Hope Is the Thing With Feathers, by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

I refuse to sink

Bad day?

I understand. Breathe, just breathe. It's gonna be okay. I know right now it seems like it won't be, but I promise you, it will. Five, ten years from now, you'll be able to look back at this and say, 'That made me so much stronger. That made me the person I am today.'

Are you still breathing?

Good. No, no, don't close your eyes. Not yet, at least. Keep reading. You're not alone. I know you think you are, but you're not. I'm here, right? Well, I might not be sitting right next to you, I might not be holding your hand, but I'm there. Do you feel me? I'm hugging you. I'm telling you that you are beautiful. You are wonderful. You are incredible.

You are.

I know, I understand. It feels like the walls are closing in on you. Like you can't quite catch your breath. Do you know what that feeling is?

That's you. You're fighting. You're swinging. You're throwing punches, kicks, elbows, knees, whatever it takes.

Do you know what that makes you?

Alive.

You're alive.

What more could anyone ever ask for? I've said it before, I'll say it again. Everyone dies. Not everyone lives.

Now, I'm about to tell you to do something, and I want you to humor me. Come on, I don't care who you think is watching you. I promise you, they're not. Please? I know you've probably heard this before, but I want you to read what I am about to write. Really read it. Don't let it just sit in front of you like a dead animal. Give it life, let it breathe.

Take your right hand. Put in over your heart. Now, hold on. Sit very still. Do you feel that? It's this rhythmic, steady beating. A thumping. Do you know what that is?

That's a purpose.

Are you still breathing?

Good. Don't stop. Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe.

You can close your eyes now.

Homophobia and You: They're people too! Stop the hate and spread the love!

I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.

I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.

I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.

We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.

I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.

I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.

I am one of the lucky ones, I guess. I survived the attack that left me in a coma for three weeks, and in another year I will probably be able to walk again.

I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.

We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.

I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.

I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.

I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.

I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.

I am the man who died when the paramedics stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.

I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I did not have to always deal with society hating me.

I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don't believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.

I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most, love.

I am the person who is afraid of telling his loving Christian parents he loves another male.

Repost this if you believe homophobia is wrong. Please do your part to end it.

SUPPORT GAY RIGHTS!

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy
behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has
legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed
at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites,
and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were
allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun
marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay
couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs
more children.

7) Obviously, gay parents will raise gay children, since straight
parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like
ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country.
That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could
never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to
cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans...

Copy this to your profile if you believe in legalizing gay marriage!

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

A fire from the ashes shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Reforged shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king."

- The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.Tolkien

"Tell your friend a lie. If he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth." -Ancient Proverb

"People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over." -Jim Morrison

"If at first you don't succeed...go back and reload the gun." -Unknown

／l、
（ﾟ､ ｡ ７
l、 ~ヽ
じしf,)ノ

kitty!

This is Kitty. Copy and paste Kitty into your
signature to help him gain world domination!

OBITUARY FOR THE LATE MR. COMMON SENSE

OBITUARY FOR THE LATE MR. COMMON SENSE

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get Parental consent to administer Calpol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.