"What does Love mean?"

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four through eight year olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love."

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."

"Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don’t yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings."

"Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired."

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

"Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."

"When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you’re scared they won’t love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more."

"There are two kinds of love: Our love and God’s love. But God makes both kinds of them."

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore."

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

"I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her."

"Love cards like Valentine’s cards say stuff on them that we’d like to say ourselves, but we wouldn’t be caught dead saying."

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you"

"You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Source Unknown
received via email

The Claddagh - Love, Friendship, Loyalty

The Claddagh is a visual portrayal of the 

eternal bond of friendship, loyalty, and love.

The Heart symbolizes love, life's finest impulse.

From it, generosity and compassion flow.

The Hands of friendship are clasped around the heart
in a gesture of giving. As they cradle the heart gently,
the hands are both protective and strong,
like true friendship.

The Crown symbolizes loyalty.
It represents the reward of love,
the highest achievement
the human spirit has yet accomplished.

To give the Claddagh is to forge forever the bonds
of love, friendship, and loyalty.

The "Second" Ten Commandments!

1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shall not borrow other people’s problems. They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to big ones.

Life Is... By Mother Teresa

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

Help For Haiti - Get involved!

This was taken from the White House Blog... Please let me know if you know of other charity options for this cause!

Help for Haiti
Posted by Jesse Lee on January 13, 2010 at 09:53 AM EST

The President has been receiving updates on the urgent situation in Haiti late into last night and this morning,  and top members of his team have been convening to formulate the government response.

You can also help immediately by donating to the Red Cross to assist the relief effort. Contribute online here, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

Families of Americans living in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888-407-4747.

Remember that even while your family may be encountering some financial hardships right now that you have a family, a home and dinner... A small donation of $10 can help insure that those affected by this catastrophic earthquake have the same!

A Simple Prayer For Hatii

Time has passed, the Wheel has turned.

It is time for me to move on.

I will walk hand in hand with the Ancient Ones,

and with my ancestors who came before me.

Great Mother, welcome me back into your womb,
I come to you and know I am blessed,
for my life has been one I am proud of.
As I enter your world, wrap me in your loving arms,
and welcome me.

Lord of Death, I wait for you to take me,
I come to you willingly, with eyes wide open,
as my last moment approaches on the horizon.
May I look upon you without fear, without pain,
and knowing that those who walked before me,
await me on the other side.

O Ancient Ones, give me strength to take these final steps,
and allow me to do so with peace and dignity.
Let my family mourn my passing but not my loss,
and let them heal knowing I will see them again.
Time has passed and the Wheel has turned.
It is time for me to move on.

 

**Dedicated to all those affected by death and sorrow due to the disastrous earthquake in Haiti... May the Gods keep them in their hearts and bless them and their loved ones with peace.

365 Ways to Live the Law Of Attraction (day 12)

The Law is Unbiased

The law of Attraction does not judge the value or worth of your thoughts. It cares not whether they are harmful or well intentioned. Nor does it value whether or not your thought arises from particular belief system. You may eschew religion and be an atheist or agnostic. Or, you may be deeply religious. Knowledge and practice of spiritual tradition (or lack there of belief) doesn't concern the working of the law. What matter is how you feel about what you are thinking.

Gratitude plays a role because of how it makes you feel. For example, when you are grateful for having something, you feel good and the thoughts of "having" and the positive feelings of "having" bring more of the same. The law always responds to what you are focusing on in your thoughts and the emotions generated in response to those thoughts, since feeling strengthens the attracting powers of thought.

Taken from the book 365 Ways to Live the Law of Attraction by Meera Lester (available in the Inspired Mama Goddess Amazon Book Store)

**My Two Cents... I happen to be someone that greatly enjoys the study of religion. Religions of all types. As for my own faith, I'm rather eclectic and hold beliefs from a number of paths. However, when I was just starting to learn about the Law of Attraction, I quickly saw the parallels between the Law and numerous religious teachings. Wicca and other forms of Paganism teach and believe in the "Three Fold Law" which simply states that everything we do comes back thrice. While many Pagan believers will tell you this only applies to Magickal workings, I believe differently. In my mind, the Law of Attraction, the Three Fold Law and even other beliefs such as Karma, are all simply translations of the same principal. We get what we give! If we are doing or thinking positive things, that's what we shall get in return, conversely, if we are acting or thinking out of negativity, we aren't going to like what returns to us...