The Race

The Race I "Quit!  Give up!  You're beaten!" They shout out and plead. "There's just too much against you now. This time you can't succeed!" And as I start to hang my head In front of failure's face, My downward fall is broken by The memory of the race. And hope refills my weakened will As I recall the scene; For just the thought of that short race Rejuvenates my being. II A children's race--young boys, young men; How I remember well. Excitement, sure, but also fear; It wasn't hard to tell. They all lined up so full of hope: Each thought to win the race. Or tie for first, or if not that, At least take second place. And fathers watched from off the side, Each cheering for his son. And each boy hoped to show his dad That he would be the one. The whistle blew and off they went! Young hearts, and hopes afire. To win, to be the hero there Was each young boy's desire. And one boy in particular Whose dad was in the crowd, Was running near the lead and thought, "My dad will be so proud." But as he speeded down the field Across a shallow dip, The little boy who thought to win, Lost his step and slipped. Trying hard to catch himself His hands flew out to brace, And mid the laughter of the crowd He fell flat on his face. So down he fell and with him hope He couldn't win it now-- Embarrassed, sad, he only wished To disappear somehow. But as he fell his dad stood up And showed his anxious face, Which to the boy so clearly said: "Get up and win the race!" He quickly rose, no damage done Behind a bit, that's all-- And ran with all his mind and might To make up for his fall. So anxious to restore himself To catch up and to win His mind went faster than his legs: He slipped and fell again! He wished that he had quit before With only one disgrace. "I'm hopeless as a runner now; I shouldn't try to race." But in the laughing crowd he searched And found his father's face. That steady look which said again: "Get up and win the race!" So he jumped up to try again. Ten yards behind the last-- "If I'm to gain those yards," he thought, "I've got to move real fast." Exerting everything he had, He gained eight or ten, But trying so hard to catch the lead He slipped and fell again! Defeat!  He lay there silently A tear dropped from his eye-- "There's no sense running anymore: Three strikes I'm out, why try?" The will to rise had disappeared All hopes had fled away; So far behind, so error-prone: A loser all the way. "I've lost, so what's the use," he thought. "I'll live with my disgrace." But then he thought about his dad Who soon he'd have to face. "Get up," an echo sounded low. Get up and take your place. You were not meant for failure here. Get up and win the race." With borrowed will, "Get up," it said, "You haven't lost at all, For winning is no more than this: To rise each time you fall." So up he rose to win once more, And with a new commit He resolved that win or lose, At least he wouldn't quit. So far behind the others now. The most he'd ever been-- Still he gave it all he had And ran as though to win. Three times he'd fallen stumbling: Three times he rose again. Too far behind to hope to win He still ran to the end. They cheered the winning runner As he crossed, first place, Head high and proud and happy; No falling, no disgrace. But when the fallen youngster Crossed the line, last place, The crowd gave him the greater cheer For finishing the race. And even though he came in last With head bowed low, un-proud, You would have thought he won the Race to listen to the crowd. And to his dad he sadly said, "I didn't do so well." "To me you won," his father said. "You rose each time you fell." III And when things seem dark and hard And difficult to face, The memory of that little boy Helps me in my own race. For all of life is like that race. With ups and downs and all. And all I have to do to win Is rise each time I fall. "Quit!"  "Give up, you're beaten!" They still shout in my face. But another voice within me says: "GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!" (Based on a poem of unknown authorship)

It Brings Down The Great

It Brings Down The Great Ominous and powerful, it brings down the great. No ones immune, it doesn't discriminate. It can't be held and it can't be seen. But it leaves devastation wherever it's been. Oh, the accolades you could have had For all those accomplishments you wanted so bad. But you let it in and you gave it life, And it cut you down as if using a knife. You knew what you wanted.  You knew what to do. Nothing could stop you, nothing, thought you. Then you planted the seed and it grew so tall. Nothing could stop it, nothing at all. It grew stronger and stronger each and every day. It destroyed everything that got in its way. You cursed the day you gave it a name. You tried to fight back, but in it came. It consumed all it touched, even your dreams. It left nothing behind, not even your screams. And now that you know, you just want to shout, "Don't ever give in to those first strands of doubt."

