Quotes by me
“I'm the best thing that's ever happened to me.” – Kwn
“All pluses have their minuses.” - KwN
And the cheetah said, "if I only had wings I could fly". – KwN
“Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.” – KwN
“I'd rather have nothing than settle for less.” – KwN
“It may just be that my sole purpose in life has been simply to serve
as an example for others of what not to do…” – KwN
“Life is much like a scale of weights with the balance being exactly
equal; when you gain on one side you always lose on the other…” - KwN
“She was standing knee-deep in a river of love and dying of thirst...”
– KwN
“A dandelion from a friend means more than an orchid from an enemy.” - KwN
“Asking dumb questions is easier than correcting dumb mistakes.” - KwN
“No matter where you go, there you are!” - KwN
“Time would always be the fat man on my teeter totter...as the clock
ticked the fat man snickered away.” - KwN
All Time Favourites
“Welcome to the great theatre of life where admission is free and the
only taxes are your own immortality. Come when you can and leave when
you must. The show is continuous...
-adapted from a quote from Robertson Davies from a wall hanging in the
Chapters book store on Robson St in downtown Vancouver....
“I've stood all I can stands, and I can't stands no more.” - Popeye
the Sailor
“But you couldn't rest on your luck. Life had become an obstacle race:
you jumped the first hurdle, there was another one just beyond it,
higher, and then another beyond that, closer and even more difficult.
You got no time to recover your breath.” - Martin Gray - For Those I Loved
"I want you for me" she said. I hid in her arms, she in mine. I was
her father, she my mother, we were brother and sister; her head was
made for my shoulders; her entire body for mine. When I touched her
skin, when I lay beside her, I wanted to cry out, "At last, at last!"
She gave me peace and life. It was a new birth. Everything was
falling into place and life now had a meaning. She was there and I
could see her, hear her, touch her. She was my peace, gentle,
good-humoured, and I could laugh with her..." - Martin Gray - For
Those I Loved
If you're not the lead dog, the view's always the same...
If you lie down with dogs you'll get up with fleas.
If you place a low value on yourself, it is unlikely that the world
will raise it any.
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
For a track team to win the high jump you find one person who can jump
seven feet, not seven people who can jump one foot.
Many a man has fallen in love by a light so dim he wouldn't buy a pair
of pants by it.
“Why stay we on earth but to grow?” - Robert Browning
Master yourself and you can master anything.
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could
do so little.
The cream rises to the top, and so does the scum.
The family, that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite
escape, nor in our innermost hearts ever quite wish to.
The value of life lies not in the length of our days, but in the use
we make of them.
“Through our temptations, aye, and our falls, our virtues appear.” -
Henry David Thoreau
You're mopping the floor instead of turning off the tap...
Picked Up Along The Way
The longest journey begins with the first step
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine".
"Chan ts 'ao, chu ken" (Literally Translated: “When pulling weeds,
make sure you get rid of the roots...” Chinese Proverb)
"Drawing on my fine command of the english language, I said nothing."
"Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish" –
Michelangelo
“By all means marry. If you get a good wife you'll become happy; if
you get a bad one you'll become a philosopher.” - Socrates
"The legislature no longer considers that marriage... is a social
institution of any paramount importance” - Madam Justice Mary Southin
in the Trociuk case.
"What if, instead of a gem or a flower, we could cast the gift of a
lovely thought into the heart of a friend? Wouldn't that be as giving
as the angels give?"
Do right and fear not.
"Not all poker is played at a poker table..." - Louis L'amour
An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. A
pessimist fears this is true.
“Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who
achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and
careers merely following? The extra mile.”- Gary Ryan Blair
Doubt is the beginning, not the ending, of wisdom.
“Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by
answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being
responsible. - Dr Viktor E Frankl
“Be not arrogant because of thy knowledge, and have no confidence that
thou are a learned man. If thou sit where standeth the table where
one who is greater than thou, take what he giveth, that which is set
before thee. Look not at that which lieth before him, but look at
that which lieth before thee.” - Egyptian Proverb
It's the dead wood that holds up a tree.
