quote of the day: joy is one of the only emotions you can't contrive.
it is said that money can't buy you happiness. but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up alongside it. from my point of view, it is absolutely correct. money can't buy anything more valuable than your friends, family, loved ones, etc. i can dream of buying an entire wardrobe worth of eminem's albums, but i can't dream of having the one special feeling towards someone in a particular moment twice. Robin Williams said that comedy is acting out optimism and Jennifer Anniston said that there's nothing better than contagious laughter. life isn't just about buying things, emptying your hard earned pockets full of cash on materialistic things. you can say that the iPhone achieved the Gadget of the Year 2008, but if you want to achieve the Greatest Caregiver of the Year, is a different question entirely. Happiness comes when you start giving, sharing, making love, abolishing war and prejudice.
the reward of conformity was that everyone liked you but yourself.
you may think i'm a nuisance, a pain, whatever. but im not just saying this without thought. i love my life. i appreciate what my friends have done for me. i hate the way they annoy me, but when i look back, i would just smile or laugh. Dennis Miller once said "Just be good and kind to your children. Not only are they the future of the world, they're the ones who can sign you into the home". it really reflects how humans act to their family, friends, parents and strangers around them. i recall taking a glance at this bumper sticker on a passing van which said : " be good to your kids. they choose your nursing homes."
take integrity over popularity and you'll always be cool.
ever tried eyeing an item on display on a shop window and waiting 2 weeks later before you make a decision to purchase it or not? i have. once i looked at this video game, thought that it was really cool. two hours later i made a de-tour back to the store, looked at it once more and said to myself: "that is so lame." the human mind works in a very queer manner. sometimes, temptation makes you do things that you actually dont need or want. the only reason why i read the reader's digest every month is only because of the hilarious that people send in. i was flipping the magazine a few minutes ago and this particular joke really caught my eye and sent me off pondering. here it goes: "my three year old great-granddaughter learned the expensive, and she was using it to describe everything. i had to ask. 'Sweetheart, do you know what expensive means?' 'Yes', she said. 'it means you dont need it.' See? when you think that something looks great for a second, look back and think carefully. actually, you don't really need it.
celebrate what you have accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.