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"You are quoting Snoopy the Dog, I believe?"
"I'll quote the truth wherever I find it, thank you."
-Richard Bach and Donald Shimoda
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Richard Bach
"Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many;
not upon your past misfortunes of which all have some."
-Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
"God be between you and harm in all the empty places you walk."
-blessing of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
-Albert Einstein
"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a
slave."
-Roy Batty
Blade Runner
3 Truths of the Truth:
The discovery for the truth can only be undertaken within each of us.
The discovery of the truth can only be found within each of us.
What each of us sees as the truth will be colored by our values, beliefs, and
experiences.
-Albert S. Wang (ASW)
I cannot go where others have been
I cannot see what others saw
What I see I see alone.
-Edgar Allen Poe
"Consensus in a closed world. When computers first started getting popular,
they eliminated the distance barriers between Tokyo, Chicago, places like
that. But at the same time, they created a new barrier between computer
literates and illiterates. It'd be bad if something like that happened
again."
-Deunan Knute from Appleseed
Deunan:"I've got to get tougher..."
Briareos: "Perhaps... But that's what turns most of us into emotionless
warriors. Anyway, don't brood about things that can't be
helped. Do the best you can... that's all anyone could ask."
-Deunan and Briareos from Appleseed
"A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever.
The sun also rises, the sun also sets; then to its place it speeds and there
it rises. Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and
turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the
rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the
rivers go. All things are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not
had enough of seeing, ears their fill of hearing. What was will be again;
what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the
sun. Take anything of which it may be said, "Look now, this is new."
Already, long before our time, it existed. Only no memory remains of
earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be
remembered."
--Prologue Ecclesiastes
"The sound of the Gion Shouga bell echoes the impermanence of all things;
the color of the saala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must
decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night;
the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind."
--from Gion Shouga, The Tale of the Heike
"Sometimes we must leave our safe places, and walk empty-handed among
our enemies."
-Brigette O'Donnell from "300 Days," Beauty and the Beast (TV Series)
"The brain tells you all the sensible things to do, but the heart
knows nothing about sense."
-Brigette O'Donnell from Beauty and the Beast (TV Series)
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing well."
-Cordelia Naismith from "Borders of Infinity" by Lois McMaster Bujold
"We all of us complain of the shortness of time and yet have much more
than we know what to do with. Our lives are spent in doing nothing at
all, or in doing nothing that we ought to do; we are always complaining
our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end of them."
-Seneca
"It's not how much force you use, it's where you apply it."
-Miles Naismith Vorkosigan to Taura
Borders of Infinity, Lois McMaster Bujold
"Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which it is
not moral for a member of that group to do alone?"
"Uh, that's a trick question."
- Professor de la Paz and Wyoming Knott
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein
"What are the marks of a sick culture?"
. . . . . . ."Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms . . . .but a
*dying* culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners.
Lack of consideration for others in minor matters."
- Robert A. Heinlein
Friday, 1982
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke
"We are each others angels in the way that we answer each others
prayers and we can also make each others lives miserable."
-Jewel Kilcher
I'd rather see the world from another angle
We are everyday Angels
Be careful with me 'cause I'd like to stay that way...
-Jewel Kilcher
"*I* am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I
tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free
because I know that *I alone* am morally responsible for everything I do."
-Professor de la Paz
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein
"I'll tell you the problem with engineers and scientists. Scientists have an
elaborate line of bullshit about how they are seeking to know the truth about
nature. Which is true, but that's not what drives them. Nobody is driven
by abstractions like 'seeking truth.'
"Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So
they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to
ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such
considerations as pointless. If they don't do it, someone else will.
Discovery, they believe, is inevitable. So they just try to do it first.
That's the game in science. Even pure scientific discovery is an agressive
penetrative act. It takes big equipment, and it literally changes the world
afterward. Particle accelerators scar the land, and leave radioactive
byproducts. Astronauts leave trash on the moon. There is always some
proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries. Discovery
is always a rape of the natural world. Always.
"The scientists want it that way. They have to stick their instru-
ments in. They have to leave their mark. They can't just watch. They
can't just appreciate. They can't just fit into the natural order. They
have to make something unnatural happen. That is the scientist's job,
and now we have whole societies that try to be scientific."
-Ian Malcom
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
"Most kinds of power require a substantial sacrifice by whoever
wants the power. There is an apprenticeship, a discipline lasting many
years. Whatever kind of power you want. President of the company.
Black belt in karate. Spiritual guru. Whatever it is you seek, you have
to put in the time, the practice, the effort. You must give up a lot to get
it. It has to be very important to you. And once you have attained it,
it is your power. It can't be given away: it resides in you. It is
literally the result of your discipline.
