Enjoy that uniquenesss1. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else. You do not have to lie to hide the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else.
You were meant to be different. Nowhere, in all of history, will the same things be going on in anyone’s mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now.
If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a gap2 in history, and something missing from the plan for humankind. Treasure your uniqueness. It is a gift given only to you. Enjoy it and share it!
No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can. No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can comfort others with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person. No one can be cheerful and light-hearted3 and joyous4 in your way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being.
Share your uniqueness. Let it flow out freely among your family and friends, and the people you meet in the rush and clutter of living, wherever you are. That gift of yourself was given to you to enjoy and share. Give yourself away!
When someone looks into your eyes they should see something alive within you. Having a dream is like owning a lighthouse1 which directs you on your journey.
At every turn we come across its mystery. At each new level we become more of the person we were meant to become. In lonely times, when we pass through a storm of disappointment, we find our faith is unshaken, our strength still strong.
Believe in your faith. Set the vision before your eyes. Write down your most sincere dreams and when the opportunity comes, step into your dream. It may take one season or more, but the result is the same. Make big dreams and then go out and make them realities. The highest hopes of the dreamer are revealed with every step taken in their journey to the impossible. For a season we must protect the dream so that it can grow quietly on the inside. But if we tenderly care for our deepest expectations, slowly but surely the dream will become new life.
Dreaming is an act of faith. The light of your expectations will cast off the shadows of a disbelieving world. God has given us the dreamer as a gift to light an unbelieving world.
Find your treasure within and cherish2 it. Tomorrow is waiting for you to take the first step.
Beginning with Yu the GREat, the Xia Dynasty had lasted about four hundred years before Jie became the supreme ruler.
And that was in the 18th century BC. Jie was extremely tyrannical and dissolute. This aroused GREat resentment among the people. Tang, the Chief of the tribe Shang took advantage of this situation to overthrow the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty in the early 17th century BC. Among the preparations for the overthrow had been the winning over of popular support.
One day, Tang was having a walk in the open country. He saw a man catching birds with a big net spread in a box-like and mumbling: "Come on, birds! Come into my net. All of you, whether you are flying high or low, east or west. Come into my net!"
Tang walked over and said to the man, "This method is ruthless! You'll spare no birds this way!" With these words, he cut the net down on three sides. Then he murmured in a light voice as if praying: "Oh, birds! Fly to the left or right as you like. And if you're really tired of your life, come into this net!"
When chiefs of other tribes heard about this, they were all moved. They said, "Tang is a good king indeed. He is so kind even to birds and beasts. He must be more merciful to human beings." And very soon, about forty tribes pledged allegiance to Tang.
From that story came the idiom "Open the net on three sides". Later, people changed it into "Give the wrong-doer a way out.", indicating to be lenient to the wrong-doers.
A boy found an eagle's egg and he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The eagle hatched and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chicken do-scratching at the dirt for food and flying short distances with a noisy fluttering of wings. It was a dreary life. Gradually the eagle grew older and bitter. One day he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring on the currents of air, high above the mountains.
“Oh, I wish I could fly like that!” said the eagle. The chicken replied, “Don't give it another thought. That's the mighty eagle, the king of all birds-you could never be like him!” And the eagle didn't give it another thought. He went on cackling and complaining about life. He died thinking he was a prairie chicken. My friends, you too were born an eagle. The Creator intended you to be an eagle, so don't listen to the prairie chickens!