Motivational Quotes 3/3/23

When a calamity is supposed to happen, what is not supposed to happen will, serving as a saving grace, preventing the calamity.

No one wants you when you’re down; people only want you when you’re up

We rejoice in public; we suffer in private

Each person has a unique form of good and a unique form of bad.

We help one another not only by words but also by our example; by being good ourselves we set an example for others to follow.

What is not worth mending, is not worth minding. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

The fight for survival is the fight for place. They who have a good place fight to keep it; they who have a bad one fight to improve it. When two people want the same place, conflict occurs.

It is in occupation that we forget the pains of the day.

Right Activity plus right amount equals a good day.

Happiness is earned through effort and sometimes through hardship.

Way of the World

The trees were pretty
so of course they had to be cut down…

Does anything beautiful stand a chance?
I was young and happy once

So of course I had to be cut down
Because that’s just the way it goes

I’m not as happy as I used to be
Just because I am older and wiser

Back then I didn’t know I’d end up like this
I had so much hope and joy

it felt like being on top of the world
This feels closer to the bottom

Ordinary is the best I can do
Ordinary is the best the world can do

The world cannot support beauty
The young lose their joy when they grow up

The world cannot support what’s special
That’s why what’s special is so rare

The excellent must be made average
The great must be reduced to good

Nothing reaches its full potential
Only a small fraction of what’s possible can be realized

The trees were pretty
So of course they had to be cut down!

Nothing beautiful stands a chance
Not for long, not for ever

Decay is the way of the world
Unfairness and injustice are the norm

That’s what upsets me most
I hate it when that happens

And it’s happened to me and you
And there ain’t nothing we can do about it

Except to reflect and to write

Menyra e Botes (Albanian)

Pemët ishin të bukura
kështu që sigurisht që ata duhej të shkurtoheshin…

A ka ndonjë shans ndonjë gjë të bukur?
Dikur isha i ri dhe i lumtur

Pra, sigurisht që më duhej të shkurtohesha
Sepse kështu shkon

Nuk jam aq i lumtur sa dikur
Vetëm sepse jam më i vjetër dhe më i mençur

Atëherë nuk e dija se do të përfundoja kështu
Kisha shumë shpresë dhe gëzim

më dukej sikur isha në krye të botës
Kjo ndjehet më afër në fund

Ordinere është më e mira që mund të bëj
Ordinere është më e mira që bota mund të bëjë

Bota nuk mund ta mbështesë bukurinë
Të rinjtë e humbasin gëzimin kur rriten

Bota nuk mund të mbështesë atë që është e veçantë
Kjo është arsyeja pse ajo që është e veçantë është kaq e rrallë

E shkëlqyera duhet të bëhet mesatare
E madhja duhet të reduktohet në të vogel

Asgjë nuk e arrin potencialin e saj të plotë
Vetëm një pjesë e vogël e asaj që është e mundur mund të realizohet

Pemët ishin të bukura
Pra, sigurisht që ata duhej të shkurtoheshin!

Asgjë e bukur nuk ka shans
Jo për shumë kohë, jo përgjithmonë

Prishja është rruga e botës
Padrejtësia dhe padrejtësia janë normë

Kjo është ajo që më mërzit më shumë
E urrej kur kjo ndodh

Dhe mua dhe ty më ka ndodhur
Dhe nuk mund të bëjmë asgjë për këtë

Veç për të reflektuar e për të shkruar
Fund

Motivational Quotes 1/6/23

Objects up close may not be what they seemed from afar

Success and failure are both teachers; success teaches you what to do. Failure teaches you what not to do.

It is your peers who are best suited to like you; it is they who are best suited to judge you

Whenever an excess is created in on direction, a deficiency is created in the opposite direction

The young appreciate the wisdom of theirs elders, simply because they haven’t had enough time and maturity to discover the same wisdom out for themselves

Life is an unending series of actions and reactions

All the good opportunities find you in the beginning, when you are not ready to take a risk; by the time you are ready to take a risk, there are no good opportunities left.

The mortal flaw of perfectionism is strictness; holding oneself and others to far too strict a standard that can never be met.

