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| Quotations - General | [Quote No.52198] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A story - with a message about reciprocity and the Golden Rule of treating others the way you'd like to be treated in the same situation.] - Poison -
A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.
Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.
Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for awhile, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you. Li-Li said, ‘Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do.’ Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, ‘You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some pork or chicken and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen.’ Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.
One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, ‘Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her.’ Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. ‘Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her.’
MORAL: Friends, have you ever realized that how you treat others is exactly how they will treat you? In China it is said: The person who loves others will also be loved." - Unknown
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| [Quote No.52210] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A story - with a message about morality, the Golden Rule of treating others as you would want to be treated in the same situation, and the fact that helping others often ends in also helping yourself.] - The Hero - I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen, and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing were the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling, and tearing of fabric.
Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved? I was frightened for my own safety, and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn't I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?
Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the girl's cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast. How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.
I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don't know where I found the moral courage and physical strength -- but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed. I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.
Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance. 'It's okay,' I said soothingly. 'The man ran away. You're safe now.' There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement. 'Dad, is that you?' And then, from behind the tree, out stepped my youngest daughter, Katherine." - Unknown
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| [Quote No.52213] Need Area: Friends > General
"Five really useful ideas, expressed in simple phrases, for living with others with liberty and dignity are: 1- 'Live and let live'; 2- 'Freedom from fraud and force' or in other words 3- 'Informed consent' 4- 'Do to others as you'd like them to do to you, usually called the Golden Rule, and 5- 'Caveat emptor' which means the buyer or chooser should beware of being taken advantage of and deceived." - Seymour@imagi-natives.com
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| [Quote No.52214] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A true story - with a message about the Golden Rule of treating others - regardless of race, creed, sex, age, etc - as you'd like to be treated in the same situation.] - Pickup in the Rain - One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm.
Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry. She wrote down his address, thanked him, and drove away.
Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:
'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.'
" - Unknown
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat 'King' Cole, was an American singer and musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres.
Cole was one of the first African Americans to host a television variety show, 'The Nat King Cole Show', and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death from lung cancer in February 1965.
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| [Quote No.52222] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A true story - with a message about the Golden Rule of treating others the way you'd like to be treated in the same situation and leading by example.] - Tetsugen Doko - Tetsugen, a devotee of Zen in Japan, decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking.
Tetsugen began by travelling and collecting donations for this purpose. A few sympathizers would give him a hundred pieces of gold, but most of the time he received only small coins. He thanked each donor with equal gratitude. After ten years Tetsugen had enough money to begin his task.
It happened that at that time the Uji River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took the funds he had collected for the books and spent them to save others from starvation. Then he began again his work of collecting.
Several years afterward an epidemic spread over the country. Tetsugen again gave away what he had collected.
For a third time he started his work, and after twenty years his wish was fulfilled. The printing blocks which produced the first edition of sutras can be seen today in Obaku monastery in Kyoto.
The Japanese tell their children that Tetsugen made three sets of sutras, and that the first two invisible sets surpass even the last!
" - wikipedia.org
Tetsugen Dōkō (1630 – 1682) was a Japanese Zen Master, and an important early leader of the Ōbaku school of Buddhism.
Tetsugen was born in the seventh year of the Kan'ei era (1630) in Higo Province. He became a priest of the Jodo Shinshu sect at the age of 13. When Ingen came to Japan, Tetsugen became his follower in the Ōbaku school.
In 1681, Tetsugen oversaw the production of the first complete woodcut edition (consisting of around 60,000 pieces) of the Chinese Buddhist sutras in Japan.
Tetsugen died at the age of 53 in the second year of the Tenna era (1682). The anniversary of Tetsugen's birth is celebrated on January 1 in the Western calendar.
[refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsugen_Doko ]
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| [Quote No.52226] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Civil disobedience:] One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil rights activist. Quote from his 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'.
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| [Quote No.52240] Need Area: Friends > General
"Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty.
" - George Washington
First US President. Quote from his farewell address of 1796.
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| [Quote No.52241] Need Area: Friends > General
"In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.
...Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied: and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals, engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." - James Madison
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| [Quote No.52242] Need Area: Friends > General
"In times of war, the law falls silent. (Inter arma enim silent leges)." - Cicero
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| [Quote No.52246] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A story - with a message about the Golden Rule of treating others the way you'd like to be treated in the same situation and that often when you help others you can also unexpectedly help yourself.] - The Circle of Love! - You know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.
