Ice Storm in Germantown, Winter 2010
"Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under suspicion of being no policy at all." -Edmund Burke
“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”
-Henry Ford
“Our lives begin to end the
day we become silent about
things that matter.”
“I am only one, but I am one.
I can't do everything,
but I can do something.
The something I ought to do, I can do.
And by the grace of God, I will.”
Edward Everett Hale
Unitarian Minister and Writer, 1822-1909
The drops of rain make a hole
in the stone not by violence but by oft falling. ~Lucretius
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and
third by experience, which is the bitterest.
~Confucius
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
--Marcel Proust
"If you cheat, cheat death
If you steal, steal another's heart
If you fight, fight for your brother/sister
If you drink, then may you drink with me!"
-Irish Blessing from the Crooked Kilt Pub in Paso Robles, CA (November 2008)
“The world is fully of willing people-
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
--Theodore Roosevelt (American 26th US President (1901-09), 1858-1919)
-Matthew McConaughey in Greenlights
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous
than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Excellence can be attained if you
Care more than others think is wise,
Risk more than others think is safe,
Dream more than others think is practical, and
Expect more than others think is possible.
- Author Unknown
“Love is an attempt to change
a piece of a dream-world into reality.”
a piece of a dream-world into reality.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862
American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher, 1817-1862
"...every beauty of art or nature made him thankful as well as happy; and that the pleasure to be had in listening to fine music, as in looking at the stars in the sky, or at a beautiful landscape or picture, was a benefit for which we might thank Heavan as sincerely as for any other worldly blessing." -- William Makepeace Thackeray in Vanity Fair
If you judge people,
you have no time to love them.
- Mother Theresa
"Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled"
–Jesus
On life's journey:
faith is nourishment,
virtuous deeds are a shelter,
wisdom is the light by day and
right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
-- Buddha
“Four things support the world:
the learning of the wise,
the justice of the great,
the prayers of the good, and
the valor of the brave”
--Muhammad
The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon,
but that we wait so long to begin it. -- Anonymous
but that we wait so long to begin it. -- Anonymous
“If your actions inspire others to
dream more,
learn more,
do more and
become more,
you are a leader.”
dream more,
learn more,
do more and
become more,
you are a leader.”
~John Quincy Adams
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and
third by experience, which is the bitterest.
~Confucius
“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings
in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours
through and shines down upon us
to let us know they are happy.”
--Eskimo Proverb
in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours
through and shines down upon us
to let us know they are happy.”
--Eskimo Proverb
In the church bulletin on Easter Sunday 2010: "If I were a fire, I would burn; if I were a wood-cutter, I would strike. But I am a heart, and I love."
Jesus, in The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
Jesus, in The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
"They tried to bury us,
but they didn't know we were seeds."
-Unknown
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~~ Plato
“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves” - unknown
"We must always have old memories and young hopes." actual fortune from cookie on Apr 26, 2009
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
--Marcel Proust
The deeper sorrow carves into
your being the more joy you can contain.
-- Kahlil Gibran
“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!”
your being the more joy you can contain.
-- Kahlil Gibran
“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!”
--George Carlin
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. ~G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that
I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that
I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
"If you cheat, cheat death
If you steal, steal another's heart
If you fight, fight for your brother/sister
If you drink, then may you drink with me!"
-Irish Blessing from the Crooked Kilt Pub in Paso Robles, CA (November 2008)
"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create —
so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."
-Pearl S. Buck
so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."
-Pearl S. Buck
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." -Napoleon
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”-Mark Twain
"If A is a success in life, then
A = x + y + z.
x =Work;
y = play; and
z = keeping your mouth shut."
-Albert Einstein
** Q and J: MY BEST ACCOMPLISHMENT EVER**
"Always remember you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
-Christopher Robin to Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne)
-Christopher Robin to Winnie-the-Pooh (A. A. Milne)
“The world is fully of willing people-
some willing to work,
and the others willing to let them.”
-Robert Frost
and the others willing to let them.”
-Robert Frost
"You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone outta be."
–Richard from TX in Eat, Pray, Love
"What kind of world ignores sunsets and the laughter of God, Never lies on the grass or softens at twilight?....I no longer measure a world by what it possesses, but by what brings peace, And by all things in life it really doesn't need." -James Kavanaugh from Tears and Laughter of a Man's Soul
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne
"Do not train children to learn by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each." -Plato
"The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone,
but the things you do for others remain as your legacy."
— Kalu Iche Kalu
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
--Theodore Roosevelt (American 26th US President (1901-09), 1858-1919)
“Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.”
~ Lao Tzu
** Positano, Italy **
One of the most beautiful places I ever visited.
“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language.” Ranier Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
"‘In the beginning,' so goes many a great story. These familiar words beckon us across a threshold, often transporting us into unknown worlds and novel experiences. So too our lives are filled with many such ‘beginnings' — new jobs, relationships, adventures, and even the inception of life itself. Each of these ‘threshold experiences' not only introduces us to new domains, but also draws us into the realities of archetypal fields. Learning to creatively interact with these prefigured, a priori fields can allow us rich access to sources of eternal wisdom." ~ Michael Conforti
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