Making a Short Story Long....

...I do that a lot. So here we go! 

A few years ago, I met one of the most incredible human being I believe I will ever meet in this lifetime. We met in a chicken shack. That’s not really relevant to the story, but it does prove that greatness is everywhere. Anyway, I cherish him to no end. Life gets interrupted and we must run our daily course. As such, roughly three years have passed since we have been in the same room and maybe, at best, a half a dozen emails were exchanged during that time. Nevertheless, I emailed him (everybody know I don’t use the telephone) to tell him about this blog. He responded with the type of wisdom and humor I have come to expect from him. True to who we are to each other, it appeared as if time had not passed at all. Since last night, he has been heavy on my mind and I decided to take a walk down nostalgia lane. I dug into the stored/saved envelope of my emails, knowing that there was a treasure waiting for me. See, part of who we were/are to each other was/is a source of inspiration during the path of everyday living. In my inbox from my friend were a plethora of the most amazing quotes and life lessons put into words.  Whether deliberately or arbitrarily, he would send me quotes that helped me focus, attempt to claim sanity, and rejoice in the air of each day. From this cornucopia of wisdom, I opted to select a few of my favorites to share.  On the micro level, I share these selected quotes as a way to pay homage to this friendship that continues to grow despite not being watered regularly. On the macro level, I share them because it would be extremely selfish of me to keep the joy and knowledge extracted from these quotes all to myself.  As the wise Khalil Gibran penned, “In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures.”  This is my contribution, my friends, to the “sharing of pleasure” part for today. 

Indulge and Enjoy,

Caz

 If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

-Chinese Epigram

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

–Leo Buscaglia

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

-Rabindranath Tagore

Why should I? When somebody insulted Caruso, did he sing an aria for them?

Explaining why he did not hit a motorist after the latter abused him following an accident.

-- Joe Louis (1914-1981) American Heavyweight Boxer

“Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is servingyour own evolution.”

-Deepak Chopra

I'm looking forward to looking back on all this.

-Sandra Knell

AND THIS IS MY ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE AND ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE TO ME AS A PARENT!

Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.

-E.M. Forster