ACROSS THE VALLEY A GOLDEN DREAM

The general function of dreams is to try to restore our psychological balance by producing dream material that re-establishes, in a subtle way, the total psychic equilibrium… CARL JUNG, Man and His Symbols

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill. As she grew, she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley a wonderful house high on the hill - and this house had golden shining windows, and that the little girl would dream of living in such a house instead of an ordinary house like hers.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother if  she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn't wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself...and was so disappointed as she realised all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn't go any further and turned, heartbroken as she remounted her bike ... As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her...there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden ...as the sun shone on her little home.

She realised that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

Follow your own particular dreams. We are handed a life by peers, parents and society, you can do that or follow your own dreams. Life is short, be a dreamer but be a practical person. ..  HUGH HEFNER

Dont Waste your Life Believing You Can't

DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE BELIEVING YOU CAN'T.

In 1977, in Tallahassee, Florida, Laura Shultz, who was 63 then, picked up the back end of a Buick to get it off her grandson's arm. Before that time, she had never lifted anything heavier than a 50-pound bag..

Dr. Charles Garfield, author of Peak Performance, interviewed her and got her to talk about "the event." She said she didn't like to think about it because it challenged her beliefs about what she could and couldn't do. She said, "If I was able to do this when I didn't think I could, what does that say about the rest of my life? How have I wasted it?"

Charlie convinced her that her life was not yet over and that she could still do whatever she wanted to do. He asked her what she wanted to do, what her passion was. She said she had always loved rocks. She had wanted to study geology, but her parents hadn't had enough money to send both her and her brother to college, so her brother had won out.

At 63, with a little coaching from Charlie, she decided to go back to school to study geology. She eventually got her degree and went on to teach at a local community college.

Don't wait until you are 63 to decide that you can do anything you want. Don't waste years of your life. Decide that you are capable of doing anything you want and start working toward it now.

- From "The Success Principles" by Jack Canfield:

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I am looking for a lot of men

who have an infinite capacity

not to know what can't be done.

– Henry Ford