"Now, what is interesting about this process is that, by the
time someone has acquired the ability to kill with his bare hands,
he has also matured to the point where he won't use it unwisely.
So that kind of power has a built-in control. The discipline of
getting the power changes you so that you won't abuse it.
"But scientific power is like inherited wealth: attained
without discipline. You read what others have done, and you
take the next step. You can do it very young. You can make
progress very fast. There is no discipline lasting many decades.
There is no mastery: old scientists are ignored. There is no humility
before nature. There is only a get-rich-quick, make-a-name-
for-yourself-fast philosophy. Cheat, lie, falsify- it doesn't matter.
Not to you, or to you, or to your colleagues. No one will criticize
you. No one has any standards. They are all trying to do the same
thing: to do something big, and do it fast.
"And because you can stand on the shoulders of giants,
you can accomplish something quickly. You don't even know
exactly what you have done, but already you have reported it, patented
it, and sold it. And the buyer will have even less discipline than you.
The buyer simply purchases the power, like any commodity. The
buyer doesn't even conceive that any discipline might be necessary."
-Ian Malcom
Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton
Sturgeon's Revelation: 90% of everything is crud.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
-Abraham Maslow
"Always answer an unfriendly question with another question. Never
ask him to clarify; he'll put words in your mouth."
-Professor de la Paz
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein
Perfection in war lay in so sapping the opponent's will that he
surrenders without fighting.
-Old proverb from famous Chinese general
"When your opponent is resting, force him to move."
-Sun Tzu
"Don't worry about your beard if your head is about to be
taken."
-Sun Tzu
"Match strength against weakness and you will be irresistable."
-Sun Tzu
"In order to strengthen one point you will weaken another."
-Sun Tzu
"Victory is found in relation to the foe you are facing."
-Sun Tzu
"Move only if it is to your advantage."
-Sun Tzu
"Make yourself strong and wait for your enemy's moment of
weakness."
-Sun Tzu
"Don't allow his forces to unite."
-Sun Tzu
"A hot temper leads to ridicule."
-Sun Tzu
"Be cunning and full of caution."
-Sun Tzu
"Lure the enemy with bait or take what he values."
-Sun Tzu
"Appear strong when you are weak and weak when you are strong."
-Sun Tzu
"At close quarters, an archer is an unarmed man."
-Sun Tzu
"Never fight when angry or just to please your ego."
-Sun Tzu
"Cowardice leads to capture."
-Sun Tzu
"Energy bends the bow, timing releases the arrow."
-Sun Tzu
"Be as coy as a hare and as swift as a fox and you will be
invincible."
-Sun Tzu
"To anticipate an enemy's strategy, his method must be studied."
-Sun Tzu
Seven things hateful to God -Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things that Yahweh hates,
seven that his soul abhors:
a haughty look, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that weaves wicked plots,
feet that hurry to do evil,
a false witness who lies with every breath,
a man who sows dissension among brothers.
Against cynics -Proverbs 9:7-9
Correct a mocker and you make an enemy;
rebuke a wicked man, you get insult in return.
Do not rebuke the mocker, he will only hate you,
rebuke a wise man and he will love you for it.
Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still,
teach a virtuous man, he will learn yet more.
Hatred provokes disputes, love covers over all offenses.
-Proverbs 10:12
Honest men have their own honesty for guidance, treacherous men are
ruined by their own perfidy.
-Proverbs 11:3
Through his mouth the godless man is the ruin of his neighbor, but by
knowledge the virtuous are safeguarded.
-Proverbs 11:9
A city is raised on the blessing of honest men, and demolished by the
mouth of the wicked.
-Proverbs 11:11
The plans of virtuous men are honest, the intrigues of the wicked are
nothing if not deceit.
-Proverbs 12:5
When a man is filled with good things, it is the fruit of his own words,
each man's labor brings its own return.
-Proverbs 12:14
Bitterness is in the heart of the schemer, joy with those who give counsels
of peace.
-Proverbs 12:20
The virtuous man hates lying words, but the wicked man slanders and
defames.
-Proverbs 13:5
Virtue preserves the man of honest life, wickedness proves the ruin of the
sinner.
-Proverbs 13:6
To the man of discretion, wisdom means a watch on his own conduct,
but the folly of fools is delusion.
-Proverbs 14:8
The heart knows its own grief best, nor can a stranger share its joy.
-Proverbs 14:10
The tongue that soothes is a tree of life; the barbed tongue, a breaker of
hearts.
-Proverbs 15:4
A man who can control his tongue has knowledge, a man of discernment
keeps his temper cool.
-Proverbs 17:27
The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.
-Chinese Proverb
With wickedness comes, contempt comes too, and, with disgrace,
dishonor.
