4. Sarah Kay/ If I should have a daughter/ http://on.ted.com/f0OAX 5. Andrew Solomon: How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are / http://on.ted.com/j0OYg
Beautiful poems
You have the power to fly "Be like the bird who, halting in her flight, On boughs too slight, Feels them give way beneath her, Yet sings, knowing she hath wings." - Victor Hugo
Desiderata - Words for Life Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
-Max Ehrmann
THE GUEST HOUSE This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
- Jelaluddin Rumi
The Journey 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 the 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- determine to save the only life you could save.
-Mary Oliver
Songs to motivate and inspire
1. Xavier Rudd/ Follow the Sun 2. Ben Howard/ Keep your head up 3. Trevor Hall/ Good Rain 4. Michael Franti & Spearhead/ Have a Little Faith 5. Alternate Routes/ Nothing More 6. Jimmy Cliff/ I Can See Now 7. Bob Marley/ Redemption Song 8. Nahko and Medicine For the People/ Aloha Ke Akua 9. Passenger/ Scare Away the Dark 10 John Butler Trio/ Spring to Come 11. Zac Brown Band/ Free 12. Tina Malia & Shimshai/ Shine 13. Pearl Jam/ Just Breathe 14. Snatam Kaur/ Ong Namo 15. Ken Boothe/ Everything I Own 16. Jason Mraz/ Living in the Moment 17. Imagine/ Jack Johnson 18. Matisyahu/ One Day 19. Sia/ Breathe Me 20. Richie Havens/ Let it Be