It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, ‘I'm here to help you ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan.’
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Bryan added ‘...and think of me’.
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor. It didn't ring much.
Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.
The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on the napkin under which was 4 $100 bills. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote. It said ‘You don't owe me anything, I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do; do not let this chain of love end with you.’ Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.
That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, ‘Everything's gonna be all right; I love you, Bryan.’
" - Unknown
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| [Quote No.52247] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A story - with a message about the power of kindness.] - Flame of Love -
'I can master it', said the Ax. His blows fell heavy on the hard, strong steel. But each blow only made his edge more blunt until he ceased to strike.
'Leave it to me', said the Saw. With his relentless teeth, he worked back and forth. But to his dismay, all of his teeth were worn out or broken off.
'Ha!' said the Hammer. 'I knew you could not do this. Let me show you how. But with the very first blow, his head flew off, and the steel was unchanged.
'Shall I try?' asked the Flame. And it curled itself gently around the strong, hard steel, and embraced it, and would not let it go. And the tough steel melted.
There are hearts that are hard enough to resist: The forces of wrath; The fury of pride. But hard is the heart that can resist the warm 'flame of Love'." - Unknown
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| [Quote No.52248] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A true story - with a message about passing on kindness shown to you to others - and ideally to two others requesting each of them to also 'pass it forward' to two others to create an exponentially expanding ripple of kindness throughout the community.] - A Gift for Two - It was a beautiful day for sightseeing around downtown Portland. We were a bunch of counselors on our day off, away from the campers, just out for some fun. The weather was perfect for a picnic, so when lunch time came, we set our sights on a small park in town. Since we all had different cravings, we decided to split up, get what each of us wanted, and meet back on the grass in a few minutes.
When my friend Robby headed for a hot dog stand, I decided to keep her company. We watched the vendor put together the perfect hot dog, just the way Robby wanted it. But when she took out her money to pay him, the man surprised us.
‘It looks a little on the cool side,’ he said, ‘so never mind paying me. This will be my freebie of the day.’
We said our thanks, joined our friends in the park, and dug into our food. But as we talked and ate, I was distracted by a man sitting alone nearby, looking at us. I could tell that he hadn't showered for days. Another homeless person, I thought, like all the others you see in cities. I didn't pay much more attention than that.
We finished eating and decided to head off for more sightseeing. But when Robby and I went to the garbage can to throw away my lunch bag, I heard a strong voice ask, ‘There isn't any food in the bag, is there?’
It was the man who had been watching us. I didn't know what to say. ‘No, I ate it already.’
‘Oh,’ was his only answer, with no shame in his voice at all. He was obviously hungry, couldn't bear to see anything thrown away, and was used to asking this question.
I felt bad for the man, but I didn't know what I could do. That's when Robby said, ‘I'll be right back. Please wait for me for a minute,’ and ran off. I watched curiously as she went across to the hot dog stand. Then I realized what she was doing. She bought a hot dog, crossed back to the trash can, and gave the hungry man the food.
When she came back to us, Robby said simply, ‘I was just passing on the kindness that someone gave to me.’
That day I learned how generosity can go farther than the person you give to. By giving, you teach others how to give also." - Andrea Hensley
Quoted in the book, 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul'.
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| [Quote No.52249] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A story - with a message about the Golden Rule of treating others as you'd like to be treated in the same situation and that often when you help others you are unexpectedly also helping yourself - then or many years later.] - Kindness Karma -
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.
Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, 'How much do I owe you?'
'You don't owe me anything,' she replied. 'Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.' He said, 'Then I thank you from my heart.' As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words:
'PAID IN FULL WITH ONE GLASS OF MILK....
(Signed)
Dr. Howard Kelly.'
" - Unknown
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| [Quote No.52250] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A true story - with a message about the importance of the Golden Rule of doing to others what you'd want done to you in he same situation and that often helping others can unexpectedly also helps yourself - immediately or in the distant future, as a kind of karma.] - The Kindness That Came Back - Don't think that the really great stories are the one's that are written by the world's greatest writers. The really great stories are the stories that really happened to real people and they are really and absolutely true. The following is one of the many really great stories. Great because it's really true!