-Proverbs 18:3
Death and life are in the gift of the tongue, those who indulge it must eat
the fruit it yields.
-Proverbs 18:21
"He who knows others is learned;
He who knows himself is wise."
- Lao-Tzu, Tao-te Ching
"Yu, shall I tell you what knowledge is? When
you know a thing, say that you know it. When
you do not know a thing, admit you do not know
it. This is knowledge."
- K'ung-fu Tzu (Confucius)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
- Confucius
"Let us endeavor to live that when we come to die even the undertaker
will be sorry."
-Mark Twain
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous,
he will not bite you. This is the principal difference
between a dog and a man."
-Mark Twain
Man is a dog's idea of what God should be.
-Holbrook Jackson
"I consider that people are as ordinary or as exceptional as they choose
to be..."
-- Lady Elega, to Terisa Morgan
(Mordant's Need, Volume I: The Mirror of Her Dreams)
Courtesy of Richard Uyeyama's .sig (CORUS)
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what
lies within us.
- William Marrow
"Dear George,
Remember, no man is a failure who has friends."
-Clarence, from "It's a Wonderful Life."
"Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your
acquaintances will know you in a thousand years."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"The best way to avoid responsibility is to say, 'I've got responsibilities.'"
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"You are lead through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the
playful spiritual being that is your real self, Don't turn away from possible
futures before you're certain you don't have anything to learn from them.
You're always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or
a different past."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.
You seek problems because you need their gifts."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect
and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up
under the same roof."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"Argue your limitations and, sure enough, they're yours."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make
it come true. You may have to work for it, however."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"The truth you speak has no past and no future. It is, and that's all it
needs to be."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're
alive, it isn't."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you
can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain
for those who are friends."
-- Richard Bach, Illusions
from the "Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced
Soul"
"A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit
our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves
step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved
for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the
best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with
that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone
who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two
ballons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the
right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life."
-- Richard Bach, The Bridge Across Forever
"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how
unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn;
whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've
chosen to go."
-- Richard Bach, The Bridge Across Forever
Where there is great love there are always miracles.
-Willa Cather
"Nausicaa, daughter of great Alcinous, may Zeus the mighty husband of Hera, grant that I
may reach my home; so shall I bless you as my guardian angel all my days, for it was you
who saved me."
-Odysseus, The Odyssey
Bk VIII
The meaning of life is found by living by what you believe and
value. The meaning of life is not a what but a how, since only you can
know what is meaningful to you in your living. Meaning in Life can
only be achieved by HOW you live your life, guided by your heart and
passions.
The ideal is to live by what you believe, by what you value, and
by your ideals and your principles such that each element of time produces
a gem that fills the treasury of your soul's experiences. Life can only have
meaning as you choose to live it in the present, and only you can build
the handful of sparkling stones to the glittering mountain of gems at
journey's end.
Of the past nothing can be done, for it is an event forever trapped in time
like an insect in amber. The possibilities the future holds are endless,
but can only be shaped by acts in the present. For souls who live in
the past, there is neither present nor future nor hope of ever undoing what
has already been done. Trapped in the cages they've built for themselves,
there is no life and no meaning, having sentenced themselves to lament
and despair over what could have been but can never be again.
For all our coping in the face of adversity, there exists a careful line
between allowing our emotions to completely consume us, or to become
feelingless, emotionless beasts. Having emotions is the gift that makes
the human unique in the annals of life, granting us the bonds of friendships,
memories, and love between souls. And it is with acceptance of the past
that we can live with ourselves, grow, and strive forward to reach for and
shape the future.
For many years now I have watched the surf pound the sands of lives, the
gentle rolling waves of time washing away the grains of some while replenishing
those of others. And despite the similarity of each moment, through storm and
calm alike, like the shimmering waters of the sea, they are never the same.
-Albert S. Wang completed 1-4-96
In order to overcome something, you must submit to it first, to understand
what it is you're to overcome.
-Juan Wa Chang
Living is Change. Growth is Optional.
-Juan Wa Chang
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we
leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we
can enter another.
-Anatole France
Existence is suffering. And the cause of all suffering is desire.
-Buddha
"La vida es duda,
y la fin al duda es solo muerte"
"Life is doubt,
And faith without doubt is nothing but death."
-Miguel de Unamuno
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true
happiness.
-Bertrand Russell (1872-1972)
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible
is music."
-Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) from "Music at Night"
It should be the pleasure of a poem itself to tell how it can.
The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom.
The figure is the same as for love.
-Robert Frost
The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our
existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.
-Vladimir Nabokov. from _Speak, Memory_
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
-Theodore Roethke, 1908 - 1963
Shared pain is pain lessened, shared joy is joy increased.
