Don't let your parents down ...
They brought you up.
Be humble enough to obey ...
You may give orders someday.
Choose your companions with care ...
You become what they are.
Guard your thoughts ...
What you think, you are.
Choose only a date ...
Who would make a good mate.
Be master of your habits ...
Or they will master you.
Don't be a show off when you drive ...
Drive with safety and arrive.
Don't let the crowd pressure you ...
Stand for something
or you'll fall for anything.

As I have walked through the paths in my life ...
I've learned that it's not "what" I have in life,
But "who" I have that counts.
I've learned that the love of my family
Has been my life's greatest blessing.
I've learned the friends that God has placed in my life,
Is His way of showing me I don't have to walk alone.
I've learned that I should always leave my loved ones
With loving words as it may be the last time I see them.
I've learned that I cannot make someone love me;
I can only be someone who can be loved ...
The rest is up to them.
I've learned that two people can look at the same thing
And see something totally different.
I've learned that it can take years to build up trust,
And only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned that my background and circumstances
May have influenced the person I am;
But I am the only one responsible for who I become.
I've learned that when I am truthful,
I don't have to remember anything.
I've learned the only thing I can really control in life,
Is my own mental attitude.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn!

When I ask you to listen to me,
and you start giving advice ...
You have not done what I asked.
When I ask you to listen to me,
and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way ...
You are trampling on my feelings.
When I ask you to listen to me,
and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem ...
You have failed me - strange as that may seem.
So please listen and just hear me,
And if you want to talk,
Wait a minute for your turn ...

And I'll listen to you.
 

Silent meaning

The word not spoken

goes not quite unheard.

It lingers in the eye,

in the semi-arch of brow.

A gesture of the hand

speaks pages more than words,

The echo rests in the heart

as driftwood does in sand,

To be rubbed by time

until it rots or shines.

The word not spoken

touches us as music

does the mind.