José N. Harris

“Fear is not the answer, not ever...”

“Those with no dreams of their own, can do nothing better, than to try to destroy the dreams of others.”

“Writing about myself (in MI VIDA), has given me a feeling that I had never had before- that the past is like a story, in which one thing led to another, and that life is not a boundless mystery, but a finite thing that can be somewhat comprehended. Thinking about writing? You just have to start with one story...”

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life really interesting...”

“When you find your path, you must ignore fear. You need to have the courage to risk mistakes. But once you are on that road... run, run, run, and don't stop til you've reached its end.”

“I have learned that with time, the hurt begins to fade and it is easier to just let go...”

“Send me...”

“It feels strange to be ignored in general, but when someone who was once an integral part of your life fades away, what are you left with? Sadness? Disallusionment? Hope? Surreal...”

“Maybe some love is guaranteed? Maybe if it fits snugly and perfectly inside you and around you? Like your skin and bones...”

“If you saw a dog that was hit by a car in the street, lying there, hurt, in pain, broken... would you pick it up? Caress it? Reassure it? Then just throw it back in the street? Some people do that, just in different ways... to other people. Whis is worse? The one who causes the intial pain and suffering without stopping or the one who intentionally gives false hope, then injures more, and then just abandons?”

“During my most difficult days, I text message God. I know I can just say a prayer and He'll hear me, but just in case He's really busy... He can read my message later! :)”

“There is nothing I would not do for those who I care about. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature. I only know 100%.”

“If a man is in the forest and there is no woman around, is he still wrong?”

“Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can...”

“I want that perfect ending. But I've learned the hard way, that some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. My life has not been about knowing or figuring everything out. It's been about having to deal with change, about taking a moment and making the best of it, even if I knew I'd have to take a big risk. Life is really about trying to move forward without knowing exactly what is going to happen next.”

“You can't force love, I realized that. It's either there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you've got to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love...”

“Sometimes, we do not believe in ourselves until someone else reveals that, deep inside of us, something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, love, or any other experience that reveals our human spirit.”

“When we least expect it, life puts before us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; our willingness to set our fear and selfishness aside; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing is happening or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.”

“It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck thinking we've reached our limitations in life. If we go into a dark room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or a hundred years - we turn on the light and it is bright again. Once we control our own capacity for love and happiness, we can turn that light back on.”

“FORBIDDENPain without learning is forbidden,waking up one day not knowing what to do,being afraid of your memories.It is forbidden not to smile at problems, not to fight for what you want,to abandon all because of fears,not to realize your dreams.It is forbidden not to show your love,to be ashamed of your tears,to not laugh with children,to make someone else pay your debts, bad humor.It is forbidden to forget your friends,to not try to understand why they live far away,to treat people as disposable,to call them only when you need them.It is forbidden to not be yourself in front of others,pretending around people you don’t care about,trying to be funny just so you'll be remembered,to forget about all the people who love you.It is forbidden not to do things for yourself,to be afraid of life and its commitments,to not to live each day as if it were your last.It forbidden to take someone out without having fun,to forget their eyes, their laugh,to not respect love even if it is past,just because your paths have stopped crossing,to forget your past and only live in the moment.It is forbidden not to try to understand people,to think that other’s lives are worth more than yours,to not know that each one of us has our own way and our own happiness.It is forbidden not create your own story,to have no time for people who need you,to not understand what life gives to you, and that it can also be taken away.It is forbidden not find your happiness,to not live your life with a positive attitude,to not think we can do better and be better,to feel that without you, this world would still be the same...”

“No importa el tiempo que emos sido atrapados pensando que hemos llegado a nuestras limitaciones en la vida.Si entramos en un cuarto oscuro y encendemos la luz, no importa si el cuarto ha estado oscuro por un día, una semana o cien años - se enciende la luz y es brillante de nuevo, al momento que tomamos el control de nuestra propia capacidad para amor...”

“HAMBRE (HUNGER)Anhelo tu boca, tu voz, tu pelo.En silencio y con hambre, rodando por las calles.El pan no me alimenta, me rompe el alba.Tengo hambre por tu sonrisa,Tus manos el color de una cosecha salvaje,Con hambre de las piedras pálidas que son tus uñas,Quiero comer tu piel como una almendra entera.Necesito el rayo de sol que quema de tu hermosa cuerpo,Tu nariz soberana del elegante cara,Quiero comer la sombra fugaz de tus pestañas,Paseo con hambre, olfateando el crepúsculo,Buscandote, por tu corazón caliente,Como una puma en los páramos de las montañas…********************************I long for your mouth, your voice, your hair.Silent and starving, rolling through the streets.Bread does not nourish me, The dawn breaks me.I have a hunger for your smile.Your hands the color of a savage harvest,I hunger for the pale stones are your nails,I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.I need the sunshine that burns from your beautiful body.Your nose,sovereign on an elegant face,I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,I move on, hungry, sniffing the twilight,Looking for you, for your warm heart,As a cougar in the wilds of the mountains ...”

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: not pursuing it.”

“What Is love? When I was growing up on the streets of Tijuana, I dreamed of being in love. My clothes were old, my pants worn, street water passed through my shoes and socks, but the stars still shined through my soul...”