- Spider Robinson
Desiderata:
*
Go placidly amid the noise & haste, & 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 & agressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for
always there will be greater & 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 fortunes 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 as
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 a 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 labors & 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.
"Consciousness is the continuous, subjective awareness of the activity of
billions of cells firing at many times a second, communicating instanteously
with tens of thousands of their neighbors. And the organization of this
symphony of activity is such that it is sometimes externally oriented (during
waking), sometimes oblivious to the outside world (during sleep), and
sometimes so remarkably aware of itself (during dreams) that it recreates the
external world in its own image."
-J. Allan Hobson M.D.
Harvard Medical School
"The Dreaming Brain"
"The writer. The writer is not just the carrier of words, the maker of plots
and poems. The writer represents an attitude towards the world, a celebration
and a reproach. The writer affirms, by writing that it is not enough.
It: reality."
-Sven Birkerts from the essay "Reader and Writer"
There are two ways to live your life:
One way is if nothing is a miracle, the other is if everything is.
-Albert Einstein
On the surface all is illusion. Sometimes we must risk all to find the truth.
-Unknown
Sometimes the test isn't finding the answer to a problem. It's seeing how you
will react when you realize there are no answers.
-Unknown
Like ripples in a pond, the waves we send out to those we touch will affect
them forever. The choices we make affect those around us irreversibly and
ourselves in return. In the end there is no middle ground. We must all
choose, and accept the consequences those decisions leave, regardless of
what our reasons may have been, whether calculated, resigned in acceptance,
or cast in ignorance.
-Albert Wang 6-13-95 ded to Cindy K.
Every action in our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate
in eternity.
-Edwin Hubbel Chapin
"Who you are can depend on who you meet."
-Duncan MacLeod
"Never be the best MacLeod, everyone wants a shot at the best. God help you
if you lose your nerve and they keep coming."
-Brian Cullin from Highlander the series
Once the best swordsman of Europe
The Universe puts us in places where we learn. They are not always easy
places, but they are the right places.
-Delenn, Babylon5
There is no greater legacy, than that of honesty.
-William Shakespeare
So the next time something happens to you, ask yourself: Is it good? Is it
bad? And how do you know?
-Chinese Proverb
Once a man tried writing poetry. But he found if you look at the world long
enough, you'll see all the poetry you need.
-Old Chinese saying
There was once a man who did not like his footprints. His teacher told him
to sit on the ground and rest and the footprints would disappear, for if he
did not run, he would leave no mark, and if he could face the darkness,
there would be no shadow. But this man had to run and so was chased by
the footprints of his actions, and the shadows of his past.
-Vanishing Son
A young monk travelled the road with an older priest. As they stopped at
the roadside to rest and eat, the monk noticed the priest carried a
mirror in his bag. "Vanity," thought the monk. "This old priest must keep
the mirror to admire himself in secret." So he asked the priest why he
carried the mirror, thinking surely he had caught him in a great sin.
The old priest smiled and held the mirror up to the young monk's face. And
the old priest said, "I use the mirror in troubled times, to show me both
the cause of my problems, and the solution."
And so the young monk learned, like the old priest on his journey, that
it is often wise when searching for the answer to your troubles, to look
first at the face in the mirror.
-Old Chinese Story
Embrace hope and it will become part of your being.
Embrace despair and it will become part of your destiny.
-Chinese saying
A horse was tied ouside a shop in a narrow Chinese village street.
Wnenever anyone would try to walk by, the horse would kick him. Before
long, a small crowd of villagers had gathred near the shop, arguing
about how best to get past the dangerous horse. Suddenly, someone came
running. "The old Master is coming!" he shouted. "He'll know what to do."
The crowd watched eagerly as the Old Master came around the corner, saw
the horse, turned and walked down another street.
-Chinese Parable
If your strength is small, don't carry heavy burdens. If your words are
worthless, don't give advice.
-Chinese Proverb
"How do you know the chosen ones? No greater love hath a man than he lay down
his life for another; not for millions, not for glory, not for fame; for one
person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see."
-Sebastian, the inquisitor
"Here Comes the Inquisitor," Babylon 5
"Without the darkness, how would we recognize the light? Do not fear your
negative thoughts, they are a part of you; they are a part of every living
being... To pretend it does not exist is to create an opportunity for it to
escape."
-Tuvak
Star Trek Voyager
The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men
alone are quite capable of every wickedness.
-Joseph Conrad
"See? Something has gone right for you today. That's the way the universe
works: Wait a little while and the wheel turns."
-Ambassador Delenn to Captain Sheridan
Babylon 5
There is but one cause of human failure and that is man's lack of faith
in his true Self.
-William James
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out
they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be
amazed at the energy that comes out of you.
-William James
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying
to please everbody.
