#239 "Then And Now" By Susan Pearl

The thoughts that once held me captive have now escaped me.

#238 "It Will Come And Go" By Susan Pearl

One time I was feeling nervous about an upcoming special occasion,
I kept going through the special occasion in my mind hoping it would go well,
A wonderful person noticed my nervousnes,
This person said to me, "It will be like any other day.  It will come and go."
I didn't understand these words until I was older,
And I heard it said that for every event there will be a conclusion,
So now I understand that whenever I imagine an upcoming event I should invision the conclusion of the event, also.
This has become important and helpful to me,
It helps me enjoy and appreciate the moment of the occasion because I know the event will have a conclusion,
Also, when I think of a special occasion I think about the conclusion of it and that brings into perspective that, "It will be like any other day.  It will come and go."

#237 "Take Time For The Sign" By Susan Pearl

I thought it was a two way street,
But it was a one-way dead end road,
All the signs were there in place for me to read,
But I didn't take the time to see them,
I was too excited to get where I wanted to go,
And that was all I thought I needed to know,
I missed the signs,
But the signs were not missing,
Signs that would have helped me to find a better way,
Now the signs are easy for me to see and read,
They stand out to me whenever  they come along,
And show me if my my path is going wrong,
So on a two way street is where I stay,
The road of  living a life of "give and take" with others each day,
Knowing that a change in direction can become the opportunity of a  possibility,
Whenever, down the road, only a one-way dead end would be there for me.

#236 "Real Fun" By Susan Pearl

Sometimes I think people misuse the word "fun",
They misuse the word "fun" like it is some sort of eraser,
That can erase the damage after it has been done,
And then they will say, "Oh, I was just having fun."
Like that is suppose to erase the pain,
And makes things alright again,
But real fun,
Shouldn't hurt or cause damage to anyone.

#235 "Tips for "When" and "Win" " By Susan Pearl

"When" (with the "e") is a marker in time to wait and see.("ee")-like "When we get there".
"Win" (with the "i") is to come in first for some sort of competition,- like  "to win a prize". The word "prize" is,  also, spelled with an "i".

#234 "Freedom To Be" By Susan Pearl

Sometimes I think "being free" means different things to different people,
Like "free" to take addictive substances but yet so entrapped by that lifestyle,
Like confined by a vehicle on a trip yet feeling free to see the scenery,
The freedom of thoughts daydreaming in a familiar easy chair without a care,
Freedom to me is to be me and to use my abilities to be productive and to be happy,
Without infrigement on anyone else's rights or they on mine,
For some, after meeting their responsibilities, "freedom" is having nothing pressing to do,
For others "freedom" is looking to find an opportunity of having a dream come true,
So what is "freedom" to me may not be "freedom" for you,
But the one priciple of "freedom" we do have in common in which we believe,
Is that all of us are equal,with a right for respect and dignity,
No matter the race, color or creed.

#233 "Promise And Hope" By Susan Pearl

Each day is a day of new beginnings,
New beginnings of promise and hope.
Living the promise that whatever strength we need will be there at the exact time we need it,
And having the hope that love will prevail.

#232 "Let It Shine" By Susan Pearl

There is a good happening right now,
For us to find,
It wants to shine,
And light each day we live,
With joy,
And love to give.

There are visions waiting to be seen,
That will bring hope to build a dream,
And in each of us rests,
A desire to do what is best,
So as we grow,
A good will show.

So there is a good from within,
Renewing us again and again,
To dream, to hope, to love and to give,
Seeing the true gift that we can live,
Glimmering, shimmering good from within to find,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

#231 "A Lovely Thought" By Susan Pearl

My wish for you today is to have a lovely thought,
A thought that brings enjoyment for hours,
Like a room filled with fresh cut flowers,
A thought that makes your spirits soar,
And believe more than ever before,
A thought that gives joy and peace,
And causes troubling thoughts to cease,
A lovely thought that will stay all day,
No matter what, come what may.

#230 "True Legacy" By Susan Pearl

The best of plans are put to the worst of tests,
There is no way to know which way it will go,
Until all of the facts are in,
And then with time that could even change again.

Who knows what, where or when some things begin or to end.
We just have to do what should be done when the time has come,
And if we are judged at a later date that we did fail,
All has not been lost as because time could show we did prevail.

For we did what we thought was best during a worst of tests,
And on that fact through time our true legacy rests.

#229 "Experience Can Speak" By Susan Pearl

Don't wear the words of others,
To your own self be true,
Believe that you can do it,
And follow through,
And if they say you can't,
And that there is no way,
Let them be the ones who wear ,
The words that they say,
Because experience can speak,
And it really does work this way.

#228 "Time Changed Me" By Susan Pearl

When I was young I liked the idea of being swept off of my feet by a handsome Prince on a beautiful horse and we would ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

When I was in my middle years I liked the idea of being swept off of my feet but only if I knew first where he would be taking me.

Now in my older years I want my own horse and I want to ride side by side.  I can change my mind at any time and not have major consequences because I had the Prince sign a prenuptual agreement.

#227 "Tips For Soul And Sole" By Susan Pearl

Tips for soul and sole,

Soul spelled with the "u" can mean a spiritual universal union of understanding beyond ourselves.

Sole spelled with the "e" is  the bottom of our feet from below the toes to the end of the heel.
The sole of a shoe is the bottom of the shoe.

A cobbler repairs shoes.
A cobbler ia a dessert.
"Cobbler" is spelled the same but it has different meanings.

