Whip a Dog Happy You can't whip a dog happy. You can't put poison in the ground and expect posies to pop up. Orchards of lush ripe fruit don't come from radioactive waste. The world if full of joy and love. It is the light that paints the darkness. The dark is only there to frame the light. Don't fixate on the Frame. You'll miss the beauty of the picture. It's possible to go through life and see only misery and pain. Two men can walk down the same street and see two different worlds. There is no handicap worse than to always see ugliness. The outer world is just a mirror of the inner world. We need to cultivate Love on the inside so it will bloom on the outside. We may not always get to choose the plot of our lives but we get to meet adversity with cheer and noble purpose. We can hold our head up and be kind to those around us. What could be worse then to be a missionary of bitterness. To serve pain to others who would only offer us love. It is an awful fate for those that fall into that trap, a downward spiral to a selfish hell where everything is wrong and always someone else's fault. Decent into the pit of ruin lies ahead for those who close the heart and offer only bitter dregs in place of love. It is the sowing of an orchard of thorns onto a field of jagged rocks. Who will come to till that soil? Who will care tenderly for that garden? It's not too late. We can choose today and everyday to sing the song of love and open our hearts to all. We can choose the light even when the darkness is all around. That is what makes a hero. No one writes songs about those who fell on hard times and just gave up. Don Quixote was a fool but he was a grand and noble fool. He is enshrined in all our hearts because he dared beyond his reach and saw goodness in the heart of Dulcinea when she herself did not believe. Such acts of noble purpose change the world. They awaken that sleeping Joy that is the well spring of our life And we may offer treasure without bound. If we can find the key that turns the lock within our breast. So when you are passing by some poor forlorn derelict why don't you stop and give him a smile of kindness? Try lighting his candle with hope. You cannot heal his heart with a slap. You can't whip a dog happy.