Suppose someone gave you a pen

Suppose someone gave you a pen - a sealed, solid-colored pen.

You couldn't see how much ink it had. It might run dry after the first few tentative words or last just long enough to create a masterpiece （or several） that would last forever and make a difference in the scheme of things. You don't know before you begin. Under the rules of the game, you really never know. You have to take a chance ！

Actually, no rule of the game states you must do anything. Instead of picking up and using the pen, you could leave it on a shelf or in a drawer where it will dry up, unused. But if you do decide to use it, what would you do with it？ How would you play the game？ Would you plan and plan before you ever wrote a word？ Would your plans be so extensive that you never even got to the writing？ Or would you take the pen in hand, plunge right in and just do it, struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the torrents of words that take you where they take you？ Would you write cautiously and carefully, as if the pen might run dry the next moment, or would you pretend or believe （or pretend to believe） that the pen will write forever and proceed accordingly？

And of what would you write： Of love？ Hate？ Fun？ Misery？ Life？ Death？ Nothing？ Everything？ Would you write to please just yourself？ Or others？ Or yourself by writing for others？

Would your strokes be tremblingly timid or brilliantly bold? Fancy with a flourish or plain? Would you even write Once you have the pen, no rule says you have to write. Would you sketch? Scribble?Doodle or draw？ Would you stay in or on the lines, or see no lines at all, even if they were there？ Or are they？

There's a lot to think about here, isn't there？

Now, suppose someone gave you a life.

Dust and beams

It is curious that our own offenses should seem so much less heinous than the offenses of others. I suppose the reason is that we know all the circumstances that have occasioned them and so manage to excuse in ourselves what we cannot excuse in others. We turn our attention away from our own defects, and when we are forced by untoward events to consider them, find it easy to condone them. For all I know we are right to do this; they are part of us and we must accept the good and bad in ourselves together.

But when we come to judge others, it is not by ourselves as we really are that we judge them, but by an image that we have formed of ourselves fro which we have left out everything that offends our vanity or would discredit us in the eyes of the world. To take a trivial instance: how scornful we are when we catch someone out telling a lie; but who can say that he has never told not one, but a hundred?

There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of nobility and baseness. Some have more strength of character, or more opportunity, and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same. For my part, I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind, the world would consider me a monster of depravity. The knowledge that these reveries are common to all men should inspire one with tolerance to oneself as well as to others. It is well also if they enable us to look upon our fellows, even the most eminent and respectable, with humor, and if they lead us to take ourselves not too seriously.

Human Life as a Poem

I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almost reads like a poem. It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal cycles of growth and decay. It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society, with its young passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions; then it reaches a manhood of intense activities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, a mellowing of character like the ripening of fruit or the mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view of life; then In the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment; finally, life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.

One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, its strains of conflict and the final resolution. The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself. In some souls, the discordant note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody. Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jump into a river. But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over-showed through the lack of a good self-education. Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in kind of dignified movement and procession. There are sometimes in many of us too many staccatos or impetuosos, and because the tempo is wrong, the music is not pleasing to the ear; we might have more of the grand rhythm and majestic tempo o the Ganges, flowing slowly and eternally into the sea.

No one can say that life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement; the day has its morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so. There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season. And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem. Shakespeare has expressed this idea more graphically in his passage about the seven stages of life, and a good many Chinese writers have said about the same thing. It is curious that Shakespeare was never very religious, or very much concerned with religion. I think this was his greatness; he took human life largely as it was, and intruded himself as little upon the general scheme of things as he did upon the characters of his plays. Shakespeare was like Nature itself, and that is the greatest compliment we can pay to a writer or thinker. He merely lived, observed life and went away.

We Never Told Him He Couldn't Do It

My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally - but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't know he had a problem when you saw him walk . 

The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn't know.

In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn't tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.

He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn't run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn't know.

Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn't expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn't do it. We never told him he couldn't do it...so he didn't know. He just did it.

Success Once Is Enough

David McConnell sold books door-to-door. Housewives were not interested in the books and frequently slammed the door in McConnell's face before he had a chance to make his sale. Instead of giving up, McConnell decided to give away a free gift, a small vial of perfume, which he made himself. He soon discovered that the women preferred the perfume to the books. He stopped selling books and created his own company Avon, which is a great success.

When you do nothing, you learn nothing. But when you try and fail, you learn what doesn't work. That puts you one step closer to what will work. It doesn't matter how many times you fail. It does matter that you will succeed sometime.

Van Gogh had failed in several careers before he began to paint. And he did succeed.

Success once is enough for Van Gogh.

And the same for you—success once is enough.

The Llano River was dangerously close to drying up

Using a couple of brass rods and a big helping of ingenuity, one tiny Texas town has managed to subvert a drought-related crisis and bring water to the people.

The Llano River was dangerously close to drying up as Texas faces a punishing and record-breaking drought. Residents of this Hill Country town west of Austin depend on the river for their entire water supply.

It neared zero flow this week, and the city was looking at trucking in water from 20 miles away, when city leaders employed the old-fashioned "witching" technique to strike water in the limestone bedrock near the city's water treatment plant.

"It was done by the use of two brass spindles ... and you walk with them in either hand," said City Manager Finley deGraffenried.

Witching is a centuries-old practice used mainly in rural areas to find underground water. Lacking professional advice from hydrologists, many farmers walked their property holding sticks or rods that they believed would move when water was found underground. They would decide where to drill a well based on the witching results.

The National Ground Water Association, which represents the water industry, said on its website that experimental tests show the technique is totally without scientific merit and performs no better than chance. But water-starved Llano residents believe it worked.

DeGraffenried says crews were able to punch a drill through the limestone bedrock and strike water, celebrated by the residents as much as any oil gusher.

"It turned out to do quite well," he said. "It's producing 92,000 gallons a minute. It is not by any means a silver bullet, but it will allow our stored water to last us much much longer in the event the river does go to a zero flow."

Llano's test well is just one example of how Texans are responding to the punishing drought, which now encompasses some 97 percent of the state, according to a report Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Drought Monitor.

Between October and May, Texas experienced the driest eight-month period since records began in 1895.

Residents are conserving water at unmatched levels. Cities are dipping into water reserves they have hoarded for years. Companies are cutting back on operating hours to conserve the increasingly precious water supplies.

Mike Brown, who operates a gardening and yard care business in San Antonio, said more customers than ever are asking for alternatives to the water-guzzling types of grass and shrubs common in Texas for decades.

"We are going to have to educate the public for specific plant materials that grow well in this region under these types of conditions," he said. "This is becoming a new norm for us. We all have to get together and learn better practices."

Some 236 of the state's 254 counties are now banning all outdoor burning, and many cities and counties have canceled their Fourth of July fireworks due to the drought.

Llano, where the river demise has garnered statewide attention, has bypassed the typical twice-weekly lawn watering restrictions employed by most cities and banned it altogether.

A local meatpacking plant has switched from a five-day to a four-day-a-week production schedule to help conserve water. Water consumption in the town has decreased by 60 percent since the river levels dropped, deGraffenried said.

"I think people are learning to use water more wisely," he said.

The US Senate unanimously confirmed Ryan Crocker as the new ambassador to Kabul

The US Senate unanimously confirmed Ryan Crocker as the new ambassador to Kabul on Thursday, sending a veteran diplomat with vast experience in the world's hotspots to strife-torn Afghanistan.

Lawmakers approved Crocker's nomination by unanimous consent one week after President Barack Obama laid out the planned pace of the US troop draw-down from Afghanistan.

Crocker knows Afghanistan well, having been among the team that re-opened the US embassy in Kabul in 2001 after the Taliban were ousted by the US-led invasion in the wake of the September 11th terrorist strikes.

But he will still walk a delicate tightrope trying to keep ties between Kabul and Washington on an even keel as US and international forces prepare to hand over security in the war-torn nation to Afghan forces by 2014.

He will also have to coordinate the transition of Washington's mission as it moves from being a military partner with Kabul to providing civilian aid, something which promises to be a difficult task.

Crocker, a fluent Arabic speaker, has served as ambassador to Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait as well as to Pakistan, and more recently was the US envoy to Iraq, helping to forge a semblance of peace among its warring groups.

