Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates

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Reading MountainWings has taught me how to look for and find a Moment, a moment in life, which however small, has a valuable lesson which can be applied to our everyday life.

I would like to share a Moment that I recently experienced.

It was the day after Christmas; my brother and I were visiting my aunt. It was a happy day, especially as they have five children, four under the age of six, and I, like many people, love small children.

There was a box of sweets on the side, and kids being kids, naturally couldn't take their eyes off it. When my aunt came into the room, they all clamoured for a sweet, so she opened the box of Quality Street (a selection of chocolates) and divided them into so many for each child.

My youngest cousin, age three, is famous for his funny sayings. Now was no different; he opened each sweet with undisguised glee, throwing the wrappers on the floor and yelling with more delight at each one - "Yay! Chocolate again!! Look, chocolate!!"

Straight away, I recognized this as a MountainWings Moment. Yes, all of the sweets were chocolate, but the lesson here was that so many things in life we take for granted or expect them to be what they are so when we experience them we take almost no delight in them at all.

Learning to be grateful for the "chocolate" of life, even if it is all "chocolate" is a valuable skill, and something that not many people know how to do.

It is often in small children that it is found the most, and I felt that this was reflected in this story.

~ Original by Naomi, England~

Contented

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My motto is:

”Contented with little, yet wishing for more.”

~Charles Lamb~

Honest Criticism

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Honest criticism is hard to take,

particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.

~Franklin P. Jones~

People Say

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People say that religion is a crutch.

But there are times in all our lives where our circumstances cripple us and in those times,

I'd much rather have God to lean on than any number of less savory alternatives

     Philip Morden, Woodstock, Ontario~

Choice or Chance

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When we meet the right person to love, when we're at the right place at the right time, that's chance.

When you meet someone you're attracted to, that's not a choice. That's chance.

Being caught up in a moment (and there are a lot of couples who get together because of this) is not a choice. That's also a chance.

The difference is what happens afterwards. When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind- blowing attraction to the next level? That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate whether you want to make this into a concrete relationship or just a fling.

If you decide to love a person, even with his faults, that's not a chance. That's choice.

When you choose to be with a person, no matter what, that's choice.

Even if you know there are many people out there who are more attractive, smarter, and richer than your mate, and yet, you decide to love your mate just the same, that's choice.

Infatuation, crushes, and attraction come to us by chance. But true love that lasts is truly a choice. A choice that we make.

Regarding soulmates, there's a beautiful movie quote that I believe is so true about this: "Fate brings you together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."

I believe that soulmates do exist, that there is truly someone made for you. But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not.

We may meet our soulmates by chance, but loving and staying with our soulmate is still a choice we have to make.

We came to the world not by finding someone perfect to love, BUT to learn how to love an imperfect person perfectly.

Tưởng nhạt nhòa kí ức xa xôi Trên quãng đường chông gai sỏi đá Hướng về nơi ấy khờ dại Tri thức đây rồi... mà chợt nhớ hồn ai(?)