Find your thought and place it in the center of a spiral. Let the
spiral grow in coils upon itself so that each thought can live beside
its ancestor. Then take another thought into the center of the spiral
and coil the two together, carrying both in your mind. Then, when you
have thought your way back again to the center, take another thought
and entwine it into the double coil. True thinking grows into spiral
knots that can never untwist. - Master of Auphra (The Dark Crystal)
Just because I live in a fantasy world doesn't mean I'm not real.
I manage my anger well. I get angry whenever I want.
“Give me a level long enough and a place to stand, and I will move
the world.” – Archimedes
“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven
for? Robert Browning
“Sin blinded me and since mine is the fault, mine also is the
suffering...”- Henry VIII's 5th wife, Catherine just before being
beheaded for her adulteress affair with Pat Culpepper
“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” –
Confucius
“If thou hast run with the footmen and they have wearied thee, then
how canst thou contend with horsesmen?” - Jeremiah 12:5
Look first, think second, act last.
Never create a problem for which you do not have the answer.
Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up.
Better a pebble out of love than a diamond out of duty.
On life's highway, if everything is coming your way, you are in the
wrong lane.
“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” - Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emporer
There cannot be security without labour; progress without experience;
or prosperity without adhering to sound advice and council of wise
leaders.
Thinkers think and doers do. But until the doers think and the
thinkers do, progress will be just another word in the already
over-burdened vocabulary of talkers who talk.
Wisemen make proverbs but fools repeat them.
On Success
“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and
the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to
find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a
healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know
even one life has breathed easier, because you have lived, That is to
have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
Success is the constancy of purpose.
“I'm the best thing that's ever happened to me.” – Kwn
“All pluses have their minuses.” - KwN
And the cheetah said, "if I only had wings I could fly". – KwN
“Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.” – KwN
“I'd rather have nothing than settle for less.” – KwN
“It may just be that my sole purpose in life has been simply to serve
as an example for others of what not to do…” – KwN
“Life is much like a scale of weights with the balance being exactly
equal; when you gain on one side you always lose on the other…” - KwN
“She was standing knee-deep in a river of love and dying of thirst...”
– KwN
“A dandelion from a friend means more than an orchid from an enemy.” - KwN
“Asking dumb questions is easier than correcting dumb mistakes.” - KwN
“No matter where you go, there you are!” - KwN
“Time would always be the fat man on my teeter totter...as the clock
ticked the fat man snickered away.” - KwN
All Time Favourites
“Welcome to the great theatre of life where admission is free and the
only taxes are your own immortality. Come when you can and leave when
you must. The show is continuous...
-adapted from a quote from Robertson Davies from a wall hanging in the
Chapters book store on Robson St in downtown Vancouver....
“I've stood all I can stands, and I can't stands no more.” - Popeye
the Sailor
“But you couldn't rest on your luck. Life had become an obstacle race:
you jumped the first hurdle, there was another one just beyond it,
higher, and then another beyond that, closer and even more difficult.
You got no time to recover your breath.” - Martin Gray - For Those I Loved
"I want you for me" she said. I hid in her arms, she in mine. I was
her father, she my mother, we were brother and sister; her head was
made for my shoulders; her entire body for mine. When I touched her
skin, when I lay beside her, I wanted to cry out, "At last, at last!"
She gave me peace and life. It was a new birth. Everything was
falling into place and life now had a meaning. She was there and I
could see her, hear her, touch her. She was my peace, gentle,
good-humoured, and I could laugh with her..." - Martin Gray - For
Those I Loved
If you're not the lead dog, the view's always the same...
If you lie down with dogs you'll get up with fleas.
If you place a low value on yourself, it is unlikely that the world
will raise it any.
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
For a track team to win the high jump you find one person who can jump
seven feet, not seven people who can jump one foot.
Many a man has fallen in love by a light so dim he wouldn't buy a pair
of pants by it.
“Why stay we on earth but to grow?” - Robert Browning
Master yourself and you can master anything.
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could
do so little.
The cream rises to the top, and so does the scum.
The family, that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite
escape, nor in our innermost hearts ever quite wish to.
The value of life lies not in the length of our days, but in the use
we make of them.
“Through our temptations, aye, and our falls, our virtues appear.” -
Henry David Thoreau
You're mopping the floor instead of turning off the tap...
Honour is what no man can give you and none can take away. Honour is a man's gift to himself.
"Women are the heart of honour and we cherish and protect it in them. You must never mistreat a woman nor belittle a man, nor standby and see another do so.
