Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.   Ralph Waldo Emerson   The Conduct of Life

“Spring flew swiftly by, and summer came; and if the village had been beautiful at first, it was now in the full glow and luxuriance of its richness…. The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green; and shed her richest perfumes abroad. It was the prime and vigour of the year; all things were glad and flourishing.” --Charles Dickens It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us...  Charles Dickens  

"What do you mean I'm not successful? I do what I like to do... I have the respect and the friendship of my peers. I live in a house my father made with his hands. I have a damn good life."    Rosalie Sorrels  

“You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing.” ―  Kate Morton

I was influenced a lot by those around me - there was a lot of singing that went on in the cotton fields. Willie Nelson

I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.   Anne Frank