Wednesday 3 June 2009

Begin It Well


















Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities crept-in forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it well and serenely; and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old mistakes and nonsense.

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

101 comments:

rochambeau said...

Emerson's quote is a good one! I will write it down. Thank you for sharing it.

Much time on fear or is wasted on interpreting how others will see us or interpret our words. People make mistakes, no one is perfect. All we can do is our best! One thing a friend Laura taught me & I say to myself is: It doesn't matter!!

Love to you,
Constance

Marie Reed said...

What an inspiring quote from good ole Ralphie:)

Anonymous said...

Yes, Ma'am! At the end of the day, I say 'shut it down', and leave any mess left over to history.

Here's hoping you have a great day today, because you know Scarlet, tomorrow is another day!

kj said...

oh renee...

pRiyA said...

Thanks for the reminder!
;-)

Unknown said...

Renee,

Ralph is a great writer..I needed this quote yesterday..LOL..maybe today also...HaHa...
Love ya darling...

xoxoxo Sonia ;)

Cheryl Cato said...

Such a wise man was Emerson. Somethings are difficult to shake off, but still it is a good plan. Start afresh. I love the photo of the tree... it is old and wise in appearance.
You offer such simple wisdom...
Love you,
Cheryl

Once Upon A Blue Crow said...

Ralph was a pretty smart cookie wasn't he? :)

Yoli said...

Very Buddhist of him, I have always loved this quote.

Great-Granny Grandma said...

Great quote. Thanks for sharing.

Rosaria Williams said...

One of those sayings that sound great, only they don't work. We have the burden of the past on your shoulders every single day. If we can be distracted for just a moment, we'll be appreciative indeed.

yoborobo said...

I love this quote. Yesterday I could have used these words in my head as I spent hours worrying about something that was completely out of my control. I will be serene today if it kills me. LOL!! xox Pam

Deborah said...

Oh I LOVE! The tree, the poem...sublime. **blows kisses** Deborah

Unknown said...

oh so perfect Renee....just like you!!! I love old trees that are beautiful with all their large trunks....I walk over and hug them.....and am amazed at their size...and can only imagine what they have witnessed in their lifetime....

Hugs
Diana

Unknown said...

Renee....you are so sweet...you made me cry when I read the comment on my blog....bless your heart!!!

studio lolo said...

I'm going to post this quote where I can see it every day. I need it.

This tree is magnificent. Holy cow. It's almost temple-like. I could absolutely worship at its roots. Did that make sense?
Because I'm not of any particular faith, I often explain how I feel by telling people "If I choose to pray to an oak tree in my back yard, who's to say it's wrong?"

I personally don't think it matters what faith you are. What matters is that you HAVE faith ;)

Hmmm, I got off track!

Love to you this fine Wednesday ;)
xoxoxo
Lolo

studio lolo said...

P.S. Thanks for sending visitors and new friends ;)

xoxo

pinkglitterfae said...

simple yet profound. If only we would keep this in mind. Every day is a fresh day, like a brand new start.
How are you doing Renee? I hope the weather has warmed up, and that you can sit in the sun and feel peace :-)

xoxo betty

Gberger said...

Such good advice...I needed this today. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful quote but so hard to remember to follow it.I will try. Love to you, Barb

yoborobo said...

Renee - It would make a great t-shirt:

"I'll be serene today if it kills me."

hahahaha! xoxox Pam

Meghann said...

Okay, I need to copy and paste that all over my house, and put it backwards on my forehead so I remember it when I look in the mirror and give myself crap for not finishing things the way I want to because my body says I can't.
Thank you for the excellent reminder!
Big Squashy hugs and prayers for you!!
Meg
xoxo

Anonymous said...

That Ralph is one smart cookie!

I received the most wonderful package in the mail today - THANK YOU, dear sweet Renee!
Love and hugs to you
xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

Hi Renee, sending a big bucket of love hearts!

Lots of luv!

Julie-ann

Lori ann said...

Dear Renee,

It works for me.
Thank you for this lovely post ☺

xoxoLori

Anairam said...

This is such good advice. Properly finish each day. And then be done with it. I am going to write that in my book of quotes!
PS I think your blog is a great and brave thing, Renee. I have just read the list of questions in the post below - and it so gets me that in addition to having to fight such a terrible battle against the body, one also sometimes has to use one's precious energy to battle the arrogance of the medical profession. (Not all doctors are guilty of course, but I have met enough of the arrogant kind ... the kind who just want to TELL you something and you'd better not question them or, even worse, challenge them!)

Jen said...

Boy, do I need a lesson in that!

Art by Darla Kay said...

That IS a great quote!! Thanks for sharing it♥
Hugs,
darla

Carolyn R. Parsons said...

Emerson...always wise always true. Anyone who carries the burden of yesterday is wasting today...let it go...

