Has anyone noticed that sometimes is seems like you hole life has been planned out for you? Does every day seem like it's just the same as the last? You know, get up, eat brakefast, yadda, yadda, yadda. before your even born, your parents basically know how to plan you life, go to grade school, go to high school, and hopefully then college. Now, eveen though some of these things we can't avoid, we can still mix life up a little, do something different. If you have free time, don't watch TV, do something you don't do every day, volenteer somewhere, go on a hike, go out to dinner with some friends, write a letter to someone you haven't seen in a long time, go to a museum, SOMETHING! I find it so much easier to bear life if you never know what's coming next, even in a world of conformity it's good to know your not confined to the boundries set for you.

It has come time for me to move on, take another steop toward adult hood, and although graduationg from 8th grade may not seem as important as graduating from high school or college, I believ that all graduations are important. And I don't just mean the defined graduations, we are always graduating, we may just not realize it. Everytime we learn something new, try something different, mature in some way, we are taking another step toward adulthood, we are shedding off, bit by bit, our child hood selves and that, in itself, is graduating. You can graduate every day, every hour, every miniut, if you jut open yourself to the world and let all of its wonders and knowlege flow in. They say the truly educated never graduate, that is another way to look at it. You can never truly graduate, for there is always more to learn. So just take life step by step, and soak in as much scenery as possible.

Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.- The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

Giving is something someone can do even if they have nothing. Giving of possessions is only one of the endless things one can put out into the world. I know that just a smile or a nice comment can make my day so much better, and it makes me feel renewed when I do something that reaches out to someone else. You can give evey second of every day, if you are willing.

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. -The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

I think that this is a very interesting view of love. I think that it makes sences, in that althought there is much pain in love, enduring that pain makes the joy even more joyful, having pain makes it easier to have joy. I had never really thought about that before, but it makes so much sense. A day without loving will make one with it that much more happy. So love love, whether it bring you pain or joy.

"The love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, love isn't love till you give it away."

It starts with the steady chanting, tuning youself to the earth, to the universe. The calm sets in, as if you could do no wrong, as if there is no wrong. Then the yoga begins. The streches, breathing, mind work and so much more. You become one with youself, your mind and body rejoin. All of the hate or anger you held just washes away, flows out and is swallowed by nothingness. You are at peace, something you strive to be all the time, in every waking moment of you life, but there are so many things that distract you from the life you wish to lead.

I practice yoga and meditation, and I think it has done more for me than I can comprehend. I believe if we all partook in these practices that all the hate we have for eachother would be lost with the wind, and we could finally understand that we are all the earth's children and would sing and dance together in the wonder of life, in the music of the universe.