Four southern Illinois men have been charged with stealing scrap metal

Four southern Illinois men have been charged with stealing scrap metal in what is becoming a common crime in the region. Scrap metal prices are high enough right now to bring in extra cash; in several southern Illinois towns and counties, thieves are making off with metal items such as lawn furniture, farm implements, wire and anything else they can take to the scrap yard to sell.

The Southern Illinoisan reported that the Massac County Sheriff's Department had received over 20 reports within the last six months of metal thefts and arrested four men Wednesday after witnesses observed them with stolen scrap metal.
Theft of scrap metal isn't limited to just southern Illinois -- nearby St. Louis has seen plenty of theft of this type, according to St. Louis Today. Illinois has been trying to crack down on metal thefts by setting up a task force. The task force recently cited three southwestern Illinois scrap yards for not requiring photo identification of metal sellers (which is state law) in a sting operation.

Earlier this month, Madison County authorities in southwestern Illinois reported that a man was severely burned when he attempted to cut into a copper line at an electrical substation. Authorities believed he was attempting to steal the copper wire, which is a regular target of thieves hoping to cash in on scrap metal.

In my area, selling scrap metal can bring in a small bit of extra cash and I have personally, on more than once occasion, spent a few hours cleaning up my yard, barn and sheds to load up scrap metal and take it to the scrap yard. It is a simple way to make a little extra cash, especially when the economy is floundering and times are tough. It is easy to understand why thieves would target scrap metal as it is generally untraceable and in my experience, the scrap yards don't raise an eyebrow at anything that is brought to them. I have seen items such as metal lawn furniture and trailer loads full of copper wire that certainly made me suspicious.

I have actually known of empty homes in the area being stripped of all wiring by thieves and within the last few months, several homes, churches and businesses in my county were burglarized with air conditioning units stolen--for the scrap metal.

Local utility companies have urged local residents and business owners to be aware of the growing theft of scrap metal and take precautions such as locking up metal tools and items that contain copper and installing motion sensor lights on their property.

Current scrap metal prices are high enough to attract thieves who are willing to take anything that can be hauled away.

BCS executive met with 10 officials

Called in by the Department of Justice to explain how major college football crowns a champion, the head of the Bowl Championship Series spent an hour and a half making a case for the much-criticized system.

BCS executive director Bill Hancock met Thursday with 10 officials from the department's antitrust division in Washington.

Hancock said the tone of the meeting was friendly and that justice officials asked about how the BCS operates, how teams qualify to play in college football's five most lucrative bowl games, and its finances and history.

"I went into the meeting very confident that the BCS does not break the law and I came out of it confident that we explained what we do and why the BCS doesn't pose any antitrust concerns," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

The Justice Department initially raised its concerns with the NCAA about major college football's postseason system, asking why there wasn't a playoff. The department said previously there were "serious questions" about whether the BCS complies with antitrust laws.

NCAA President Mark Emmert directed the department to the BCS. So the DOJ asked for a meeting with BCS officials.

Hancock said he brought two attorneys to the meeting and that he came away from it with no sense of whether he would be hearing from the Department of Justice again. He added that the department did not request any records or documents.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Gina Talamona declined to confirm the meeting took place.

Critics and playoff proponents, such as those who formed Playoff PAC, have urged the department to investigate the BCS because they contend it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the title game and other top-tier postseason games — along with the money that comes with it.

Hancock and other BCS supporters insist the system has benefited all schools that play college football.

Under the BCS, the champions of six conferences have automatic bids to play in top-tier bowl games; the other five conferences don't. But Hancock said the BCS, which was established in 1998, has improved access to such bowls for those other five conferences.

Hancock said he told the Department of Justice that Utah's Sugar Bowl appearance after the 2008 regular season earned the Mountain West Conference $9.8 million.

"And if there had not been a BCS, Utah would have been in the Las Vegas Bowl ... and that payout was about $900,000," he said. "To be able to talk about that type of benefit was an opportunity that I was looking forward to. An opportunity I was happy to get."

Matthew Sanderson, one of the co-founders of Playoff PAC, said Hancock isn't telling the whole story about Utah and the BCS. "Mr. Hancock isn't telling us the dirty little secret — disfavored teams receive only half of a preferred team's share for playing in an identical game, and drawing an identical number of fans and TV viewers," he said.

The BCS also provides a game between its system's No. 1 vs. No. 2 to end the season, something that only occasionally happened in the old bowl setup. But critics say the way the BCS decides which teams play for the national championship is flawed.

Even if there is no federal investigation, the BCS is already under fire from at least one state. The attorney general of Utah, Mark Shurtleff, has said he plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against the BCS.

Timothy Geithner will stay in his job for the "foreseeable future"

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday he'll stay in his job for the "foreseeable future," addressing speculation he might leave the Obama administration following the current round of budget negotiations.

"I live for this work. It's the only thing I've ever done. I believe in it," Geithner said when questioned about his plans by former President Bill Clinton onstage at a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.

"We have a lot of challenges in the country and I'm going to be doing it for the foreseeable future," he said.

Geithner, 49, acknowledged the interest in his plans, noting that he'd been commuting back and forth from New York and had a son who was going to be finishing high school there. Earlier a person familiar with his thinking told The Associated Press that Geithner saw an opening to potentially leave once a deal was reached on raising the nation's borrowing limit, but the source emphasized no decisions had been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Geithner reiterated his warnings Thursday of financial chaos if the federal government's debt limit is not raised by Aug. 2. Along with other administration officials, Geithner is deep in negotiations to make it happen alongside spending cuts demanded by congressional Republicans.

Geithner has been at President Barack Obama's side since the beginning of his administration. If he did depart he would be the latest in a series of economic advisers to do so more than halfway through Obama's term, as often happens around the two-year mark of a presidency. Earlier this month the White House announced the departure of Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Prior to joining Obama's administration, Geithner served for about five years as chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a job that put him on the front lines of the central bank's efforts to battle the financial crisis and to get credit flowing more freely. He has a close working relationship with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Geithner also worked at the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration, dealing with international financial crises.

His possible departure was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Americans are portrayed as the world’s ultimate consumers, with the oversized homes, walk-in closets, overflowing storage units—and monstrous credit card bills—to prove it, writes Time.

But a new survey says that consumers in China were more than twice as likely as Americans to not only enjoy clothes shopping, but to love it.

In a recent Harris Interactive worldwide poll, residents of various countries were asked whether they liked or disliked shopping for clothes. In the U.S., 39% said that they either liked or loved hitting the shops to hunt for clothes, while 30% felt neutral and another 30% said they disliked it.

Compare that to China, where 79% get their kicks from clothes shopping. Only 3% said they disliked clothes shopping.

To top it off, China’s shoppers not only enjoy shopping more than in the U.S., but they’re consuming in a particularly conspicuous, showy fashion, says Time.

That passion for brand names comes through loud and clear, with more than 7 of 10 Chinese respondents considering brand names important in their buying decision as opposed to fewer than 3 of 10 Americans saying the same thing, according to Harris.

All said, this jives with a study released earlier in the year by CSLA (“Dipped in Gold: Luxury Lifestyles in China”) which said that “success is highly regarded,” whether you really have it or not. As crazy as this might sound, nearly 25% of people surveyed that earn around $6,500 per year (41,976 yuan) said they would be willing to splurge and spend more than $7,750 (50,000 yuan) on a watch.

Driving a Mercedes Benz and carrying a large Louis Vuitton monogram bag can be one way to show ones sophistication and good taste while wearing a four-carat diamond ring and ordering $1,550 bottles of wine is another, said the CSLA report. Unlike in the US and Europe, people in China do not show off their houses, which tend to be relatively small on global basis. It is more important to dress well and enjoy a luxurious life when you are out in public. Watches, jewelly, apparel, cars and wine are good ways to show off and gain respect.

According to CSLA, the brand that matter most include: Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Boss for fashion; Cartier, Bulgari and Montblanc for jewellry; and Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Cartier and Gucci in the miscellaneous luxury doodad and gewgaw category.

The Canadian government is selling the nuclear reactor

The Canadian government is selling the nuclear reactor division of AECL to SNC-Lavalin Group, ending the flood of money it has pumped into the loss-making unit over the past six decades.

