At 08:13 AM 11/5/98 -0500, you wrote:
>-----------------------------------------------
>Subj: More hard times
>-----------------------------------------------
>
>hi george
>
>you wrote, in part:
>>...On the matter of gifts. They come unexpectedly...
>
>you could apply that to all aspects of life
>we can plan and hope and attempt to harness the future
>till we're blue in the face
>
>but the reality is
>we're not the ones in the driver's seat
>
>none of us knows what's around the next corner
>or over the next hill
>
>all we have is today
>there's no point in worrying about the past and the future
>it's a waste of precious time and energy
>
>*****
>>The best laid plans of mice and men
>>gang oft agley
>>and lea'e us naught but grief and pain
>>for promised joy
>*****
>
>exactly!
>but a question is
>who made the promises
>and created the expectations?
>
>i also like a toast of burns' [i believe]
>that my glaswegian grandmother, the esteemed janet paterson, used:
>
>*****
>here's to us was like us
>and de'il the yin
>*****
>
>my translation/spelling may not be exact
>but i believe that the intent is
>"here's to us and our 'kindred'
>and to the devil with the rest"
>
>i interpret it further as
>"the only opinions that matter
>are your own and those of the ones you love"
>
>worrying about the opinions of others
>is just another waste of precious time and energy
>
>>...I do not like my PD. It has robbed me of my
>>independence, taken pleasure from my life, stripped
>>away my self-confidence, sapped my energy, depressed
>>my family, separated me from my friends, driven me
>>from my profession, and darkened my future. it has
>>also forced me to look, unblinking, into the mirror
>>of self-revelation until I see myself as I am...
>
>this is one of those "aha!" moments,
>which reminds me of maya angelou's words:
>[when she has an "aha!" moment, it's an "AHA!" moment]
>
>*****
>
>We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
>Created on this earth, of this earth
>have the power to fashion for this earth
>A climate where every man and every woman
>Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
>And without crippling fear
>When we come to it
>We must confess that we are the possible
>We are the miraculous, the true wonders of this world
>That is when, and only when
>We come to it.
>
>*****
>
>from A Brave and Startling Truth by Maya Angelou
>
>*****
>
>i consider it a rare privilege to be able to participate
>in a phenomenon such as this list
>
>and pd
>was part of the road
>i was taken on to get here
>
>thanks, george
>
>your syber-sis
>
>janet
>
>-----------------------------------------------
>
>janet paterson - 51 now / 41 dx / 37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada
>http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/
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> AMEN   I.Y.Q.