Never worry about getting honour, it grows in you and speaks in you, all you need do is listen"...(Liam Nielson, in Rob Roy)
Picked Up Along The Way
The longest journey begins with the first step
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine".
"Chan ts 'ao, chu ken" (Literally Translated: “When pulling weeds,
make sure you get rid of the roots...” Chinese Proverb)
"Drawing on my fine command of the english language, I said nothing."
"Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish" –
Michelangelo
“By all means marry. If you get a good wife you'll become happy; if
you get a bad one you'll become a philosopher.” - Socrates
"The legislature no longer considers that marriage... is a social
institution of any paramount importance” - Madam Justice Mary Southin
in the Trociuk case.
"What if, instead of a gem or a flower, we could cast the gift of a
lovely thought into the heart of a friend? Wouldn't that be as giving
as the angels give?"
Do right and fear not.
"Not all poker is played at a poker table..." - Louis L'amour
An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. A
pessimist fears this is true.
“Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who
achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and
careers merely following? The extra mile.”- Gary Ryan Blair
Doubt is the beginning, not the ending, of wisdom.
“Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by
answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being
responsible. - Dr Viktor E Frankl
“Be not arrogant because of thy knowledge, and have no confidence that
thou are a learned man. If thou sit where standeth the table where
one who is greater than thou, take what he giveth, that which is set
before thee. Look not at that which lieth before him, but look at
that which lieth before thee.” - Egyptian Proverb
It's the dead wood that holds up a tree.
Find your thought and place it in the center of a spiral. Let the
spiral grow in coils upon itself so that each thought can live beside
its ancestor. Then take another thought into the center of the spiral
and coil the two together, carrying both in your mind. Then, when you
have thought your way back again to the center, take another thought
and entwine it into the double coil. True thinking grows into spiral
knots that can never untwist. - Master of Auphra (The Dark Crystal)
Just because I live in a fantasy world doesn't mean I'm not real.
I manage my anger well. I get angry whenever I want.
“Give me a level long enough and a place to stand, and I will move
the world.” – Archimedes
“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven
for? Robert Browning
“Sin blinded me and since mine is the fault, mine also is the
suffering...”- Henry VIII's 5th wife, Catherine just before being
beheaded for her adulteress affair with Pat Culpepper
“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” –
Confucius
“If thou hast run with the footmen and they have wearied thee, then
how canst thou contend with horsesmen?” - Jeremiah 12:5
Look first, think second, act last.
Never create a problem for which you do not have the answer.
Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you will have to catch up.
Better a pebble out of love than a diamond out of duty.
On life's highway, if everything is coming your way, you are in the
wrong lane.
“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” - Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emporer
There cannot be security without labour; progress without experience;
or prosperity without adhering to sound advice and council of wise
leaders.
Thinkers think and doers do. But until the doers think and the
thinkers do, progress will be just another word in the already
over-burdened vocabulary of talkers who talk.
Wisemen make proverbs but fools repeat them.
On Success
“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and
the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to
find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a
healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know
even one life has breathed easier, because you have lived, That is to
have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
Success is the constancy of purpose.
“A man can share his success with others, his troubles are his own.”
Louis L'amour
“If you do not know where you are going, all roads will get you
there.” - The Talmud
If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time, don't drag your
feet.
The sign on the door of opportunity reads PUSH.
Favourite Latin Quotes
“Carpe dium” (Literally “Seize the day”)
"Pax intrantibus, Salus exeuntibus, Benedicto habitantibus" (Literally
"Peace to all who enter, Health to all who leave, and Blessings on all
who abide")
On Living and Dying
"I've lived my life fast with fullness because I wish to live
deliberately, to confront the essential facts of life, and see if I
could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when it came time to
die, discover that I had not lived."
Boating and Mariner type Quotes
A boat is a dream made real.
"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 harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
“I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.”
“I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand,
as in which direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we
must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we
must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.” – Oliver W. Holmes.
“Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your
seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can
but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For
reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended,
is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore, let your soul
exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing. And let
it direct your passion with reason, That your passion may live through
its own daily resurrection, and, like the phoenix, rise above its own
ashes.” – Kahlil Gibran
Fables and longer thought-provoking quotes
... As she waited patiently, she forced herself to think of pleasant
things. 'Always remember, child,' her first teacher had impressed on
her, 'that to think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the
world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral you down into
ever-increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however,
requires effort. This is one of the things discipline- training- is
about. So train your mind to dwell on sweet perfumes, the touch of
this silk, tender raindrops against shoji, the curve of this flower
arrangement, the tranquillity of dawn. Then, at length, you won't
have to make such a great effort and you will be of honour to
yourself... - Adapted from Shogun (James Clavelle)
Be devoted to anything you do, doing nothing with half your heart.
Anything worthy of you time is worthy of your devotion. All decisions
have paths which lead in more than one direction, before deciding on a
path, look ahead to the path which leads to goodness. Always maintain
the right perception of your means. Do not idly let go by an occasion
for worthy deeds. Do not embark on any venture without careful
deliberation, and in your reasoning, do not hurry. Do not believe
everything you hear. Do not desire everything you see. Proceed to do
everything you are able to. Do not proclaim everything you know, but
only that which should be proclaimed. That which you do not know, do
not affirm, nor deny: best of all inquire. Be temperate. Do not
over-partake of food unless you hunger, without thirst do not
over-drink. Avoid drunkenness like as you would hell. Be meek, not
arrogant, keeping more to silence than to talkativeness. When someone
is speaking, keep quiet. When someone is addressing you pay
attention. When someone is relaying orders to you, fulfill them and
do not boast. Do not be obstinate, quarrelsome or vain. Do not
desire anything belonging to others. Do not steal but in whatsoever
you may have need, seek it through labour. In poverty ask for help
when it is given, accept it and be thankful;. Whatsoever you may have
borrowed, return and whatsoever you promise, fulfill. A man is born
with nothing but his name, that should he die with as clean as he was
given it. Be manly, always willing to labour, leave off all idleness
and laziness. If you wish to start some project, measure well your
strength in advance then proceed without letting up. In adversity (as
certain as a new day, there will always be adversity be it a person or
an obstacle) a man must stand on his own two feet and support himself
and his own) do not lose hope. In prosperity, do not morally
deteriorate. Hold thriftiness( learn everything you can about
anything, any task you can do is one less task you must rely on
somebody else to do) in esteem. Keep careful observation of the
different occurrences in life of inconstancy, misfortune and sorrow
(as sure as a man can stand on his own two feet, his feet can be
knocked out from under him and he may begin from any level) over that
which the patient forbear, the fainthearted sigh, lament and wail. Be
benevolent and gracious(only through doing goodness can goodness
return to a person) give to him who asketh of you if you have: help
the poor if you can. If anyone has hurt you - forgive him, if you
have hurt anyone reconcile yourself with him. It is very commendable
to refrain from holding grudges. Forgive the sinner, accede to the
reconciler. If you yourself will love your fellowman, you shall in
turn be loved by all people. Be also obedient to elders,
companionable to equals and courteous to subordinates. Greet those
whom you meet, return the greeting of those who greet you. To the
inquirer, give answer: to the ignorant, give advice, to the sorrowing
give comfort. Do not envy anyone. Wish well to all. Serve each and
all as much as you are able to. With your good deeds you shall please
all people. Your friends shall love you and your enemies will not be
able to hate you. Always speak the truth, never lie, observe all this
and good fortune shall always be your lot. Glory to god. – USCC Mantra
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, And remember what peace there
may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good
terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen
to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If
you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for
always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy
your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real
possession in the changing future of time. Exercise caution in your
business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not
blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high
ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for
in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the
grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering
the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in
sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many
fears are born of fatigue & loneliness. Beyond wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no
doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and
whatever your labours & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life
keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken
dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have
decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year old
again. I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four-star
restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a
sidewalk with rocks. I want to think M & M's are better than money
because you can eat them.
I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my
friends on a hot summer's day.
I want to return to a time when life was simple: When all you knew
were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that
didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of
all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to
the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things
again.
I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of
computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to
survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor
bills, gossip, illness, and the loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth
justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in
the snow.
So...here's my check book and my car keys, my credit card bills and my
401-K statements.I am officially resigning from adulthood.
And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me
first, cause.....................
..............."Tag!! You're it."