-Bill Cosby
It is better to laugh about your problems than to cry about them.
-- Jewish Proverb
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white.
Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
- Lao-Tse
Be not the slave of your own past-
plunge into the sublime seas,
dive deep, and swim far,
so you shall come back with self-respect,
with new power, with an advanced experience,
that shall explain and overlook the old.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I move in silence with each step taken,
snow falling round me like angels in flight,
Far in the distance is my wish under moonlight."
-Enya "On My Way Home"
Before enlightenment
chopping wood
carrying water.
After enlightenment
chopping wood
carrying water.
-Zen Proverb
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow:
Our life is the creation of our mind.
-Buddha
To find yourself.
Think for yourself.
-Socrates
I believe that general ideologies are fine, but you can't succeed or survive
on general ideologies alone. Experience makes sure of that.
-Albert S. Wang 3-8-96
"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who
looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-Carl Jung
"I know that if I have heaven
there is nothing to desire.
Rain and river, a world of wonder
may be paradise to me."
-Enya "China Roses"
"One of my favorite works was Plato's "Symposium"... and I really liked it
because it suggested in that that through love and through beauty we achieve
immortality, only because as art [it is] one of the most conscious and honest
expressions of ourselves... But if we really put all of our passion into
something, it will breathe, like a good sculpture, like a good Michelangelo, or
Klimt I love. So what a beautiful thing to make your life your artwork, you
know... and to really pull in every experience you want and need and take that
kind of conscious control over it."
-Jewel Kilcher on the subject of immortality
"It was such a shock to realize, that when I was living in my van and praying
to Buddhism, whatever, anything: please let the dream come true for me, please
let me support myself by living my passion, let me eat every day doing
something that I love... that *moved* people. That actually reminded people to
live that in their own lives, and people who came to my little show, where
seventy people fit in a club, you know, go, 'you know I hadn't written poetry
since I was eight years old 'cause my dad said it was stupid, but here's my
first poem I want to give you'... and it still makes me cry, and when I sing
that's why I sing, because I was given a great gift that I get to live the
way I actually want, and that's beautiful."
-Jewel Kilcher
Appreciate the present hour... Sit and hear your own breathing and look out
on the universe and be content... One does not have to do something to pass
the time; time can pass by itself.
-Lin Yutang
If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.
-St. Clement of Alexandria
Know thyself.
-Inscription on the temple to Apollo at Delphi
There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving,
and that's your own self.
-Aldous Huxley
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to
what lies within us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing.
The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.
The man who knows how, will always have a job.
The man who also knows why, will always be his boss.
As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few.
The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.
The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
-Lao-Tzu
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the
candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
-Buddha (B.C. 568-488)
In solitude we have our dreams to ourselves, and in company we agree to
dream in concert.
-Samuel Johnson
The pleasure of what we enjoy is lost by coveting more.
-Daniel Defoe
Joy is not in things; it is in us.
-Richard Wagner
All things are in process, rising and returning. Plants come to blossom,
but only to return to the root.
-Lao-Tzu
"All life is transitory. A dream. We all come together in the same
place at the end of time. If I don't see you again here, I will see
you in a little while, in the place where no shadows fall."
-Ambassador Delenn
Babylon 5
"The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us,
and our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible
in between."
-Centauri Emperor
"The Coming of Shadows," Babylon 5
Whosoever knows others is clever.
Whosoever knows himself is wise.
Whosoever conquers others has force.
Whosoever conquers himself is strong.
-Lao-Tzu (fl. B.C. 600)
Earth's crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sorrow shared is halved and joy shared is doubled.
-Native American proverb
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and
the dividing of our grief.
-Cicero (B.C. 106-43)
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-Albert Einstein
"Logics will get you from A to B, Imagination will take you everywhere."
-Albert Einstein
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre
minds."
-Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
-Albert Einstein
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the
source of all true art and 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
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part
limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and
feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons
nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and
the whole of nature in its beauty.
-Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education,
and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a
poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward
after death.
-- Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)
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. (1929-1968)
Experience is determined by yourself - not the circumstances of your life.
-Gita Bellin
Until you know that life is interesting--and find it so--you haven't
found your soul.
-Geoffrey Fisher
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don't resist them- that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
-Lao-Tzu
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
-John Lubbock
We will be known by the tracks we leave behind.
-Dakota proverb
If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting but I
would have to decline, for life would no longer teach me anything.
-Allyson Jones
Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.
-Joseph Joubert
In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at
heart.
-Anne Frank
We live in deeds, not years;
In thoughts not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
-Bailey (1816-1902)
"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts,
foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is
afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is
afraid of its people."
-John F. Kennedy, 1962.