The Rain Will Fall

The Rain Will Fall A soft wet mist engulfs the city   As a blue sky fades into a sad shade of gray. A dark and dreary rain descends   As the sun successfully hides from the day. The wind howls like a wounded beast   As it swoops down with its twists and its swirls Leading dead leaves in a frantic dance   And so another day unfurls. The cold clammy fingers of the day overcomes you   As your happy dreams sadly fade away. Your life seems so very dark and dreary   As you hopelessly try to hide from the day. Your thoughts reach out for a shapeless past   As you retrace your life's twists and turns In your frantic search to find yourself   Your day begins and your heart still yearns. Be still, take heart, reflect a while.   For soon this will pass and then you will know That behind that tragic mask you wear,   As behind the wind, the cold and the snow That the sun still shines and the birds still sing.   For this sadness you feel befalls us all. No one, as yet has lived untouched,   Because into each life some rain must fall. (Original Poem by DragonHorse)

Happiness Vs. Human Nature

To truly understand motivation, I believe that one must first understand "happiness." If you are a happy person you will attract more people, you will do better at whatever you attempt, whether it is DubLi or any endeavor. So many of us tie happiness to the fulfillment of "more." The concept of "more" is one of the basic characteristics of "human nature." Happiness is not a function of human nature; it should not be tied to it. The basis of Human Nature is "not to be satisfied." Human nature is to seek pleasure, to fulfill desires, to accomplish, to better our world, to never quit, to persevere, to constantly strive for "more." whatever the aspects of human nature that we strive for, we will never be satisfied. Insatiability, and the drive to be satisfied are at the heart of human nature. You can never have enough intimacy, food, love, accomplishment, money, success, etc. The problem that we run into is that many of us feel that we would be happy "if." For such a small word, so much can hang on it. "If" is considered a condition. As an example; polls show that people in general state that they would be happy "if" they had 50% more salary. Then, after that goal was reached and they were polled again, they would be happy with 50% more again. No matter how much we have, we want "more." To want "more", in and of itself, is not a bad thing, in fact it is a great thing. To desire "more" is what has produced all of the great inventions and discoveries of our civilization; not to mention artwork and the overall betterment of the human condition. "Human nature," unfortunately, has also created what is "bad" in this world, like Hitler, Mussolini, street gangs, wars, man's inhumanity towards man, etc. Where we go wrong is to base happiness on the attainment of accomplishment, or the achievement of a goal, or on any level of success (however we define it.) The result of this behavior is the assurance that we will never be happy. Happiness is a decision to be grateful for what we have, no matter how much, no matter how little. Happiness can be had by rich and poor alike. If you practice this philosophy "happiness is a decision to be grateful," you can be happy most every day of your life, while still striving for “more.” Basing happiness on any aspect of human nature is a recipe for disaster; you assure yourself of never being able to attain happiness no matter how much you have or how much more you get. To better understand how "happiness" and "Human Nature" can exist side by side I have created this following quote: “Human nature is what drives us, happiness is what sustains us." Think of two perpendicular lines, one pointing up and the other pointing sideways. The one pointing up represents human nature, a constant up-hill battle to achieve. The one pointing sideways represents happiness; we have the ability to maximize happiness no matter where we are on the vertical line, by the simple process of choosing and the power of gratitude. On the other hand we also have the ability to choose misery and sadness. There are those who state that the world has so much pain and hardship, wars and evil, and that knowing this, "how can we be happy?" At the end of the day, it comes down to individual choice as to what we do with this knowledge. The vertical line that represents achievement can also represent the desire to change the world around us. My constant companion is Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Pledge: “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference.” If we can apply this to everything we do, the ability to choose happiness becomes a lot easier. The one thing to remember from this is that the "choice is yours!"

Motivation

Following are a number of motivational poems & articles; some are old favorites and some are originals.  They will all help motivate you and insure a Positive Mental Attitude. ARTICLES Happiness Vs. Human Nature POEMS Bargain With Life It Brings Down The Great  The Race The Rain Will Fall

Bargain With Life

Bargain With Life I will not bargain with life for a penny Because, then life would pay no more, However I would beg at evening When counting my scanty store. For Life is just an employer, He gives me what I ask, But once I have set the wages, Why, I must bear the task. I will not work for a menial's hire, I will not be in a state of dismay Because any wage I ask of Life, Life will willingly pay. (Based on a poem of unknown authorship)