How to cope in challenging/controversial times...

Valuable Lesson
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a Rupee 500 note. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this Rupee 500 note Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this note to one of you but first let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the note up. He then asked, "Who still wants it

Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this ". And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it " Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.

No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth Rupee 500/-.

Many times in your lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special don t ever forget it! Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special -- Don't EVER forget it.

Count your blessings, not your problems.

"VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED BY YOU"

I feared being alone
Until I learned to like Myself.
I feared failure
Until I realized that I only Fail when I don't try.
I feared success
Until I realized that I had to try in order to be happy with myself.

I feared people's opinions
Until I learned that people would have opinions about me anyway.
I feared rejection
Until I learned to have faith in myself.
I feared pain
Until I learned that it's necessary for growth

I feared the truth
Until I saw the ugliness in lies.
I feared life
Until I experienced its beauty .
I feared death
Until I realized that it's not an end, but a beginning.

I feared my destiny,
Until I realized that I had the power to change my life.
I feared hate
Until I saw that it was nothing more than ignorance.
I feared love
Until it touched my heart, making the darkness fade into endless sunny days.

I feared ridicule
Until I learned how to laugh at myself.
I feared growing old
Until I realized that I gained wisdom every day.
I feared the future
Until I realized that Life just kept getting better.
I feared the past
Until I realized that It could no longer hurt me.

I feared the dark
Until I saw the beauty of the starlight.
I feared the light
Until I learned that the Truth would give me Strength.
I feared change,
Until I saw that even the most beautiful butterfly had to undergo a Metamorphosis before it could fly.