"The ocean gives back what the ocean is given."

Wise words from a wise grandpa.

Born thus, I ask to be no other man than that I am.

From Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. Wise words? Boastful words, inviting hubris? True words, at least, I think. True of me, certainly. And therefore my motto (and no - I didn't kill my father, then marry my mother!)

I found this on the Facebook page "The Write Practice," and it motivated me to work on some projects I have been procrastinating on for a while:

"The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work."

- Augusten Burroughs

"Never underestimate the power of touch."

This is my own slice of wisdom that I always share with my physical therapy students. However, this can apply to most anybody.

Why do we like getting our hair cut? Because they touch your head.

What is the best part of getting a manicure? The hand massage.

How do you get a bigger tip as a bartender? Graze their hand with yours as you exchange the money.

Society no longer condones touching other people. But people will always crave it and be comforted by it. When you are in a profession where it is essential to the delivery of the service, you are granted a gift. Not only can you touch their skin, but you can touch their heart and sometimes even their soul. This is such a wonderful honor!

Of course, misusing touch will tilt power in other obvious ways. So behind every touch there must be careful reflection and contemplation. Use it judiciously and you can make a genuine, lasting impact on others.

Every word out of Maya Angelou's soul was rich and smoother than velvet. Things that you and I say are simply just words....she was the master. She made her audience feel. Life. Pain. Injustice. Hope. Love. Encouragement. She was passing out food for the soul. Her words came together in marvelous fashion. When she spoke you could not ignore her voice for you had to listen. Flowing words that dripped with truth and wisdom. Her voice was captivating not just in how she spoke but what she spoke of.... she had this way of leading her audience in to an enlightenment about themselves, their fellow travelers and the world in which we find ourselves. One that is not always pretty or right. We all have our trials as individuals. As a nation. As a world. One of my favorite quotes is "Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances."

The world has and continues to undergo such ugliness. Handing out so many blows of cruelness filled with hate and ignorance. We find ourselves weighted with what we have gone through on top of our own struggles. We can never let our circumstances become bigger than who we are intended to be in life.

"What's supposed to happen and what actually happens are two totally different things."

"I think we all just take turns being weird and ashamed of one another."

"If love never gives up, then why do we give up on love?"

"Normal is just a figment of our imagination."

(Quotes by me)

"Laziness creates more work."

"A place for everything and everything in its place."

(My Mother)

These stuck with me because they were said around my house a lot when I was younger.

"Practice doesn't make perfect, Practice makes progress." (My sister's elementary school music teacher)

This one just struck me, even though I was only 6 or 7 when I heard it, my sister told me what her teacher said and it has stuck with me ever since.

Seize the Day!

Live in or be in this moment!

Dont live in your past, it’s already gone.

The future isn’t here yet.

Grab hold of right now because this is what you have to forge your life forward with so make the most of the moments you have Now!

I have made it a rule not to carry over the strife of yesterday into the next day. I do my best to make peace and begin the next morning as a clean slate.