Contemplations
Contemplations
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Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. - Unknown
Memory is the mother of all wisdom. - Aeschylus
What is beautiful is not always good, but what is good is not always beautiful. - Unknown
Not what we have, but what we use, not what we see, but what we choose, these are the things that mar or bless the sum of human happiness. - Joseph Fort Newton
A man must seek his happiness and inward peace from objects which cannot be taken away from him. - Alexander Humboldt
The thing most people want is genuine understanding. If you can understand the feelings and moods of another person, you have something fine to offer. - Paul Brock
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. -Native American Proverb
Kindness is the sun that melts the ice of mistrust and hostility. - Rosie Cash
Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child. - Ron Wild
Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. - Winston Churchill
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. - Unknown
Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone. - C.S. Lewis
Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other. - Carl Jung
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. - Elie Wiesel
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix
Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go. - Mother Teresa
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. - Albert Einstein
Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism. - Dorothy Thompson
We make war that we may live in peace. - Aristotle
There never was a good war or a bad peace. - Benjamin Franklin
Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. - HH the Dalai Lama
True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. - Moshe Dayan
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. - Albert Einstein
The miracles of the church seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always. - Willa Cather
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own. - Jessamyn West
Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves. - Sidney and Suzanne Simon
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. - Voltaire
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. - Abraham Lincoln
All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. - Albert Einstein
It's time for greatness -- not for greed. It's a time for idealism -- not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action. - Marian Wright Edelman
And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Charity begins at home and justice begins next door. - Charles Dickens
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? - Eleanor Roosevelt
We ought always to deal justly, not only with those who are just to us, but likewise to those who endeavor to injure us; and this, for fear lest by rendering them evil for evil, we should fall into the same vice. - Hierocles
No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious. - George Bernard Shaw
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. - Mark Twain
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.- Martin Fischer
Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions. - Albert Einstein
The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. - Pierre Abelard
But goodness alone is never enough. A hard cold wisdom is required, too, for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom invariably accomplishes evil. - Robert Heinlein
Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. - Demosthenes
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albert Einstein
Remember to pray for those who have cancer, aids, and other life threatening diseases. It could happen to any of us.
Heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children. Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester. Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares. Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together. Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with only those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.
May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where
you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are
born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the
love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child
of God. Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your soul the freedom
to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of you.
- St. Theresa
Creator, open our hearts to peace and healing between all people. Creator, open our hearts to provide and protect for all children of the earth. Creator, open our hearts to respect for the earth, and all the gifts of the earth. Creator, open our hearts to end exclusion, violence, and fear among all. Thank-you for the gifts of this day and every day. - Alycia Longriver, Native American (Micmac)
Send Thy peace O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting, that our souls may radiate peace. Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may think, act and speak harmoniously. Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts. Send Thy peace O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss. Send Thy peace O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of Thy grace and mercy. Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives may become a Divine vision and in Thy light, all darkness may vanish. Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother, that we Thy children on Earth may all unite in one family. - Pir-O-Murshid Inayat Khan
We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being. We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma; that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world; that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life; that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children; that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world. We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope. We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labor, and prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family. We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind. We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment. We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more. We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms. We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving; that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life; that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts; that we may learn to rejoice in our being. We pray for these things with humility; We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit; We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God. We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world. - Dr. Jane Goodall
Micah 6:6-8
With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high?Shall
I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD
be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall
I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of
my soul? He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD
require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God?
Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance"
at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like
dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't
flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one
person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with
the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing
lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving
beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from
one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to
the word Guidance. When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i."
"God," "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became
willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became
willing to let God lead. My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and
mercies be upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God as God abides
in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through
each season of your life. This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.
If God has done anything for you in your life, please share this message with
someone else, for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive. There is no
cost but a lots of rewards, so let's continue to pray for one another. And
I Hope You Dance! - author unknown
Their life shall become like a watered garden. Jeremiah
31:12c (NRSV)
Isn’t it amazing how the little things we do affect other people? I thought
as I paused in my weeding to stare at my neighbor’s creeping ivy. The vine had
slipped under my fence and was choking my peony bush. My neighbors’ neglect
of their yard had suddenly become my problem. As I rescued my plants from the
invaders, I wondered how many times my own neglect had hindered other people.
How often had my sin, pride, and negative attitude crept into the way I treated
others? I work harder now to keep the weeds out of my life. I realize that simple
actions, such as driving courteously within the speed limit or being pleasant
to a cashier, may inspire change in another person. Hopefully, without any weeds
blocking their view, I can show people a glimpse of God. May all we do reflect
God’s grace! - from Devo'Zine
(September/October 2005)
Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being "drawn toward." Love is active, effective, a matter of making reciprocal and mutually beneficial relation with one's friends and enemies. Love creates righteousness, or justice, here on earth. To make love is to make justice. As advocates and activists for justice know, loving involves struggle, resistance, risk. People working today on behalf of women, blacks, lesbians and gay men, the aging, the poor in this country and elsewhere know that making justice is not a warm, fuzzy experience. I think also that sexual lovers and good friends know that the most compelling relationships demand hard work, patience, and a willingness to endure tensions and anxiety in creating mutually empowering bonds. For this reason loving involves commitment. We are not automatic lovers of self, others, world, or God. Love does not just happen. We are not love machines, puppets on the strings of a deity called "love." Love is a choice -- not simply, or necessarily, a rational choice, but rather a willingness to be present to others without pretense or guile. Love is a conversion to humanity -- a willingness to participate with others in the healing of a broken world and broken lives. Love is the choice to experience life as a member of the human family, a partner in the dance of life, rather than as an alien in the world or as a deity above the world, aloof and apart from human flesh. - Carter Heyward, Passion for Justice
For everything there is a season, And a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate, A time for war, and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. - HH the Dalai Lama
The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are -- as soon as we quit pretending we're small or unholy. - Unknown
I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions. This will be the day when we bring into full realization the American dream -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few; a dream of a land where men will not argue that the color of a man's skin determines the content of his character; a dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. - Thomas Jefferson
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