Last night I was reading a book my mother had given me months and months ago. A bookmark fell out that had the following poem on it:

Just for Today
by Sibyl F. Partridge

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL BE HAPPY. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL ADJUST MYSELF TO WHAT IS, AND NOT TRY TO ADJUST EVERYTHING TO MY OWN DESIRES. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL STRENGTHEN MY MIND. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL EXERCISE MY SOUL IN THREE WAYS; I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do, as William James suggests, just for the exercise.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL BE AGREEABLE. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL TRY TO LIVE THROUGH THIS DAY ONLY, NOT TO TACKLE MY WHOLE LIFE PROBLEMS AT ONCE. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL HAVE A PROGRAM. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests; hurrying and indecision.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL HAVE A QUIET HALF HOUR ALL BY MYSELF AND RELAX. In this half hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life.

JUST FOR TODAY, I WILL BE UNAFRAID. Especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love and to believe that those I love, love me.

I thought that was beautiful. For some reason that last phrase struck me... "to believe that those I love, love me." *sigh*

On a lighter note, I found this via The Jason Continuum:
One Hundred Albums You Should Remove From Your Collection Immediately

Let's just see how many of these offenders are in my own expansive cd family...
• U2 - The Joshua Tree
My defense: I owned War first, and it is not the only U2 album I have.
• The Police - Synchronicity
My defense: Yeah, they touch on strange topics for their happy-go-lucky songs... (anybody actually listened to the lyrics of "Wrapped Around Your Finger"?) but they are wrong about this one.
• Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
My defense: This one is not my favourite Zeppelin album either, but it's still Zeppelin.
• Pulp Fiction - Original Soundtrack
My defense: Die. That movie defined a period in my life. haha.
• Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of...
My defense: There are a couple keepers on there. It contains my theme-song for my move to Tennessee.
• No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
My defense: I cannot bring myself to listen to this one, but when my brother offered it to me, I had to take it.... Ahh -- Memories of hearing "Spiderwebs" and "Don't Speak" three times a day while we were on tour.
• Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
My defense: It's okay, but it is essential if you are ever going to attempt The Dark Side of the Rainbow (aka The Wizard of Floyd). Which I did do with Greg Gilbertson, and it was weird how well things matched up.
• Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
My defense: I have none.
• U2 - War
My defense: Crap... didn't know this one was on there too.
• Counting Crows - August and Everything After
My defense: Okay, this is going too far. Yes, I hate "Round Here" (aka Brown Deer) and "Mr. Jones and Me"... but the rest is wonderful!
• Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales
My defense: I beg to differ.
• The Doors - The Best of the Doors
My defense: Hey, I went to college. I was required listening.

Okay, that's it. I do have to give them props for putting Songs in A Minor on there. At least someone else recognizes how not-entertaining she is.