It's strange to have a friend

that you have never hugged

lightly touched their arm

or looked into their eyes.

But you have

touched their soul

felt their heart

been embraced by

the warmth of their being.

A friend unseen

is not a friend untouched.

The eyes of the soul will gaze

the heart will embrace

the image will stand tall

but only in a dream.

I understand that DEEP DOWN most of us want to become BETTER.

We want to be able to OPEN UP and experience REAL LOVE.

MANY OF US WISH WE COULD TRUST OTHERS.

BUT WE'VE BEEN HURT

By a father who wasn't there.

By a mother who never seemed to be satisfied with our choices.

By family who criticized our every move with disapproval.

By a close friend who betrayed our trust.

EVEN WORSE WERE THOSE DAYS WHEN WE REALLY NEEDED SOMEONE TO TALK TO... And all our friends were NOWHERE to be found. (DESPITE the fact that we were always there for them)

---

SO WE PUT ON MASKS and create these characters that aren't us.

We do it because we're AFRAID that if people saw how we really were,

they might NOT want to be around us anymore...

So we hide our brokenness... our deep dark secrets.

Our painful past. We lie about our scars and mistakes.

We do it because

We want to feel loved and appreciated. USEFUL. Needed. Beautiful.

But we never mention

the EMPTINESS DEEP inside that haunts us EVERYWHERE we go.

An emptiness that we try to fill with acquaintances, temporary highs,

hobbies, and romantic relationships. SEX, DRUGS, & COCOA PUFFS.

Don't get me wrong,

There are days where the emptiness DOES go away.

But it ALWAYS comes back. And what sucks most is that

YOU CAN BE SURROUNDED BY ALL YOUR FRIENDS,

AND STILL FEEL BROKEN AND LONELY INSIDE.

---

If there is ONE thing

you need to remember from this whole blog, it is this:

THE ONLY THING BIG ENOUGH TO QUENCH THE EMPTINESS

INSIDE OF YOU, IS GOD. Everything else is just too small.

---

SO my friends,

as you allow God to fill the areas of your life plagued with loneliness,

be sure to remember the wonderful words of MARK TWAIN

"DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING;

LOVE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER BEEN HURT.

SING LIKE NOBODY'S LISTENING;

LIVE LIKE IT'S HEAVEN ON EARTH."

There is dignity in not giving up on someone you truly love. But there is more dignity in letting them go so they can experience better love. That shows your true love because you then become unselfish And through putting others first, unconditional love grows.

There is respect in fighting gallantly to win someone's heart another time But an even greater respect comes from fighting hard and knowing when to stop. Even though you would give anything to have the past back, That person has touched your life in a way That will make your future so much brighter.

Accept that, and hold your head high Knowing you have captured their heart as well.

There is courage in allowing your heart to hurt and grieve But there is greater courage in knowing it will be scarred But stronger as time goes on. For whoever caused those scars has made your life better in some way And it will make you a better person when you marry Because of what the scars taught you.

Losing the person who meant the most in your life is a humbling experience, Yet it is even more humbling if you allow it to run your life And forsake all you have been blessed with When you feel like you have lost your world.

Remember how many people depend on you and who you are the world to. There is fortitude in holding on for another chance Although an even greater fortitude comes from extending your hand And heart in friendship, realising you will still share things with that person No one else ever will.

You will always have the looks and jokes and memories. Don't ever discount how special those things are in your heart and theirs. True love hurts when it is lost But an even greater love grows inside you through realisation That something better is in the world for both of you.

And that there are still things to share with that person, Even though some feelings may have changed. Take their hand and help them achieve their hopes and dreams Because in that there is dignity, respect, courage, humility, fortitude, And the unconditional love that will continue to grow in both of your hearts.

