Stories for the Internet Addict

Now available without all the >>>>! Hi everyone! I started this because I've got one too many of these in my inbox! j/k My email address is so full of these little stories because I really liked these and I didn't want to get rid of them. Some of these stories really make you think, so maybe you should read them. Who knows? Maybe you'll really get something from them.

If you Think

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win, but think you'll lose, you're lost.

For out in the world we find success begins with a person's faith;
It's all in the state of mind.

Life's battle don't always go to the stronger or faster hand;
They go to the one who trusts in God and always thinks (sorry, the email seems to have gotten cut off)
It was printed and distributed during several APA (American Psychiatric Association) conferences.
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Parable of the Rose

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.

This is the characteristic of love, to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns. Then will he blossom, blooming forth thirty, sixty, a hundred - fold as it is given to him.

Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden.
(Submitted by Naomi Anne Brill)
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I've Learned...

I've learned - that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned - that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned - that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned - that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.
I've learned - that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned - that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do but to the best you can do.
I've learned - that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it.
I've learned - that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned - that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
I've learned - that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned - that it's a lot easier to react than it is to think.
I've learned - that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned - that you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I've learned - that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned - that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned - that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
I've learned - that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned - that learning to forgive takes practice.
I've learned - that there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
I've learned - that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned - that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned - that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned - that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I've learned - that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I've learned - that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned - that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned - that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.
I've learned - that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.
I've learned - that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned - that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned - that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned - that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned - that sometimes when my friends fight, I'm forced to choose sides even when I don't want to.
I've learned - that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned - that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions.
I've learned - that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned - that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I've learned - that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned - that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned - that there are many ways of falling and staying in love.
I've learned - that no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves get farther in life.
I've learned - that no matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them most.
I've learned - that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I've learned - that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned - that writing, as well as talking, can ease emotional pains.
I've learned - that the paradigm we live in is not all that is offered to us.
I've learned - that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned - that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
I've learned - "" can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used.
I've learned - that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.
Janice T Hill of Kansas City Mo. (or was it) Michelle-Katrina, of San Francisco, CA ""
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The Present

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, an and a fine view of the city. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch,and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . . . There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."
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