Forever

Forever

It was always forever

and what is forever

for a mortal...

Is it time 

is it a gentle breeze

a wisp of smoke

a whisper

Education ...

Education is freedom 

but it is not about ease, comfort, 

tests or believing you are "right". 

It is about the unknown 

and challenges that are faced with curiosity, 
perseverance, and fearlessness. 

In the face of locked doors, dense fogs, 

and mountains that pierce the clouds 

and block our path, 

do we embrace the possibilities 

or despair at the unfortunate predicament? 

When you accept fear, 

you embrace all that defeats you, 

all that diminishes dreams and inevitably 

set a course in life that has no motion 

and leads nowhere.

THE 12 WIZARD RULES

THE 12 WIZARD RULES

Wizard's First Rule: 

People can be made to believe any lie, 

either because they want to believe it's true, 

or because they are afraid it's true.

Wizard's Second Rule: 

The greatest harm can result 

from the best intentions.

Wizard's Third Rule: 

Passion rules reason.

Wizard's Fourth Rule: 

There is Magic to heal. 
In the forgiveness you grant, 

and more so 

in the forgiveness you receive.

Wizard's Fifth Rule: 

Mind what people do, 

not only what they say, 

for deeds will betray a lie.

Wizard's Sixth Rule: 

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you 

is reason.

Wizard's Seventh Rule: 

Life is the future, 

not the past.

Wizard's Eight Rule: 

Deserve victory.

Wizard's Ninth Rule: 

A contradiction cannot exist in reality. 

Not in part, nor in whole.

Wizard's Tenth Rule: 

Willfully turning aside from the truth 

is treason to one's self.

Wizard's Eleventh Rule: 

Seek the truth not through others, 

but through yourself.

Wizard's Twelfth Rule: 

You can destroy those who speak the truth, 

but you cannot destroy the truth itself.

Second to the right, and straight on till morning...

They who lack talent 

expect things to happen without effort. 

They ascribe failure to a lack of inspiration 

or ability, or to misfortune, 

rather than to insufficient application. 

At the core of every true talent 

there is an awareness of the difficulties 

inherent in any achievement, 

and the confidence 

that by persistence and patience 

something worthwhile will be realized. 

Thus talent is a species of vigor. 

~Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983) 

Smiling at You ~ J. Skellington :)

And finally, everything worked out just fine.
Christmas was saved, though there wasn't much time.

But after that night, things were never the same—
Each holiday now knew the other ones' name.

And though that one Christmas things got out of hand,
I'm still rather fond of that skeleton man.

So many years later I thought I'd drop in,
and there was old Jack still looking quite thin,
with four or five skeleton children at hand
playing strange little tunes in their xylophone band.

And I asked old Jack, "Do you remember the night
when the sky was so dark and the moon shone so bright?
When a million small children pretending to sleep
nearly didn't have Christmas at all, so to speak?”

And would you, if you could, turn that mighty clock back
to that long, fateful night, now think carefully, Jack.

Would you do the whole thing all over again,
knowing what you know now, knowing what you knew then?"

And he smiled, like the old Pumpkin King that I knew,
then turned and asked softly of me, "Wouldn't you?"

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep. 

~  by Robert Frost

NOW WINTER NIGHTS ENLARGE

Now Winter Nights Enlarge

Now winter nights enlarge

    This number of their hours;

And clouds their storms discharge

    Upon the airy towers.

Let now the chimneys blaze

    And cups o'erflow with wine,

Let well-tuned words amaze

    With harmony divine.

Now yellow waxen lights 

    Shall wait on honey love

While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights 

    Sleep's leaden spells remove.

This time doth well dispense

    With lovers' long discourse;

Much speech hath some defense,

    Though beauty no remorse.

All do not all things well:

    Some measures comely tread,

Some knotted riddles tell,

    Some poems smoothly read.

The summer hath his joys,

    And winter his delights;

Though love and all his pleasures are but toys

    They shorten tedious nights.

~ Thomas Campion