When someone truly cares about you, they make an effort, not an excuse.”
“You’ll turn out ordinary if you’re not careful.” – Ann Brashares.
“Seriously, it it’s sucking the life out of you, stop giving it attention. If it’s a job, you need to quit. If it’s a person, cut them out. If it’s an activity, by all means, stop. Stop letting anything but you take the wheel. You are going to be okay. Time will pass. Get out there and make your dreams a reality. You don’t deserve anxiety. You are not operating at your best when somebody or something else is in control.”
“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”
“Comparison is a slippery slope to jealousy.”
“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.”
“Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once.”
“If life can remove someone you never dreamed of losing, it can replace them with someone you never dreamed of having.”
“A simple hello could lead to a million things.”
“Once you learn how to be happy, you won’t tolerate being around people who make you feel anything less.”
“You may not know this but you are completely free to do, be, and create whatever your heart desires. You just need to learn to fly again. Love gives you wings. Only love can heal broken wings. Only love can set you free. It is the key that unlocks everything. Your heart is your greatest treasure. And until you can see that this is true there is nothing God won’t do until you get the clue.”
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
“Life is too deep for words, so don’t try to describe it, just live it.” – C.S. Lewis
“If you are sad, add more lipstick and attack.” – CoCo Chanel.
“Today’s Multiple Choice: Busy is a choice, stress is a choice, joy is a choice. (Choose well.)”
“I still get very high and very low in life. Daily. But I’ve finally accepted the fact that sensitive is just how I was made, that I don’t have to hide it and I don’t have to fix it. I’m not broken.”
“Everything you are running away from is in your head.”
“Confidence isn’t walking into a room with your nose in the air, and thinking you are better than everyone else, it’s walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to anyone in the first place.”
“A mistake should be your teacher, not your attacker. A mistake is a lesson, not a loss. It is a temporary, necessary detour, not a dead end.”
”One day I want to honestly say, ‘I made it.’”
“I’m too busy working on my own grass to notice yours is any greener.”
“Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.”
“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” – Anna Quindlen.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia.
“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” – Nietzsche
“Work for a cause, not applause. Live life to express, not impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.”
“The expert in anything was once a beginner.”
“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.”
“The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about every damn thing they do in life.” – Vasudev
“Don’t go around telling people what you’re made of because then they’ll know how to break you.”
“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.”
“Go 24 hours without complaining even once – then watch how your life starts changing.”
“Your worth is not measures in likes, comments, notes or followers; but in your ability to love, keep comments to yourself, take note and lead.”
“Just because your past didn’t turn out like you wanted it to, doesn’t mean your future can’t be better than you ever imagined.”
”Let me remind you: Wherever your focus is directed, that’s where your energy goes. Whatever you allow in your space, you eventually become.”
“Never speak from a place of hate, jealousy, anger, or insecurity. Evaluate your words before you let them leave your lips. Sometimes it is best to be quiet.”
“New year. New feels. New breathe. New Chances. Same dreams. Fresh starts. I dare you to believe in yourself. You deserve all things magic.”
* * *
I give you my promise: Pinterest is a delight!
royexum@aol.com