words of wisdom

"life is not a path of coincidence, happenstance, and luck. but rather an unexplainable, meticulously charted course for one to touch the lives of others and make a difference in the world. you dont know what you get back until you give. live to the point of tears."

this was on Tara's blog and then Cathy Z had her own thoughts on it in her blog. both times i encountered this quote, it spoke to me. not in a loud, yelling and jumping up in down sort of way. but in quiet undertones, like the gentle voice a mother uses to calm her child. it whispered to my soul rather than shouting in my face.

i love that quote. because i don't believe that things happen by accident. i believe that we *are* on an "unexplainable, meticulously charted course", one that we can neither understand nor predict, but we're on it none the less & it's how we choose to act while we're on it that matters. things happen but not for no reason--we just don't always get it till we have a little hindsight.

and i was saying this to someone just the other day: to love, *really love*, you have to risk. it's not about what you're going to get out of it. it's not about YOU. it's about the other people, those you care for. you don't wait to see what they will give you before you give of yourself. you just risk it & give. whole heartedly. not knowing what the return will be until you've already put yourself out there. when we live like this, the payback is immeasurable.

love this quote. thank you Tara, for sharing it & Cathy, for repeating it & driving it home. =)