America had finally entered World War I. Troops poured into Europe to put an end to the war. The war was in it's final stages. American troops were dispatched through out Germany. The year was 1917.
A lone Jewish soldier from Duluth, Minnesota, Alex Lurye, found himself in a small German town called Seldes. It was Friday night. Being far away from home was lonely. The young Jewish soldier had some time on his hands. Feeling out of place, he decided to see what the local Jewish population was like. Entering the local village synagogue must have created a stir. An American soldier in uniform!. The Americans fought the Germans in bitter combat. The lone soldier felt out of place. He was greeted by a kind German Jew by the name of Herr Rosenau who made him feel at home in the synagogue.
After the services, Herr Rosenau invited the serviceman to his house for kiddush and the traditional Friday night meal.
Seeing the beauty of a traditional Shabbat together with the warmth and kindness of this German-Jewish family made a deep impression on this young soldier. He was a stranger, a foreigner, even an enemy Yet because he was Jewish he was invited to another Jew's home, given a delicious warm kosher home cooked meal, complete with wine and the traditional Shabbat songs. Herr Rosenau's family, together with his teenage daughter, gave the soldier the feeling that he was not alone, certainly not an enemy, even in such a far and distant land.
The soldier was never able to come back again to see this kind family again. However, the warm impression that he had received, the experience of the Shabbat in a warm and caring Jewish home did not leave him. It meant so much to this young soldier that when he finally returned to Duluth, Minnesota, his home town, he took time out to sit down and write a letter to the German Jew who had touched his life with such kindness. This was is 1917. For some unknown reason, although Herr Rosenau received the letter it was never answered. It was placed in a desk drawer and there it rested for twenty one years.
Time moves on. Ruth, the teenage daughter of the German Jew, has grown up and married a German Jew by the name of Eugen Wienberg. She now has three small children. The oldest is a boy of eleven. The time is a bad time for the German Jews. The year is 1938. The dreaded Adolf Hitler has taken hold upon Germany and anti Jewish proclamations are being contrived and enforced on a continually regular basis. Herr Rosenau is now a grandfather. He is bothered about the dark and dismal future for himself and his fellow Jews in Germany. He doesn't pay attention to his eleven year old grandson, Sigbert, as he is rummaging through his desk looking for something of interest. Suddenly a foreign postage stamp catches his eye. He pulls out the envelope with the postage stamp from America. ‘Grandfather, can I have this?’
Twenty one years have past since he received the letter. ‘Yes, take it,’ the grandfather replies. After years of giving, an old forgotten envelope makes his grandson happy. He takes it home to his mother. ‘Look, look what grandfather has given me!’
The mother and her husband, Herr Wienberg eye the envelope with curiosity. The letter is still inside. They remove the letter and read it. It is the thank you letter from the American service man, from twenty-one years ago.
The mother remembers the young man. ‘Let's write to him! Maybe he will remember us and sponsor us, enabling us to immigrate to America’ (It must be remembered that the U.S.A. did not let refugees come to it's shores freely. However if some one would sponsor you, then there was a chance.)
Looking on the envelope, they saw that there was no return address only the name, Alex Lurye, and the city and state, Duluth, Minnesota. ‘We have no future in Germany, we must get out before this mad man, Hitler, begins to do worse things to the Jews’.
So they wrote a letter addressed only as follows:
Alex Lurye
Duluth, Minnesota
What can you do? Can you send a letter to a person in a large city with out a street address and expect it to be delivered? Of course not. You would have to be foolish to think that it would get to it's destination. But some times it works out. In this case, Alex Luyre had become a wealthy businessman who was well known in Duluth, a town of over a hundred thousand people. The postmaster delivered the letter.
When Alex received it, after a lapse of twenty one years, he quickly sent a return letter acknowledging his receipt of their letter and pledging to help bring the Wienberg family to Duluth. Alex kept his promise. The entire Wienberg family was brought over in that year and arrived in May of 1938. Shortly there after, the Rosenau family came over to America.
In Duluth, the Wienberg family began working hard to make life bearable through the depression era. Sometimes two jobs were necessary for both the father and mother in order to make it through the week. Yet in Duluth as in Seldes, Germany, the family made sure that the Shabbat would be joyously honored.
The rest of the family was quickly brought over to the states. Unfortunately, the horrible World War II swiftly came. The rest of German Jewry was destroyed.