Wherever a good occurs in excess, a bad also occurs in excess.

He who does not look for signs does not see them; only he who looks for them sees them.

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A Visit from Santa

It was that night of the year,
The biggest one of them all,
For jolly ole St Nick to spread cheer
To children big and small.

He thanked his elves for the toys
And carried them in a large sack,
He gave a hearty goodbye to Mrs. Clause,
And jumped on the sleigh with the toys on his back.

Santa guided his sleigh by the stars
As the reindeer flew through the skies,
His mission was to reach every child’s house
By Christmas morning sunlight.

The first few houses were a slow go,
For this year there fell great snow,
And Santa was feeling a bit rusty and old
And Dancer and Blitzen were feeling sleepy and cold.

Down the chimney Santa slid
Beneath the lighted tree, he placed the toys
For all the little girls and boys
Then he ate his cookies and milk

Santa then tugged the long rope
And the reindeer pulled him back up
And on it was to the next roof top,
Santa year after year never did fail

But this year something went wrong
He slid down the chimney of a small house
And as his body hit brick after brick
the chimney was not wide enough!

Oh Lord, said Santa. I’m stuck
The reindeer did try to help him back up
But it did no good
Santa was stuck

From now on I must use the front door, thought he
But it was too late, up a chimney was he
Now Santa thought of his plump belly
He blamed Mrs. Clause for cooking too good

He blamed himself for having too much food
Most of all he thought of the children big and small
The boys and girls who counted on him
To give presents and joy to one and to all

What if he could not make it this year?
What if he failed?
There would be no Christmas
Santa tugged on the rope and shouted

Move it Rudolf, Dasher and Dancer!
Go forward Prancer and Vixen!
Getty up Comet, getty up Cupid!
Go Donner and Blitzen!

An hour later Santa was in pain
When he heard a child’s voice cry out, Santa! Is that you?
Hi there, little Billy, said Santa, knowing every child by name
Is mommy or daddy home?

To chimney came mother and father
Though worried, they had great curiosity and wonder
for they had stopped believing in Santa so long ago
And now in adulthood, were they to be proved wrong?

Santa, is that really you? asked the father
Hi there Tommy and Amy, said Santa, I remember you as kids,
Tommy, you were naughty but Amy you were so nice
Now I have a Christmas wish for you; please help me out!

Mother called the brave firefighters
They rescued poor Santa with wonder in their eyes
Santa gave a thank you gift to all
And gave Billy his wonderful toy surprise

Santa then climbed his sleigh up on the roof top
Folks, I’d love to stay, shouted he,
But I must spread cheer to children big and small
Good night and Merry Christmas to all!

Vizita e Santes

Ishte ajo natë e vitit,
Më e madha nga të gjithë,
Që Shen Niku babaxhan të përhapë gëzim
Për fëmijët e mëdhenj dhe të vegjël.

Ai falënderoi punonjesit e tij për lodrat
Dhe i mbajti në një thes të madh,
Ai i dha një lamtumirë të përzemërt zonjës Klause,
Dhe u hodh në sajë me lodrat në kuriz.

Santa e drejtoi sajën e tij nga yjet
Ndërsa dreret fluturonin nëpër qiej,
Misioni i tij ishte të arrinte në shtëpinë e çdo fëmije
Para rrezet e diellit në mëngjesin e Krishtlindjeve.

Shtëpitë e para ecnin ngadalë,
Se këtë vit ra borë e dendur dhe e madhe,
Dhe Santa po ndihej pak i ndryshkur dhe i vjetër
Dhe Dancer dhe Blitzen po ndiheshin të përgjumur dhe të ftohtë.

Poshtë oxhaku Santa rrëshqiti
Poshtë pemës së ndezur vendosi lodrat
Për të gjitha vajzat dhe djemtë e vegjël
Më pas ai hëngri biskotat dhe qumështin që prindërit i linin shpesh

Santa më pas tërhoqi litarin e gjatë
Dhe dreret e tërhoqen përsëri lart
Dhe kaperxente në majë të çatisë tjetër,
Santa vit pas viti nuk dështoi kurrë

Por këtë vit diçka shkoi keq
Rrëshqiti nga oxhaku i një shtëpie të vogël
Dhe ndërsa trupi i tij godiste tullë pas tulle
oxhaku nuk ishte mjaft i gjerë!

