Let's Talk About Words

   I love in the book and movie The Fault in our Stars when Augustus asks Hazel what her story is. When she begins to tell him about her trials with cancer, he stops her and says that he wants to hear her real story, the story about her, not her illness. I meet too many people that define themselves by the sadness, pain and illness of their lives. Unfortunately we all have experienced some pain in our lives, some more than others, but why let that be all that we are? Think about your story. If someone asked you to tell it, where would you start; what would you say? https://www.facebook.com/ susanmarie.schulhof.7?ref=h l http:// susanmarieschulhof.blogspot .com/

   As I look upon this year of blogging, I have learned so much about myself and about life. The beauty of life, I have found, is not in the beauty that we can see, but in the beauty that we can feel. The beauty of a simple joy that comes from truly living life. Thank you to everyone that has read my blog this past year. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

" Change before you have to." -Jack Welch Sometimes in life, we resist change so much that we have it thrust upon us. We lose our jobs; a relationship ends; we face a health crisis. Don't wait to be forced into changing your life;  initiate the change . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    Simone de Beauvoir said, "Live with no time out." You can not stop time so keep living life . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead to an understanding of ourselves." -Carl Gustav Jung     As a psychology major, this idea intrigues me. I once read that others are a reflection of ourselves, a mirror so to speak. What can I learn when people lie and are dishonest, about myself? I know that I am always truthful with others, so why does it bother me so much. Am I lying to myself about something? Do I just need to learn to remove those people from my life? Thoughts to ponder. Can I see others flaws in myself? Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"What we need is not the will to believe , but the wish to find out." -Bertand Russell I think that this is true of many things in life. We need to want to learn; to chose to understand, and to intend to discover the meaning in all areas of living. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    "The story of love is not important- what is important is that one is capable of love . It is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity," according to Helen Hayes. I have loved and lost; been full of joy as well as full of sadness; have laughed and cried, but I still keep myself open to possibilities. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Don't find fault, find a remedy." -Henry Ford How true are those words? It is easy to pick apart and criticize others, but how about finding a solution to the problem instead. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow." -H.G. Wells    I can usually keep things in  perspective in my life. When I am tempted to feel sad over the trials in my life, I just remember that everything changes. What hurts today, may heal tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"What is the best...to laugh with someone because you think the same things are funny." -Gloria Vanderbilt Have you ever been in a movie theater when everyone is laughing in unison? That to me makes the big world we live in, feel smaller. Similarities unite us. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    Shirley MacLaine said, "I'm in love with the potential of miracles . For me the safest place is out on a limb." I never venture into areas of risk  that put me in physical danger, yet I like to  take chances in my life. Once I did that, I opened my life to miracles. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    W. Somerset Maugham said, "The unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones." I am not sure if this is true, yet it does take at least six weeks to form a habit and maybe even longer to stay a routine. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world." -Arthur Schopenhauer Don't mistake your own limitations for the limits of God . With God, all things are possible. See no limits . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

     According to Fyodor Dostoyevski, "The soul is healed by being with children ." I have always wanted to be a mother. Even though raising my daughters has been much more difficult than I could ever imagine, it has brought me immense joy and happiness. It fills me with a love for them that cannot be contained. It taught me about myself, about life and about a happiness that can not be described with words. Being a mother has indeed healed my soul because my children fill me with a love that just keeps increasing. Children=love . Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

Epictetus," No great thing is created suddenly." Keep striving and reaching. Dreams take time to create. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain." -Andre Maurois Look at your life, and see what you really want.  Keep an open mind. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience." -Henry Miller Change your life; try something different. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"A beauty is a woman you notice; a charmer  is one who notices you." -Adlai Stevenson     It is nice to learn about others, but it is better when others want to learn about us too. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

     "Those that are afraid of bad luck will never know good," according to a Russian proverb. If we are afraid to try, we will never learn. Fear and ignorance are never good excuses to give up. Learn, learn, learn in life. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

     George Bernard Shaw said, " Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world ." Often in life our perception of the world and of others is influenced by our own experiences and ideas. Take off that lens and see others clearly. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com