Ralph Waldo Emerson (in addition to the Dalai Lama) gets it.

"To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal
of false friends; to appreciate beauty;to find the best in others;to
leave the world a bit better whether by healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

(just got this in the mail from my mom. quotes like this have the power to turn your whole day around)



"Finish every day and be done with it...You have
done what you could; some blunders and
absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them
as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you
shall begin it...serenely, and with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

(this has been on my fridge for two years now. you couldn't pay me enough money to take it down)