Influence
Drop a pebble in the water,
And its ripples reach out far;
And the sunbeams dancing on them
May reflect them to a star.
Give a smile to someone passing,
Thereby making his morning glad;
It may greet you in the evening
When you own heart may be sad.
Do a deed of simple kindness;
Through its end you may not see,
It may reach, like widening ripples,
Down a long eternity.
By Joseph Norris
Drop a pebble in the water,
And its ripples reach out far;
And the sunbeams dancing on them
May reflect them to a star.
Give a smile to someone passing,
Thereby making his morning glad;
It may greet you in the evening
When you own heart may be sad.
Do a deed of simple kindness;
Through its end you may not see,
It may reach, like widening ripples,
Down a long eternity.
By Joseph Norris
Try Smiling
When the weather suits you not,
Try smiling.
When your coffee isn’t hot,
Try smiling.
When your neighbors don’t do right,
Or your relatives all fight,
Sure ’tis hard, but then you might
Try smiling.
Doesn’t change the things, of course -
Just smiling.
But it cannot make them worse -
Just smiling.
And it seems to help your case,
Brightens up a gloomy place,
Then, it sort o’ rests your face -
Just smiling.
By Clarence L. Burgderfer: “The Man with the Smile Worthwhile” (1909); type of work: brochure
Clarence Lewis Burgderfer was born on 5 December 1878 in Carson City, Michigan, United States of America. He was married to Mabel Martin in September 1899. Mr. Burgderfer became an entertainer, a humorist, and a storyteller. Clarence Lewis Burgderfer passed on at 74 years of age on 29 June 1953.
When the weather suits you not,
Try smiling.
When your coffee isn’t hot,
Try smiling.
When your neighbors don’t do right,
Or your relatives all fight,
Sure ’tis hard, but then you might
Try smiling.
Doesn’t change the things, of course -
Just smiling.
But it cannot make them worse -
Just smiling.
And it seems to help your case,
Brightens up a gloomy place,
Then, it sort o’ rests your face -
Just smiling.
By Clarence L. Burgderfer: “The Man with the Smile Worthwhile” (1909); type of work: brochure
Clarence Lewis Burgderfer was born on 5 December 1878 in Carson City, Michigan, United States of America. He was married to Mabel Martin in September 1899. Mr. Burgderfer became an entertainer, a humorist, and a storyteller. Clarence Lewis Burgderfer passed on at 74 years of age on 29 June 1953.
Suppose
Suppose your mind a garden were,
All ready for the spring,
And everything you planted there
Would soon be blossoming.
Suppose that evil thoughts were weeds
That rankly grew apace,
And every dream of selfish deeds
Should blossom in disgrace;
While every impulse to be kind,
To ease some other’s woes.
Should bud and blossom in your mind
A fair and fragrant rose.
Suppose that every idle whim.
And every thought of scorn.
Should find its fruitage in a grim
And poison-laden thorn;
While every purpose to uplift
Your soul from sordid ways
Should burst into a snow-white drift
Of tender lily-sprays.
’Tis surely with no danger fraught
Supposing things like this -
And maybe here’s a seed of thought
To flower forth in bliss.
by John Kendrick Bangs: “Songs of Cheer” (1910); type of work: collected poems by a single author in book form
John Kendrick Bangs was born on 27 May 1862 in Yonkers, New York, United States of America. He became a writer, a satirist, an editor, and a lecturer. John Kendrick Bangs passed on at 59 years of age on 21 January 1922 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America.
Suppose your mind a garden were,
All ready for the spring,
And everything you planted there
Would soon be blossoming.
Suppose that evil thoughts were weeds
That rankly grew apace,
And every dream of selfish deeds
Should blossom in disgrace;
While every impulse to be kind,
To ease some other’s woes.
Should bud and blossom in your mind
A fair and fragrant rose.
Suppose that every idle whim.
And every thought of scorn.
Should find its fruitage in a grim
And poison-laden thorn;
While every purpose to uplift
Your soul from sordid ways
Should burst into a snow-white drift
Of tender lily-sprays.
’Tis surely with no danger fraught
Supposing things like this -
And maybe here’s a seed of thought
To flower forth in bliss.
by John Kendrick Bangs: “Songs of Cheer” (1910); type of work: collected poems by a single author in book form
John Kendrick Bangs was born on 27 May 1862 in Yonkers, New York, United States of America. He became a writer, a satirist, an editor, and a lecturer. John Kendrick Bangs passed on at 59 years of age on 21 January 1922 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America.
Persevere
The fisher who draws in his net too soon,
Won’t have any fish to sell;
The child who shuts up his book too soon,
Won’t learn any lessons well.
If you would have your learning stay,
Be patient, - stick with it and hold fast:
The man who travels a mile each day,
May get round the world at last.
By Author Unknown
The fisher who draws in his net too soon,
Won’t have any fish to sell;
The child who shuts up his book too soon,
Won’t learn any lessons well.
If you would have your learning stay,
Be patient, - stick with it and hold fast:
The man who travels a mile each day,
May get round the world at last.
