Be Thankful

Credits to the owner of the image.

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Author Unknown

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day! 

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. 

The Letter by Newsboys

I wrote you a letter

Things could be better

Full of promises, you've got hopes and dreams

Did you get it

Have you read it

Talks about you and me

And the future, you see

Something no one can do

Is take the place of you

Can't you see you're....one of a kind

Child, you're like a star

Set apart

Set apart from the start of the world

This is your time

Rise and shine

Child, you're one of a kind

Sometimes every thing's too much

Like the deepest cut

It hurts to be touched

When you hear it

When you feel it

Don't let it have its way

I'm trying to say

Something no one can do

Is take the place of you

Oh can't you see you're...one of a kind

I know it's hard to hear promises

When the blue has turned to grey

Nobody said it was easy

But I know you'll find your way

Overcomer by Mandisa

Staring at a stop sign

Watching people drive by

T Mac on the radio

Got so much on your mind

Nothing's really going right

Looking for a ray of hope

Whatever it is you may be going through

I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you

You're an overcomer

Stay in the fight ‘til the final round

You're not going under

‘Cause God is holding you right now

You might be down for a moment

Feeling like it's hopeless

That's when He reminds You

That you're an overcomer

You're an overcomer

Everybody's been down

Hit the bottom, hit the ground

Oh, you're not alone

Just take a breath, don't forget

Hang on to His promises

He wants You to know

The same Man, the Great I am

The one who overcame death

Is living inside of You

So just hold tight, fix your eyes

On the one who holds your life

There's nothing He can't do

He's telling You

Courage: Do you Have It?

Credits to the owner of the image.

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.” ― Aristotle

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ― Winston Churchill

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.- Atticus Finch”  (Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird)

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.” ― Mark Twain

 “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” ― Anaïs Nin

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” ― Victor Hugo 

“Courage is found in unlikely places.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

“It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Courage is grace under pressure.” ― Ernest Hemingway

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.” ― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Courage cannot be left like bones in a bag. It must be brought out and shown the light again and again, growing stronger each time. If you think it will keep for the times you need it, you are wrong. It is like any other part of your strength. If you ignore it, the bag will be empty when you need it most.” ― Conn Iggulden, Genghis: Birth of an Empire 

“We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” ― Madeleine L'Engle

“A man of courage is also full of faith.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero 

The Journey by Mary Oliver

Credits to the artist and the owner of the image.

One day you finally knew 

what you had to do, and began, 

though the voices around you 

kept shouting 

their bad advice—

though the whole house 

began to tremble 

and you felt the old tug 

at your ankles. 

"Mend my life!" 

each voice cried. 

But you didn't stop. 

You knew what you had to do, 

though the wind pried 

with its stiff fingers 

at the very foundations, 

though their melancholy 

was terrible. 

It was already late 

enough, and a wild night, 

and the road full of fallen 

branches and stones. 

But little by little, 

as you left their voices behind, 

the stars began to burn 

through the sheets of clouds, 

and there was a new voice 

which you slowly 

recognized as your own, 

that kept you company 

as you strode deeper and deeper 

into the world 

determined to do 

the only thing you could do—

determined to save

the only life you could save.

Credits to the Artist

Learning from Nelson Mandela

Credits to the owner of the image.

The legal profession entails more than just battling it out in court or receiving a favorable verdict; it's more than that, so much more. What if a lawyer is faced with a disheartening situation? When hope seems elusive, what does a lawyer do?

Nelson Mandela has undergone a lot of trying moments in his life, yet he was able to rise up and liberate his fellowmen, he did not give up nor cave in to fear. Here are some quotes that can inspire not only lawyers but everyone:

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up 

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. 

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. 

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others. 

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation. Our previous system emphasized the physical and other differences of South Africans with devastating effects. We are steadily but surely introducing education that enables our children to exploit their similarities and common goals, while appreciating the strength in their diversity.

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. 

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment 

Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place. 

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. 

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

Lawyers must keep this in mind:

I regard it as a duty which I owed, not just to my people, but also to my profession, to the practice of law, and to the justice for all mankind, to cry out against this discrimination which is essentially unjust and opposed to the whole basis of the attitude towards justice which is part of the tradition of legal training in this country. I believed that in taking up a stand against this injustice I was upholding the dignity of what should be an honorable profession.