Life gives us so much time to collect bizarre thoughts and feelings. - -Claire Weekes As we go through life, we run into all kinds of negative messages: teasing on the school bus, insulting nicknames, and other put-downs. Pretty soon we may discover that some of these messages stick in our minds, repeating themselves over and over like broken records. These messages can make us feel bad about ourselves. But when we hear one of these tapes playing inside us, we have the power to push the STOP button. Then we can record a new message. We can even say it out loud, so that our voice settles emphatically into our thoughts. We can't make others stop saying these things, but we can stop listening to them. They only have power over us when we give it to them. We have the ability and freedom to let negative thoughts float by us, like water going downstream. What positive message can I send to myself?

It is hard for us at times to understand the misfortunes that befall us when we are doing the very best we know how, to live right by both God and man. It is only in times that try men's souls that the soul develops and grows stronger. Like a muscle, it develops with hard work. If you would produce an exceptional rose, you must prune the brush of every budding branch so that all the strength goes into the single bloom. Its not what the bush would want, but it develops the perfection in the rose you desire.