Kolleen said...

boy did i need that one! Last night i was having some tears because i felt lots of blunders through my day...this helped me realize to simply put it in perspective! THANK YOU!!!

Daria said...

The other day I stopped at a medical supply store and they had picc line shower covers for $15.95 each. The plastic was clear, thicker and the elastic was thicker too. I don't think they would be as effect as what you sent me. And the price is crazy.

Thankfully, I have yours but just thought I'd see what is out there.

Manon said...

We all should live our lives this way!

Sarah Sullivan said...

Oh - great quote and wonderful reminder!! We ll spend too much time worrying about stufffffffff.
How are ya hon?? I am feeling human again - yayayay! Love you, Sarah

GlorV1 said...

Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Renee one good quote deserves another and he is a great writer/author and I stopped by to wish you a great day. Take care.

Anonymous said...

I love Emerson..... One person I like to read...

And ~ Isn't it the truth. Many days go by and I do carry the day with me into the next... and why? There is no reason why.

What a great thing to remember...
You only have today...
You only have this moment...

Ces Adorio said...

TRUE! TRUE!

Here's hoping the blunders do not cause us everlasting grief.

So you danced. You cute little dancer in striped patadyong? Looks like it.

HAHAHAHA!

That was the best surprise of the best, most desirable little volume made with great love and brilliant skills.

Hahaha! The squeaky wheels get the grease. Remember how we complained about the two random women? Hahaha!

Ces Adorio said...

Yes! I know but I have been sworn to secrecy and she told me that she will banish me and not speak to me again if I tell. Why do think I pretended to be Bata Batuta and wore that eyepatch, mustache and beard. I was trying to blackmail her into telling me by pretending to have been kidnapped! I am not going to risk her ire. Please beg her to tell you herself!

Marion said...

What a magnificent quote and one I needed to read today! I love the wise, old tree photo, too! I'm rush visiting everyone I can in a hurry today from the library today, hoping to be back online any day now. Wishing you blessings and love from Louisiana!

Ces Adorio said...

Ah yes! I will wear a beard and mustache and an eyepatch for very few people. I'd most likely give her a kidney too. So go ahead. I want to see you try. Oh this will be fun! HAHAHAHA! I am laughing already.

Ces Adorio said...

OMG
OH MY GOD!
OH MY GOD!
OH MY GOD!
What are these?
WHAT ARE THESE?
WHAT WHAAAAAAAT!!!
AAAAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
OMG!

Ces Adorio said...

Oh tour words, your words! I am crying again. I have to take some medication or something. I will not open I dare not untie....AHHHHHHHH!!!

Ces Adorio said...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

ACK! ACK!

My chest is pounding!!!!

You! YOU! YOU!

The ribbons, the ribbons, I may tell, I may falter and tell...Bella better wake up soon before I falter, the ribbons are making me do it...

THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Ces Adorio said...

Call me a brat, call me whatever, I don't care. My heart is skipping again!

Ces Adorio said...

I am so not worthy. Even without these, I always thought God sent me his angels a few months ago, one from Canada.

Ces Adorio said...

Thank you! I took a picture for Bella. Incredible! You are so good to me. I love you. Thank you.

Ces Adorio said...

I put them on the bed, where I am working and I enrircled them with my legs. I wish I could show and tell. You spoil me rotten. I will ask my daughter to untie the ribbons. Oh I feel so undeserving, even if I know I am not a criminal, I feel like I robbed the bank and was given the keys to the vault!

Ces Adorio said...

Bella, you and her are AccccK! AAACCK? AAAAAACK! I am choking...sis...aaaarckkqq

Anonymous said...

Hurray for the new day and its possibilities.

Ces Adorio said...

In my excitement I was blinded, I did not see that you went to Bella's and you talked about going to heaven. Why did I not know? Maybe I did for I had to tell the Viking to watch me as I slept last night for I was somewhere else and had to take the medicine my human doctor prescribed for me to bring me down to earth...it was around 1AM

Michelle said...

Yes! Now that's exactly what I'm talking about! Hope life is being good to you today my lovely

xxx

Ces Adorio said...

Yes, I will ask her. I will use my charm. Hahaha! Actually I whined and whined and sulked and I don't know what else I did to no avail. She told me on her own sweet time and terms. If she was a terrorist, she can't be tortured! Not that she ever will be. Maybe a terror angel or terror nun. We had lots of those at Scared Heart.

Ces Adorio said...

Okay. Me no ask Bella.

The nuns never hit us. They were kind and loving but we called them terror because they never gave us a slck on schoolwork. They never accepted any excuse for not doing homework and not doing one homework means another homework! They were stern but we called them terror because we could not goof off. Haha!

Ces Adorio said...

and full legth gowns

Julie said...

