REFLECTIONS

Your life is an ever changing photograph. You take the shot. You frame the image.

There are no crossroads in life, only T-junctions. Left or right. Good or bad. It's your choice.

Most problems in the world come down to either money or personality.

Memory is sweet as honey or bitter as a lemon. Harvest the best, forget the rest.

Be the best you can be; you only have one shot at this.

I found the church was empty, but the forest it was full.

Beware of those whose eyes don't shine when they smile.

The mighty oak endures storm and drought and flood. So too can we endure.

The universe is waiting; the least you can do is invite yourself in.

Turn all your disadvantages into advantages. That's the secret to conquering misfortune.

A broken spirit can be mended. Nothing is truly beyond repair.

From the rising of the sun to its sinking at the end of the day,

do something a little special.

In a world of multiple forms of communication, we have forgotten how to talk to each other.

Whoever says "the sky is the limit" has a feeble imagination.

There is a fragility in autocrats. Behind the bluster, they seem to be perpetually afraid.

Sometimes it seems as if the entire world is a lunatic asylum - and God has thrown away the key.

I have journeyed across continents, travelled through time and explored the galaxy - because I read.

If you've fallen by the wayside, don't stay there for the vultures. Life is for the living.

The greatest casualty of the 21st century is the truth.

In search of self, are you wandering around in a maze

or walking down an open road with a smile on your face?

Every breath you take should remind you of the gift of life.

Words can soar like an eagle or fall like a gunshot sparrow. Choose them carefully.

The boy becomes the man who, weary of life's travails, yearns to be a boy again.

Forgiveness is the most of noble of responses - but revenge tastes better.

Indulge yourself now and again, not again and again.

Don't go through life blaming yourself for everything - unless, of course, it really is your fault.

The chapters in our lives are stepping stones.

We just have to get to the other side without falling in too many times.

You never truly value your freedom till someone abruptly takes it away from you.

The key to a successful revolution is to revolt without being revolting.

Retaining a child-like sense of wonder is one of the most grown-up things you can do.

Joy is fleeting. Contentment lasts.

Shine a torch for humanity, even if the beam catches only one person.

We are castaways on islands of uncertainty, sending out a message in a bottle.

Do not tarry when pursuing your goals; they won't wait and neither should you.

Your soul is your sat-nav. Let it guide you to the place you need to be.

One single glance can say more than an hour of conversation.

Don't just say sorry. Be sorry. An apology without contrition is worthless.

Never trust anyone who says "you can trust me."

If my days are numbered, then I'd like that number to be 93.

If you walk ten miles in somebody else's' moccasins, make sure they bloody well fit.

If you fall in love, make sure you land safely.

Dance to the rhythm of your heart, your breath. Stop dancing when you've stopped living.

Tell people a lie often enough and they'll not only start believing it, they'll embrace it.

Hell is more than just "other people" - it's sharing eternity with congenital morons and conspiracy theorists.

Be a leaf in the breeze. Let it take you where the wind blows.

God looks down on American evangelists and silently weeps.

Treat your life like an open book, ever ready for anew chapter to write.

A part of the maturing process is to value quality over quantity.

If you're feeling all at sea, don't worry - there's a lifeboat on the horizon.

Too many people are sleepwalking through life and unlikely to wake up.

We can treat the Earth as trespassers or caretakers - it's a sacred choice.

Old soldiers never truly die; they just fall out from the legions of grey.

It seems to be a feature of modern life that people have forgotten how to feel shame.

If you constantly bemoan how people are unkind, then be kind.

When human voices come together in melodious harmony, it's like the angels are working overtime.

Having a little of something that is bad for you is, ultimately, rather good for you.

Love is not only blind, it's deaf and dumb as well.

The pen is mightier than the sword, but nothing is quite so convincing as a gun to the head.

It takes self-discipline to be self-disciplined. It's like a dog chasing its own tail.

If people think the worst of you, then you may as well go ahead and do your worst.

Make every day a small adventure. Find some colour in our monochrome lives.

Why am I confused by modern life? Because the world has turned upside-down

and I'm still the right way up.

Don't threaten me with violence; it's the language of desperation.

When a door closes in your face, either walk away or find the key to open it.

Find your centre - don't stand on the periphery of your own existence.

Silence can speak a thousand words when there's nothing more to say.

I'll mark my horizon till it falls out of sight.

You can leave the curtains undrawn and hide in the dark.

Or throw them wide and let in the light.

Religion tells you what to think; spirituality guides you on how to think.

Learning a foreign language is more than just a skill; it helps you to bond with the rest of humanity.

The incessant rain is slowly cleansing the windows of my mind.

Beware of family trees; they may conceal wood rot, a wayward branch, parasites and treacherous roots.

When you enslave another human being, you put a manacle around your soul.

When our wants outweigh our needs, then we are not leading a good life.

Some of the good die young. Some of the bad die old. It's all just a mindless lottery.

Only losers try to diminish others by calling them "losers".

Be sensitive to the rhythms around you - from barely discernible

movement of the moon to the whirr of a dragonfly's wing.

When we depend only on sat-nav to find the way, then we have truly lost our sense of direction.

"Charity begins at home". No, it doesn't. You follow your heart, not your postcode.

If you have billions of dollars but no peace of mind, then you are effectively bankrupt.

Humankind is sometimes not very kind at all.

It's better to whisper the truth than shout out a lie.

Will you stand with me, strong as an oak, tall as a pine,

unyielding like the willow and wise in years like the yew?

Sometimes, what sets you apart from the rest of them, makes you the best of them.

The sand in the hourglass runs faster as you get older. Nobody ever said life was fair.

Don't ever try and change the mind of a fool; they relish their own idiocy.

Better to shake a man's hand than shake a fist at him.

If I ruled the world, I would choose not to rule it.

To think of yourself as perfect is, in itself, a great imperfection.

Our only restraint is a lack of imagination.

Speak for those who have no voice, listen to those who go unheard.

Do not lead and do not follow - just walk by my side.

Social media can be profoundly anti-social.

We can be so worn down with worry, that the anxiety

becomes more injurious than the thing itself.

My senses are overwhelmed by the bounty of nature;

these are the scenes I dream about in the depths of winter.

I worried about how long I have left on this Earth. Then I saw a mayfly

Pray for your sins as the end draws near - it's good to hedge your bets.

"Are you a sheep or a shepherd?" they asked me.

"Neither," I replied. "I'm the sheepdog."

Exercise patience. You have all the time in the world - unless you're dying.

Tend your garden. Nurture the best. Water it well. Eliminate the weeds. Reach for the light. Grow.