Smile

I was going through some old papers of mine and I came across this poem I've saved for years. It's one of my favorites. Maybe some of you will also appreciate it.

It's easy enough to be pleasant
when life flows along like a song
but the man worthwhile
is the man who can smile
when everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble
and it always comes with the years
and the smile that is worth the praises of Earth
is the smile that shines through tears.

It's easy enough to be virtuous
when nothing tempts you to stray
when without or within no voice of sin
is luring your soul away
but it's only a negative virtue
until it is tried by fire
and the life that is worth the honor of Earth
is the life that resists desire.

By the cynic, the sad, the fallen
who had no strength of the strife
the world's highway is cumbered today
they make up the item of life
but the virtue that conquers passion
and sorrow that hides in a smile
it is these that are worth the homage of Earth
for we find them but once in awhile.

--Ella Wheeler Wilcox

It's been a while...

It's time for another round of confessions!

1. I love Snooki.
2. I keep a scrub brush in the shower so I can clean while I'm standing there.
3. I get more excited about organizing things than I do about anything else.
4. Doug and I have watched X-Men: First Class three times in the past 4 days.
5. I eat Spaghettios straight out of the can.

Friendship

“What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.”
― Leo Tolstoy

I came across this quote today and I just think it's perfect. I think it defines marriage really well, but also I think it fits for making friends too. Doug and I differ in our opinions of "what makes a good friend." He's definitely under the impression that friends have things in common. I'm of the persuasion that friends are simply the ones who "stick it out" with you. They may not always agree with you or even "have your back" but they're the ones who keep coming back; who simply care. I have several friends who I don't agree with on a lot of issues or ideas or even lifestyles. But personally, I like them because they challenge my way of thinking and I have the opportunity to learn to love more than just one kind of person. Maybe some of you will even disagree with me and think I'm crazy. But regardless, that's how I feel! I think this quote fits perfectly with my outlook on friendship and marriage. It's not about your similarities, it's about how you come to terms with your differences. :)