In a long-awaited announcement, the two parties said on Wednesday SNC-Lavalin will pay state-owned Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) C$15 million ($15.4 million) plus royalties for the unit, which designs and builds nuclear reactors for generating electricity.

Reactions to the sale price and the announcement that AECL will retain past liabilities, which includes billions of dollars to cover cost overruns on reactor projects that taxpayers will have to fund, were swift and at times angry.

"I predicted AECL would go for a 'fire sale, bargain basement' price -- but C$15 million? I never thought it would go that cheap," said Green Party leader Elizabeth May in a message on Twitter.

Investors in SNC-Lavalin, Canada's biggest engineering company, will "breathe a sigh of relief" at the acquisition cost, said Maxim Sytchev, an equities analyst at NCP Northland Capital Partners.

After decades of government funding -- estimates run into the C$20 billions -- Ottawa announced in 2009 that it planned to sell off AECL's commercial reactor operations. The division suffered a net loss of C$435 million over the past two years.

The auction drew tepid interest even before the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan this past March, which punctured interest in nuclear power stations around the globe.

A handful of potential suitors and financiers, including Canadian nuclear power operator Bruce Power and Canada's OMERS pension fund, stepped up briefly in what was an ultra-secretive sales process, but all except SNC-Lavalin dropped out.

JOB LOSSES, NEW BUILDS

About 1,200 AECL employees are expected to move to Candu Energy, a newly created subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin. Candu, which is short for Canada deuterium-uranium reactor, is the name of the reactor AECL designed, built and has sold 34 of in Canada and abroad.

Opponents of the deal quickly raised concerns about job losses, a possibility Canada's natural resources minister said was a small price to pay.

"The other alternative would, of course, be the winding down of the business. And that would have meant ultimately all the employees dismissed, much more significant losses, an abandonment of current customers and damage to Canada's international reputation," Joe Oliver said at a media briefing in Toronto to announce the deal.

In a surprise development, the two parties said Candu Energy will work toward completing AECL's enhanced Candu reactor development program, known as the EC6, helped by a contribution from Ottawa of up to C$75 million.

It was widely thought that SNC-Lavalin was only interested in pursuing nuclear reactor refurbishment and maintenance contracts, not the building of new reactors.

SNC-Lavalin said Candu Energy will target new reactor projects in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as in Jordan, Romania, Argentina, Turkey and China.

The royalty payments that the government will earn will come from future new reactor construction and life-extension projects at existing power plants.

The net present value of these royalties plus the sale of AECL's inventory of heavy water reactors is C$285 million, a background note to the announcement said.

The is expected to be finalized early in the fall, subject to certain conditions including Competition Act approval.

AECL's research business, the Chalk River nuclear facility that produces isotopes for medical imaging, was not included in the deal. The government will hold on to this unit and place it under private management.

SNC-Lavalin's shares closed down 9 Canadian cents at C$56.55 on the Toronto Stock Exchange before the deal was announced.

The Senate took the rare step of curbing its own power

The Senate took the rare step of curbing its own power Wednesday, voting to no longer require Senate confirmation for 169 high-level federal jobs filled through presidential appointments.

Most of those jobs are second-tier Cabinet positions such as assistant secretaries and deputy directors that typically don't inspire partisan wrangling. Nonetheless, the nominees often hang in limbo — and the jobs go unfilled — for months because their confirmations get drawn into other fights.

The bill, passed 79-20 and sent to the House, is part of a broader bipartisan effort to make the famously fickle Senate work more efficiently.

"There is nothing wrong with the Senate doing a little prioritizing of pending business," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a co-sponsor of the legislation with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

Critics said the bill only puts a bandage on the bigger problem of a mammoth government that should, itself, be trimmed.

"We're moving to make it somewhat less accountable," said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

The Constitution gives the Senate the power to confirm nominees. The bill would remove the confirmation requirement for 169 of some 1,200 senior executive branch jobs filled by presidential appointments. Candidates for the confirmation-exempted jobs would still have to go through the same time-consuming background checks and complete financial disclosures for the White House vetting process, but no longer have to repeat the drill for the Senate, according to officials of both parties.

The Senate also voted 89-8 to pass a separate resolution that does not need House approval to streamline appointments for more than 250 part-time positions, such as seats on advisory boards.

The bill progressed Wednesday against a backdrop of calls from some Democrats for more sweeping changes in the Senate's filibuster rules, which allow the minority party — Republicans now — to slow or defeat nominations without an up-or-down vote.

Leaders of the two parties struck a "gentleman's agreement" when the Senate convened earlier this year to reduce impediments that had brought the chamber to a near-standstill. Democrats agreed to let Republicans offer more amendments in exchange for a GOP promise to conduct fewer filibusters.

The number of federal jobs requiring Senate confirmation has risen from 365 during the Kennedy administration, according to the Congressional Research Service. Most of the increase can be attributed to the creation of new departments and agencies, included the Transportation, Energy, Education and Homeland Security Departments, CRS said.

The FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Government Ethics and agency ethics officials, in addition to the president's immediate staff, are involved looking into job candidates' background.

The Senate's vetting process is far less systemized and more prone to holdups. Nominees can float in limbo for months, often because of extensive records searches, and expensive legal advice is sometimes required. The bill's advocates say the wait and potential expense often discourage potential candidates from accepting top federal jobs and impair the government's ability to draw talent from the more lucrative private sector.

In Giving I Connect with Others

I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs until my 28-year-old daughter Paula fell ill. She was in a coma for a year and I took care of her at home, until she died in my arms in December of 1992.

During that year of agony and the following year of my grieving, everything stopped for me. There was nothing to do -- just cry and remember. However, that year also gave an opportunity to reflect upon my journey and the principles that hold me together. I discovered that there is consistency in my beliefs, my writing and the way I lead my life. I have not changed, I am still the same girl I was fifty years ago, and the same young woman I was in the seventies. I still lust for life, I am still ferociously independent, I still crave justice and I fall madly in love easily.

Paralyzed and silent in her bed, my daughter Paula taught me a lesson that is now my mantra: You only have what you give. It's by spending yourself that you become rich.

Paula led a life of service. She worked as a volunteer helping women and children, eight hours a day, six days a week. She never had any money, but she needed very little. When she died she had nothing and she needed nothing. During her illness I had to let go of everything: her laughter, her voice, her grace, her beauty, her company and finally her spirit. When she died I thought I had lost everything. But then I realized I still had the love I had given her. I don't even know if she was able to receive that love. She could not respond in any way, her eyes were somber pools that reflected no light. But I was full of love and that love keeps growing and multiplying and giving fruit.

The pain of losing my child was a cleansing experience. I had to throw overboard all excess baggage and keep only what is essential. Because of Paula, I don't cling to anything anymore. Now I like to give much more than to receive. I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, my grandchildren, my mother, my dog, and frankly I don't know if they even like me. But who cares? Loving them is my joy.

Give, give, give -- what is the point of having experience, knowledge or talent if I don't give it away? Of having stories if I don't tell them to others? Of having wealth if I don't share it? I don't intend to be cremated with any of it! It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world and

The Person I'm Supposed to Be

There's a wretched place depression drags me off to after taking control of my thoughts and feelings. It's the place where the longing for relief mutes every other desire, even the desire to wake up in the morning. There are days when I wonder if I'll lose everything: my job, my relationships, my last stitch of sanity. It feels as though I'm breathing hot black smoke.

Yet I believe the same depressions that pin me to the mat so often also serve a bigger purpose in my life. They don't come empty-handed. I believe the purpose of suffering is to strengthen us and help us understand the suffering of others.

At 16, my first episode hit me hard enough to think I'd literally gone to hell. Now, at 35, when I start dreaming of haunted houses and worrying uncontrollably about the future, I know another episode is looming. I've got a week's notice, maybe two. And then it's as if I'm drifting off to exile inside myself with only a shell remaining.

It used to be that rising from the ash after the depression cleared was like resurrection. The burial over, I'd catch myself laughing or looking forward to the next day. I'd pig out at my favorite deli. But now, when I look closely, I find mental illness leaving other significant gifts in its wake — things I didn't discern when I was younger.

The discovery is like that scene from The Matrix when Neo finally comprehends his identity. Through the whole film, he's been beaten up by evil agents. But the fighting transforms him into a warrior. And at the right time, he understands and uses his power. He's peaceful, even when confronting an enemy. I believe my own years of struggling with depression have left me with similar gifts: inner strength and calm I can rely on, diminished fear and compassion.

