It's your call....

Practice, they say....

.....makes perfect. (Here 'they' are, again!!)  Surely, though, that rather depends on what it is that you're practising. If you are attempting to refine the art of mistake-making, then the more you do it the more imperfect you will become. Now why, you may wonder, would anyone want to do that? Consciously, I'm sure they would not. But hidden agendas are funny things. Sometimes, we inwardly set out to scupper our opportunities.

If you want something to change, don't do what you've always done.

Nothing is to small to know, and nothing too big to attempt.    (William Van Horne)

Forgive me, but....

....I need to be more than a tad flippant to start this one - You know of the Pearly Gates? You know the bit where St Peter stands looking up names on his latest piece of hardware? Does he have a sign next to him saying, 'American Express cards welcome'? You can't buy your way into heaven. Nor, can you attain entry via your social network. Peter isn't going to look you up on Facebook to see how many friends you have. 

Heaven is a place in the heart. Entry is strictly according to trust, love, faith and open-mindedness. 

If a thing loves, it is infinite.   (William Blake)

They say....

.....(Well, it is the start of a new week.  Any excuse.)  They say love means, never having to say you're sorry. I have never understood what this is supposed to mean. People who love each other don't ever need to apologise to each other? Why? They never make mistakes? They consider themselves entitled to full forgiveness, regardless of what they do? 

Whoever invented that cute little phrase, is probably responsible for a thousand divorces. If an apology is appropriate somewhere in your world, allow it to be made.

If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.   (Kahlil Gibran)

I've been struggling to understand....

....why I haven't been able to sleep too well of late.  Then it dawned on me - I haven't had a 'they say....' moment for ages.   This just has to be the reason, so I best rectify it -

They say that stress is a modern disease. Really? So nobody stressed out over the Black Death, then!!  I guess 'they' believe that weeks on end in a WWI trench was a picnic.   Do we really think life was any less tense in the Middle Ages?

The only thing that is new, is the understanding that it is a condition in itself and doesn't always have to be related to physical or psychological circumstances. That is a key point. Most times, the only change that you need, if you are to rise above stress, is a change of outlook.

Don't worry when you are not recognised, but strive to be worthy of recognition.   (Abraham Lincoln)

Give one defensible reason.....

.....why you wouldn't -

Some arguements aren't....

...worth getting into. We know, before a word is spoken, how they will play out. We can hear our set-piece speech forming in our own head... and it doesn't require much imagination to guess what will be said to us in return.

Conversation that doesn't actually involve listening, absorbing, digesting and allowing for some possibility of change as a result of the exchange is never very worthwhile.

With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate,

and the wisdom to be humble. 

Courage is the foundation of integrity. 

(Keshavan Nair)