Old woody's firm and strong voice spoke to his god and to all mankind;
"In faith I do not love thee with mine eyes, for they, in thee, a
thousand errors note; 'tis my heart that loves what they despise."
His nutbrown chucle broke the spell. "Do you know that one? It's one
of Shakespeare's sonnets. They," he said, and his arms swept out to
embrace the world, "will tell you to develop your brain and your five
senses, but that's only the half of it, that's only being half a
human. The other half is to develop the heart and the wits." he
ticked them off on one old gnarled hand with the end of his pipe.
"there's common wit, there's imagination, there's fantasy, there's
estimation, and there's memory." old woody's face turned upward, his
spirit danced and was warmed out among the stars, while his body
remained with us and was warmed by the old tin-can brazier. "never
let anyone rob you of your right to be complete. The daylight is for
the brain and the senses, the darkness is for the heart and the wits.
Never, never be afraid. Your brain may fail you one day, but your
heart won't." he returned like a comet, leaving behind a shining
trail of love. Old woody was right. The daylight schooled the senses
and the night time developed the wits, stretched the imagination,
sharpened fantasy, hammered home the memory and altered one's whole
scale of values. - Fynne and Anna
Rules For Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it but it will
be yours for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a fulltime informal
school called life. Each day in this school you will have the
opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them
irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes... Only lessons. Growth is a process of
trial and error, of experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as
much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work".
4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
5. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you
have learned it. When you have learned it, you will then go on to the
next lesson.
6. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does
not contain it's lessons. If you are alive there are lessons to be
learned.
7 “There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become a
"here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will, again look
better than "here".
8. Others are merely a mirror of you. You can not love or hate
something about another person unless it reflects to you something you
love or hate about yourself.
9. What you make of your life is up to you.
10. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with
them is up to you. The choices are up to you.
11. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you have to
do is look, listen and trust.
11. You will probably forget all this.
*The Lesson of the Unicorn:*
In the "cloisters" (New York Museum of Medieval Architecture,
Paintings, Tapestries, etc) is hung a series of six exquisite
tapestries woven inFrance
tell the ancient story of the seeker of beauty who used a virgin to
lure a beautiful unicorn and then attempted to catch the beautiful
creature. But the unicorn was wild and refused to be subdued,
fighting until it died in the bonds of it's captor. It's beauty died
with it and the would-be captor was left with a horrid, bloody
corpse. The moral, of course, is that our attempts to possess
beautiful things often result in their ruin. Nothing is as beautiful
when captured as when left free.
Louis L'amour
“If you do not know where you are going, all roads will get you
there.” - The Talmud
If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time, don't drag your
feet.
The sign on the door of opportunity reads PUSH.
Favourite Latin Quotes
“Carpe dium” (Literally “Seize the day”)
"Pax intrantibus, Salus exeuntibus, Benedicto habitantibus" (Literally
"Peace to all who enter, Health to all who leave, and Blessings on all
who abide")
On Living and Dying
"I've lived my life fast with fullness because I wish to live
deliberately, to confront the essential facts of life, and see if I
could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when it came time to
die, discover that I had not lived."
Boating and Mariner type Quotes
A boat is a dream made real.
"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 harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
“I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.”
“I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand,
as in which direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we
must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we
must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.” – Oliver W. Holmes.
“Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your
seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can
but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For
reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended,
is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore, let your soul
exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing. And let
it direct your passion with reason, That your passion may live through
its own daily resurrection, and, like the phoenix, rise above its own
ashes.” – Kahlil Gibran
Fables and longer thought-provoking quotes
... As she waited patiently, she forced herself to think of pleasant
things. 'Always remember, child,' her first teacher had impressed on
her, 'that to think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the
world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral you down into
ever-increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however,
requires effort. This is one of the things discipline- training- is
about. So train your mind to dwell on sweet perfumes, the touch of
this silk, tender raindrops against shoji, the curve of this flower
arrangement, the tranquillity of dawn. Then, at length, you won't
have to make such a great effort and you will be of honour to
yourself... - Adapted from Shogun (James Clavelle)
Be devoted to anything you do, doing nothing with half your heart.