I believe the painful nights that close in on all of us in some form are the cocoons from which we might shed our weaknesses. I believe pain tells us something critical about ourselves and life: that developing strength and empathy and bravery is more essential than our personal comfort. And when I think of it like that, I'm more willing to accept suffering on its terms.

That's important, because if my pattern holds consistent, my next episode is due to arrive soon. I live with this reality, but I'm no longer afraid of it. The depression has, in the end, equipped me for its next visit — and that's enough. Of course, I'll take my medicine. I'll talk to my gifted psychiatrist. But when the dark does come, I'll stand up and breathe deeply, knowing I'm becoming the person I'm supposed to be.

Independently produced for All Things Considered by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with Viki Merrick.

I believe that I always have a choice

I believe that I always have a choice. No matter what I'm doing. No matter where I am. No matter what is happening to me. I always have a choice.

Today I am sitting at my computer, speaking these words through a microphone. Although I have spent my life typing on a keyboard, I can no longer use my hands. Every day I sit at my computer speaking words instead of typing. In 2003, I was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease. Over time, this disease will weaken and finally destroy every significant muscle in my body. Ultimately, I will be unable to move, to speak, and finally, to breathe. Already, I am largely dependent upon others. So every day I review my choices.

Living with ALS seems a bit like going into the witness protection program. Everything I have ever known about myself, how I look, how I act, how I interact with the world, is rapidly and radically changing. And yet, with each change, I still have choice. When I could no longer type with my hands, I knew I could give up writing entirely or go through the arduous process of learning how to use voice recognition software. I'm not a young woman. This took real work. Interestingly, I write more now than ever before.

And at an even more practical level, every day I choose not only how I will live, but if I will live. I have no particular religious mandate that forbids contemplating a shorter life, an action that would deny this disease its ultimate expression. But this is where my belief in choice truly finds its power. I can choose to see ALS as nothing more than a death sentence or I can choose to see it as an invitation – an opportunity to learn who I truly am.

Even people in the witness protection program must take with them fundamental aspects of themselves which can never change. What are these aspects for me? This is what I learn every day, and so far I have discovered many unique things, but one stands out above the rest. I have discovered in myself an ability to recognize, give, and receive caring in a way far deeper than anything in my life previously. Others have seen this in me as well.

I, who have always been an intensely private and independent person, have allowed a wide circle of family and friends into the most intimate parts of my life. Previously, I would have found such a prospect appalling. I might have felt I had no choice but to embrace the assumption that living with ALS means a life of hardship and isolation. Instead, because I believe that I always have a choice, I opened myself to other possibilities. And now the very thing that at first seemed so abhorrent has graced my life with unaccustomed sweetness. It was always there. Only now I have chosen to see it. This sweetness underscores and celebrates my belief that I always have a choice.

Catherine Royce was diagnosed with ALS when she was 55. She was a dancer for 30 years and a former deputy art commissioner for the city of Boston. Royce lives in Dorchester, Mass., where the family’s dining room has been converted into her bedroom.

Independently produced for NPR's Morning Edition by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick. Production assistance from Richard Knox.

The torrential rains in the month of April, give rise to the glorious flowers in the month of May

From the golden-tipped fields of mid-west America to the ancient kingdoms of verdant Palestine, there is a happy truth to be shared with all who would take heed. In more recent times, this truth has been expressed as: April showers bring May flowers. This is a truth that promises light bursting from darkness, strength born from weakness and, if one dares to believe, life emerging from death.

Farmers all over the world know the importance and immutability of the seasons. They know that there is a season to plant and a season to harvest; everything must be done in its own time. Although the rain pours down with the utmost relentlessness, ceasing all outdoor activities, the man of the field lifts his face to the heavens and smiles. Despite the inconvenience, he knows that the rain provides the nourishment his crops need to grow and flourish. The torrential rains in the month of April, give rise to the glorious flowers in the month of May.

But this ancient truth applies to more than the crops of the fields; it is an invaluable message of hope to all who experience tragedy in life. A dashed relationship with one can open up the door to a brand new friendship with another. A lost job here can provide the opportunity for a better job there. A broken dream can become the foundation of a wonderful future. Everything has its place.

Remember this: overwhelming darkness may endure for a night, but it will never overcome the radiant light of the morning. When you are in a season of sorrow, hang in there, because a season of joy may be just around the corne.

Don't look back

As you travel through life there are always those times when decisions just have to be made when the choices are hard, and solutions seem scarce and the rain seems to soak your parade !

There are some situations where all you can do is to simply let go and move on, gather courage together and choose a direction that carries you toward a new dawn.

So pack up your troubles and take a step forward…The process of change can be tough, but think about all the excitement ahead if you can be stalwart enough!

There could be adventures you never imagined just waiting around the next bend and wishes and dreams just about to come true in ways you can‘t yet comprehend!

Perhaps you‘ll find friendships that spring from new interests as you challenge your status and learn there are so many options in life, and so many ways you can grow!

Perhaps you‘ll go to places you’ve never expected and see things that you‘ve never seen or travel to fabulous , faraway worlds and wonderful spots in between!

Perhaps you‘ll find warmth and affection and caring — a "somebody special" who‘s there to help you stay centred and listen with interest to stories and feelings you share.

Perhaps you‘ll find comfort in knowing your friends are supportive of all that you do and believe that whatever decisions you make, they‘ll be the right choices for you!

So keep putting one foot in front of the other and taking your life day by day. There‘s a brighter tomorrow that‘s just down the road. Don‘t look back — you‘re not going that way!

Six young illegal immigrants were arrested

Six young illegal immigrants were arrested Tuesday after they sat down and blocked traffic near the Georgia state Capitol to publicly declare their status and to protest state policies targeting people who are in the U.S. illegally, the latest in a string of such "coming out" events in Georgia and other parts of the country.

The young people were protesting a policy that bars Georgia's most competitive state colleges and universities from accepting illegal immigrants and they were opposing strict new state legislation. A federal judge on Monday blocked two key provisions of that law. The young people, who decided to risk arrest and deportation for their protest, say that's not enough.

Federal judges have now blocked parts of similar laws in Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Georgia from taking effect. Civil liberties groups have pledged to sue to block others in Alabama and South Carolina.

"It's time to stand up and let the world know that we need to fight for what we believe in," said Nataly Ibarra, a 16-year-old high school student.

Four of the young people arrested are high school students, one is a recent high school graduate and one is a 24-year-old college graduate. All six face charges of reckless conduct, obstructing law enforcement and obstructing the street. The three who are under 18 were to be released to their parents. Two 18-year-olds and the 24-year-old were set to be taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Barbara Gonzalez, press secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, issued a statement after the arrests: "ICE takes enforcement action on a case by case basis — prioritizing those who present the most significant threats to public safety as determined by their criminal history and taking into consideration the specific facts of each case, including immigration history."

Last year, four young people were arrested during a sit-in at U.S. Sen. John McCain's office in Arizona. Students at several suburban Atlanta high schools staged walkouts last month, and a group of seven illegal immigrant young people were arrested in April after they sat down in a downtown Atlanta street and blocked traffic to call attention to their situation. Five others were arrested in May at the Indiana office of Gov. Mitch Daniels after a protest grew confrontational.

Many of the activists hold out hope for the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to legalization for certain young people brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. The bill has been introduced several times in Congress without success. A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation Tuesday.

Several dozen students in their caps and gowns attended the hearing, despite their status as illegal immigrants. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced several who had demonstrated excellence in many facets of life but were unable to get jobs in their chosen fields.

"They want to serve the country they love," Durbin said. "All they want is a chance."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said lawmakers from both parties have compassion for the students who would be helped by the legislation, but he said the details are important. He pointed to changes that he believes are necessary for the bill before it can gain more Republican support.

Opponents of the DREAM Act often agree that young people brought here when they're young have compelling stories. But giving them a path to legalization could create increased competition for young Americans who already are having trouble finding jobs, they say.

The Georgia university system last fall adopted a policy barring state colleges and universities that have rejected academically qualified students in the prior two years from accepting illegal immigrants.