By Author Unknown
Steps To Happiness
Everybody Knows:
You can’t be all things to all people.
You can’t do all things at once.
You can’t do all things equally well.
You can’t do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.
So:
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of ‘being you.’
Then:
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you’ll be a most vital mortal.
Dare To Believe:
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.
By Author Unknown
Everybody Knows:
You can’t be all things to all people.
You can’t do all things at once.
You can’t do all things equally well.
You can’t do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s.
So:
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of ‘being you.’
Then:
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you’ll be a most vital mortal.
Dare To Believe:
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.
By Author Unknown
True Success
I hope my achievements in life shall be these:
That I will have fought for what was right and fair,
that I will have risked for that which mattered,
that I will have given help to those who were in need . . .
That I will have left the Earth a better place
for what I’ve done and who I’ve been.
By C. Hoppe
Carl Thomas Hoppe was born on 22 August 1897 in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America. He became a salesman in a department store and an impressionist landscape painter. Carl Thomas Hoppe passed on at 83 years of age on 15 January 1981 in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America.
I hope my achievements in life shall be these:
That I will have fought for what was right and fair,
that I will have risked for that which mattered,
that I will have given help to those who were in need . . .
That I will have left the Earth a better place
for what I’ve done and who I’ve been.
By C. Hoppe
Carl Thomas Hoppe was born on 22 August 1897 in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America. He became a salesman in a department store and an impressionist landscape painter. Carl Thomas Hoppe passed on at 83 years of age on 15 January 1981 in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America.
Dream Big
If there was ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing, it is now. Not for any grand cause, necessarily . . . but for something that tugs at your heart, something that’s your inspiration, something that’s your dream.
You owe it to yourself to make your days here count. Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch. Dream big. Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easy. There will be good days. And there will be bad days. There will be times when you want to turn around, pack it up, and call it quits. Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself, that you are not afraid to learn by trying.
Persist. Because with an idea, determination, and the right tools, you can do great things. Let your instincts, your intellect, and your heart, guide you.
Trust. Believe in the incredible power of the human mind. Of doing something that makes a difference. Of working hard. Of laughing and hoping. Of lazy afternoons. Of lasting friends. Of all the things that will cross your path this year.
The start of something new brings the hope of something great. Anything is possible. There is only one you. And you will pass this way only once. Do it right. Do it right now.
By Author Unknown
If there was ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing, it is now. Not for any grand cause, necessarily . . . but for something that tugs at your heart, something that’s your inspiration, something that’s your dream.
You owe it to yourself to make your days here count. Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch. Dream big. Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easy. There will be good days. And there will be bad days. There will be times when you want to turn around, pack it up, and call it quits. Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself, that you are not afraid to learn by trying.
Persist. Because with an idea, determination, and the right tools, you can do great things. Let your instincts, your intellect, and your heart, guide you.
Trust. Believe in the incredible power of the human mind. Of doing something that makes a difference. Of working hard. Of laughing and hoping. Of lazy afternoons. Of lasting friends. Of all the things that will cross your path this year.
The start of something new brings the hope of something great. Anything is possible. There is only one you. And you will pass this way only once. Do it right. Do it right now.
By Author Unknown
Each Day Is A Gift
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised, and dignified lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room . . . just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”
She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from it what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in your bank of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memories bank. I am still adding to it.”
By Author Unknown
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised, and dignified lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room . . . just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”
She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from it what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in your bank of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memories bank. I am still adding to it.”
By Author Unknown
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
By Edgar A. Guest
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
By Edgar A. Guest
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
There Is A Difference
There is cause for many stings,
In the way some folks do things,
Some go at it “hammer ‘n’ tongs,”
Some with curses, some with songs;
But to each some trait belongs,
Some have soured on everything,
Can’t find aught without a sting,
There are others not so sour,
Who find on every thorn a flower,
And for good they are a power,
As I’ve traveled life’s pathway,
I’ve found grumbling doesn’t pay,
Of the kicker folks have tired;
He’s no longer much admired,
From good company he’s been “fired,”
As I walk along the street,
I look for the good and sweet,
All the sour ones I pass by,
And the only reason why -
I couldn’t like them if I’d try,
So, my friend, take my advice,
Don’t let me have to tell you twice,
If you would ever happy be,
Don’t be sour with all you see,
But be joyous, happy and free.
By William Henry Dawson
There is cause for many stings,
In the way some folks do things,
Some go at it “hammer ‘n’ tongs,”
Some with curses, some with songs;
But to each some trait belongs,
Some have soured on everything,
Can’t find aught without a sting,
There are others not so sour,
Who find on every thorn a flower,
And for good they are a power,
As I’ve traveled life’s pathway,
I’ve found grumbling doesn’t pay,
Of the kicker folks have tired;
He’s no longer much admired,
From good company he’s been “fired,”
As I walk along the street,
I look for the good and sweet,
All the sour ones I pass by,
And the only reason why -
I couldn’t like them if I’d try,
So, my friend, take my advice,
Don’t let me have to tell you twice,
If you would ever happy be,
Don’t be sour with all you see,
But be joyous, happy and free.
By William Henry Dawson