"Understanding is a three-edged sword... reflection, surprise, terror"
-Ambassador Kosh
"Deathwalker," Babylon 5
A Vorlon said, 'Understanding is a three-edged sword.. your side, their side,
and the truth! The truth is we don't need you anymore."
-Captain John Sheridan to the Vorlons
"Into the Fire," Babylon 5
"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles
to vote."
-Ambassador Kosh
"Believers," Babylon 5
If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
-Anatole France
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
-- Chinese Proverb
"We have to stay here and there's a simple reason why. Ask ten different
scientists about the environment, population control, genetics and you'll
get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the
planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand
years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out.
When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe and
Lao-Tzu and Einstein and Morobuto and Buddy Holly and Aristophenes...
and all of this .. all of this was for nothing unless we go to the stars."
-Commander Sinclair to Mary Ann Cramer
Babylon 5
Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not
himself find peace.
-Albert Schweitzer
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.
-Confucius (B.C. 384-322)
"There is always choice. We say there is no choice only to comfort ourselves
on the decision we've already made. Now if you understand that there's hope.
If not..."
-Lady Morella to Londo
"Point of No Return," Babylon 5
In the beginning, there was an enormous glass sphere called the Truth. But one
day it was accidentally dropped and shattered into billions of pieces. Only in
modern times, have scientists begun to find shards of this glass sphere to
cut each other with.
-Unknown
Simplicity in all things is the secret of the wilderness and one of its
most valuable lessons. When in the wilds, we must not carry our problems
with us or the joy is lost.
-Sigurd Olsen
If we cannot find peace within ourselves, it is useless to look for it
elsewhere.
-La Rochefoucaulid
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look
so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been
opened for us.
-Helen Keller (1880-1968)
Some must be sacrificed for all to be saved. First I took that as
revelation for the future. Now I see that it is as much about how we got
here as about where we are going.
-G'Kar
Babylon5
"Why do your people always ask if you are ready right before you do
something massively unwise?"
"Tradition."
-Ambassador Delenn and Ambassador Sinclair
"War Without End Part 1" Babylon5
"Reality is a funny thing, you know... Reality is what you believe; believe
it to be. It's what you put your thought and energy into, because your hands
physically manifest thought. So your world becomes what you feel and what
you think."
-Jewel Kilcher
So often we see only the fruit on the tree in the end, that we forget
it takes air, water, and the energy of life in each moment of the present to
bring about a result in the end. To me, winning isn't the point at all, but
LIVING every day to achieve whichever end we do receive or strive for.
Life isn't and shouldn't be perceived as the successful achievement
of an end or a reward, but the process of living in every moment in our lives.
The end will take care of itself based upon what we DO in the present.
What happens in the end will happen. The ONLY thing we can control is what we
do in each singular moment of our lives in each passing second. Like the
matador who enters the coliseum, there is little doubt what will happen in the
end. It is HOW the matador reaches that end that is so watched. For the
same reason we don't watch plays, symphonies, or musicals to find out what
happens in the end, why do we place so much emphasis on an end or a certain
reward in our lives that we lose sight of the miracles in our actions every day?
There is little point in life being a historical record of victories
and losses, since like all events in life, they pass in time. Life is
something dynamic, existing only in the present: it is a fluid measure of who
we are based on what we do every moment of our lives. What eventually happens
is small measure compared to what we choose to DO at each moment and STRIVE for
every day, culminating in key moments in our lives. We really do live EVERY
day, not just when all eyes are upon us or when it really matters. Our
actions at this moment show what is in our hearts and minds, and THAT is life.
Whether we consciously acknowledge it or are aware of it is up to each of us.
-A. S. Wang, 7/28/96
When it comes down to it, the only thing you can call your own are your
values. Once you compromise those, there's nothing left.
-Unknown
"The quality of mercy is not strained. It dropeth as the gentle rain from
heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed. It blesses him that
gives and him that takes."
-Monica quoting Shakespeare
Touched by an Angel
M: "Wow, this smells wonderful..."
T: "Honey, will you wake up and stop smelling the coffee? Sooner or later you
gotta drink it. It's like life, you never know how good it really is until
you taste it. And all coffee doesn't taste the same."
M: "What's espresso? Always hear about espresso."
T: "Strong... and bitter. Some people like it like that: straight ahead, rich,
undiluted. There's another side to an espresso kind of life... heartburn."
(Monica smiles and laughs a little)
T: "Well, that's the price you pay for all that flavor."
M: "You make it sound so dangerous."
T: "Well, I've had my flings with danger. But my choice of coffee is a good
old cup of Joe: straight ahead, honest, no camouflage. 'Cause when you try
to hide what's underneath, you just end up feeling miserable."