O Zot, tha Santa. unë jam i mbërthyer
Dreri u përpoq ta ndihmonte të ngrihej
Por nuk mundi
Santa ishte mbërthyer

Që tani e tutje duhet të përdor derën e përparme, mendoi ai
Por ishte tepër vonë, ai ishte lart në oxhak
Tani Santa mendoi për barkun e tij të shëndoshë
Ai fajësoi zonjën Clause se gatuan shumë mirë

Ai fajësoi veten për ushqimin e tepërt
Mbi të gjitha mendonte për fëmijët e mëdhenj e të vegjël
Djemtë dhe vajzat që shresonin tek ai
Për të dhënë dhurata dhe gëzim për një dhe për të gjithë

Po sikur të mos ia dilte këtë vit?
Po sikur të dështonte?
Nuk do të kishte Krishtlindje
Santa tërhoqi litarin dhe bërtiti

Lëvize Rudolf! Lëvize Dasher dhe Dancer!
Shkoni përpara Prancer dhe Vixen!
Jepi Comet! Hajde Cupid!
Shkoni Donner dhe Blitzen!

Një orë më vonë Santa kishte dhimbje
Kur dëgjoi zërin e një fëmije duke bërtitur, Santa! A je ti?
Përshëndetje, vogelush tha Santa,
A është mami apo babi në shtëpi?

Në oxhak erdhën nëna dhe babai
Ndonëse të shqetësuar, ata kishin kuriozitet dhe habi të madhe
sepse ata kishin pushuar së besuari te Santa shumë kohë më parë
Dhe tani në moshën madhore, a do të vërtetohej se kishin gabuar?

Santa, a je vërtet ti? pyeti babai
Përshëndetje, nena dhe baba i vogelushit, u mbaj mend si fëmijë, tha Santa

Baba, ti ishe cik mistrec por nena ti ishe si engjell
Tani kam një urim për ju; ju lutem me ndihmoni!

Nëna thirri zjarrfikësit trima
Ata shpëtuan Santa të shkret me habi në sytë e tyre
Santa u dha të gjithëve një dhuratë falënderimi
Dhe i dha vogelushit surprizën e tij të mrekullueshme lodër

Santa më pas u ngjit me sajën e tij në majë të çatisë
Njerëz, do të doja të qëndroja, bërtiti ai,
Por unë duhet të shpërndaj gëzim tek fëmijët e mëdhenj dhe të vegjël
Natën e mirë dhe Gëzuar Krishtlindjet për të gjithë!

Motivational Quotes 11/11/22

A storyteller writes what he cannot live

No story means as much to the reader as it does to its writer

Misery stalls time, while happiness makes it fly

Aren’t all marriages arranged? by the hand of God

Am i happy? Of course I am not happy, but I am busy and that’s good enough

Though I may be tired, I have strength enough to be happy

How can a sound move us more than a word? Music has more power over the human soul than does speech.

People like what they know, and they like what is like them, ie their own kind.

Do what you will, if you are not in the right place, you can never succeed

The bridge between the impossible and the possible is made of spirit

The fall of love

I want to travel back in time
to the best time of my life
I want to travel back in time
to the time I was young and in love

winds clearing branches of their leaves
The yellow, the red, the brown leaves
Temperatures falling,
A sign that fall again is here

it has come around again,
Just as it did when I was young and naive
It caught me by surprise and off my guard
And before I knew it, I fell hard

Fall would be the season I would fall in love
It was a regular, ordinary day like any other
Made the most significant day of my entire life
I remember the time, the place, the earth-shattering revelation

I could tell you the time, the place, the girl
But then again, why?
It was so long ago, why should I even care?
It may as well be forgotten

I should just forget it!
She is a married woman now
She lives in the same town
I could run into her at the market, or the park with her kids

But I never have, in over 20 falls
I remember it like it was yesterday.
But it does me no good to remember
the dream that was not to be

I want to travel back in time
to the best fall of my life!
i want to travel back in time
to the fall I would fall in love!

