* You don't have to be on Oprah to make a difference in someone's life.

7 years ago, I lost contact with a friend of mine since high school. Through no one person's fault, we just never got around to calling or writing each other since.

* Friendship is a 2-way street.

3 years ago, I took a chance. In some respects, it closed doors to being able to go back to what I once was. But it has also opened up other opportunities and contacts with people I probably would never have known.

* You can't grow until you take a few chances.

2 months ago, I bought a bicycle. I started off from house and road onto trails in back. Looking around, there were no children around riding or walking or anything. It was as if they had been locked away.

* Times have changed, especially for kids.

1 day ago, I was being followed by a white van on highway. Thoughts rushed through my mind of recent events near Washington DC. Could this be same person? Is it possible that he/she would be all way in Missouri by now? Turned out to only be an ice cream truck. (Complete with ringing bell).

* Things certainly are not like they used to be any more.

Today, we have chance to change future. We have opportunity to teach and lead and grow and understand. We can learn from our past without being prisoner to it. We may not be able to go back with what we know now, but we can, and must go forward.

The key to life is always learning, always growing and ever forward. Be sure to stop and smell flowers along way. It's what makes journey special. Tomorrow will most likely arrive. And we will be ready for it. For everything we have learned has brought us to this point.

We will take necessary precautions, adjust accordingly, but never stop living our lives. You can count on that.

To be complete with your parents means to be both free of negative feelings and to feel compassion toward them. Can you say both are true for you?

If you can, congratulations. You are a member of a very small minority. If you are not free of negative feeling toward your parents or/and if you do not feel compassion for them, you have some completion work to do. That is if you want a long-term, healthy, thriving relationship.

The question is, how do you get complete?

The first thing to know about completion is that it is not just a feeling that will one day appear. There are steps that can be taken to generate a feeling of completion. What stands between you and having a great relationship is taking these steps. Watch for these steps in my newsletter over next few weeks.

Your Relationship Coach, Rinatta Paries www.WhatItTakes.com

(c) Rinatta Paries, 1998-2002. Do you know how to attract your ideal mate? Do you know how to build a fulfilling relationship, or how to reinvent yours to meet your needs? Relationship Coach Rinatta Paries can teach you skills and techniques to attract and sustain long-term, healthy partnerships. Visit www.WhatItTakes.com where you'll find quizzes, classes, advice and a free weekly ezine. Become a "true love magnet(tm)!"