Anything worthy of you time is worthy of your devotion. All decisions
have paths which lead in more than one direction, before deciding on a
path, look ahead to the path which leads to goodness. Always maintain
the right perception of your means. Do not idly let go by an occasion
for worthy deeds. Do not embark on any venture without careful
deliberation, and in your reasoning, do not hurry. Do not believe
everything you hear. Do not desire everything you see. Proceed to do
everything you are able to. Do not proclaim everything you know, but
only that which should be proclaimed. That which you do not know, do
not affirm, nor deny: best of all inquire. Be temperate. Do not
over-partake of food unless you hunger, without thirst do not
over-drink. Avoid drunkenness like as you would hell. Be meek, not
arrogant, keeping more to silence than to talkativeness. When someone
is speaking, keep quiet. When someone is addressing you pay
attention. When someone is relaying orders to you, fulfill them and
do not boast. Do not be obstinate, quarrelsome or vain. Do not
desire anything belonging to others. Do not steal but in whatsoever
you may have need, seek it through labour. In poverty ask for help
when it is given, accept it and be thankful;. Whatsoever you may have
borrowed, return and whatsoever you promise, fulfill. A man is born
with nothing but his name, that should he die with as clean as he was
given it. Be manly, always willing to labour, leave off all idleness
and laziness. If you wish to start some project, measure well your
strength in advance then proceed without letting up. In adversity (as
certain as a new day, there will always be adversity be it a person or
an obstacle) a man must stand on his own two feet and support himself
and his own) do not lose hope. In prosperity, do not morally
deteriorate. Hold thriftiness( learn everything you can about
anything, any task you can do is one less task you must rely on
somebody else to do) in esteem. Keep careful observation of the
different occurrences in life of inconstancy, misfortune and sorrow
(as sure as a man can stand on his own two feet, his feet can be
knocked out from under him and he may begin from any level) over that
which the patient forbear, the fainthearted sigh, lament and wail. Be
benevolent and gracious(only through doing goodness can goodness
return to a person) give to him who asketh of you if you have: help
the poor if you can. If anyone has hurt you - forgive him, if you
have hurt anyone reconcile yourself with him. It is very commendable
to refrain from holding grudges. Forgive the sinner, accede to the
reconciler. If you yourself will love your fellowman, you shall in
turn be loved by all people. Be also obedient to elders,
companionable to equals and courteous to subordinates. Greet those
whom you meet, return the greeting of those who greet you. To the
inquirer, give answer: to the ignorant, give advice, to the sorrowing
give comfort. Do not envy anyone. Wish well to all. Serve each and
all as much as you are able to. With your good deeds you shall please
all people. Your friends shall love you and your enemies will not be
able to hate you. Always speak the truth, never lie, observe all this
and good fortune shall always be your lot. Glory to god. – USCC Mantra
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, And remember what peace there
may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good
terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen
to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If
you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for
always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy
your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real
possession in the changing future of time. Exercise caution in your
business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not
blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high
ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for
in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the
grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering
the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in
sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many
fears are born of fatigue & loneliness. Beyond wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no
doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and
whatever your labours & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life
keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken
dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have
decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year old
again. I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four-star
restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a
sidewalk with rocks. I want to think M & M's are better than money
because you can eat them.
I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my
friends on a hot summer's day.
I want to return to a time when life was simple: When all you knew
were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that
didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of
all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to
the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things
again.
I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of
computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to
survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor
bills, gossip, illness, and the loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth
justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in
the snow.
So...here's my check book and my car keys, my credit card bills and my
401-K statements.I am officially resigning from adulthood.
And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me
first, cause.....................
..............."Tag!! You're it."
Old woody's firm and strong voice spoke to his god and to all mankind;
"In faith I do not love thee with mine eyes, for they, in thee, a
thousand errors note; 'tis my heart that loves what they despise."
His nutbrown chucle broke the spell. "Do you know that one? It's one
of Shakespeare's sonnets. They," he said, and his arms swept out to
embrace the world, "will tell you to develop your brain and your five
senses, but that's only the half of it, that's only being half a
human. The other half is to develop the heart and the wits." he
ticked them off on one old gnarled hand with the end of his pipe.
"there's common wit, there's imagination, there's fantasy, there's
estimation, and there's memory." old woody's face turned upward, his
spirit danced and was warmed out among the stars, while his body
remained with us and was warmed by the old tin-can brazier. "never
let anyone rob you of your right to be complete. The daylight is for
the brain and the senses, the darkness is for the heart and the wits.
