When life presents unexpected challenges, just keep winding up the slack, keep moving forward, even if it's at a slower pace and even when the future is uncertain. Remember, you aren't alone in the boat; we all have our line in the water we call life.

And, so must we all learn, that though we may not be free of struggles, we are free in how we face life’s challenges. 

She was a homemaker — the person responsible for making the home.

“Life isn’t an emergency. We take our own goals so seriously we forget to have fun along the way.... The first step in becoming a more peaceful person is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases, you’re creating your own emergencies.” — Richard Carlson

Many days we try hard, put in lots of effort, and give it our best just to come in third. Third is a hard pill to swallow for any of us. We want to be first. We want our name in the record books. We want to be known for something. 

I nearly walked on by, too preoccupied with my own misery to see his.

Solutions will present themselves if we look for them — if we’re flexible enough to bend with the problem instead of struggle against the problem — if we learn to wiggle through life.

So when it comes to creating the masterpiece of your life, why would you use anything but the best that’s inside you?

Don’t worry that the mule is blind; just load the wagon. Keep doing what you’re supposed to do; keep handling what needs to be handled; keep going; keep believing; keep working — even when you can’t recognize where it’s all going to lead.