Yet the kindness that Herr Rosenau had given to a stranger twenty one years earlier had come full circle. Because of their [chessed i.e.] kindness, without any thought of personal gain, Herr Rosenau and his family were spared from the horrible fate of their fellow German Jews." - Yisrael Nathan
published in the 'Jewish Magazine'.
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| [Quote No.52254] Need Area: Friends > General
"[A true story - with a message about the Golden Rule of treating others as you'd like to be treated in the same situation, and spreading appreciation and kindness.] - Love and the Cabbie - I was in New York the other day and rode with a friend in a taxi. When we got out, my friend said to the driver, ‘Thank you for the ride. You did a superb job of driving.’
The Taxi driver was stunned for a second. Then he said, ‘Are you a wise guy or something?’
‘No, my dear man, and I'm not putting you on. I admire the way you keep cool in heavy traffic.’
‘Yeah,’ the driver said and drove off.
‘What was that all about?’ I asked.
‘I am trying to bring love back to New York,’ he said. ‘I believe it's the only thing that can save the city.’
‘How can one man save New York?’
‘It's not only one man. I believe I have made that taxi driver's day. Suppose he has 20 fares. He's going to be nice to those 20 fares because someone was nice to him. Those fares in turn will be kinder to their employees or shopkeepers or waiters or even their own families. Eventually the goodwill could spread to at least 1,000 people. Now that isn't bad, is it?’
‘But you're depending on that taxi driver to pass your goodwill to others.’
‘I'm not depending on it,’ my friend said. ‘I'm aware that the system isn't foolproof so I might deal with ten different people today. If out of ten I can make three happy, then eventually I can indirectly influence the attitudes of 3,000 more.’
‘It sounds good on paper,’ I admitted, ‘but I'm not sure it works in practice.’
‘Nothing is lost if it doesn't. It didn't take any of my time to tell that man he was doing a good job. He neither received a larger tip nor a smaller tip. If it fell on deaf ears, so what? Tomorrow there will be another taxi driver I can try to make happy.
‘You're some kind of a nut,’ I said.
‘That shows how cynical you have become. I have made a study of this. The thing that seems to be lacking, besides the money of course, for our postal employees, is that no one tells people who work for the post office what a good job they're doing.’
‘But they're not doing a good job.’
‘They're not doing a good job because they feel no one cares if they do or not. Why shouldn't someone say a kind word to them?’
We were walking past a structure in the process of being built and passed five workmen eating lunch. My friend stopped. ‘That's a magnificent job you men have done. It must have been difficult and dangerous work.’
The workmen eyed my friend suspiciously.
‘When will it be finished?’
‘June,’ a man grunted.
‘Ah. That's very impressive. You must all be very proud.’
We walked away. I said to him, ‘I haven't seen anyone like you since The Man From La Mancha.’
‘When those men digest my words, they will feel better for it. Somehow the city will benefit from their happiness.’
‘But you can't do this alone!’ I protested. ‘You're just one man.’
‘The most important thing is not to get discouraged. Making people in the city become kind is not an easy job, but if I enlist other people in my campaign...’
‘You just winked at a very plain-looking woman,’ I said.
‘Yes, I know,’ he replied. ‘And if she's a schoolteacher, her class will be in for a fantastic day.’
" - Art Buchwald
(1925 - 2007), American humorist best known for his long-running column in 'The Washington Post', which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary.
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"[A true story - with a message about the importance of kindness, giving and charity.] - The Story of Two Seas - Visited Israel? If you did, then you know that Israel has two lakes. The one up in the North is the Kinneret, also known as the sea of Galilee, because it is up in the area called the Galilee. From this lake comes most of the water in the tiny state. The ancient city of Tiberias, located on its shores, is today a flourishing city. Here the delicious St. Peter's fish is caught by the local fishermen and prized as a delicacy.
From the Kinneret, the water is purified and pumped into large pipelines that bring the life-giving water to the towns and cities all over the country. From the Kinneret, the Jordan river winds it's way down to the Dead Sea. It is much smaller now than in the times of the Bible, but still enough to give life and green to the plants all along it's path.
