
Love and Madness
A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it for the first time, and vices floated around and were bored, not knowing what to do.
One day, all the vices and virtues were gathered together and were more bored than ever. Suddenly, Ingenious came up with an idea: “Let’s play hide and seek!” All of them liked the idea and immediately Madness shouted: “I want to count, I want to count!” And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek Madness, all the others agreed. Madness leaned against a tree and started to count: “One, two, three…”
As Madness counted, the vices and virtues went hiding.
Tenderness hung itself on the horn of the moon…
Treason hid in a pile of garbage…
Fondness curled up between the clouds…and
Passion went to the centre of the earth….
Lie said that it would hide under a stone, but hid at the bottom of the lake… whilst
Avarice entered a sack that he ended up breaking.
And Madness continued to count: …. “seventy nine, eighty, eighty one…”
By this time, all the vices and virtues were already hidden – except Love. For undecided as Love is, he could not decide where to hide. And this should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide Love.
Madness: “…ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven…”
Just when Madness got to one hundred………Love jumped into a rose bush where he hid.
And Madness turned around and shouted: “I’m coming, I’m coming!”
As Madness turned around, Laziness was the first to be found, because Laziness had no energy to hide. Then he spotted Tenderness in the horn of the moon, Lie at the bottom of the lake and Passion at the centre of the earth. One by one, Madness found them all – except Love.
Madness was getting desperate, unable to find Love.
Envious of Love, Envy whispered to Madness: “You only need to find Love and Love is hiding in the rose bush.”
Madness grabbed a wooden pitch fork and stabbed wildly at the rosebush. Madness stabbed and stabbed until a heartbreaking cry made him stop.
Love appeared from the rose bush, covering his face with his hands. Between his fingers ran two trickles of blood from his eyes.
Madness, so anxious to find Love, had stabbed out Love’s eyes with a pitch fork. “What have I done! What have I done!” Madness shouted. “I have left you blind! How can I repair it?”
And Love answered: “You cannot repair my eyes. But if you want to do something for me, you can be my guide.”
And so it came about that from that day on, Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness.
— Author Unknown

THINGS TO PONDER
Falling in love.
Laughing so hard your face hurts.
A hot shower.
No lines at the supermarket
A special glance.
Getting mail
Taking a drive on a pretty road.
Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
Chocolate milkshake. (or vanilla or strawberry!)
A bubble bath.
Giggling.
A good conversation.
The beach
Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
Laughing at yourself.
Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
Running through sprinklers.
Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
Having someone tell you that you’re beautiful.
Laughing at an inside joke.
Friends.
Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
Playing with a new puppy.
Having someone play with your hair.
Sweet dreams.
Hot chocolate.
Road trips with friends.
Swinging on swings.
Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
Making chocolate chip cookies.
Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
Holding hands with someone you care about.
Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
Watching the expression on someone’s face as they open a much desired present from you.
Watching the sunrise.
Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
Knowing that somebody misses you.
Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
Knowing you’ve done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

You always pass failure on the way to success. — Mickey Rooney
He who reflects too much will achieve little. — Johann Friedrich Von Schiller
The best mirror is an old friend. — Saying
On Sunday mornings, as the dawn burned into day, swarms of gulls descended on the uncollected trash, hovering and dropping in the cold clear light. ― Edward Conlon
You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it. ― Denzel Washington
An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language. ― Martin Buber
During your struggle society is not a bunch of flowers, it is a bunch of cactus. ― Amit Kalantri

Speak when you’re angry, and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret. ― Lawrence J. Peter
Sometimes the soul takes pictures of things it has wished for, but never seen. ― Anne Sexton
Twice a day I change the time on my broken clock, my contrarian streak forcing me to ensure that it’s never right. ― Nitya Prakash
Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man. ― Henry Adams
Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind. Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things. Their language has been lost. But not the gestures. ― Vera Nazarian
Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings: an orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying the average person would rather be someone they are not. ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Autumn serenades the breeze into dancing a cha cha cha; the mountains echo in the background. October sky never looked more charming nor the sublime leaves of the trees so graceful. ― Avijeet Das

If you blend in, you don’t stand out. ― Anthony T. Hincks
In their previous lives, poets were bats, and thinkers were owls. ― Michael Bassey Johnson
Waves tossed themselves against the shore, dragging grit and sand between their nails as they were slowly pulled back out to sea. ― Holly Black
Sometimes the soul takes pictures of things it has wished for, but never seen. ― Anne Sexton
Persevere. There is one dandelion that grows from the crack in the cement. Let that one dandelion be YOU. ― Dr Margaret Aranda
Earth is ancient now, but all knowledge is stored up in her. She keeps a record of everything that has happened since time began. Of time before time, she says little, and in a language that no one has yet understood. Through time, her secret codes have gradually been broken. Her mud and lava is a message from the past. Of time to come, she says much, but who listens? ― Jeanette Winterson
One of his tears fell in my mouth, where it became a blue sapphire, source of strength, source of strength and eternal hope. ― Anita Diamant
Who looks outside, dreams; Who looks inside, awakes. ― Jung
He: “Whale you be my valentine?” She: “Dolphinitely.” ― Adam Young
One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple. ― Jack Kerouac
She turned to the sunlight And shook her yellow head, And whispered to her neighbor: “Winter is dead. ― A.A. Milne

When we die, we will turn into songs, and we will hear each other and remember each other. ― Rob Sheffield
The only way to understand a river is to jump into it. ― Alice Hoffman
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. ― George Orwell
An autumn garden has a sadness when the sun is not shining… ― Francis Brett Young
Not everything that happens in your life has to hit you like a hurricane. ― Joyce Rachelle
Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! ― George Bernard Shaw
There are not too many fables about man’s misuse of sunflower seeds. ― Richard Brautigan
During fragile times, learn to cherish the grounds that continue to build you, for they also cherish your presence with light, hope, and creativity. A reminder that the garden doesn’t pick between the weed and the flower on who becomes the champion of light. ― Goitsemang Mvula
I’m not a vegetarian! I’m a dessertarian! ― Bill Watterson
All the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk. ― Lemony Snicket
Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards. ― Vladimir Nabokov
If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. ― Tom Peters
A tomato may be a fruit, but it is a singular fruit. A savory fruit. A fruit that has ambitions far beyond the ambitions of other fruits. ― E. Lockhart
The human race can be roughly divided into two categories: ailurophiles and ailurophobes – cat lovers and the underprivileged. ― David Taylor
I love you because no two snowflakes are alike, and it is possible, if you stand tippy-toe, to walk between the raindrops. ― Nikki Giovanni
True love is like little roses, sweet, fragrant in small doses. ― Ana Claudia Antunes

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. ― Anita Desai
If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. ― Tom Peters
Where we fall are the stepping-stones for our journey. ― Lolly Daskal
Sitting under a tree in a park in the summer, listening to birds and squirrels chirping while reading a good book is priceless. ― Charmaine J. Forde
Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week. ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain. ― Vivian Greene
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death. ― Robert Fulghum
Mindful Monday Humans, May your coffee kick in before reality does. ― Napz Cherub Pellazo
Her cheeks glowed with pink charcoals. ― Ray Bradbury