Jalapenos - By Annie

If you can’t take responsibility for your own well-being, you will never take control over it.

Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self-respect springs.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things - a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.

There is only one optimist. He has been here since man has been on this earth, and that is "man" himself. If we hadn't had such a magnificent optimism to carry us through all these things, we wouldn't be here. We have survived it on our optimism.

Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A word of optimism and hope. A "you can do it" when things are tough.

You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.

We've gotten to the point where everybody's got a right and nobody's got a responsibility.

To decide, to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your life and to be in control of your life.

[i] You can watch the video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4j_9IQ6wzk

[ii] You betcha I’ve got a link for this one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5yMt5jdI9g

[iii] And this one too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFFRWGT5oU8

[iv] I used to have this positive interpretation of “it is what it is” that was connected to the acceptance of ambiguity and suggestion of a world full of possibilities. But after pondering the use of the phrase for a while, I realized that there are other interpretations of it. One article that I read, had a suggestion of its meaning that actually leaves a sick feeling in my gut. To them, the phrase indicates a resignation; a sense of acceptance of something that just isn’t quite up to par. This strikes me as sad.

[v] Quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt.

[vi] To me, "Just deal with it.", strikes a certain down-to-earth common sense note and suggests learning to accept some of the unpleasant givens in one's own physical condition, genetic predisposition, or existential situation. There is a whole mindfulness tradition that emanates from Buddhist meditation practices having to do with acceptance (it can also emanate from sitting around drinking beer with buddies, and reminding ourselves of all the good things that we have in our lives, as well!).