I hate love!
No, just because your heart was broken
It doesn’t mean love is evil
I hate love!

No, don’t say so
You must not say so
I will, I will say it…
Of all I have ever felt, love is the best!

Morning tea

I walk downstairs outside
close large door behind me
Stand in front of building,
Sip my mug of tea and look ahead,

I knew the weather would be bad
All alone, dark skies up above
So unfriendly to my mood
I force my self to stay out

That’s where all the people are
Two neighbors and a repairman
At pharmacy drive through I see a car,
Turns on lights, as if to acknowledge me

I seek discomfort
Just gazing out into the distance
Sipping tea, all alone, in public
I give up and walk towards side of building

More privacy here
I sit on patio chair
Beneath gray and gloomy skies
Must pick cherry tomatoes, back of building

Arms moving, clearing branches
all thoughts lost in work
Get this, get that,
Neither happy nor sad

Side of building, patio chair,
I sit down again
Cherry tomatoes on window pane
I look out into space

Dark skies seem less hostile
I could sit here all day,
I turn head to street, neighbors gone.
Repairman now talking to repair woman

Not a soul in front.
Ominous gray clouds above,
Feels like a storm
Looking, only looking

People don’t like to meditate
it’s hard to be alone with your thoughts
Doing nothing, just being
The mind needs occcupation

I hope nobody catches me doing nothing,
That would ruin it
I give up, and walk upstairs.
Why did I have to come inside?

Good thing nobody caught me alone with my thoughts
That would drive them away
People don’t like to see others alone with their thoughts
When in public one can’t be alone with his thoughts

Was I even thinking?
I was not thinking… I was feeling.
Good thing nobody caught me alone with my feelings
That would drive them away

Looking out living room window at gray skies
What did Shakespeare say?
Skies like these do not clear up without a storm
But it stormed here last night… the end

A cloudy morning

A sagging sky,
It’s so ugly, it’s beautiful.

I was happy once
Ah, to be young and in love…

A dreary wet morning,
Tea alone on a lounge chair

A thunderstorm last night
An open window, a thunderstrike

So loud, so near, so terrible!
That it’s beautiful

The windows left open
Rainwater gushes in.

Ah, to be young and in love…
O what beautiful dark days of youth.

I was happy once,
I was sad at once

This? What is this?
A sagging sky, so dark, so ugly,

That it’s beautiful?
This is nothing!

Lonely. I must write!
The End

Nje Mengjes me Re (Albanian)

Një qiell i varur,
Është aq i shëmtuar, sa është i bukur.

Një herë isha i lumtur
Ah, të jesh i ri dhe ne dashuri

Një mëngjes i zymtë i lagësht,
Pi caj jashte, i vetëm në një karrike të varur

Një stuhi mbrëmë
Një dritare e hapur, një bubullimë

Kaq me zë të lartë, kaq afër, kaq e tmerrshme!
Se është e bukur.

Dritaret u lanë të hapura
Uji i shiut derdhet brenda.

Ah, të jesh i ri dhe i dashuruar
Ditë të bukura të errëta.

Një herë isha i lumtur,
Dhe ne te njejten here i merzitur.

Kjo? Çfarë është kjo?
Një qiell i varur, aq i errët, aq i shëmtuar,

Sa eshte i bukur?
Kjo nuk është asgjë!

I vetmuar. Duhet të shkruaj!
Fund

Motivational Quotes 5/20/22

We are all characters in God’s play.

Courage is not eliminating fear. Courage is not letting fear eliminate hope. – Grace, child cancer patient

When we aren’t willing to take a risk, we never start in the first place. -Mallory Weggemann

Memory is the sign of life. If we did not have memories could we prove we had ever lived?

I remember, therefore I am.

The universe has a way of pairing up people who belong together.

Most people, you’ll never meet; do good unto those you are with.

The old days always are good, even if at the time, they were bad

Luck suits the person and the personality.

