Never alter yourself for someone to love or accept you. This applies for friendships and a relationship. Always be you every single day! This is something that took me a while to learn. There are always people who love you and accept you for the person that you are.
xo Jen
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sea Lion shooting is despicable .
Who does this, seriously?! What this man did to this sea lion is horrible.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Just a lil something...
By me:
No one can TRULY control their future, it's just something that happens. It happens while you sleep, breathe, it develops each day you live, each day you wake up. It's the outcomes of your decisions, actions, goals and the goals that are met, these are the things you can control. I have learned that there are certain things I have no control over, I just have to live day by day and to take everything day by day. I refuse to make a promise that I don't know I can keep. I refuse to put myself in a situation that does not feel right and I will always listen to my gut instinct. I will live day by day and be nothing more than absolutely happy. A minute you spend unhappy is a minute you won't get back.
Don't let the little things get to you, it's not worth it. Life's about living and living it to the fullest. Don't let ANYONE sacrifice your happiness. Because in the end it won't be worth it. Everyone deserves to be happy and to enjoy THEIR life as they see fit. There will always be things that one must work on to better them selves and to change, but NO OTHER person can change another person to how they want them.
My favorite quote that sums it all up: "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."
XO Jen
No one can TRULY control their future, it's just something that happens. It happens while you sleep, breathe, it develops each day you live, each day you wake up. It's the outcomes of your decisions, actions, goals and the goals that are met, these are the things you can control. I have learned that there are certain things I have no control over, I just have to live day by day and to take everything day by day. I refuse to make a promise that I don't know I can keep. I refuse to put myself in a situation that does not feel right and I will always listen to my gut instinct. I will live day by day and be nothing more than absolutely happy. A minute you spend unhappy is a minute you won't get back.
Don't let the little things get to you, it's not worth it. Life's about living and living it to the fullest. Don't let ANYONE sacrifice your happiness. Because in the end it won't be worth it. Everyone deserves to be happy and to enjoy THEIR life as they see fit. There will always be things that one must work on to better them selves and to change, but NO OTHER person can change another person to how they want them.
My favorite quote that sums it all up: "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."
XO Jen
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Quotes Galore!
Truth,Trust and Lies:
"Truth is the best vindication against slander."
Abe Lincoln
"Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water."
-Miguel de Cervantes
"To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful."
-Edward R. Murrow
"I never trust people's assertions, I always judge of them by their actions."
- Ann Radcliffe
Life:
"If you want to be respected by others you must first show respect for yourself and others."
-Anonymous
"We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it."
Lyndon B. Johnson
"I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present."
W. Somerset Maugham
"Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition."
Sir William Osler
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
Eddie Cantor
"While there's life, there's hope."
Cicero
"If you can't have faith in what is held up to you for faith, you must find things to believe in yourself, for a life without faith in something is too narrow a space to live."
George E. Woodberry
"As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.”
-Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw
"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. IF you GET a chance, TAKE it. If it changes your life, LET it. Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it!"
"Change is all a part of life. And those who look only to the past are certain to miss the present and future."
"Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who looks back and wonders who or what they could have had. Nobody waits forever."
"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."
-ANON
“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."
-- Unknown
Happiness:
"When you relinquish the desire to control your future, you can have more happiness."
Nicole Kidman
"Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey."
"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-Carl Gustav Jung
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity".
Love, relationships:
"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."
-Thomas Merton
"A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other...Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever."- Dave Matthews Band
“Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies.”
-Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw
"Relationships:There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous"- Carrie, Sex and the City
"Give in to love, or live in fear."
Mimi Marquez, "Another Day", Rent
" Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."
-Wayne Dyer
"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
-INGRID BERGMAN
"If you love somebody let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't , they never were."
-Anonymous
"Truth is the best vindication against slander."
Abe Lincoln
"Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Truth indeed rather alleviates than hurts, and will always bear up against falsehood, as oil does above water."
-Miguel de Cervantes
"To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable, we must be credible; to be credible, we must be truthful."
-Edward R. Murrow
"I never trust people's assertions, I always judge of them by their actions."
- Ann Radcliffe
Life:
"If you want to be respected by others you must first show respect for yourself and others."
-Anonymous
"We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it."
Lyndon B. Johnson
"I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present."
W. Somerset Maugham
"Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day's work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition."
Sir William Osler
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
Eddie Cantor
"While there's life, there's hope."
Cicero
"If you can't have faith in what is held up to you for faith, you must find things to believe in yourself, for a life without faith in something is too narrow a space to live."
George E. Woodberry
"As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.”
-Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw
"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. IF you GET a chance, TAKE it. If it changes your life, LET it. Nobody said that it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it!"
"Change is all a part of life. And those who look only to the past are certain to miss the present and future."
"Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who looks back and wonders who or what they could have had. Nobody waits forever."
"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results."
-ANON
“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."
-- Unknown
Happiness:
"When you relinquish the desire to control your future, you can have more happiness."
Nicole Kidman
"Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey."
"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-Carl Gustav Jung
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity".
Love, relationships:
"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."
-Thomas Merton
"A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other...Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever."- Dave Matthews Band
“Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies.”
-Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw
"Relationships:There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous"- Carrie, Sex and the City
"Give in to love, or live in fear."
Mimi Marquez, "Another Day", Rent
" Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."
-Wayne Dyer
"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
-INGRID BERGMAN
"If you love somebody let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't , they never were."
-Anonymous
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Have You Ever Wondered?
I came across this in an e-mail that was sent to me many years ago, and I've held on to it because I find it very thought provoking. I feel that at least someone can relate to this and take something good away from it.
"Have you ever noticed that the worst way to miss someone is when they are right beside you and yet you can never have them... when the moment you can't feel them under your fingertips you miss them?
Have you ever wondered which hurts the most, saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing and wishing you had? I guess the most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish them; words shrink things that seemed timeless when they were in your head... to no more than living size when they are brought out. Don't be afraid to tell someone you love them. If you do, they might break your heart... but if you don't, you might break theirs.
Have you ever decided not to become a couple because you were so afraid of losing what you already had with that person? You're heart decides who it likes and who it doesn't. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on it's own- when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want to.
Have you ever wanted to love someone with everything you had, but that other person was too afraid to let you? Too many of us stay closed up because we are too afraid to care too much... for fear that the other person does not care as much, or at all.
Have you ever loved someone and they had absolutely no idea whatsoever? Or fell for your best-friend in the entire-world and then sat around and watched them fall for someone else?
Have you ever denied your feelings for someone because your fear of rejection was too hard to handle? We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing we feel grows stronger. Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who has to look back and wonder who and what they would have or could have had. Nobody waits forever."
Have You Ever Wondered?
"Have you ever noticed that the worst way to miss someone is when they are right beside you and yet you can never have them... when the moment you can't feel them under your fingertips you miss them?
Have you ever wondered which hurts the most, saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing and wishing you had? I guess the most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish them; words shrink things that seemed timeless when they were in your head... to no more than living size when they are brought out. Don't be afraid to tell someone you love them. If you do, they might break your heart... but if you don't, you might break theirs.
Have you ever decided not to become a couple because you were so afraid of losing what you already had with that person? You're heart decides who it likes and who it doesn't. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on it's own- when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want to.
Have you ever wanted to love someone with everything you had, but that other person was too afraid to let you? Too many of us stay closed up because we are too afraid to care too much... for fear that the other person does not care as much, or at all.
Have you ever loved someone and they had absolutely no idea whatsoever? Or fell for your best-friend in the entire-world and then sat around and watched them fall for someone else?
Have you ever denied your feelings for someone because your fear of rejection was too hard to handle? We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing we feel grows stronger. Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don't be a person who has to look back and wonder who and what they would have or could have had. Nobody waits forever."
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Mind your business!
I have been seeing an ongoing pattern the past few weeks and it's really starting to get to me. People need to butt out of other people's lives that has nothing to do with THEIRS. That's the bottom line. I don't get why that is so hard for some. Do they really have nothing better to do than get involved in others lives just to better themselves?? People's lives that has nothing to do with theirs? To go around and say nasty assumptions and lies? Or better yet to sum it up butt into people's personal lives/business and go around talking about it with others. I guess it's evident that it is and that to me is so pathetic. If a person isn't negatively affecting your life then leave well enough alone! BUTT the hell out!
Concentrate on your own life and business and not others! I guess some people really have nothing better to do than go around and spread nasty assumptions about another's life. Or have to add their two cents. Does is make that person feel better about themselves and their life? Here's my answer to that-- It just shows how pathetic you are and your maturity level. Yes, I know that is pretty harsh, but that's how I see it in my eyes.
It is time for a lot of people to GROW UP. Concentrate on YOUR life and make it better. BUTT out of other peoples lives who have no importance on yours. Just remember this: Karma- What goes around comes around. Karma is a bitch and it will sneak up on you when you least expect it.
Concentrate on your own life and business and not others! I guess some people really have nothing better to do than go around and spread nasty assumptions about another's life. Or have to add their two cents. Does is make that person feel better about themselves and their life? Here's my answer to that-- It just shows how pathetic you are and your maturity level. Yes, I know that is pretty harsh, but that's how I see it in my eyes.