This is perfect, thanks for sharing! I really needed this.

Ces Adorio said...

Ah they are dreadful, Mrs. Khan. I shall ignore them. They shall adress me as Mrs. C or Mrs. Em's Mom but not Ces.

Ces Adorio said...

Absolutely! My children address the adults as Mr and Mrs ...and their classmates address me properly without being told. I am glad they know without being told and towards my friends who are very close, almost like family, they call them Uncle or Auntie or Tita or Tito. Do you know that Bjornik calls me Tita Ces? (Auntie Ces). He is so sweet. I love that he calls me Tita Ces. It melts my heart.

I gotta go Honey. I have to prepare dinner. I worked from home today so I can start dinner early. We are having halibut, sablefish and king salmon. I will grow fins and fills after eating all these fish.

I ate noodles on my birthday, by the way. It is a symbol of long life in our culture. Bella advised me not to bite the noodles.

Ces Adorio said...

I am back. it is too early to cook. They are napping or playing. I received a shipment of fish from Alaska today. Har har har! yes, crazy! 50 pounds of king salmon, halibut, sablefish and lingcod. My family eats a lot of fish. The Viking used to be a merman and I was a mermaid! Hehehe!

Ces Adorio said...

I cried, did you? My favorite is the page with the three dancing girls. The girl bowing her head has beautiful eyes!

We are very blessed Renee! I cannot believe these incredible and lovely people I've met through the blogs in recent months, mostly because of you!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Renee...
I am having the rest of the root canal done tomorrow... I saw my Dr. today and she gave me a half dose of cortisone in my really bad hip... I hope it helps. Doesn't help to fall down 5 stairs this week-end. My whole foot is black and blue.... I'm on Vicodin so I'm not feeling too much pain right now... Why can't narcotics be legal LOL~

I'm thinking of you~
Pattee

Bella Sinclair said...

Aaah, it's good to know that even good ol' Ralph had those off-days.

Renee! I will look up tonight and see if I can find any stars. But I will not be frightened if I do not see them Darn it, I was aiming for Josephine's birthday. Well, I'm glad it got there anyway. You make an excellent dancing partner, by the way.

Love you to pieces!

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

A very wise quote!! Love the knarly tree pic - I bet it could tell us a story or tow!

Woman in a Window said...

Oh, this is forgiveness more than I could hope for. I don't care to forget it all. I'd be afraid to make the same mistakes again. Maybe just a gentle notepad with, "Don't be such an idiot next time, Erin. Reach further." And then let the new day roll.

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Renee,

Such a great quote and I have written it in my book. Thank you.
We need to make every new day, a fresh start.

Love & hugs to you
Carolyn

Elizabeth said...

I've never heard that and it's just wonderful. Coupled with the photo of the fantastic tree, I feel rejuvenated, ready for a new day tomorrow!

Jamie Lott said...

Good Evening my sweet Renee. As always, I leave from a visit to your blog feeling inspired, uplifted and truly blessed to know you. I hope you are having a great week!

Love & Hugs,

Jamie

Anonymous said...

I tripped going down some stairs... scared the crap out of my husband~ LOL I don't think he'll let me run marathon's or maybe go down stairs by myself anymore... : )

Pattee

Delwyn said...

Hi Rene
I love that gnarly old grand father of a tree...

finish every day- a good piece of advice...

Happy days

Sue said...

Excellent quote. Emmerson was very wise!

Thanks for the mentioning Ingrid's blog Renee! I am already following her, and love her posts. I appreciate you thinking of her for me.

Hugs to you!

Sayli said...

hii renee... lovely quote! i wl note it down. thanks for sharing it with me.
have a gr8 day
love
sayli.

Hey Harriet said...

That's a great quote. Thanks so much for sharing it. This is my first visit to your blog and it's so very lovely! :)

Oops! Desperate Blogger~ said...

Boy, I read this in the nick of time! Blundering away here and needed a nudge to put things in perspective. thanks for always being the nudge!

Sarah Sullivan said...

I'm leaving you a treat on my blog in a little bit - so come by and snag it..... hugs, Sarah

Coreopsis said...

Wise words from the man. I love Emerson. My students claim to hate him, but they talk about him a lot. I saw this tree picture first, and thought, "Oh, a good tree to draw!" but I think I'll go outside and draw one of the trees in my neighborhood. I woke up with a cold this morning (first time sick in over two years), so that's about all the energy I'll have.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful quote.

Sarah Sullivan said...

Giggle - it's there now...love, Sarah

Arija said...

The picture of the tree of life ia so apt in your situation. Your health picture may look grim, but we need not accept the medical professions interpretation as gospel. I had non hodgkin's lymphoma also through out the bone marrow and with Reiki, which I did to myself anf s belief thst I could let it go since I hade made it, a lot of deep and brutally honest thinking about how I handled my life, I let it go to be taken care of with love by the universe. Doctors call it remission, I call it cure. That was years ago.
If you believe in the possibility, anything is possible.