The second of Israel's lakes is the Dead Sea. The dead sea is an area of desolation. Even though the sweet waters of the Jordan flow into it, yet the salty mineral water is too heavy to be diluted. No plants grow around the banks of the dead sea, and no fish or plant life exist in the heavily salty waters. The salt concentrate is not like that of the average oceans of the world. It is so great that when a bather walks into the water, at a point approximately at his chest, the dense water lifts him up and he will float. Indeed no one is able to swim in the water. The salt and mineral content is so great that it burns the eyes and any open wound. After being in the water, a bather must wash to cleanse himself from the salt and mineral residue.
What a contrast! Compare the life-giving water of the Kinneret in the North to the deathly parched area around the Dead Sea.
Yet we are told that this is similar to two basic types of people: There is the giver, the person who gives generously whether of his time or his money. And there is the taker, the person who only takes, and any giving on his part is only in his own self interest, to promote more taking. The giver, gives, and life grows around him. The taker only takes and death is around him, nothing sprouts.
Yes, there are contributory rivers that flow into the Kinneret, but their waters are not kept there, but distributed to other needy sources. The giver is the sustainer of life.
The Dead Sea is located in the lowest part of Israel and one of the lowest parts of the world. The Dead Sea keeps all of it's water to itself. Similarly, the taker, only takes and keeps it only for himself. No one else benefits from him. Nothing is lower that this.
Even from the geography of the Holy Land of Israel, we learn deep lessons on how to conduct our lives. Let's be a giver. Let's concern ourselves with the other person. Remember, even smiling at the next person is an act of giving. Let's go beyond our needs and see what we can do to help the next person." - S. Wasserman
Published in the 'Jewish Magazine'.
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"The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value." - Charles Dudley Warner
American essayist
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"The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves." - Amelia Earhart
American aviator
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"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." - Seneca
Roman philosopher
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"Talking to Yourself About Other People:
Many of your thoughts are about other people: People you know well and people who are strangers to you, but affect your life in various ways. People you are related to and people you are friends with. People you find easy to deal with and people you find challenging. People you respect and like, and people you are upset with. People who are helpful to you and people you wish to help. People you interact with frequently, and people you meet just once.
The way you view people determines how you get along with them. The Torah (Vayikra 19:18) tells us: ‘Love other people as yourself.’ Also, the Sages teach us in Pirkei Avos (4:1): ‘Who is an honorable person? Someone who honors and respects others.’ When you love and respect someone, you think about him in positive ways. Your self-talk is about his good qualities. You think about what you can learn from him, and this is the definition of a wise person. As the Sages (Pirkei Avos 4:1) say, ‘Who is wise? Someone who learns from everyone.’
When you associate people with their positive qualities and have positive thoughts and feelings about them, you speak to them more positively. You also act towards them with greater kindness and compassion.
Yes, we need to be aware of the totality of people in order protect ourselves and others. But our major focus should be on what is good and right and admirable about others.
Be strongly resolved to keep your mind focused on the virtues and positive qualities of other people. If your mind happens to think unnecessarily about what is wrong with other people, change your thoughts to what is good and right about them.
Your thoughts about another person create a powerful energy. One of my favorite verses is from Mishlei/Proverbs (27:19). ‘As in water, face to face, so, too, is the heart of one person to another.’ When you think positive thoughts about another person, that person will tend to feel positively about you also. The deeper and more profound your thoughts and feelings of unconditional love, the more likely it is that this person will reciprocate." - Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
From his book, ‘Conversations With Yourself’, pp.96-7.
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"Don't Let Hurts Blind You To The Good: If someone has done something to you that you feel angry about, focus on some good quality of that person. He might have helped others or have virtues you can appreciate. The positive aspects of his character could be sufficient for you to erase your feelings of anger toward him.
Say to yourself, 'It's enough for me that he has helped me in the past.' Or, 'It's enough for me that he has this or that virtue.' " - Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
From his book, 'Gateway to Happiness', p.205.
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"I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people!" - Maya Angelou
American writer
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"It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive." - Maya Angelou
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"[Self-Defence and Martial Arts:] War is what happens when language fails." - Margaret Atwood
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"[Political parties and politicians:] The reason so many problems do not get solved in Washington is that solving those problems is not the No. 1 priority: Re-election is." - Thomas Sowell
(1930- ) Writer and economist. Source: Congressional reform won’t come cheap, The Washington Times (National Weekly), p. 33, November 20-26, 1995.
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"The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of [democratic] majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections." - Justice Robert H. Jackson
(1892-1954), U. S. Supreme Court Justice. Source: West Virginia Board of Education vs. Barnette, 1943.
