kitty's claws

Pity is the deadliest feeling that can be offered to a woman.
--Vicki Baum

i must move forward with confidence, trusting that the strength i need i will have. Problems need not daunt me. Rather, they can spur me on to more creative activity. They challenge my capabilities. They insist that i not stand still.

Pity from others fosters inaction, and passivity invites death of the soul. Instead, my will to live is quickened through others' encouragement. All else dampens the will. Pity feeds the self-pity.

i can give words of encouragement wherever i am today and know that i am helping someone live. Each time i reach out to encourage another, i am breathing new life into myself, new life that holds at bay the self-pity that may appear at any moment.

We can serve one another best, never by commiserating with sadnesses, but by celebrating life's challenges. They offer the opportunities necessary to our continued growth.