Will Smith:

I feel very, very confident that the keys to life for me are reading and running. The idea that there are millions and billions of people who have lived before us, and they had problems and they solved them and they wrote it in a book somewhere - there is no new problem that we can have that we have to figure out by ourselves. There's no relationship issue, there is no issue with your parents or your brother or your government, there is no issue we can have that somebody didn't already write a thousand years ago in a book. So, for me, that concept of reading is bittersweet because you know it's in a book somewhere but you've got to find the right one that is going to give you the proper information. I said reading and running and the running aspect is how can you connect with your weakness. When you get on the treadmill you deprive yourself of oxygen. What kind of person you are will come out very, very quickly. You're either the type of person who will say you're going to run three miles or you stop the treadmill at 2.94 and you hit it and you call 2.94 3 miles, or you get off after a mile, or you're the type of person that runs hard through the finish line and when you get to 3.0 you realize, "˜God, I could really do 5,' and you go ahead and do two more. And that little person talks to you and says, 'Man, do you feel our knee? We should stop. I feel we should stop ourselves right now. This is not healthy anymore.' When you learn to get command over that person on that treadmill, you learn to get command over that person in your life. That's the same person that tells you, 'Man, that girl's got some big breasts. Listen, we don't have to do nothing, let's just go the hotel room together.' That's the same person. Getting command of that person has been really important."

:coold:

I've definitely noticed that little person in my head when I run. He used to bitch about everything. "Oh, your calves hurt! Oh, your back hurts! Oh, it's hard to breathe."

For me, I've learned to drown him out with music. I'd set checkpoints on distances that I have to complete without slowing down, and over time I'd get to those checkpoints thinking, "Hey, I think I can go a little bit longer."

It's funny cuz since I've started running, I've noticed the word "marathon" thrown around a lot more. I mean, I'm only running 1.2 miles at a time and a marathon is a freakin' 26+ mile run. But there's a lot of people that do marathons...and they all must've started out at a modest number like that at some point, right?

True friendship isn't being inseparable; it's being separated and nothing changes.

To laugh often and much.

To win the respect of intelligent people,

and the affection of children.

To earn the appreciation of honest critics,

and endure the betrayal of false friends.

To appreciate beauty.

To find the best in others.

To leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,

or a redeemed social condition.

To know even one life has breathed easier,

because you have lived.

That is to have succeeded.

by Unknown

1. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-savings time.

2. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

3. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

4. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

5. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.

6. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

7. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

8. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

9. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

10. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will not use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

11. You should not confuse your career with your life.

12. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

13. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

14. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

15. Your friends love you, anyway.

16. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

by Unknown

AFTER A WHILE"¦. you learn the subtle differences between touching a life, and changing a soul; You learn the subtle differences between holding a hand, and letting one go; You learn the subtle differences between failure and downfall; You learn the subtle differences between disappointment and regret; You learn the subtle differences between having faith and finding hope.

AND YOU LEARN"¦You learn that love doesn't mean certainty and success doesn't mean security; You learn that promises aren't perpetual and words aren't eternal; You learn that kisses aren't assurrances, and hugs aren't compromises; You learn that even sunshine burns if you ask for too much. So you begin to accept your defeats. With your head held high and your eyes straight ahead, you keep on going.

AND YOU LEARN"¦You learn to build your loads on today because tomorrow's grounds are too uncertain. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own life. You sing your own song and lighten your own soul. You write your own novel instead of waiting for someone else to write if for you. You smile; you dance; you laugh; you celebrate and you love. And you learn that you really can endure. That you really are strong.

And you learn"¦and you learn. With every accomplishment, failure, triumph and defeat"¦you learn.

by Unknown

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

by Unknown

When you were 8 years old, your mom handed you an ice cream. You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.

When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons. You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.

When you were 10 years old she drove you all day, from soccer to football to one birthday party after another. You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies. You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.

When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows. You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming. You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.

When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp. You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug. You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.

When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car. You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, she was expecting an important call. You thanked her by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation. You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus, carried your bags. You thanked her by saying goodbye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.

When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you. You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her. You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder on you heart.