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"And because it may be too great a temptation to human frailty, apt to grasp at power, for the same persons, who have the power of making laws, to have also in their hands the power to execute them, whereby they may exempt themselves from obedience to the laws they make, and suit the law, both in its making, and execution, to their own private advantage, and thereby come to have a distinct interest from the rest of the community, contrary to the end of society and government: therefore in well ordered commonwealths, where the good of the whole is so considered, as it ought, the legislative power is put into the hands of divers persons, who duly assembled, have by themselves, or jointly with others, a power to make laws, which when they have done, being separated again, they are themselves subject to the laws they have made; which is a new and near tie upon them, to take care, that they make them for the public good." - John Locke
(1632-1704) English philosopher and political theorist. Considered the ideological progenitor of the American Revolution and who, by far, was the most often non-biblical writer quoted by the Founding Fathers of the USA. Source: Second Treatise of Civil Government [1690]
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"From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. Equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time." - Friedrich August von Hayek
(1899-1992), Nobel Laureate of Economic Sciences 1974
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"One cannot wage war under present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously molded by the press and other forms of propaganda." - General Douglas MacArthur
(1880-1964) WWII Supreme Allied Commander of the Southwest Pacific, Supreme United Nations Commander.
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"Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself!" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"'What would spirituality give me?' said an alcoholic to the Master.
'Non-alcoholic intoxication,' was the answer." - Anthony de Mello, SJ
'One Minute Wisdom'
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"[Poem:]
'Goodwill To Men
- Give Us Your Money'
It was Christmas Eve on a Friday
The shops was full of cheer,
With tinsel in the windows,
And presents twice as dear.
A thousand Father Christmases,
Sat in their little huts,
And folk was buying crackers
And folk was buying nuts.
All up and down the country,
Before the light was snuffed,
Turkeys they get murdered,
And cockerels they got stuffed,
Christmas cakes got marzipanned,
And puddin's they got steamed
Mothers they got desperate
And tired kiddies screamed.
Hundredweight's of Christmas cards,
Went flying through the post,
With first class postage stamps on those,
You had to flatter most.
Within a million kitchens,
Mince pies was being made,
On everyone's radio,
'White Christmas', it was played.
Out in the frozen countryside
Men crept round on their own,
Hacking off the holly,
What other folks had grown,
Mistletoe on willow trees,
Was by a man wrenched clear,
So he could kiss his neighbour's wife,
He'd fancied all the year.
And out upon the hillside,
Where the Christmas trees had stood,
All was completely barren,
But for little stumps of wood,
The little trees that flourished
All the year were there no more,
But in a million houses,
Dropped their needles on the floor.
And out of every cranny, cupboard,
Hiding place and nook,
Little bikes and kiddies' trikes,
Were secretively took,
Yards of wrapping paper,
Was rustled round about,
And bikes were wheeled to bedrooms,
With the pedals sticking out.
Rolled up in Christmas paper
The Action Men were tensed,
All ready for the morning,
When their fighting life commenced,
With tommy guns and daggers,
All clustered round about,
'Peace on Earth - Goodwill to Men'
The figures seemed to shout.
The church was standing empty,
The pub was standing packed,
There came a yell, 'Noel, Noel!'
And glasses they got cracked.
From up above the fireplace,
Christmas cards began to fall,
And trodden on the floor, said:
'Merry Christmas, to you all.'
" - Pam Ayres
[downloaded from http://www.christmas-time.com/cp-good.html ]
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"[Poem: about our need for freedom]
'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings'
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
" - Maya Angelou
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"[Poem: about individualism]
'Alone'
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
...
" - Edgar Allan Poe
The first part of his poem 'Alone'
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"[A poem: about being compassionate to all and not being jealous or envious of others for their success, wealth, love and happiness, etc as appearances can be deceptive and belie the real truth.]
'Richard Cory'
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
" - Edwin Arlington Robinson
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"[A poem:- about freedom of thought, speech, education and press.]
'Where The Mind Is Without Fear'
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
" - Rabindranath Tagore
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"[Poem: about those individuals who for humanitarian, religious, spiritual, moral or ethical reasons, courageously refuse to participate in immoral acts even when commanded to for example wars of aggression - state sanctioned and co-ordinated murder, rather than wars of legally and morally justifiable self-defence.]
