by Laura Pedersen
The worst fights aren’t because you both have differences but because you both have dreams.
Heartbreak is a zero sum game. What is lost in the heart is gained in the soul.
Being busy is the enemy of being sad.
A life that works well for one does not always work well for two.
Avoid doing nothing because you fear doing too little.
A really good cold medicine should provide a false sense of hope and well-being.
Being brave on the outside doesn’t mean you can’t be scared to death on the inside.
Volunteer at least 10% of your time and donate at least 10% of your earnings. You’ll learn more than you teach and the investment will come back a hundredfold.
Time is like good health and we appreciate it most when it’s running out.
Don’t judge someone else’s passion against your own. Bills fans outside in subzero weather with DOLPHINS BLOW painted across their bare chests are fully engaged with humanity and leading lives of thunderous hope.
Being spiritual also means taking care of the everyday tasks.
Friends are people not bound to you by accident of birth, legal documents or vows recited before clergy, but a connectedness that endures solely within the heart. Treasure them because they’re allowed to replace you.
People have more allergies nowadays than ever before. It’s possible to be too clean. Drink tap water and try to eat low on the food chain.
Whether you spell it “Fish Frys” or “Fish Fries,” people will come.
Wear a hat.
Sometimes all that’s left is to say, “What do we do now?”
Childhood gets boring and so we hurry to grow up and then long to be children again.
The past seems more appealing because when we were young our parents, teachers, and neighbors worked hard to ensure our happiness and shield us from things that were unpleasant.
Another reason we like the past is because it doesn’t involve our own death. Still, learn from the past but focus on the future.
Life is about preservation, but memory is a safeguard for when it’s finally time to let go.
If a person lives long enough he or she has regrets, but the worst ones are where you had a choice.
Too big a dream for tomorrow can prevent one from enjoying today.
Resist the urge to impose logic on random experiences.
Carry a book to read in case fate steps into line ahead of you.
Don’t get upset about what you can fix and don’t get upset about what you can’t fix.
Keep a blanket in the trunk.
Casting shade over someone else’s garden won’t make your own garden grow any better.
You cannot make anyone love you. You cannot make yourself love someone. You can only allow yourself to be loved.
Don’t worry, your pet will let you know when it’s time.
There are two ways to win at poker. Either have the best hand or make the best hand go away.
When we’re all wrapped up in ourselves we make an unappealing package.
Try and live the questions. Unless you’re one of those people who cures diseases. Then seek answers.
Happy people don’t have the best of anything but make the most of everything.
Every day is a bounty and your best bet is to make it count, just like the flowers come up after the darkness and the rain, not in spite of it, but because of it.
God is the convergence of all our longings.
Everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle. The most difficult battles are the ones that we can’t detect with the eye. So be kind to cranky people.
Laura Pedersen is the author of the Hallie Palmer series, Last Call, Buffalo Gal, Buffalo Unbound and other books.