Never, never be afraid. Your brain may fail you one day, but your
heart won't." he returned like a comet, leaving behind a shining
trail of love. Old woody was right. The daylight schooled the senses
and the night time developed the wits, stretched the imagination,
sharpened fantasy, hammered home the memory and altered one's whole
scale of values. - Fynne and Anna
Rules For Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it but it will
be yours for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a fulltime informal
school called life. Each day in this school you will have the
opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them
irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes... Only lessons. Growth is a process of
trial and error, of experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as
much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work".
4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
5. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you
have learned it. When you have learned it, you will then go on to the
next lesson.
6. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does
not contain it's lessons. If you are alive there are lessons to be
learned.
7 “There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become a
"here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will, again look
better than "here".
8. Others are merely a mirror of you. You can not love or hate
something about another person unless it reflects to you something you
love or hate about yourself.
9. What you make of your life is up to you.
10. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with
them is up to you. The choices are up to you.
11. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you have to
do is look, listen and trust.
11. You will probably forget all this.
*The Lesson of the Unicorn:*
In the "cloisters" (New York Museum of Medieval Architecture,
Paintings, Tapestries, etc) is hung a series of six exquisite
tapestries woven in
tell the ancient story of the seeker of beauty who used a virgin to
lure a beautiful unicorn and then attempted to catch the beautiful
creature. But the unicorn was wild and refused to be subdued,
fighting until it died in the bonds of it's captor. It's beauty died
with it and the would-be captor was left with a horrid, bloody
corpse. The moral, of course, is that our attempts to possess
beautiful things often result in their ruin. Nothing is as beautiful
when captured as when left free.
Honour is what no man can give you and none can take away. Honour is a man's gift to himself.
"Women are the heart of honour and we cherish and protect it in them. You must never mistreat a woman nor belittle a man, nor standby and see another do so.
Never woory about getting honour, it grows in you and speaks in you, all you need do is listen"...(Liam Nielson, in Rob Roy)
"I'd hold you up to say to your mother, "this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid's gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew." And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilege. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tel you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have a life."
- Rocky Balboa
- Rocky Balboa
"In a matter of speaking," he sighed. "After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life."
Dina took the hint and assumed the chores. She absorbed everything like a capacious sponge. During her private moments she wrung herself out and then was ready to blot up more."
"If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it."
"Where does kindness end and weakness begin, and how do we ever begin to find the correct attitude - the right balance of hopefulness and realism - to treat life as a colleague"
“Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt, “All things fall and are built again, and those that build again are happy’ (Yeats)… You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.”
- Rohinton Mistry
You have a long way to go and no map to get there...
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Johann Van Goethe
“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.” - Winnie the Pooh
We look at life and cannot untangle the eternal song:
Rings and knots of joy and grief all laced and interlocking.
- Ramayana
“When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly." Barbara J Winter
"O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die." (Juliet)
We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.
Abraham Lincoln
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.
Mahatma Gandhi
Dina took the hint and assumed the chores. She absorbed everything like a capacious sponge. During her private moments she wrung herself out and then was ready to blot up more."
"If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it."
"Where does kindness end and weakness begin, and how do we ever begin to find the correct attitude - the right balance of hopefulness and realism - to treat life as a colleague"
“Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt, “All things fall and are built again, and those that build again are happy’ (Yeats)… You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.”
- Rohinton Mistry
You have a long way to go and no map to get there...
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Johann Van Goethe
“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.” - Winnie the Pooh
We look at life and cannot untangle the eternal song:
Rings and knots of joy and grief all laced and interlocking.
- Ramayana
“When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly." Barbara J Winter
"O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die." (Juliet)
We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.
Abraham Lincoln
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.
Mahatma Gandhi
"I knew at that moment that I was going to make a fool of myself over her. ... I knew that very soon I would be explaining the others away until I would be convinced that she had waited for me all her life, and I for her. I remembered someone had said to me once that in every love affair there came a moment when you could still say "stop" for the last time; if you let that moment pass you were done for and had to see the thing through to its bitter end. I knew that this was that moment, and I let it pass. I knew what I was letting myself in for and how it would end; yet I let it pass."
- The Call of The Sea (Jan de Hartog)
- The Call of The Sea (Jan de Hartog)