'Conscientious Objector'
I shall die, but
that is all that I shall do for Death.
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall;
I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste; he has business in Cuba,
business in the Balkans, many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle
while he clinches the girth.
And he may mount by himself:
I will not give him a leg up.
Though he flick my shoulders with his whip,
I will not tell him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast, I will not tell him where
the black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death;
I am not on his pay-roll.
I will not tell him the whereabouts of my friends
nor of my enemies either.
Though he promise me much,
I will not map him the route to any man's door.
Am I a spy in the land of the living,
that I should deliver men to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of our city
are safe with me; never through me Shall you be overcome.
" - Edna St. Vincent Millay
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"[Poem:- about nature and humanity, past, present and future.]
'I Sit And Think'
I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago,
and people who will see a world that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.
" - J. R. R. Tolkien
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"[Poem: about the horrors of war.]
'Disabled'
He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.
About this time Town used to swing so gay
When glow-lamps budded in the light blue trees,
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim, -
In the old times, before he threw away his knees.
Now he will never feel again how slim
Girls' waists are, or how warm their subtle hands.
All of them touch him like some queer disease.
There was an artist silly for his face,
For it was younger than his youth, last year.
Now, he is old; his back will never brace;
He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,
And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race
And leap of purple spurted from his thigh.
One time he liked a blood-smear down his leg,
After the matches, carried shoulder-high.
It was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,
He thought he'd better join. - He wonders why.
Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts,
That's why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg,
Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts
He asked to join. He didn't have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie: aged nineteen years.
Germans he scarcely thought of; all their guilt,
And Austria's, did not move him. And no fears
Of Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hilts
For daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes;
And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears;
Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and cheers.
Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer goal.
Only a solemn man who brought him fruits
Thanked him; and then enquired about his soul.
Now, he will spend a few sick years in institutes,
And do what things the rules consider wise,
And take whatever pity they may dole.
Tonight he noticed how the women's eyes
Passed from him to the strong men that were whole.
How cold and late it is! Why don't they come
And put him into bed? Why don't they come?
" - Wilfred Owen
Famous World War I poet.
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"[Poem:- about the content of a person's character is more important than their appearance, wealth or social 'position'!]
'A Man's A Man For A' That'
Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.
What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.
A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.
Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.
" - Robert Burns
Birkie=cool, young guy
Coof=idiot
E'er=ever
Fa'=fall; or lot, portion; or to get; suit; claim
Gie=give
Gowd=gold
Gude=good
Hoddin=the motion of a sage countryman riding on a cart-horse
Mak=make
Maunna=mustn't
Sae=so
Wha=who
Yon=yonder
[http://www.robertburns.org/works/496.shtml ]
This has been set to music, and you may have heard it sung. It is written in Ayrshire dialect, and English, but the sentiments expressed are universal.
In Verse One, Burns is saying that wealth, or lack of it, and social class should not be the measure of a man's true worth. 'The rank is but the guinea's stamp' means that a person cannot be given a price. The man's character is the true gold.
Verse Two continues the theme. We may wear ordinary clothes, and eat simple food, but appearance is just a show, like tinsel. Honesty is worth more than fancy clothes.
Now Verse Three might have got Burns into some trouble in Edinburgh. The birkie (cool young guy) who struts around, and has the title of Lord, is only a coof (an idiot). The man who learns to think for himself is worth much more than that.
Verse Four continues this theme. Princes can hand out titles at will, but honesty and pure goodness are worth much more. Self respect doesn't come from inherited wealth or titles.
Verse Five is a prayer that Sense and Worth shall eventually agree with all mankind. Burns imagines a future world in which all people will live as brothers, in mutual trust and respect. 'It's coming yet, for a' that'.
[refer http://allpoetry.com/A-Man's-A-Man-For-A'-That ]
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| [Quote No.52576] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem: about the horror of war.]
'Suicide In The Trenches'
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
" - Siegfried Sassoon
(1886 – 1967), Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC was an English poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a jingoism-fuelled war. Sassoon became a focal point for dissent within the armed forces when he made a lone protest against the continuation of the war in his 'Soldier's Declaration' of 1917, culminating in his admission to a mental hospital; this resulted in his forming a friendship with Wilfred Owen, who was greatly influenced by him. Sassoon later won acclaim for his prose work, notably his three-volume fictionalised autobiography, collectively known as the 'Sherston trilogy'.
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"[Poem: about the experience of Thanksgiving Day, which is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.]
'Thanksgiving'
Gettin’ together to smile an’ rejoice,
An’ eatin’ an’ laughin’ with folks of your choice;
An’ kissin’ the girls an’ declarin’ that they
Are growin’ more beautiful day after day;
Chattin’ an’ braggin’ a bit with the men,
Buildin’ the old family circle again;
Livin’ the wholesome an’ old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.
Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother’s a little bit grayer, that’s all.
Father’s a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an’ to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin’ our stories as women an’ men.
Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we’re grateful an’ glad to be there.
Home from the east land an’ home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an’ best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We’ve come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an’ be frank,
Forgettin’ position an’ station an’ rank.
Give me the end of the year an’ its fun
When most of the plannin’ an’ toilin’ is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An’ I’ll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers.
" - Edgar Albert Guest
(1881–1959), prolific English-born American poet who was popular in the first half of the 20th century and became known as the People's Poet.
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| [Quote No.52667] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem:- about ethics and morality, character and self-esteem, service and leadership.]
'The Bridge Builder'
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and grey,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
'Old Man,' said a fellow pilgrim, near,
'You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide -
Why build you this bridge at eventide?'
The builder lifted his old grey head:
'Good friend, in the path I have come,' he said
'There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This Chasm, which has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He to must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.'
" - Will Allen Dromgoole
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"[Poem: about the blessings of avoiding luxury, fame and company.]
'Ode on Solitude'
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Whose heards with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.
Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lye.
" - Alexander Pope
(1688 - 1744), poet. He modelled himself after the great Classical poets, such as Homer and Virgil, and wrote in a highly polished verse, often in a didactic or satirical vein. Because of a spinal deformity from childhood, he was only 4'6" tall.
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| [Quote No.52747] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem:]
'The World's Need'
So many gods, so many creeds,
so many paths that wind and wind
while just the art of being kind
is all the sad world needs.
" - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
(1850-1919)
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"[Morality, ethics and religion:] The books of theologians gather dust upon the shelves of my library but the pages of the poets are stained with my fingers and blotted by my tears." - Rev. John Haynes Holmes
(1879 – 1964) prominent Unitarian minister, pacifist, and co-founder of the NAACP and the ACLU.
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"[Laws as devised by rulers, governments and politicians are best when they express the unalienable rights, concerns and needs of the people and therefore, it has been argued, that the spokespeople of the community, the] Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world!" - Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792 – 1822) one of the major English Romantic poets, and regarded by critics as amongst the finest lyric poets in the English language. This quote is the concluding line of the essay, 'A Defence of Poetry' he wrote in 1821, but was only first published posthumously in 1840. [Refer http://www.bartleby.com/27/23.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Defence_of_Poetry ]
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| [Quote No.52762] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem:]
'The Blind Men And The Elephant'
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The first approached the elephant,
And, happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl,
‘God bless me! but the elephant
Is very like a wall’
The second feeling of the tusk
Cried: ‘Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear!’
The third approached the animal,
And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
‘I see,’ quoth he, ‘the elephant,
Is very like a snake!’
The fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee;
‘What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,’ quoth he;
‘'Tis clear enough the elephant
Is very like a tree.’
The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: ‘E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most.
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
Is very like a fan!’
The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
‘I see,’ quoth he, ‘the elephant
Is very like a rope!’
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
So, oft in the theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an elephant
Not one of them has seen!
" - John Godfrey Saxe
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| [Quote No.52764] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem:- about lifting someone else every day.]
'Count That Day Lost'
If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went --
Then you may count that day well spent.
But if, through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay --
If, through it all
You've nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face --
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost --
Then count that day as worse than lost.
" - George Eliot
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| [Quote No.52767] Need Area: Friends > General
"[Poem: about doing any kindness that you can.]
'I Shall Not Pass This Way Again'
Through this toilsome world, alas!
Once and only once I pass;
If a kindness I may show,
If a good deed I may do
To a suffering fellow man,
Let me do it while I can.
No delay, for it is plain
I shall not pass this way again.
" - Unknown
'I Shall Not Pass This Way Again' is a famous quote that has been attributed to many people from Ettienne De Grellet to William Penn.
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