Judge Thomas Thrash on Monday ruled on a request by civil liberties groups to block Georgia's new illegal immigration law from taking effect until a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is resolved. Thrash temporarily blocked a provision that authorizes police to check the immigration status of suspects without proper identification and to detain illegal immigrants and another that penalizes people who knowingly and willingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants while committing another crime.

The law's author, state Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, has said it's needed to keep illegal immigrants from draining the state's resources.

Many parts of the law will take effect Friday. One of them makes it a felony to use false information or documentation when applying for a job. Another creates an immigration review board to investigate complaints about government officials not complying with state laws related to illegal immigration.

Starting Jan. 1, businesses with 500 or more employees must use a federal database to check the immigration status of new hires. That requirement will be phased in for all businesses with more than 10 employees by July 2013. Also starting Jan. 1, applicants for public benefits must provide at least one state or federally issued "secure and verifiable" document.

Also on Tuesday, the Birmingham, Ala., City Council unanimously approved a resolution seeking the repeal of Alabama's new law targeting illegal immigration, with members calling it a hateful reminder of the state's not-too-distant past as a bastion of legalized racial segregation.

The Terre Haute station will relaunch as WAWV-TV

Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. said Tuesday that it extended long-term network affiliate agreements with ABC for nine of its TV stations and will switch one station in Terre Haute, Indiana, from Fox to ABC.

The Terre Haute station will relaunch as WAWV-TV on Sept. 1, and cease to be WFXW-TV. The station's Fox affiliate deal expired in June 2010 although it kept operating as a Fox station under the previous terms.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said that ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Co., has a solid lineup of prime-time programming, including shows such as "Modern Family" and "Dancing with the Stars."

The deal will increase the amount of high-definition programming available to local viewers, he said.

Nexstar owns, operates, programs or provides sales to 63 television stations in 34 markets and reaches about 13 million viewers. Its stations are affiliated with the major networks, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, MyNetworkTV, The CW and Telemundo.

India supported France's Christine Lagarde as the International Monetary Fund's next leader

India supported France's Christine Lagarde as the International Monetary Fund's next leader because it wanted to be part of the consensus that was forming around her, Indian Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.

Mukherjee told Reuters in an interview that he thought the IMF's selection mechanism should have been more transparent, but he believed that Lagarde, France's finance minister, was a worthy candidate.

"Of course she has merit. Otherwise, why should I be supporting her?" Mukherjee said.

The Indian finance chief kept his cards close to the vest, waiting until after the IMF board elected Lagarde as managing director on Tuesday, to reveal his country's support.

The decision kept the IMF's top job in the hands of a European, hewing to a tradition detested by many emerging market countries, which have been seeking a greater voice at the global lender.

But Lagarde won the support of several large emerging market countries, including Brazil and China, over rival candidate, Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens.

"We knew both of them, but we wanted to be part of the consensus, and the consensus emerged ... around Christine Lagarde. So naturally we became a part of it," Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee said he met with both candidates, but he noted that Lagarde did not promise to make any reforms on behalf of emerging market countries.

"We didn't discuss any such thing when she met with us because it was not a quid pro quo. There was no question of that," Mukherjee said.

Asked if he would insist that the IMF choose its next leader from an emerging market country five years from now, he said it was too soon to predict anything, adding: "The world may undergo many other changes; therefore, let us wait for that."

The Indian cabinet member was in Washington for annual economic talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Both sides pledged to deepen cooperation, but did not announce any concrete actions that would boost access to India's growing market for U.S. firms.

Mukherjee said the lack of specific actions was due to the need for legislation that is taking time to win the support of multiple parties. Major legislation for pensions, banking and insurance reforms are still pending.

"I told the secretary and other members (of the U.S. delegation), in India we consider reforms as a continuing process," Mukherjee said in reference to Geithner.

"We do not have a simple, single-party majority in legislature and in parliament. We shall have to carry other people with us and we are exactly trying to do that," he added.

Canada are awaiting a decision

Canada are awaiting a decision on whether talismanic captain Christine Sinclair will be able to line-up against France in a must-win Group A clash at the Women's World Cup here on Thursday.

Veteran striker Sinclair tested a new mask in training on Tuesday which she has to wear after breaking her nose during their 2-1 opening defeat to Germany at the weekend.

France won their opener against Nigeria 1-0 meaning that the Canadians need at least a draw if they are to keep alive their hopes of being one of the two group teams to advance to the quarter-finals.

Two-time defending champions Germany lead the group ahead of France with CONCACAF champions Canada third and Nigeria sitting last.

Germany and Nigeria play in Frankfurt on the same day.

"I can't run without feeling pain," admitted Sinclair during training.

"The doctors want to be sure I'm ready. It's a race against the clock."

Canadian coach Carolina Morace said whe would make a decision on Wednesday on the participation of the 28-year-old who scored her 117th goal on her 160th international appearance at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

France also have their own injury worries with coach Bruno Bini considering whether to select Laure Lepailleur or Corinne Franco in place of injured defender Wendie Renard who has an adductor problem.

Another defender Ophelie Meilleroux is also nursing a knee injury, as the team recover from their opening match.

"The doctors and physios are at work. But you don't need to be a national coach to know that you recover faster when you win," said Bini.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Laetitia Philippe returned to France earlier in the week after the death of her father.

"She'll decide herself when she wants to rejoin us," added Bini.

France, competing in just their second edition of the world tournament, dominated Nigeria from the start, especially on the left side through Louisa Necib, for whom the Africans had no answer.

Necib, capped 59 times, was voted Player of the Match in her first World Cup, but warned: "We have three finals to play during this first round even if we won the first and no-one can take those three points from us."

France are eighth and Canada ninth in the FIFA rankings.

A man accused of dropping explosive devices into mail collection boxes

A man accused of dropping more than 30 explosive devices into mail collection boxes and other locations across East Texas was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Tuesday.

Larry Eugene North, 53, of Henderson was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis in Tyler on Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, he pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate John Love to single counts of use of a weapon of mass destruction, possession of an illegal destructive device and obstruction of mail.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had said that at least half of the three dozen explosives were found in mailboxes, while others were in such locations as the front yard of a business and a cemetery. Although none exploded and no injuries were reported, the spate of discoveries kept people on edge from Feb. 5 of last year to April 7, 2010, when North was arrested.

"Larry North is a terrorist, and I am pleased that his conviction and sentencing have addressed that basic fact," U.S. Attorney John Bales said in a statement issued later Tuesday. "What North did was attack the sense of well-being and peace that we enjoy as Americans; as a consequence, he must be punished."

"Though the pipe bombs did not cause physical damage, the emotional damage inflicted on postal employees and the American public constitutes a federal crime," said Randall Till, postal inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Service Fort Worth Division.

North had been under surveillance for about a week before he was arrested while placing an explosive in a Tyler mailbox, authorities said. A pipe bomb was found in the van he was driving and bomb-making materials were discovered in his home, they said.

Shortly after his arrest, ATF Special Agent Robert Champion said a court dispute sparked North's apparent anger with the government and led to the attempted attacks.

View in the heart

There is a temple at the foot of Nanshan，and an ancient banyan is in front of it.

One morning,a young monk gets up to clean up the courtyard and sees the fallen leaves from the ancient banyan are everywhere,he can't help worrying and look at the tree to sigh.

For his sorrow is on the toppest,he throws down the broom and rushes to his master's room ,then he knocks on the door to plea for interview.

His master hears it and opens the door,when he sees the disciple's worried look,he thinks something takes place,so he hurries to ask him:" My disciple, what does you worry about so much in the early morning? "

The young disciple is full of doubt and tells him:"Master, you persuades us to be diligent to cultivate our moral character and grasp the truth day and night,but, even I learn them well ,it is hard to avoid to die.Till that time,so-called me, so-called Dao, aren't they just like the defoliation in autumn or the deadwood in winter? and they will be buried by a heap of loess?"

After hearing it ,the old monk points at the ancient banyan and says to the young monk:" My disciple ,you don't need to worry about this.In fact, the defoliation in autumn and the deadwood in winter will climb back to the trees silently and become the flowers in spring and grow up into the leaves in summer at the time of autumnal winds is blowing strongliest and the snow falls down most heavily."

"Why don't I see it?"

