"What does love mean?"

''Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them and you have found a lover for life.''
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's Love."
Rebecca - age 8
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 5
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
Nikka - age 6
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.  The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

1. Your presence is a present to the world.
2. You're unique; one of a kind.
3. Your life can be what you want it to be.
4. Take the days just one at a time.
5. Count your blessings, not your troubles.
6. You'll make it through whatever comes along.
7. Within you are so many answers.
8. Understand, have courage, be strong.
9. Don't put limits on yourself.
10. So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
11. Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
12. Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.
13. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
14. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
15. Don't take things too seriously.
16. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
17. Remember that a little love goes a long way.
18. Remember that a lot goes forever.
19. Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
20. Life's treasures are people -- together.
21. Realize that nothing is ever too late.
22. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
23. Have health and hope and happiness.
24. Take the time to wish upon a star

Learning to trust your higher self.

We all have different opinions. You have the right to yours and I have the right to mine. No matter what goes on in this world, the only thing you can work on is what is right for you. You have to get in touch with your inner guidance because it is the wisdom that knows the answer for you. It’s not easy to listen to yourself when your friends and family are telling you what to do. Yet, all the answers to all the questions you are ever going to ask are within you now.
Every time you say, “I don’t know,” you shut the door to your own inner wisdom. The messages you get from your Higher Self are positive and supportive of you. If you start getting negative messages, then you are working from ego and your human mind level, and even perhaps your imagination, although positive messages often come to us through our imagination and our dreams.
Support yourself by making the right choices for you. When in doubt, ask yourself, “Is this a decision that is loving for me? Is this right for me now?” You may make another decision at some later point, a day, a week, or a month later. But ask yourself these questions in each moment.
As we learn to love ourselves and trust our Higher Power, we become co-creators with the Infinite Spirit of a loving world. Our love for ourselves moves us from being victims to being winners. Our love for ourselves attracts wonderful experiences to us. Have you ever noticed that people who feel good about themselves are naturally attractive? They usually have a quality about them that is just wonderful. They are happy with their lives. Things come to them easily and effortlessly.
Who are you? What did you come here to learn? What did you come here to teach? We all have a unique purpose. We are more than our personalities, our problems, our fears, and our illnesses. We are far more than our bodies. We are all connected with everyone on the planet and with all of life. We are all spirit, light, energy, vibration, and love, and we all have the power to live our lives with purpose and meaning.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.  Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.  Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future.  By living your life one day at a time, you live all of the days of your life.

Do not give up when you still have something to give.  Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.  It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks.  It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.  The quickest way to receive love is to give love.  The fastest way to lose love is too hold it too tightly.  In addition, the best way to keep love is to give it wings
Do not dismiss your dreams.  To be without dreams is to be without hope.  To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going.  Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.