Luck goes after its own kind. The good adds itself onto the good. The bad adds itself upon the bad.

Albania: Brave Old World

Recently I’ve been rereading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This book was a high school favorite of mine for the reason that it discusses forced conformity and brainwashing, two things that I faced and that I think every young person is faced with to some degree from his peers and false friends. Here I am, all these years later, relating to this story now for the opposite reason; Now instead of being faced with brainwashing, in order to arrive at “stability,” I have essentially arrived at the perfect point of stability, and I didn’t have to sell my soul it! It just came about naturally. How? With age, of course! Time heals all wounds, and time cools all heads. The only problem is that the adult mind is too stable, and not exciting like the spirit of youth. Regardless, although life doesn’t have the thrills of youth, it does have more peace. Yet age brings physical health problems, which make this stage of life harder, but I can’t blame that on a conformist society that tries to brainwash its members.

Now let us move on to the Albania blog. Let us pose this question: Can one draw an analogy between the US and Albania, where the US represents the Brave New World and Albania represents the Indian reservation? Certainly we can. Here is the comparison. Like the Brave New World, the US is a more perfect society: quiet, clean, law-abiding, and orderly. By comparison Albania is more “savage”: messy, noisy, hectic, unpleasant, disorderly, and chaotic.

In the US, to quote Huxley, “there isn’t any need for a civilized man to bear anything that’s seriously unpleasant.” If true, this certainly draws people to come here. But by the same token, the US is a much less soulful country than Albania. Stability gets rid of soul. A messy country is full of soul.

“My dear friend, civilization has absolutely no need of nobility or heroism,” says the Controller, dismissing the good qualities born of strife.

“But tears are necessary,” says the savage. You’ll get plenty of tears in Albania, if not literal, proverbial. Life there is more of a rollercoaster ride than the US. One has to endure a dizzy array of “flies and mosquitoes”; where it be open sewers, fellow passengers breathing down your neck in a city bus, or drivers who feel pedestrians get the right of way only if they earn it.

“Charming! But in civilized countries,” says the Controller…there aren’t any flies or mosquitoes to sting you. We got rid of them.” In America, everything is spic and span, or if not spic there is general standard: the busses are empty, the sewers are lidded, and pedestrians always get the right of way. But by the same token America somehow got rid of the pedestrians!

“You got rid of them. Yes that’s just like you,” says the Savage, “Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it.” By getting rid of the inconveniences, we reduce our own ability to cope/fight/and grow from difficulty. In Albania there are plenty of unpleasantries to fight and grow from. Yet, by the same token, life there is more uncomfortable.

“What you need is something with tears, for a change,” the Savage goes on, “Nothing costs enough here.” True, this makes us ask: Have we gone too far? Is America too quiet, too comfortable, too peaceful, too perfect? Yet, there are parts within America that are anything but “nice and clean.” i.e. the inner cities.

“I like the inconveniences,” says the savage, preferring an imperfect society, perhaps one like Albania.

“We don’t,” says the Controller, “We prefer to do things comfortably.” He prefers America.

“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” says the Savage. He wants to live life to the fullest.

The battle of the two societies mentioned above can also be framed as the battle of the society of peace versus the society of excitement. The Controller of the Brave New World prefers peace. The Savage of the Old World prefers excitement. America is the society of peace. Albania is the society of excitement. The society of peace is sophisticated and perfect. The society of excitement is unrefined. The epitome of peace, cleanliness and order, is the suburb, coveted by all well-to-do Americans as the ideal dwelling place. Meanwhile, the downtowns of cities are anything but peaceful, and this is why Americans, who crave peace and quiet, avoid them. Albanians crave noise! The culture is one where people covet living in the big city. The closer to the action the better. Tirana, Albania’s capital, is a buzzing beehive! I have been to Chicago, New York, Miami, and none of them are as energetic as Tirana. At the same time American architecture is massive and unmatched in size and scope by Albania or even Europe. Conversely, there are parts of Albania which are peaceful; villages. Unlike suburbs, they are very small, just a handful of houses, and are out not part of a city, but rather are out in the fields. They may have farmland nearby and even farm animals.