"It is the reason that there isn't any view in your heart, so you can't see the bloom ."

Facing the withering defoliations and imaging they will be in bud,it needs to have an immortal of spring heart, an optimism of heart.

There are always some miseries you will meet in your whole life and strike you when you are unprepared, but we don't need to worry day after day for the arrival of this day, and feel sorry to yourself.

Treating the life with the attitude of the optimism, it can not only dissolve the agony and misfortune , but also bring a kind of pleased mood to you everyday and make your life bright and flourishing .

As long as the view is in the heart,aren't the paths full of fragrance of flowers everywhere?

Home Truth

It was the smell of rain that I missed the most and the sound of a lawnmower and the waft of cut grass. It was being out in the open and standing bare foot! Blue skies part and parcel of it all; the thunder that would blast over and leave—the coming of a tropical sundown, an evening of barbecues, of warm pools, beer splattering on concrete. The bed awaiting, a vest, a body glistening from perspiration and a sleep of pillows constantly changing sides, a mosquito in the ear. Sleepless nights that were all you knew. And then, one day I left it behind. I moved to a city, to grim faced pallid movements, and there I became with them a ghost on the sidewalks. Dimly, ambling along with my face down, watching my steps and hurrying towards my quotidian activities.

Winters I spent indoor in solace. My flat mates—the friends I had—worked day and night. They were accustomed to leaving the soul behind, the need for money was so official. I would spend nights in the strange house, with creaks of a wall I did not know, and sit by the phone that our landlord had locked, and think of conversations of the past, of my mother's voice ringing, of my best friend whom I would lose contact with, and I would write letters, letters I would never send, letters that clutched the truth—that only I knew. I would cry, tears staining the ink, a smudged idea of love. I was temping then, doing mindless data entry, tapping words into a computer, and moving on wondering what worth there was, and how to find it. My flat mates would come home just before midnight—Mark and Craig, my two best friends. I would smile inwardly and outwardly and make them tea, a sandwich, sit with them and live their lives, hear their stories, flourish in company. Sleep would be eschewed, I yearned for comfort, and company eased the etching of loneliness.

I drank a lot, I had a job and I met people, and I continued my ambling in a city that was not mine. Every Friday my work offered free drinks and I catapulted towards the bar, I sipped 8)ferociously at the wine, the beer, I got horrifically drunk and so the person that I was not, but so yearned to be would come out. She, loud, vivacious, articulate would spend the evening conversing with strangers, laughing and sometimes, flirting! I seemed to step out of myself and watch in amazement. After drinks, I would stumble to the Palladium to meet Mark and Craig—they both worked there as ushers. I would arrive as they were finishing work and we would sit in the bar and I would continue, I would drink.

One night we fell drunk into the house. I lit a cigarette; I sat down and my mind triggered off dull thuds of depression. I went to the bathroom and in a mode of translucent mania I took out a razor blade and in numb motions slowly cut at my wrist, tears streaming down my face, I stopped as soon as I started, my aim was wrong-it was in the name of attention, except I would tell nobody, the attention was all to myself. Quietly, I wrapped my stinging arm with toilet paper, walked to my room and put on a jersey so as to cover the threat, the childish self abuse. I lay and quickly wiped my tears as I heard the friendly footsteps of Mark and Craig. They stood and bantered and eventually I followed them downstairs, and listened to Bob Marley, and Redemption song, my favorite song—"Sold I to the merchant ships…"

And so, I stood on the tube, Dollis Hill to Marylebone and I stared at the scars on my wrist. The scars of stupidity that only I knew of, I was entranced, as though it were not me—it's never me. I swayed to the motion of the train, the city was corrupting me, my soul was slowly bitten, I wanted to yell out my mind, but it all seeped inwards, I was boring myself with my own pleas.

It got better, as it does get better, as you know no better and I sunk into my life, I slowly enjoyed its offerings, I adjusted to the climate, to the people and one day as I walked outside my new flat—not mine of course, but my temporary abode that I rented, as I took out the garbage on a autumn Saturday—in my pyjamas, with the TV and the glow of comfort, I looked at the grey, I sucked it in and I quite enjoyed it—it's romantic quality, it's gloom appealed to me, as it would eventually with my nature. I liked it. I went inside, and shivered—a content chill, I enjoyed the cold and the idea of being able to get warm and I lay on the couch with my toes under a cushion, an inane program keeping me entertained. It all grows on you.

I went home, eventually. I spent five months appreciating the beauty, the climate, the content natures surrounding me. I ate healthy food, I listened to a language I had forgotten about, I roamed on farms that were not mine, went to wine harvests, put on high factors to shield out the sun, spend days lamenting the heat. But, it was not time, I was unable to indulge as the city, London, was still with me, my love and loathing relationship was still continuing, I was still meant to be there, whether unhappy or not. I could not explain it, it's not the city I suppose, it's me-I need to be content. I left, I left what I love so much, no great epiphany, just not at that moment. One day home will come to me, or I will go to home and I await the knowledge in peace.

Seven "secrets" for the great life

A great life doesn't happen by accident. A great life is the result of allocating your time, energy, thoughts, and hard work towards what you want your life to be. Stop setting yourself up for stress and failure, and start setting up your life to support success and ease. A great life is the result of using what you get in a creative and thoughtful way, instead of just what comes next. Customize these "secrets" to fit your own needs and style, and start creating your own great life today!

1. S—Simplify. A great life is the result of simplifying your life. People often misinterpret what simplify means. It's not a way to remove work from your life. When you focus on simplifying your life, you free up energy and time for the work that you enjoy and the purpose for which you are here. In order to create a great life, you will have to make room for it in yours first.

2. E—Effort. A great life is the result of your best effort. Creating a great life requires that you make some adjustments. It may mean re-evaluating how you spend your time, or choosing to spend your money in a different way. It may mean looking for new ways to spend your energy that coincide with your particular definition of a great life. Life will reward your best effort.

3. C—Create priorities. A great life is the result of creating priorities. It's easy to spend your days just responding to the next thing that gets your attention, instead of intentionally using the time, energy and money you have in a way that's important to you. Focus on removing the obstacles that get in the way of you making sure you are honoring your priorities.

4. R—Reserves. A great life is the result of having reserves—reserves of things, time, space, energy, money. With reserves, you acquire far more than you need—not 6 months living expenses, but 5 years worth; not 15 minutes of free time, 1 day. Reserves are important because they reduce the fear of consequences, and that allows you to make decisions based on what you really want instead of what the fear decides for you.

5. E—Eliminate distractions. A great life is the result of eliminating distractions. Up to 75% of your mental energy can be tied up in things that are draining and distracting you. Eliminating distractions can be a difficult concept to many people, since they haven't really considered that there is another way to live. Look around at someone's life you admire. What do they do that you would like to incorporate into your own life? Ask them how they did it. Find ways to free up your mental energy for things that are more important to you.

6. T—Thoughts. A great life is the result of controlling your thoughts so that you accept and allow for the possibility that it actually can happen to you! Your belief in the outcome will directly dictate how successful you are. Motivated people have specific goals and look for ways to achieve them. Believing there is a solution to the same old problems you encounter year after year is vitally important to creating a life that you love.

7. S—Start. A great life is the result of starting. There's the old saying everyone's familiar with "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." In order to even move from the couch to the refrigerator, you have to start. There's no better time to start than today. Don't wait for a raise, or until the kids get older, or the weather is better. Today, right now, is the right day to start to take a step in the direction of your heart's desires. It's what you do TODAY that will make a difference in your life tomorrow.

Waves of the life

My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone.

"You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said.

"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles."

"You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both."

That was the first time I realized that each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger.

We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

Love and Time

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

Germany and China hold their first joint cabinet meeting

Germany and China will hold their first joint cabinet meeting Tuesday and ink several lucrative business contracts, but human rights disputes were expected to cast a long shadow over the proceedings.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, Premier Wen Jiabao and a total of 23 ministers are to sign 22 state cooperation pacts while a business delegation agrees deals worth "several billion euros", a senior German government source said.

The globe's number two economy, China, and number four, Germany, have seen trade volume rise by leaps and bounds in recent years, to hit a record 130 billion euros ($184 billion) in 2010.

Wen arrived in Berlin late Monday from London where he and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed trade deals worth 1.6 billion euros while Wen brushed aside questions over Beijing's rights record.

