Be The Best of Whatever You Are

[We all dream of great deeds and high positions, away from the pet-tiness humdrum of ordinary life. Yet success is not occupying a lofty place or doing conspicuous work; it is being the best that is in you. Rattling around in too big a job is worse than filling a small one to overflowing. Dream, aspire by all means; but do not ruin the life you must lead by dreaming pipe dreams of the one you would like to lead. Make the most of what you have and are. Perhaps your trivial, immesiate task is your one sure way of proving your mettle. Do the thing near at hand, and great things will come to your hand to be done.]

If you cann't be a pine on top of the hill,
be a scrub in the valley-but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-
But the livliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!

Douglas Malloch

LIFE IS LIKE A ROSE

Before it lives, a seed.
Planted in the womb of the earth.
Unnourished, meaningless, unliving.
Awating the lifeblood of the earth that surrounds it.
Life is like a rose.

Then growth begins, a seedling.
Sprouting forth in an unknown world.
Living, developing, a challenge.
Growing withing the earth and feeding off it's mother.
Life is like a rose.

The birth of a flower.
Leaving the security of it's mother.
Maturing, learning, growing.
Exploring its new world with the innocence of a child.
Life is like a rose.

The flower blooms.
Giving to the world the beauty of itself.
Sharing, giving, adulthood.
Spreading its blossoms for the world to see and enjoy.
Life is like a rose.

The flower withers.
Feeling the chill of Fall and nearing death.
Aging, remembering, contentment. Life is like a rose.

The flower dies.
An end to a full life in a, frosty night.
Cold, lifeless, an ending.
The flower returns to the earth, from where it came.
Life is like a rose.

~~Author Unknown.~~

A Rose From Heaven

Her hair was up in a pony tail her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school, and she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees, a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats.

One by one the teacher called, a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching, for a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?" she heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one," another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day."

The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy, and how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories, he taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him, I'm not standing here alone.

"Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart
I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart"

With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her, doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the
crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far.

You see he was a fireman and died just this past year
When airplanes hit the towers and taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day.

And to her mother's amazement, she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their
eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt
inside.
Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy," to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with
doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had
been closed.
But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink
rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her
shining bright star.
And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far

~Unknown~

Pages by Sally