#226 "That Is That" By Susan Pearl

I remember a high school principal.
He was a very good principal and was very respected.
He would often call for an all school assembly to meet in the gymnasium and he was a very gifted motivational speaker.
During one assembly he said he had noticed that a student had a habit of dragging a sharp pencil lead along the walls while walking from class to class.  He said he would ask for such a habit to stop.
He said that it wasn't really that big of deal but "what if everyone in the school did that" as each one walked in the hallways and would drag their pencil lead along the walls.  He asked for us to think about what a school problem that would become for the appearance of the school and the upkeep it would require.
So he said he had to stop because "what if everyone did that"  and "what is fair for one is fair for all" because "everyone is treated the same."
Now, over the years I have noticed that employers have had to dismiss an employee that may seem to be over a trivial matter but the fact is "what if everyone did it"-so it just can't be, and "that is that."

#225 "Coloring The Sky" By Susan Pearl

Imagine a teacher in a first grade classroom.
The students have bright shiny faces and paper and crayons in front of them. the students are going to color a sky and they are going to decide how everyone should color the sky.
The teacher says, "Today we are going to color the sky.  How would you like for us to color the sky?"
One student says," I think the sky should be blue."
Another students says excitedly, "I think the sky should be blue and white.  I think the white clouds look like polka dots or flufy pictures in the sky."
Another student says, "I think the sky should be a beautiful pearl gray."
"How about," exclaims another student,"grey and blue and white?"
"Let's color the sky many colors like light pinks and dark pinks and shades of purple.  It can be a sunrise sky," suggested another student.
"How about  coloringing the sky reds and golds?  It can be a sunset sky,"" said another student.
"I know," said an enthusiastic student, "I think the sky should be colored black with  tiny silver stars."
The students waited for instruction from the teacher on how to color the sky.
The teacher said," You all get to draw your favorite colors for the sky.  Isn't it wonderful that everyone gets to have his or her own favorite colors and it really is like that for each one to see and enjoy?"
A student said," The sky is really neat."  Another student said loudly, "Wow!"
The teacher smiled because she knew she had accomplished her task as a teacher and the students now had a new appreciation for the beautiful different colors of the sky as seen through their own eyes and, also, through the eyes of others, too.
That was quite a lesson for the students to learn that day.  A lesson that there's more than one way to color a sky and each way is right.

#224 "No Lie" By Susan Pearl

I don't know why,
But it is no lie,
There are some people I hang onto every word they say,
And there are some people I don't even want to exchange the time of day.

#223 "Rhyming Tips For Tow And Toe" By Susan Pearl

Rhyming tips:

Tow with the "w"---Woe is me, my car won't go.  It needs a tow.

Toe with the "e"---ends of our feet is where they grow.

#222 "Remembering Can Bring Comfort" By Susan Pearl

Sometimes when I have a hard decision to make or a difficult task to accomplish or a difficult time to go through that takes not only tremendous effort but,also, great faith and courage,
I try to remember the times before in my life when I made it through such difficulties,
Time and time again I can remember how I recognized and met a needed timely requirement and made it through to see another day and a new time,
time and time again I remember the strength (I didn't know I had)  to meet the challenge of the moment,
After so many times of "forward march" in so many ways and areas of life,
I begin to find comfort by remembering the times before,
And know the difficult task at hand will be met like all of the others had been,
It's been proven to me it will be like that and if I did it once I can do it again.

#221 "A Picture Of A Negative Consequence" By Susan Pearl

Whenever a person has a fence a gate is an important part of the fence,
A person needs a gate to have a way out and to access entry when needed,
Living with a negative consequence is like living with a broken down fence,
Unwanted things can enter and things held of value are more vulnerable and can easily leave,
Living with a negative consequence is like living with a broken down fence,
It has to be fixed, repaired and made whole again for the negative consequence to be counteracted,
The consequence of addressing a negative consequence will be a positive consequence,
And we will feel safe and things of value are taken care of in a proper and timely manner,
Good efforts will  accumulate instead of disappearing before our very eyes,
Like leaving through a broken down fence which is a picture of a negative consequence.

#220 "You Break It You Fix It Or Pay" By Susan Pearl

When we break a rule of common sense,
We will have to fix something in our life as a consequence,
Otherwise, we pay for what we broke by being foolish in different ways,
And it will be a high price to pay until common sense is restored like before.

#219 "Preparation" By Susan Pearl

In my opinion, the challenges we have met,
Prepare us for the the challenges we haven't had to face yet.

#218 "Too Much" By Susan Pearl

Certain shiny substances and materials reflect light,
Some materials, like bricks, do not reflect light,
Even this gives an opportunity for balance,
Balance is having things not too much one way or not too much the other way,
And "balance" it is a very important point of view,
Because too much of anything is not always in a person's best interest,
Life can get out of balance and it can happen real fast,
Say, for instance, the thought of a reflection,
If a person is lost in a barren or wilderness setting using a substance that reflects light
May send a signal to others, and that signal by a light reflection can become a source of finding the lost person,
However, too much reflection while driving a car can be blinding and give a instaneous setting of not being able to drive properly and being temporarily disorientated and lost,
If such a blinding reflection continued it could become dangerous for safe driving,
Too much reflection can cause problems and right amount of reflection can solve a problem,
Too much of anything can drive us off the road in life,
And it can happen real fast.

#217 "Tips For Soar And Sore" By Susan Pearl

Soar with the "a" is what airplanes do.  An airplane will soar across the sky.
Sore with the "e" is an "ouchee".

#216 "Balanced Choices" By Susan Pearl

I like spontaneity and I like routine,
My life is balanced somewhere in between.
So somewhere is a good place to be,
At least it has been for me.
No extremes of being only one way or being only the other,
But somewhere in between seems the best way to be,
Instead of one choice or two choices I really do have three,
And choices add to the quality of life so in between is the choice for me.