Jun 23, 2006 @ 10:17 am by Ron
I’ve always enjoyed Robert Frost’s poetry, and this poem is certainly no exception! I liked to think I have a good idea of the msg that Frost was trying to convey. But I think I’ll leave my opinion out of it - everyone’s entitled to their own individual viewpoints and perspective, right? 
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost (1915)
Jun 21, 2006 @ 05:01 pm by Ron
Since starting my own business last year, I’ve really come to appreciate the importance of persistence! There have been a fair number of rocky periods that have made me wonder if going this route was the right decision. I’ve always tended to be the type of person who gives up WAY too easily, and its still something I battle with quite a bit.
Luckily, reading the wise words of individuals like Thomas Edison and Helen Keller always manages to help me gain my perspective! 
~BC
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
~Thomas Edison
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
~Newt Gingrich
Before success comes in any man’s life, he’s sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of men do.
~Napolean Hill
We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.
~Helen Keller
Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
~Sir Winston Churchill
Jun 21, 2006 @ 10:38 am by Ron
It’s June 21st, 2006 and this is the longest day of the year. The sun, which on the days leading up to today seemed to rise higher and higher in the sky, has reached its highest point — its zenith. Now it will begin to reverse itself and go no higher. In the Northern Hemisphere this can occur between the 20th and the 23rd of June. This is known as the summer solstice and marks the beginning of the summer season.
Going back in time, this arrival of the summer’s light and warmth has been a time of celebration — a time when people would delight in the season of growth and renewal. This time of celebration was especially important to the farmers who could begin to see the ripening of their products in the fields. For those of us who are not tied to agriculture, it is a time of new beginnings.
This is a time to reflect on the good things that have come into our lives and to focus on the new accomplishments we hope to achieve in the coming months. At noon, when the sun is at its highest point, we can pay homage to its incredible strength and its ability to create life while also musing on the impermanence of life as represented by the impermanence of the season. You can reestablish your connection to nature on the summer solstice by spending time outdoors; following the sun’s procession as the day passes.
Just as the summer solstice is symbolic of agricultural growth, it is also a symbol of personal growth. It’s a wonderful time to nurture your potential. Just as the farmer would nurture a tiny seedling, you can let your creative energy begin to flourish. Let you inner brilliance shine as brightly as the noontime sun today.
~~~ DBL-R
