Please, by Alicia Aspinwall

There was once a little word named "Please," that lived in a small boy's mouth. Please live in everybody's mouth, though people often forget they are there.
Now, all Pleases, to be kept strong and happy, should be taken out of the mouth very often, so they can get air. They are like little fish in a bowl, you know , that come popping up to the top of the water to breathe.
The Please I am going to tell you about lived in the mouth of a boy named Dick; but only one in a long while did it have a chance to get out. For Dick, I am sorry to say, was a rude little boy; he hardly ever remembered to say "Please".
"Give me some bread! I want some water! Give me that book!"--that is the way he would ask for things.
His father and mother felt very bad about this. And, as for the poor Please itself, it would sit up on the roof of the boy's mouth day after day, hoping for a chance to get out. It was growing weaker and weaker every day.
This boy Dick had a brother, John. Now, John was older than Dick--he was almost ten; and he was just as polite as Dick was rude. Son his Please had plenty of fresh air, and was strong and happy.
One day at breakfast, Dick's Please felt that he must have some fresh air, even if he had to run away. So out he ran--out of Dick's mouth--and took a long breath. Then he crept across the table and jumped into John's mouth!
The Please-who-lived-there was very angery.
"Get out!" he cried. "You don't belong here! This is my mouth!"
"I know it, replied Dick's Please. "I live over there in that brother mouth. But alas! I am not happy there. I am never used. I never get a breath of fresh air! I thought you might be willing to let me stay here for a day or so--until I felt stronger."
"Why, certainly," said the other please, kindly. "I understand. Stay, of course; and when my master uses me, we will both go out together. He is kind, and I am sure he would not mind saying 'Please' twice. Stay as long as you like."
That noon, at dinner, John wanted some butter; and this is what he said;
"Father, will you pass me the butter, please--please?"
"Certainly," said the father. "But why be so very polite?"
John did not answer. He was turning to his mother, and said,
"Mother, will you give me a muffin, please--please?"
His mother laughed.
"You shall have the muffin, dear; but why do you say 'please' twice?"
"I don't know," answered John. "The words seem just to jump out, somehow. Katie, please--please, some water!"
This time, John was almost frightened.
"Well, well," said his father, "there is no harm done. Once can't be too 'pleasing' in this world."
All this time little Dick had been calling, "Give me and egg! I want some milk. Give me a spoon!" in the rude way he had. But now he stopped and listened to his brother. He thought it would be fun to try to talk like John; so he began,
"Mother, will you give me a muffin, m-m-m-?"
He was trying to say "please"; but how could he? He never guessed that his own little Please was sitting in John's mouth. So he tried again, and asked for the butter.
"Mother, will you pass me the butter, m-m-m-?"
That was all he could say.
So it went on all day, and everyone wondered what was the matter with those two boys. When night came, they were both so tiered, and Dick was so cross, that their mother sent them to bed very early.
But the next morning, no sooner had they sat down to breakfast than Dick's Please ran home again. He had had so much fresh air they day before that now he was feeling quite strong and happy. And the very next moment, he had another airing; for Dick said,
"Father, will you cut my orange, please?" Why! the word slipped out as easily as could be! It sounded just as well as when John said it--John was saying only one "please" this morning. And from that time on, little Dick was just as polite as his brother.

A product of Circumstance or Choice?

As you look at yourself as it stands today, are you a product of Circumstance or Choice?
Do you believe in fate, or do you personally decide on the direction your life takes?

The Road We Take

Everything we do in life forms a road. Our life span, our aging, our career, our endeavors, our relationships-all of these form a sequence that becomes the road we walk. When we walk along a road, we should not regret another road not taken. Those who are mature accept this. We cannot travel a path while walking another. If we go to one destination, then it is inevitable that we will miss others.
lt is tempting to linger upon regrets and suppositions, especially when times are unhappy. Maybe we could have been more famous or richer. Maybe we could have done more as we grow older. But it is far better to remember that we make our own road one day at a time. If we have been fully involved with our own life and have been making our own decisions, there is no reason for regret.
As we grow older, it becomes critical to fulfill what we find important. The more we understand our goals, the more we can properly gauge how close we are to them. That gives us a very powerful understanding.
Don't let your path be as if on a raft upon an uncontrollable river. You control which road to take, please take the one which leads to no regeats and that is the one which will lead you to the greatest happiness.

Truth

Truth is relative to your own perception.
i.e. two blind men standing on either side of an elephant trying to describe it to the other.--

To detect the truth is difficult do to each persons perception. But to detect a liar is just about impossible until it's too late... If there is a pattern of lying then forever their honesty will be in question. If you have a pattern of honesty then your deception will come to fruition. But, it will only come to fruition at the cost of your reputation, and the trust you've earned may be forever lost.

Tao 36 wanting to reduce something

If you want to reduce something, you must certainly stretch it.
If you want to weaken something, you must certainly strengthen it.
If you want to abolish something, you must certainly make it flourish.
If you want to grasp something, you must certainly give it away.
This is referred to as subtle enlightenment.
The pliant and weak will conquer the hard and strong.
Fish cannot abandon the depth;
The state's sharp implements cannot be displayed to the people.

Lifting the Autumn Hair

Lifting the autumn hair cannot be considered great strength; seeing the sun and moon cannot be considered acute vision; hearing the sound of thunder cannot be considered having sensitive ears. Those that the ancients referred to as excelling at warfare conquered those who were easy to conquer. Thus victories of those who excelled in warfare were not marked by fame for wisdom or courageous achievement. Thus their victories were free from errors. One who is free from errors directs his measures towards certain victory, conquering those who are already defeated.–Sun Tzu

48 Laws of Power

by Robert Greene Robert

Have you read this book? I almost regret buying it... not that the book is poorly written, on contrary it's rather well written. But he is very cynical, very Machiavellian "Any man who try's to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good." Where there is only two types of people, your either an agressor or your a victim, the trick is to get him first before he can get you.

Here are a few of the chapter headings that I found objectionable: Get Others to do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit ; Learn to Keep People Dependent on You.

The book would'nt be bad if it concentrated on gaining power against your enemies, but the book seems to focus on concentrating on gaining power through the unknowing, naive and innocent. The book regularly refers to the other party as victims. As distasteful as this book is... the book really conveys that the author is really being sincere that he is giving you good advice, as psychotic it may be.

Someone should write a book on how to protecting yourself from this type of person. I can only recommend this book for people who wish to have a better insight how bad people think. Possibly giving you some type of edge in protecting yourself. Warning--I only can recommend this book for people with the stongest constitutions. Hence the weak shall only fall under the spell of this author and ruin the lives of your loved ones and friends.

My greatest fear is that the unscrupulous will use the book as their bible, only adding and re-enforcing to their own scheming and conniving ideas. Greene has a new book out called "The Art of Secduction" I hear its a dating guide. It's alsmost scary to think of what he published in that book.