Thought for today

Saturday, April 02, 2011

There are five things that you cannot recover in life:

(1) The Stone..........after it's thrown

(2) The Word............after it's said,
(3) The Occasion......after it's missed, and

(4) The Time.............after it's gone.
(5) A person.............after they die

It was part of one of those chain emails and I retrieved this.
No mention of an author. It really set me thinking that I need
to rethink my goals and way of living. Reach out to loved ones
is a must.

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Origins of April Fools Day

Thursday, March 31, 2011

My local paper had this article under
Interesting facts. WHERE DID APRIL FOOLS DAY COME FROM?
There are so many possibilities, here are three of them:

Originally, New Year Day's was April 1. Later, when the Church changed
the calendar, they also changed the date for the first of the year. However,
some people continued using April 1 as the date of the New Year. These
people were referred to as "April Fools".

OR in the early Roman calendar April 1 was the first day of Spring, the
spring equinox, and before 154 BC it was New Year's day. Many celebrations
of many cultures observed the day as the coming of the renewal of the earth
and life. There would be sacrifices and gifts given to the gods. When the
Christians came into power in the Roman Empire, they created a celebration
we call Easter that replaced the spring rituals. The old celebrations were and
made fun of. And people who observed were persecuted. This was a chance to
make fun of those who not not follow the correct beliefs. This is where April
Fool's Day, where we can make anyone feel foolish.

OR in 1564, King Charles IX decreed that with the adoption of the Gregorian
calendar, New Year's Day be moved to January 1 from what was April 1 and
those that celebrated the Old New Year's Day on April 1 were fools.

In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril". French children fool
their friends by taping a paper fish to their friend's backs. When the "young
fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d'Avril"(April Fish).

Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realises what
has happened to them. Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to
harm anyone. The most clever April Fool joke is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke is played".

I hope today April 1 means that Spring is not far away in the Northern
hemisphere. My wish is for everyone to have a great April.

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Thought for the day

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Blessed are those who
can give without remembering
and take without forgetting".
-Princess Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco
1897 - 1945
English writer.

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Quotes to ponder

Thursday, March 24, 2011

"You cannot live on hope alone
But without hope life is not worth living".
-Harvey Milk

"Walking with a friend in the dark
is better than walking alone in the light".
-Helen Keller

"I want, by understanding myself,
to understand others.
I want to be all that I am capable
of being".
-Katherine Mansfield

"What is defeat? Nothing but education;
nothing but the first step to something better".
-Wendell Phillips

"A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step".
-Chinese proverb

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Friendship

Friday, March 18, 2011

I have just realised how lucky I am that I
have been able to keep in touch with so many
friends over the years. Over the last 50 years
I have really valued my friends as I found
that when there was no family around, my
friends were there for me.

Over the years we have shared tears, laughter
weddings/divorces, children, grandchildren and
now age related health issues. The sharing and
being there for each has not only enriched my life
but has made me a better person.

When I was leaving Canada in 1974, my room-mate
Barbi gave me a little card and I often look at the
beautiful words she wrote.

"For without words, in friendship,
All thoughts, all desires, all expectations,
are born and shared,
with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend,
you grieve not;
For that which you love
most in him may be clearer in his absence,
as the mountain is clearer
from the plain".
- Kahil Gibran
Then she added that he says it better than she
ever could and promised to stay in touch. I was
very blessed to catch up with her and her husband
at the staff re-union in Banff Canada 4 years ago.
18 months ago she came to visit her daughter who
is engaged to an Australian guy and lives 10 minutes
away from me. How's that for co-incidence?

Friends are forever and I am so blessed to have
them in my life. If anyone likes the poem, I have a
feeling it is from Kahil Gibran's "The Prophet".

Friends are worth cultivating and keeping.
Now I am so lucky to have new Spark friends too.

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