She trudged through the desert, along the banks of a broad river that had carved a channel through the sand and rocks as it swept to the sea. On the other side of the river fertile grasslands rolled upwards towards lush, forest covered hills. Scorched by the cruel sun and stung by the sand in the wind she joined the crowd sitting by the river bank, praying that they would find a way to reach the forest.

After a while the river spoke to her … “Jump!”

She cried, “But I cannot swim; I will be smashed on your rocks and rapids.”

“There will be pain, but if you want to reach a place of joy and plenty, jump, and I will carry you to the other side”, replied the current as it rode over the rocky rapids.

She hesitated. Everything she craved lay on the other side of the river, but fear pinned her to the bank.

Then the wind said, “Fly”.

“But I have no wings, and will surely crash to the ground”, she cried.

“Perhaps”, said the wind. “Learning to fly can be difficult, but if you want passion and freedom, keep trying and when you are ready I will lift you to the far bank”.

She stayed, surviving on whatever scraps the desert discarded. Soon she no longer heard the wind or the water. Many years later, as she sat longing for the forest across the river, three women appeared on the other side. They were her sisters; older but still beautiful.

The old woman shouted, “Sisters, how did you get to the other side?”

The first answered, “I jumped. At first I was dashed against the rocks; was bruised and bleeding, but the current lifted me, healed me and carried me to this side.

The second stretched out her arms and said, “I flew. At first I was tossed about as if I were trapped in a tornado, but then I lifted my head and stretched out my arms, and I flew”.

The third said, “I had not the courage to jump or fly, but rather than give up hope I kept walking along the river ‘till I came to a wise man who said he was waiting for me to find the courage to trust completely. I fell into his arms, and he carried me through the torrent to this side.

The old woman wept. She knew the ways … she had always known … but was now convinced that she was too old and weak to jump, to fly, or to walk a great distance. Turning back to the desert, she saw the millions of others who, like her, had allowed fear to steal their dreams. She began to trudge towards them.

“No! No!” cried the river … “Jump!”

Just received the following from an American woman on CM.  Funny in places, but true.

SOME ADVICE FOR WOMEN … FROM A WOMAN

Remember, there’s no such thing as a good girl gone wrong, only a bad girl found out.  All girls have a desire to be very, very naughty.  Only the nature and degree varies.  Sorry, but this means you and your naughty fantasies are normal, not special.

And the ones who say they’re not are the naughtiest.  Always.  Remember that the next time one of your girlfriends proclaims her niceness and innocence and how “I would never do that”.

The man you want knows that churches are great places to meet women, and that the naughtiest ones sit in the front row, in a crisp white dress modestly buttoned to the throat.

Older men, real men, pursue younger women.  Get used to it.  Whether you yield to him or not is your business.  The fact that older men pursue younger women is their business, not yours.  If you wear a short skirt, more older men will give you a long, longing look than young guys.  Enjoy the attention.

Nice guys hope they get a hug at the end of the night, and get nothing.  Real men allow a woman a glimpse of evil, at the beginning, and sometimes we give them everything.

When you hear yourself saying, “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” you know you’ve found a good man.  When you say, “I never do this,” you’ve struck the jackpot.

When you say “Let’s take it slow and get to know each other” the nice guy will agree.  The man you really want knows that you badly want to be ravished - thoroughly - and soon.

A woman's submission is not demonstrated when she does something she enjoys.  It is demonstrated when she willingly does something she would rather not do, just to please you.

Those who wish their women to follow would do well to recall the advice of the female dance instructor teaching a man how to dance.

"If you don't lead, I can't dance."