-Monica and Tess
Touched by an Angel
"Human beings have the power to make choices. And some of the worst choices
are made in darkness."
-Monica
Touched by an Angel
"God never created anything stronger than the power of real love. It lives
forever. And you never know where it's going to come from next."
-Monica
Touched by an Angel
"It's amazing the baggage people carry around. And looking inside is the
most difficult thing a person can do."
-Tess
Touched by an Angel
"When you believe in yourself, there's no darkness you can't overcome."
-Cordell Walker
Walker Texas Ranger
S: Where does an angel go when... they aren't angels anymore?
M: You don't want to know... A place far away from God, far away from the
truth. A place where lies live.
-Scott Walden and Monica
Touched by an Angel
"You see, every time we ignore the truth, we ignore God. Because God is the
truth. And when it's not true, He doesn't want to have any part of it because
He can't, because it's just not who He is."
-Monica
Touched by an Angel
He who would be friends with God must remain alone or make the whole
world his friend.
-Mohandas Karamchand [Mahatma] Gandhi (1869-1948)
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
-Gandhi
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Gandhi
Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
-Horace Walpole
Adopt the peace of nature,
her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
RI: "Choices and consequences, man. Weren't you paying ANY attention??"
CW: "We have to carry him."
RI: "Carry him? Aw man, can't we just shoot him?"
-Rehabilitated inmate and Ranger Cordell Walker at Camp Justice
after one of the other inmates stole a gun, tried to escape, and
ended up with a broken leg.
"Take responsibility for your actions for crying out loud! You go in there and
you _fight_ for what matters to you, don't just walk away because it's easier!"
-Stephen Franklin to Stephen Franklin
"Shadow Dancing" Babylon 5
S: I wish you'd come talk to me _before_ you made your decision to resign?
F: I was running away... same as I've always done. I didn't want to face how
I'd feel if you fired me so I just quit.
S: You had to find your own way.
F: I _ran_ away. I realized that I always defined myself in terms of what I
wasn't. I wasn't a good soldier like my father. I wasn't the job. I wasn't
a good prospect for marriage or kids, always what I wasn't. Never what I
was. But when you do that, you miss the moments... and the moments are all
we've got. When I thought I was gonna die, even after everything that's
happened, I realized I didn't want to let go. I was willing to do it all
over again and this time I could appreciate the moments. I can't go back,
but I can appreciate what I have right now. And I can define myself by what
I am instead of what I'm not.
S: And what are you?
F: Alive. Everything else is negotiable.
-Dr. Stephen Franklin and Captain John Sheridan
"Shadow Dancing" Babylon 5
Mythology is a rendition of forms, through which the formless form of forms can
be known.
-Joseph Campbell
The conquest of the fear of death is the recovery of life's joy. One
can experience an unconditional affirmation of life only when one has
accepted death, not as contrary to life, but as an aspect of life.
Life in its becoming is always shedding death, and on the point of
death. The conquest of fear yields the courage of life. That is the
cardinal initiation of every heroic adventure--fearlessness and
achievement.
-Joseph Campbell
Courage is grace under pressure.
-Ernest Hemingway
Time is the moving image of reality.
-Plato
Only the free have disposition to be truthful,
Only the truthful have the interest to be just,
Only the just possess the will-power to be free.
-W. H. Auden
"In the Time of War: Commentary"
It matters not how straight the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
-William E. Henley
from Invictus
It is precisely the soul that is the traveler; it is of the soul and of the
soul alone that we can say with supreme truth that 'being' necessarily means
'being on the way.'
-Gabriel Marcel
He who fights with monsters might take care,
lest he thereby become a monster.
And if you gaze for long into an abyss,
the abyss gazes also into you.
-Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
"Beyond Good and Evil"
That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.
-Friedrich Wilhem Nietzsche
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a
light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.
-Carl G. Jung
Experience is the child of Thought, and Thought is the child of Action.
-Benjamin Disraeli
Vivian Grey
Gentlemen may cry "Peace! Peace!" but there is no peace... Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price
of chains & slavery?... I know not what course others may take,
but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
-Patrick Henry, Patrick
at the Virginia Convention 23 Mar 1775
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all
of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical
rose garden over the horizon--instead of enjoying the roses that are
blooming outside our windows today.
-Dale Carnegie
"Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go
Your world was not mine, your eyes told me so
Yet it was there I felt the crossroads of time
And I wondered why.
As we cast our gaze on the tumbling sea
A vision came o'er me
Of thundering hooves and beating wings
in clouds above."
-Loreena McKennitt
The Old Ways
"All of life can be broken down into moments of transition... or moments of
revelation."
-G'Kar
Z'ha'dum, Babylon 5
"G'Qan wrote, 'There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the
darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight is not against
powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the
death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril
we can never surrender. The future is all around us, waiting in moments of
transition to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that
future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in
pain.'"
