THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 22MARCH2011

"TO ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS WE MUST NOT ONLY ACT, BUT ALSO DREAM; NOT ONLY PLAN, BUT ALSO BELIEVE."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 22MARCH2011

"HE TEACHES ME TO BE GOOD HE WHO WHO DOES GOOD TO ME"

Failure Leads to Success

In 1962, four nervous young musicians played their first record audition for the executives of the Decca Recording company. The executives were not impressed. While turning down this group of musicians, one executive said, "We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out." The group was called The Beatles.

In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, "You'd better learn secretarial work or else get married." She went on and became Marilyn Monroe.

In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry fired a singer after one performance. He told him, "You ain't goin' nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." He went on to become the most popular singer in America, named Elvis Presley.

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it did not ring off the hook with calls from potential backers. After making a demonstration call, President Rutherford Hayes said, "That's an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?"

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, "I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2000-step process."

In the 1940's, another young inventor named Chester Carlson took his idea to 20 corporations, including some of the biggest in the country. They all turned him down. In 1947 - after seven long years of rejections! He finally got a tiny company in Rochester, New York, the Haloid Company, to purchase the rights to his invention, an electrostatic paper-copying process. Haloid became Xerox Corporation we know today.

Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful. When she was 4 years old, she contacted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with a paralyzed left leg. At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it. By 13 she had developed rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year she decided to become a runner. She entered a race and came in last. For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running. One day she actually won a race. And then another. From then on she won every race she entered. Eventually this little girl, who was told she would never walk again, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.

Identify & Get Informed

The greatest challenge that the human race has ever faced still remains: to live in a world free of the threat of violence. Violence is not restricted to times of war; it exists everywhere: in homes, schools and communities. Where there is injustice, there is conflict.

Some argue that much of the conflict in world can be attributed to the existence of an oppressive social system of power that reinforces differences between groups and allows one group to have power or privilege over another group. Conflict at the local and international level can stem from exploitation, poverty, corrupt governance, resource scarcity, and dehumanizing beliefs. One popular theory states that as long as the global system relies on exploitive, oppressive and hierarchical relationships, there will likely exist conflict. Another prevailing conflict theory says that conflict is inherent and constant, but when positively managed it can be a productive force.

On a local level, many grassroots organizations work directly with their communities to counter conflict with prevention strategies through educational campaigns as well as support services for those recovering from violence. Whether individually or in a group, we as global citizens have a responsibility to promote a culture of peace, and resolve differences without resorting to conflict. Topics explored in greater detail in this section are: Youth violence, Arms Control, war children, and genocide.


APOLOGIES AND REPARATIONS PERSPECTIVE

Over the past few centuries the world has seen their share of human atrocities from the mass colonization and destruction of the majority of the world’s cultures and peoples, particularly that of Indigenous peoples and their lands, to the more than 300 year-long transatlantic slave trade that has systematically devastated the lives of several generations of people worldwide. So how can we redress these wrongs of the past? One way people have been addressing atrocities of the past is through the use of apologies and reparations. An apology, in this case, is a statement of regret that publicly acknowledges the occurrence and severity of the act of injustice committed; and reparations refers to a practical action that has been taken, such as paying money to the victims, to remedy the wrong that has been done. Both apologies and reparations seek to repair a relationship that has been compromised by some purposeful offense. However, apologies can only symbolically address wrongs that have been committed, while reparations are more tangible representations of the offenders willingness to begin repairing the relationship between offender and offended.

There has been much controversy over the issue of apologies and reparations in many parts of the world where some have questioned the practicality of apologizing and offering reparations to a person or group of people who have been unduly harmed given the fact that these actions are unable to reverse the wrongs that have already been done. In response, some advocates of apologies and reparations put forth that although the victims of offenses warranting an apology and reparations often suffer great degrees of loss in terms of dignity, rights, property, wealth, justice, and their overall well-being, apologies and reparations are meant to signal efforts towards peace and reconciliation that may have otherwise been ignored.

24 Things to Always Remember and One Thing to Never Forget

Your presence is a present to the world.
You're unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You'll make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don't put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
Don't take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot . . . goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life's treasures are people . . . together.

Realize that it's never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have health and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a star.

And don't ever forget . . .
For even a day . . .
How very special you are.

Famous Inspirational Messages

What I Have Learned (sometimes the hard way)

I've learned- that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned- that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned- that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned- that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned- that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.

I've learned- that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.

I've learned- that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned- that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned- that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I've learned- that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned- that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I've learned- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned- that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I've learned- that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned- that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I've learned- that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned- that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I've learned- that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned- that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I've learned- that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.

I've learned- that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned- that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you are to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned- that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned- that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned- that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned- that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I've learned- that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I've learned- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned- that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.

I've learned- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I've learned- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I've learned- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned- that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I've learned- that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.

I LOVE THE WAY....

P

Author Unknown

( I WISHED I COULD OWN THE SAME )

I love the way we've been from the start,
The way your love melts my heart,
That you've been as caring as can be,
You've been the sweetest person to me.

I love the way we have so much in common,
Maybe because for me you're the right person.
I love the way that nobody sees me like you do,
The way you give me love so true.

I love the way we talk on the phone even for a while,
The way your voice makes me smile.
I love the way we share precious memories,
That forever my heart will cherish.

I love the way you give me your sweet embrace,
The way I feel the warmth of your breath on my face,
The way I feel the softness of your lips when we kiss,
So close we are, I wish we'll forever be like this.

I love the way you look into my eyes,
The way we make each other realize,
That we should keep going strong,
Even though they think this is wrong.

I love the way we dream together,
And the way we promised each other,
No matter how much we would suffer,
It'll be us, it'll be forever.