The German-Chinese contracts, which both sides have agreed to keep under wraps until a press conference later Tuesday, are expected to involve cars, chemicals and aeronautics, said the German official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

While Berlin has rolled out the red carpet, starting with an informal dinner for Wen and his inner circle hosted by Merkel at a lakeside villa Monday, it insists it will not soft-pedal human rights concerns for the sake of commerce.

"Of course you cannot separate trade and development from the issue of human rights, the rule of law, civil rights and also freedom for art and culture," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told ZDF public television.

"If things are discussed in a face-saving, reasonable way, you can talk about everything, even the most difficult questions."

Germany welcomed the release of prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia Sunday just days after outspoken artist Ai Weiwei returned home following nearly three months in police custody, amid a government crackdown on dissent.

Western nations including Germany had repeatedly called for Ai's immediate release.

But Berlin has expressed serious concerns about restrictions they have apparently been placed under including their freedom to speak to the media.

"I think you have to put the word 'release' in quotation marks," the German official said, while declining to comment about speculation that the end of their custody was timed for Wen's European tour.

Human Rights Watch urged Berlin to place the issue front-and-centre at the talks, saying that Ai's release showed "that political pressure on the Chinese government works."

Activists pledged to hit the streets during Wen's two-day stay.

A group called Tibet Initiative Deutschland said that while Merkel welcomes Wen to her chancellery with military honours, it would release 300 black balloons to call attention to the reported detention of 300 Buddhist monks from the Kirti monastery in Sichuan province.

Relations between China and Germany hit a low point in September 2007 when Merkel welcomed the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader whom Beijing brands a dangerous separatist.

Wen told reporters in London Monday that China would not accept "finger-wagging" over human rights.

On the first leg of his three-nation European tour, Wen promised officials in Hungary that China would continue to support its faltering economy, and pledged to similarly aid the eurozone as it is rocked by a debt crisis.

The German official said the issue of China buying more government bonds from debt-wracked countries was certain to be discussed.

Analysts estimate that China has already bought more than 40 billion euros of European assets this year but this has done little to curb the crisis.

The 22 state cooperation pacts to be signed by 13 Chinese and 10 German ministers are to cover deepening cooperation in areas including climate protection, energy efficiency, food safety, education and the arts.

Beyond bilateral issues, Merkel and Wen were to discuss international hot spots including North Korea, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Africa, Syria and Iran.

Sony Corp believes it was targeted by hackers

Sony Corp believes it was targeted by hackers because it tried to protect its intellectual property, CEO Howard Stringer told a shareholders' meeting at which he sidestepped a call for him to step down over the incident.

No one has claimed responsibility for the massive hacking attack in April, in which details of 77 million PlayStation videogame user accounts were leaked, but many have speculated the attack was sparked by Sony's efforts to prevent unauthorized modifications to PS3 game consoles.

"We believe that we first became the subject of attack because we tried to protect our IP (intellectual property), our content, in this case videogames," Stringer told shareholders at Tuesday's meeting in response to a question about the background to the incident.

"These are our corporate assets, and there are those that don't want us to protect them, they want everything to be free," he said, adding that many other corporations and organizations had also been hacked.

Stringer did not comment directly when another shareholder asked him to step down to allow the company to make a fresh start after what is believed to be the world's biggest ever Internet security breach. The shareholders comments were greeted with scattered applause.

Stringer, a Welsh-born former TV producer, said only that his foremost responsibility was to oversee the company's development and to nurture the next generation of management.

In April, Sony appointed Kazuo Hirai, 50, as second in command, and Stringer has said he is in pole position to take over the top job, though the timing is unclear.

Sony says PlayStation Network usage has returned to levels about 90 percent of those before the security breach, but some users remain angry.

A court case filed in the United States this month accuses Sony Corp of laying off employees in a unit responsible for network security two weeks before the hacking incident.

Sony also spent lavishly on security to protect its own corporate information while failing to do the same for its customers' data, the proposed class action lawsuit alleges.

Consumers around the world overwhelmingly support the rollout of renewable energy

Consumers around the world overwhelmingly support the rollout of renewable energy, but many have mistaken views about "green" products, according to a survey conducted by TNS Gallup for Vestas Wind Systems.

The survey, which polled 31,000 consumers in 26 countries in May, was designed to show companies how they could link their image to their customers' views on climate change and renewable energy.

But the poll also showed that many consumers were ill-informed about companies' environmental impacts, as well as the availability of renewable power.

Consumers viewed car makers, such as BMW AG and Volkswagen, as the most climate friendly, followed by technology companies, consumer goods makers retailers and food and beverage companies.

"Vehicles powered by fossil fuel account for a significant part of global CO2 emissions, yet automobile manufacturers ... have acted to persuade consumer opinion, for instance with advertising claims about the energy efficiency of gasoline or diesel powered vehicles," Vestas said in statement about the survey.

The poll showed that 79 percent of the consumers surveyed would view as "positive" the companies that primarily use wind energy, with only 4 percent viewing that as "negative."

Vestas is the world's leading maker of wind turbines, but the company has struggled in the past 18 months because of difficulty in financing new wind parks and rising competition from Chinese manufacturers, forcing it to cut jobs.

A strong 90 percent of global consumers backed an increase in renewable energy, while 15 percent said nuclear power sources should increase and 8 percent said use of fossil fuels use should rise.

Consumers in China were strongly in favor of increasing renewable energy sources, with 95 percent of those surveyed supporting it, well above the 77 percent in the United States who favored it.

But 72 percent of Chinese consumers also believed they had access to green electricity -- a figure far higher than reality.

Coal remains by far the largest source of Chinese power generation, according to International Energy Agency, even though the wind industry there is growing rapidly.

Half the consumers surveyed said they would be willing to pay higher prices for products made using renewable energy, while 45 percent said they would not pay more.

Developing nations' consumers were the most willing to pay extra for products produced using renewable energy, with 72 percent of those in China, Chile and India saying they would spend more.

Work with the "Now"

There are some people who are completely happy with themselves, their lives, and their prospects for the future. While they can be considered to be more fortunate than most, most who do not fall into that category are not as bad off as they tend to believe. Instead, they are simply lacking something, or making mistakes, which are standing in the way of their lives being as fulfilling as they would prefer. Some even go as far as to not realize the immense potential they possess.

What is the main difference between those lucky individuals whose lives seem to be wonderfully on-track and those who, often despite every step of trying on their part, appear to have all of the odds stacked against them? While in some cases it is a matter of some people having better luck than others, those whose lives are content in the moment and proceeding in the direction of their choice, do not live in the past.

Whether you are thinking about your personality or your life in general, success means focusing on the here-and-now. While it is important to acknowledge the choices and experiences which resulted in you being where you are today, it is equally important to not allow yourself to become so caught up in thoughts of the past that the present day passes you by.

Self-motivation is the key to ensuring that you do not continue repeating the same mistakes. You may have had one or more errors in judgment which led you to take the wrong path, or to make mistakes that were not in your best interest. You can acknowledge this without rehashing them over and over again in your mind, and simply be determined to make different, better decisions today.

Then is over; this is now. The less time and effort you put into looking at the past, the more you will have for living and experiencing this day. You will also find that letting go of the past will give you a deeper sense of strength. Instead of allowing past mistakes and worries to drain your energies, you will have a renewed energy to live your life to the fullest and enjoy it more.

Being content with yourself and optimistic about your future is not difficult. Whatever is in the past is over; learn from it and move on. When you are self-motivated enough to do this, you will see that moving ahead is the best definition of living life.

With that said, what can you do now? Sure it is easy for me to tell you to forget the past, yet it is a whole different practice to actually do it. Life is a complex set of events much of which of course is real, yet a large amount is just your view of what really happened.

Let me explain with an example. I know not everyone is a football fan but I am guessing most have watched at least part of a game on TV. Most plays and almost all the important plays are played over and over on the TV screen right after the play happened.

How many times have you watched a play and were certain and I mean certain of the outcome, say the player caught a pass, then watching the instant replay you realize you were totally wrong, the player dropped the pass. What you were certain you saw, never happened.

The first step in trying to minimize the effects of your past in order to concentrate on your future is to find out how much of the past that you are certain happened were just mistakes on your part.

