the four letter word...

Sometimes people come into your life and you know
right away that they were
meant to be there. To serve some sort of purpose,
teach you a lesson or
help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be but when you
lock eyes with them, you
know that very moment that they will affect your life
in some profound way.
And sometimes things happen to you at the time that
may seem horrible,
painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that
without overcoming
those obstacles you would have never realized your
potential, strength, will
power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by
chance or by means of
good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true
greatness and sheer
stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul.
Without these small
tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight,
flat road to nowhere.
Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes
and downfalls that you
experience can create who you are, and the bad
experiences can be learned
from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and
important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your
heart, forgive them because
they have helped you learn about trust and the
importance of being cautious
to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally,
not only because they
love you, but because they are teaching you to love
and to open your heart
and eyes to little things. Make every day count.

Appreciate every moment and take from it everything
that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before, and
actually listen. Let
yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights
high.

Hold your head up because you have every right to.
Tell yourself you are a
great individual and believe in yourself, for if you
don't believe in
yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your
own life and then go
out and live it.

"If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see are obstacles."