It is time for a lot of people to GROW UP. Concentrate on YOUR life and make it better. BUTT out of other peoples lives who have no importance on yours. Just remember this: Karma- What goes around comes around. Karma is a bitch and it will sneak up on you when you least expect it.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Something to keep in mind...
This is for everyone, just a reminder about life! Something I came up with...
There comes a point where a person comes to the realization that the best thing to do, because sometimes they have no other choice, is to let go and just live! Every minute you spend upset or mad is a minute you won't get back. Stop worrying about what other people think of you. A true friend is someone who knows you and loves you just the same!
No one can live up to anyone elses standards and they shouldn't have to OR be expected to. The only standards one should live up to are their own. Everything starts with yourself! It starts with you making up your mind about what you're going to do with YOUR life. Don't accept anyone elses definition of your life, define yourself! Life isn't something that should be put on hold because it's going to go on without you whether you like it or not. So make the best out of your life and live it to the fullest! Don't let anything sacrifice your happiness!! Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey.
This is something I've learned: Life is too short, so live it up to its fullest and cherish the friends and family that you have. DON'T live in the past. Learn from your past and live in the present and look towards the future. And as far as love goes, there are still some good men and women out there, but you can't go looking for them or love, you have to let it come to you. Keep the faith.
XO Jen
There comes a point where a person comes to the realization that the best thing to do, because sometimes they have no other choice, is to let go and just live! Every minute you spend upset or mad is a minute you won't get back. Stop worrying about what other people think of you. A true friend is someone who knows you and loves you just the same!
No one can live up to anyone elses standards and they shouldn't have to OR be expected to. The only standards one should live up to are their own. Everything starts with yourself! It starts with you making up your mind about what you're going to do with YOUR life. Don't accept anyone elses definition of your life, define yourself! Life isn't something that should be put on hold because it's going to go on without you whether you like it or not. So make the best out of your life and live it to the fullest! Don't let anything sacrifice your happiness!! Happiness isn't a destination, it's a journey.
This is something I've learned: Life is too short, so live it up to its fullest and cherish the friends and family that you have. DON'T live in the past. Learn from your past and live in the present and look towards the future. And as far as love goes, there are still some good men and women out there, but you can't go looking for them or love, you have to let it come to you. Keep the faith.
XO Jen
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
iMac-ing
Yesterday I replaced my iBook with a NEW iMac! I absolutely love it! I've always been a Mac girl versus a PC girl. My family has always had an Apple computer in the house. Now don't start to lecture me on PC's. I've had a PC, a laptop to be exact, and it only got virus after virus. I never ONCE had a virus with my iBook and and never with the older iMac the family had. So now my household has two iMac's and an iBook that I need to clean out.
I can not tell you how happy this new iMac makes me. I know, sounds silly, but I am such a tech nerd. This type of stuff makes me smile and puts a spring back into my step.
I can not tell you how happy this new iMac makes me. I know, sounds silly, but I am such a tech nerd. This type of stuff makes me smile and puts a spring back into my step.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sitting in Tully's
While sitting here in Tully's I am watching all the different people walk in and out. I'm having some time to myself where I won't necessarily be bothered. I start to really think about my life and what I won't put up with anymore. I believe that by me just putting up with peoples horrible attitudes, the way they decide to treat me, and not speaking up, I am giving them permission to treat me that way. I sit here in complete shock to think that I am allowing people to treat me this way only because that is so unlike me to not speak up for myself and tell certain people to knock it off. I guess I am afraid to loose a friendship with these few people. But if they are a good or true friend one- they won't get offended or too mad and two- they shouldn't be treating me this way. The last point is the biggest one.
I am not one to judge my friends actions or decisions. I am one who does not like that, so why would I do it to my friends? I am here to support them in whatever decisions or actions they choose to do. I can only be a good friend to them and give whatever support and advice I am capable of.
I am fortunate enough to have some amazing friends in my life (new and old) who are so understanding and have allowed me to just be myself and accept me that way. They have been especially supportive the last couple months while I am going through some hard times while I rediscover myself again. The ones who can not and decide to pass off judgment based off MY decisions and not accept me for me are not the type of friends or people I want in my life.
I am not one to judge my friends actions or decisions. I am one who does not like that, so why would I do it to my friends? I am here to support them in whatever decisions or actions they choose to do. I can only be a good friend to them and give whatever support and advice I am capable of.
I am fortunate enough to have some amazing friends in my life (new and old) who are so understanding and have allowed me to just be myself and accept me that way. They have been especially supportive the last couple months while I am going through some hard times while I rediscover myself again. The ones who can not and decide to pass off judgment based off MY decisions and not accept me for me are not the type of friends or people I want in my life.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inaugurational Speech
I just had to post Barack Obama's inspirational speech!
For everyone's enjoyment!
"Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. "
For everyone's enjoyment!
"Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. "
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