Sarah Sullivan said...

You are the very queen of my circle girl!! I love Audrey and Sonia too - your raven girl my duck - lol!! Hope things are going well! Love ya, Sarah

Coreopsis said...

I did NOT give you this cold (though I'm very sorry that you've got one). I refuse to be responsible! But no fun, all the same. I am surrounded by germs all the time at school, and never get sick, and now that I have almost no contact with anyone (except my family and a few friends), here it happens.

What makes my sister-in-law's graduation even more impressive is that she is 42 years old, and has four boys, ages fifteen, thirteen, thirteen and eleven. My brother is an airline pilot who mostly flew reserves so he could be home a lot, most recently laid-off because of airline budget issues. I'm actually impressed with the whole family.

I loved reading what you wrote about your granddaughter. I especially loved the image of her as a lantern.

angelique said...

I really like this too. I think I might put it on my bulletin board.

Anonymous said...

Dear Renee, thank you a lot for Your blog!Kristina

angela recada said...

Love the quote! It's always good to be reminded.

Love Emerson! So wise and so good with words.

Love the old tree! There aren't enough of them around anymore.

Love you! Cuz you are absolutely wonderful.

xoxoxoxo
Angela

Ingrid Mida said...

This is a wonderful quote. I'm going to write it down and live it! Thanks for the inspiration to live well.

Shelly said...

This is the exact wisdom i come to you for and never leave disappointed.

COTY said...

how inspiring !

Sarah Sullivan said...

I have left you an award tht is very dear to me for you on my blog hon.... yeah it is that one - please honor me and pop by and accept it...Love , the Swan

Dragonlady said...

Along those same lines....Just make a decision and don't look back. Clear your agenda so you can allow yourself to move on.

kj said...

renee, oh i wish starting fresh were that easy. sometimes yes, but sometimes no...

xoxo

TheChicGeek said...

Great quote and fabulous picture. I want to sit up in that tree and contemplate Emerson's wise words :)
Have a Happy Day!

kj said...

i have dreams.

first i am in a writing group with you and lo, and we are eating chicken salad sandwiches and chocolate brownies.

and then we are at the mohegan sun casino and i have just won $ 1200 and i give you and laurel $ 100 each and you win $ 5000.

and then we eat brownies again.

and then we get into a pink chevy convertible and drive so fast that the wind wraps around our faces and we just smile knowingly at one another...

kj said...

mr. ryan is very good with his little brother. he is sweet and wants him to accompany him everywhere. mr. ryan is also now running all over the place and quite a challenge to keep up with. i am picking him up tomorrow afternoon and he is coming here for the weekend. hmmm, i wonder how he'll do mulching the front yard?

what a joy. aren't we lucky? does josephine sit in your lap? do you still smell her?

were you popular in school, renee? because you sure as hell are now!!

love grows... :)

nollyposh said...

Thankyou huNNy *Kisses*

kj said...

i smell mr. ryan's hair. and i try to give him head massages. and i rub his back under his shirt and he loves that.

renee, i can't wait to see laurel. what a good stroke of luck. i wish you would be here too. we could talk all night sometimes with words and sometimes without.

life is pretty interesting... :)

kj said...

jesus renee, 91 comments. i think that is so great.

i'm off to bed, perchance to dream. (haha--ilove being trite!) i hope you have a good good night. thank you for your friendship. it means alot.

xoxo

Baino said...

You girls! It's 96 comments cos your comments have turned into a chat forum! GAH, I'm running back and forwards like a blue-arsed fly! Get Skype and we can all join in!

Julie said...

So beautiful.....love reading your posts...sleep well sweet girl ; )

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Oh if only I could tune into this message and do a better job of leaving the day behind. Such a valuable help it would be. Thanks for sharing this.

ceecee said...

Dearest Renee -
You are too beautiful! Thank you for your words, which made my day.

I need to read this quote everyday. I've just copied it and am putting it on my bulletin board.

Have a happy weekend,
Catherine xxxooo

pve design said...

I shall begin it well today because of you.

Wendy said...

Love the pic of the oak. Very symbolic. The quote is a good one. I like this.

Marie S said...

What a beautiful quote, I am going to save this.
I am working on doing what it says.
Sometimes it is hard for me.
But your post from before this one reminds me how important it truly is.
Thank you warrior woman for your bravery and sharing it with all of us.
I intend to be worthy of your gifts.

kendalee said...

Great quote - awesome tree!!! And how beautifully they tell a story together of putting things in perspective. I love it. Just what I needed to read today Renee, thank you!

L.Holm said...

Wonderful quote. So good to remember. What an awesome tree. xo Liz