“I just read the last page of the Bible again for some reassurance... And yep, everything is going to be alright”

“It is my mission in life,to convince you,that it is merely a thin linethat separatesa real lifefrom a fantastic one...”

“Amputees suffer itches, cramps and even severe pains in a leg that is no longer there. It can be the same with love...”

“I’M SORRYI am developing a new board game. It’s called “I’m Sorry.” It’s also a form of “Self-Help Psychological Therapy!”You take turns moving around the board like Monopoly. But if you land on a Yellow or Green “I’m Sorry Space”… you have to make a Phone call. Both green and yellow cards are labeled- the same with things like: Your Ex, Parental figure, friend, co-worker, boss, children, etc. You get the point…If you land on the yellow space, the game stops, everyone gets quiet and you have to call that person up – on speakerphone. You apologize for something you’ve done in your past. Come on you know you are not perfect and you probably screwed up, hurt or disappointed everyone in your past at one time or another. So you call and you apologize. You explain what you did to them wrong if they forgive you, you move forward 10 places and everyone cheers! No forgiveness back- you move back to the beginning.If you land on the green space- it’s similar. But you call the person up and you try to explain to them how, in someway, they hurt you in the past. If they apologize… cheers and you move forward 10 spaces. No apology… move backward ten spaces. They curse at you- game over.In the original packaging of the yellow and green cards, are mixed in a set of “I’m Sorry Cards.” If you are lucky enough to get to pick up an “I’m Sorry Card,” it’s like a Get Out of Jail Free Card, and you don’t have to make the call.The only catch is that the cards come hermetically sealed. After opening up the package, and the cards are exposed to air, all of the “I’m Sorry Cards,” magically turn into “Deal With it Cards!” And so, you really never get a free ride. In reality, every time you pick up a yellow or green card, you have to- Deal with It!Of course you can always order a new factory set of sealed of “I’m Sorry Cards.” But they only last about 30 minutes and are very expensive, so you’ll have to play fast. Cute Game? Hey, don’t steal my idea!!!”

“My words and my stories are merely just memories that already lie, dormant, in your mind. It is my sole purpose to awaken them; to bring them back to life, for you to feel and to taste them once again. But they are already inside you... And always have been.”

“To not share a struggle or challenge you overcame is to betray it.”

“In the quest for higher education and learning, we must never leave behind... common sense.”

“I like BIG BOOKSand I cannot lie!”

“We are born into this world with a life-long hunger for food... We are born into this world with a life-long hunger for love...”

“If you're going to try to hold someone down, make sure there's enough room at the bottom for you too.”

“Whatever we are physically... male or female, young or old, strong or weak, ill or healthy... Those things matter much less than what you have inside your heart. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things are merely like the glass that contains a lamp... Useful, but you are the light inside. Shine, my friend. Shine.”

“With having a strong faith, no one can snuff out our hope. Shoot me in the head with a gun and my blood will grow roots and then flowers will blossom.”

“Taking on too much of other people's drama is just a poor excuse for not taking ownership and control over your own life.”

“Down through the dark trees,You can really save me.You're so wonderful, And you're so beautiful.You're like no one on earth,It appears...For all of my life I've been waiting, for you... And I want to be the one,that you take home.Let me be the one, cuz I'm so lonely...Take me home.In time you'll love me like one of your own.Take me home, with you.No one on earth thrills me like you do.Take me home, with you.No one other knows me like you do.I'm going home...”

“I may not be a "Sugar Daddy," but I think I'm a sweet man!”

“If you'd like to keep CHRIST in Christmas this year, I'd humbly suggest that instead of just posting about it as a status on Facebook, that perhaps you try to find a family in your neighborhood who could use a little help or pehaps donate to a local food bank anonomously. That's keeping CHRIST in Christmas!”

“BEAUTYFor beautiful lips... speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes... seek out the good in people. For a slim figure... share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For graceful poise... walk with God.”

“Today, the world is full of broken hearts. This is something that can only be remedied by faith, hope and love.”

“Instead of swinging that sword, why not use it, to point the way?”

“Human kindness is totally unfair. We don't live in a caring or generous world, yet we try to be kind and caring to others. We know the world is out to burn us, and it gets us in anyway it can. I'm not a fool. But still, we try not to burn each other. We are kind people in an unkind world. How do you pretend you don't know about something, after you see it? How do you act like you don't need something, when you are hurting? How do you even the score and walk off a with a clean conscience? You can't! Our only real choice is kindness.”

“Kindness tip #1:Never start a sentence with the words- "No offense, but...”

“When you are unsure about what you believe in, anything can turn into an argument. Everything can become debatable.But when you know what you stand for, Choices and decisions are easier.”

“I'd rather get sick from eating too many doggie treats, than get sick from eating none at all.-Kilo (my dog)”

“I want to get rich through hard work... As long as it is not mine!”

“I'm not very good at making new friends. I'd rather use my time and energy, looking after the one's I already have!”

“There is beauty in truth, even if it's painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don't teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one's character, one's mind, one's heart or one's soul.”