A quick example might be as a teenager you tried to build a piece of furniture out of scrape wood in your father’s workshop. The piece of furniture looked good when you finished but fell apart before you could show your father and you assumed your were a lousy carpenter and the rest of your life you have avoided building anything. Yet the reality was the scrap wood you used was faulty and not your building ability.

Yet the rest of your life you have believed mistakenly you are a poor builder of things.

A former stockroom sued the clothing retailer

A former stockroom worker for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sued the clothing retailer in federal court Monday, saying she was illegally fired after refusing to remove her Muslim headscarf while on the job.

Hani Khan said a manager at the company's Hollister Co. store at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo hired her while she was wearing her hijab. The manager said it was OK to wear it as long as it was in company colors, Khan said.

Four months later, the 20-year-old says a district manager and human resources manager asked if she could remove the hijab while working, and she was suspended and then fired for refusing to do so.

It's the latest employment discrimination charge against the company's so-called "look policy," which critics say means images of mostly white, young, athletic-looking people. The New Albany, Ohio-based company has said it does not tolerate discrimination.

Still, Abercrombie has been the target of numerous discrimination lawsuits, including a federal class action brought by black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants that was settled for $40 million in 2004. The company admitted no wrongdoing, though it was forced to implement new programs and policies to increase diversity.

"Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I felt let down," Khan, now a college student studying political science, said at a news conference. "This case is about principles, the right to be able to express your religion freely and be able to work in this country."

Abercrombie defended its record in a comment provided to The Associated Press, saying diversity in its stores "far exceeds the diversity in the population of the United States."

"We comply with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation, and we will continue to do so," said Rocky Robbins, the company's general counsel. "We are confident that when this matter is tried, a jury will find that we have fully complied with the law."

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in September that Khan was fired illegally. Khan's lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the EEOC's lawsuit.

It is not the first time the company has been charged with discriminating against Muslim women over the wearing of a hijab.

In 2009, Samantha Elauf, who was 17 at the time, filed a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma, alleging the company rejected her for a job because she was wearing a hijab. That case is still ongoing.

The EEOC filed another lawsuit for the same reason, saying the company denied work to a hijab-wearing woman who applied for a stocking position in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store at the Great Mall in Milpitas, California.

Khan's attorney said her client is looking to get Abercrombie to change its "look policy" to allow religious headscarves to be worn by employees, and for unspecified damages. The lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state civil rights and employment laws.

"Abercrombie prides itself on requiring what it calls a natural classic American style. But there's nothing American about discriminating against someone because of their religion," said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.

"Such a look policy cannot be squared with our shared values. No worker should have to choose between their religion and their job."

The Power of Words

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed of what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died
     
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was a little deaf.
   
He thought they were encouraging him the entire time
    
This story teaches us two lessons:
    
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
      
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.
     
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way.
    
Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.

An Ordinary Mother

Katrina Katrinka was like any other ordinary mother with two kids, a station wagon, and a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard. The crane just showed up one morning. A construction company was building an apartment building down the street. One day the company went bankrupt, and left their crane in Mrs. Katrinka's back yard. They just went bankrupt, and left her with a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard.

Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to do at first. But then she had an idea. She called the sanitation department in her town to come around and pick up the 60 foot tall crane. If you have an old couch, an old table, an old refrigerator, or an old washing machine, you can call the sanitation department, and they'll come around and pick it up.

You can guess what the sanitation department had to say about Mrs. Katrinka's crane. "Sorry, ma'am. We don't pick up 60 foot tall cranes. Old couches, old tables, old refrigerators, and old washing machines are fine. Large, 60 foot tall cranes are not fine."

Mrs. Katrinka was not the type of ordinary mother who lets a 60 foot tall crane sit around in her back yard. No, sirree. Not that type of ordinary mother at all.

So she bought a large wrench, and climbed up the tall 60 foot crane. She carefully climbed out onto the horizontal part of the crane, and unbolted one of the end sections. She happily climbed down and carried the steel section into her basement.

Her neighbors peered over the fence, wondering what on earth could this ordinary mother be doing with a steel section of crane in her basement. What the neighbors didn't know was that Mrs. Katrinka also bought an excellent power saw. This saw could cut through the toughest, hardest steel.

Day after day, Mrs. Katrinka would take one more section from the crane, carrying it carefully down into her basement. And night after night, she cut those sections up into little bits. These little bits of steel were easy enough to hide in her regular trash.

Some of the bits she stuffed in empty cans of tuna fish. Other bits she stuffed in the middle of over-ripe watermelons. And other bits she hid inside old smelly socks.

But it's hard to hide a full 60 foot crane in your day to day trash. You could hide a 20 foot crane, or a 30 foot crane. But a 60 foot crane is just too big to easily hide in the trash.

So Mrs. Katrinka started painting the sections of crane she took down each day. She painted them, and then welded them into interesting sorts of sculptures. When her basement became too full of sculptures, she set the sculptures out in her back yard.

It didn't take long for people to flock from all over the neighborhood to see Mrs. Katrinka's sculptures. One day, one of her neighbors walked right up her front steps and asked if she might buy one of the sculptures.

Well, Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to say. She didn't make the sculptures to sell. She made the sculptures because it's hard to hide all the bits of a 60 foot crane in your trash.

On the very day that she took down the last section of the crane, the man who used to own the construction company came back to pick up his crane. "Sorry, sir," Mrs. Katrinka said.

"the crane you left in my back yard is no longer here anymore. It's hiding in empty cans of tuna fish, over-ripe watermelons, and old smelly socks. If you want to put it back together, you'll have to go looking through lots of empty tuna fish cans, over-ripe watermelons, and old socks."

"Well, ma'am," said the construction company man. "I really shouldn't have left that 60 foot crane in your back yard. It wasn't the right thing to do, and I'd like to apologize to you."

Mrs. Katrinka looked the man up and down. He looked as if he was genuinely sorry for what he had done.

"Oh, all right," Mrs. Katrinka said. "If you'd like to take home some of the 60 foot crane you left in my back yard, it's sitting right over there in those six sculptures."

"Six sculptures?" said the man, in wonder.

"Yes, six sculptures," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "Mrs. Olney down the street bought the seventh sculpture last week for $200."

"Well, the least I can do is buy the other six sculptures, at the same price," the man whispered gently.

"No. I'm sorry. That won't do," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "I can't sell all six of those sculptures. they mean too much to me now."

"But I tell you what. If you want to buy five of them, I won't complain too loudly about that. You can't expect me to give up all my wonderful sculptures to some stranger who left a 60 foot crane in my back yard."

"Yes, ma'am. It's too much to expect an ordinary mother to give up all six sculptures she made from a 60 foot tall crane that a total stranger left in her back yard."

As Mrs. Katrinka took the man's money, she laughed, "Besides, I need to keep at least one sculpture to show my grandchildren. They'll never believe this story if I didn't have at least one of the sculptures left to show them..."

Never Too Late to Become What You Want to Be

Why are you in college at such a young age?" I asked later. She jokingly replied, " I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel."
       
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
       
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and tolk nonstop. I was always listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
      
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to make a speech to our football team. I'll never forget what she taught us. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, "I'm sorry. This whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know." As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:" We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.
     
Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do.The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
     
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

All my dreams

Back when I was a child, before life removed all the innocence,

My father would lift me high and dance with my mother and me and then

Spin me around till I fell asleep.

Then up the stairs he would carry me

And I knew for sure I was loved.

If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him,

I'd play a song that would never, ever end.

How I'd love, love, love

To dance with my father again.

When I and my mother would disagree

To get my way, I would run from her to him.

He′d make me laugh just to comfort me,

Then finally make me do just what my mama said.

Later that night when I was asleep,

He left a dollar under my sheet,

Never dreamed that he would be gone from me.

If I could steal one final glance, one final step, one final dance with him,

I'd play a song that would never, ever end,

Cause I'd love, love, love

To dance with my father again.

Sometimes I'd listen outside her door,

And I'd hear how my mother cried for him.

I pray for her even more than me.

I pray for her even more than me.

I know I'm praying for much too much,

But could you send back the only man she loved.

I know you don't do it usually

But dear Lord she's dying.

To dance with my father again,

Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream.