lemons_into_lemonade lostgirl buffering reality? sugar coating truth? regardless, changing sour to sweet is a full time job. but it can be done. 100426 ... amy costs nada a full time job, and more full with greater dissatisfaction (justified or no). motivate, right, and sell out to your dreams, which may or may not be ephemeral. an argument for gambling with your energy, and this is not necessarily a good or bad thing. mostly about the lemons and not the lemonade, because it can always be sweeter, right? or maybe there are limits that i am not aware of. pulling oneself up by bootstraps is a more unfortunate circumstance than simple grace.... on the other hand, a sense of accomplishment is satisfying in itself. (i'm a little divided about this one.) 100426 ... lostgirl when hate is thrown at me like a dagger intended for my heart, i must be the responsible party and redirect the threat for my own self-preservation. i have so much love in my heart. everyone should be so fortunate. therefore, taking the initiative to influence a sour-ass lemon with a little sweetness may be time consuming, but it is ultimately worth the effort. 100426 ... amy costs nada sorry if i was harsh. probably has nothing to do with what you're talking about... i believe very deeply in equality and not trying to fix people... athough i am somewhat of a hypocrite (i have teacher-tendencies and teachers are always trying to get people to conform) and i do try to fix people sometimes, out of frustration and, yes, loneliness. one magical, graceful day, i'll get over it. 100426 ... lostgirl i'm actually right there with you on this one. people cannot be "fixed." they are what they are....but i do make the attempt to influence people with positivity when i know they need it. but they ultimately have to cause the change themselves. 100426 ... jane that's quite a tightrope you're walking on. (so says my philosophical side) (which gets me into trouble all the time) 100426 what's it to you? who go blather from