Let's Talk About Words

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature ." -Anne Frank    Today in Chicago , Illinois, the temperature is predicted to reach 50 degrees when we have been having below average temperatures. As soon as I am off of work, I am finally going for a walk outside because I agree with Anne Frank's quote. I can find myself when I get lost in nature . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings ." -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart     Asking other people for advice is a common endeavor. When I am faced with a decision or I encounter a problem, why not ask my friends and family members for advice? Nothing is wrong with that except that it can distract me from learning my own lessons and listening to my own heart. I can request other's opinions, but I need to understand my own intuition . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Everything's got a moral , if only you can find it." -Lewis Carroll     It is difficult sometimes to understand the meaning behind everything that happens in life . Sometimes it is even hard to comprehend why we do many of the things that we do in life . The important part is in the trying. We should try to understand why we make the choices that we make, as well as, try to understand what we feel is the purpose of our lives . Our morals guide our choices . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    Norman Vincent Peale said, "Change your thoughts and you change your world." Generally speaking, I love life . I enjoy my job; my children and my family bring me happiness; I feel healthy, and I am active. There are things in my life though, just like everyone else's, that make me sad, that make me question the choices I am making and the life that I am living. I am going to follow Norman's advice, and think happy thoughts for the rest of the day and maybe all week. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -Marcel Proust   Other people can really influence our life by how they treat us; whether they use care or stomp all over us. I am a big believer in not letting other's impact how we live, yet sometimes we can only control our response to them. I am writing a book called Growing Flowers that addresses the issue of how flowers , as well as people, can thrive and grow under adverse conditions. We are all flowers .     Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"So divinely is the world organized that every one of us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe     Science has never been one of my favorite subjects in school although many scientific concepts amaze me. I read once that the beating of a butterfly's wings in the Amazon can influence the formation of a tornado in Texas.  I don't understand how, yet I believe it. I think that all of life is interconnected; everything that we do and say effects other's lives. Science can explain mysteries, but for me it is just enough to know that it can. I don't need to understand how.  Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    C.S. Lewis said, " Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another,'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" Many people say that opposites attract, which may be true, but I think in order to be happy in friendship or in love, it is important to be compatible . I want to spend my free time with other people that like to read, hike and go to movies. Occasionally, I may step out of my interests and do something that others enjoy, yet I want to spend my free time doing what I enjoy. Compatibility is important to me. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort , that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." -M. Scott Peck       The truth is that when my life is going well, I get lazy and put off following my dreams. Trouble and problems force me to change my life and pursue my passions. Discomfort can lead to happiness. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    Chief Tecumseh said, "When you arise in the morning , give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself." Whether life is causing you sadness or happiness, there is always something to be grateful for. I may often struggle with money, yet I never go without food or shelter. I have three wonderful children and a job that I love. I am also thankful that every morning is a new opportunity; another chance to follow my dreams. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him." -Booker T. Washington     As my daughters get older, I give them more opportunities to make their own choices. They receive a later curfew every year, are able to choose all of their electives in high school, and even senior year, they are able to decide when they miss school. The summer before they start college, they actually have no curfew as long as I know they are safe. I want them to make their own decisions, and show them that I trust them. Life is hard without trust . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Not truth, but faith it is that keeps the world alive." -Edna St. Vincent Millay    For me, faith is not simply believing that everything will work out as I would like it to. Faith instead is the understanding that there is purpose and meaning to the life that I am living and the situations that I encounter, even the negative ones. I make a choice every day to believe . Faith just is, you cannot learn it. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

   Pablo Picasso said, "Every child is an artist . The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." I am fortunate to be an infant teacher so I am privileged every week to see the children express themselves creatively. They display so much joy and happiness as they paint and draw. It is sad to think that at some point, they will stop enjoying it or just stop because others tell them that they are not good enough. I wish we could be more like babies because infants express themselves freely. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses." -Dale Carnegie     Although my daughter, Sydney, learned in her Environmental Science class at school that animals can, indeed, be unhappy, this quote is interesting to me on many levels. In one way, animals seem to find joy in simple things like in a good bone. They also can bring happiness to others simply be being. Even though animals that are abused or in captivity can be sad, generally animals are happy creatures. We can learn from animals . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." -Herb Albright    I don't care about annoying other people, but I would like to be the type of person that chooses to be positive even when faced with problems. And I do mean positive, not happy, since acting happy would be pretending. I want to look at adversity in my life with a glass half full attitude. There are times that I fall into the "why me" or "poor me" trap, yet I try to look at the positives . Negativity is a choice. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you had everything to do, and you've done it," according to Margaret Thatcher. I am  satisfied when I have had a day with my daughters or following my dreams and passions . As I near the age of fifty, I am more determined than ever to spend my days doing things that make me happy . I still will do stuff that my loved ones enjoy at times because that makes me happy too, but I refuse to spend each and every day making others happy instead of myself. I chose to be satisfied today. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com