Wednesday, February 09, 2005

YOU ARE WORTH IT (circa 1999) by Ray Nichols (Raenante Rojas)

Do not undermine your worth
By comparing yourself with others
It is because we are different
That each of us is special

Do not set your goals
By what other people deem important
Only you know
What is best for you

Do not take for granted
The things closest to your heart
Cling to them as you would your life
For without them,
Life is meaningless

Do not let your life
Slip through your fingers
By living in the past
Nor for the future
By living your life one day at a time
You live all the days of your life

Do not give up
When you still have something to give
Nothing is really over
Until the moment you stop trying
It is a fragile thread
That binds us to each other

Do not be afraid to encounter risks
It is by taking chances
That we learn how to be brave

Do not shut love out of your life
By saying it is impossible to find

The quickest way to receive love
Is to give love
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it tightly

Do not dismiss your dreams
To be without dreams
Is to be without hope
To be without hope
Is to be without purpose

Do not run through life
So fast that you forget
Not only where you have been
But also were you are going

Life is not a race
But a journey
To be savored
Each step of the way

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[Ray, 24, is a close friend of mine and we grew up together in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We spent but only a few years building our friendship there but it was in the 10 years that we kept in touch that our friendship really blossomed. His writing has inspired me through the years. He wrote this poem for himself at the age of 19 before the new millennium. He gave the original copy to me when we met in Manila (1999) after six years of separation. I gave him his own laminated copy but he lost it again. So, I am putting a copy here for the world to see…how wonderful a writer he really is and how much he is an inspiration to so many people. Ray is a senior airman with the U.S. Air Force stationed in Travis Air Fore Base in California.]

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