"Words To Live By"

I am fully aware that I keep mentioning that May day. And, I am fully aware I have yet to explain what happened that day.

I'm just not ready to...yet.

In my first blog, besides mentioning the non-profit quest, I also mentioned that I wanted to help people understand that they could triumph over life's greatest challenges. I wrote that I'd explain how I have done and continue to do it. Because, I sort of see this process like AA... one day at a time.

On that May afternoon, while I waited for my sister to arrive, I emailed an old friend. We have been friends for well over ten years. In that time, we have seen each other on maybe thirty occasions. Our friendship is "held" over email. My inbox is filled with emails from him. And, it was on that day that he gave me an extremely important piece of advice. It ended up acting as my guide, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know it.

He told me that just like when you are sick, and you fill your body with good things... remedies... I would need to do the same during this crisis. I would need to fill my head and heart with positive things. I would have to surround myself with positive books, movies, people, songs. These would be my remedies. It was how I would heal.

I decided right then and there I would do only that.

Then, he sent an email with this as the subject: "Manana sera mejor."

The translation is ~ "Tomorrow will be better."

I copied the quote down on a small piece of paper. Then, I stuck it to my bathroom mirror.

A few days later, I returned to work. The last thing I did before leaving was to read the quote stuck to the bathroom mirror. Returning to work was one of the many hard things I had to do, but I did it because to me, it was  "tomorrow" and that quote had said, "Tomorrow will be better." What did I have to lose?

After the first period bell rang, the students and I sat and stared at one another for a very long time. Neither side knew what to say. I scanned all their faces and my eyes fell to one boy's t-shirt. He wore a brand new white t-shirt with black Old English lettering. It read, "Know your weaknesses. Let others see your strengths." Reading that quote was like being hit by a brick. In haste, I scribbled it onto a small piece of paper and threw it in my purse.When I returned home that day, I stuck it to my mirror. When I read it, I knew it was the absolute most important thing I do. I set out to show how strong I was.

The next morning, one of my best girlfriends from work forwarded me an email. She'd received her "Quote of the Day" email, which read, "Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are... see possibilities... for they're always there." (Norman Vincent Peale) You can probably guess what I did with that. Yes, it went on my mirror, too. I chuckled at this quote and tried to think how it could apply to this situation, but it did indeed. My possibilities, my quests were endless.

Within the next few weeks, two other quotes came my way. "You don't know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing you can be." and "When nothing is sure, anything is possible." (Margaret Drabble)They went on my mirror, too. In a very short amount of time I'd learned I was pretty damn strong. And, I learned that I could chart this course of my life any way I so desired. It was invigorating.

Months passed and another quote came to me. "Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenges and dares to forgive an injury." (Edward Chapin) This quote...this quote would be my next quest. And, a future blog.

This past summer, I traveled to St. Louis for a Girls' Weekend. While shopping in nearby St. Charles, we stepped into a boutique. There, I found bracelets with quotes on them. Both my girlfriends and my sister took one look at the bracelets and declared, "Those are Sherri bracelets." I purchased one that reads, "Keep the faith." You'll find it on my right wrist every day. It reminds me to keep going, to plow ahead, to believe that everything will be fine.

What I discovered was words were the most positive thing I could bring into my life. I discovered that the right words had a way of finding their way to me. And each one that came in, taught me something about either myself, or about how I should handle my current situation.

I never went searching for the right quotations. I waited for them to come to me, and they have kept coming. Other people's words have guided me, caused me to pause, reflect, reevaluate, and even laugh. Words are powerful.

Just yesterday, two new quotes came to me. The first is now on top of my Blog. A wise, dear former student sent it to me and said it reminded her of me.Words can not desribe how very touched I was by her thoughtfulnesses.

The second, my friend sent to me in an email, "Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." (Ben Franklin) It is up on my mirror. I find it quite healing.

I sent him this one today, "Some days you're a bug. Some days, you're a windshield." (Price Cobb) Isn't that the truth?