-G'Kar
Z'ha'dum, Babylon 5
"Tess, why does God make men like that?"
"He doesn't. They make themselves like that. The sad truth, baby, is that
wherever there's an opportunity, there's an opportunist. And nothing brings
them out like a good old fashion miracle."
-Monica and Tess
Touched by an Angel
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.
-Henry David Thoreau
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die
from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts soon
happens to man.
-Chief Seattle
Man did not weave the web of life;
he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
-Seattle (c.1786-1866)
[1854]
"The world is full of miracles... big ones and little ones, ones that happen
all at once and ones that take time to grow. Those are the hardest ones to
recognize... the long miracles. But those are the ones you need to protect
and cherish... more than ever."
-Celeste
Touched by an Angel
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.
-Mark Twain
"The greatest enemy is the one you do not know. You can predict the actions of
those who are familiar to you. The one you cannot predict is the one who can
harm you."
-Delenn quoting Valen
"Atonement", Babylon 5
"When others do a foolish thing, you should tell them it is a foolish thing.
They can still continue to do it but at least the truth is where it needs to
be."
-Dukhat to Delenn
"Atonement", Babylon 5
"In silence you hear who you are becoming. You create yourself."
-Jewel Kilcher
All limits are self imposed.
-Icarus
We must learn our limits. We are all something but none of us are
everything.
-Blaise Pascal
The things you fear
are undefeatable
Not by their nature
but by your approach
-Jewel Kilcher
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,
it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.
-Seneca
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.
This is to have succeeded.
-"Success" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly
smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration
that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him
and is willing to trust him.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The only way to have a friend is to be one.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.
-Dave Tyson Gentry
"I think over again my small adventures.
My Fears,
Those small ones that seemed so big,
For all the vital things
I had to get and to reach.
And yet there is only one great thing.
The only thing,
To live and see the great day that dawns
And the light that fills the world."
-Old Inuit Song
"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference,
ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time,
add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."
-Marian Wright Edelman
to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day
to make you everyone else is the hardest battle you can ever fight...
-e. e. cummings
"You must carry the chaos within you in order to give birth
to the dancing star."
-Nietzsche
The entire world is driven by a will, blind and ruthless.
In order to transcend the will of the world,
You must stop willing, stop desiring, stop hating.
To conquer others is to have power.
To conquer yourself is to know the way.
-Lao Ma
From Xena: Warrior Princess
"When you were born,
you cried and the world rejoiced;
Live your life in such a way that when you die
the world cries and you rejoice."
-Native American Proverb
"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody
has seen and thinking what no one else has thought."
-Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
"The album is called Silence because that is the place where songs are
born. Out of a void something has to be created, to find light in
darkness. When you are spending time in solitude or out in the woods,
there can be so much chatter in your head that when it stops, you can
filter out distractions and hear the original voice. Truth speaks to you
in silence. It is the only place you can hear it."
-Tara MacLean
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead
ANYWAY
------
By Mother Theresa
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
~LOVE THEM ANYWAY~
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
~DO GOOD ANYWAY~
If you are successful, you win false friends and enemies.
~SUCCEED ANYWAY~
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
~DO GOOD ANYWAY~
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
~BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY~
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
~BUILD ANYWAY~
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
~HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY~
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
~GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY~
A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this
manner:
"Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and
evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time."
When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied,
"The one I feed the most."
Love cannot be forced,
love cannot be coaxed and teased.
It comes out of Heaven,
unasked and unsought.
- Pearl Buck
Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says
"I need you because I love you."
-Erich Fromm
There are no happy endings
For nothing ever ends,
And I know that you feel like you've fallen,
But you'll find your feet again.
I know.
-Tara MacLean
Child
Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.
-Langston Hughes
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd, is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk
nothing. The person who risks nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid
suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn,feel, change, grow, love...live.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave; he has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
-Richard Bach.
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one
can go.
-T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
To be deeply loved by someone gives you strength;
To deeply love someone gives you courage.
-Lao Tzu
He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
-Lao Tzu
Before we allow ourselves to be consumed by our regrets, we should remember:
the mistakes we make in life are not so important as the lessons we draw from
them.
-Unknown
If you really want to, you can hear me say,
Only if you want to, will you find the way,
If you really want to, you can seize the day
Only if you want to, will you fly away.
-Enya
"Only If"
Meaning in Life
---------------
by Albert S. Wang
November 19, 1997
ded. to Alesia S.
Meaning in life.
Only you will know what gives your life meaning.
What gives your life joy.
What fills your heart with happiness.
What makes your life complete.
What anyone else thinks is irrelevant.
You must live the life
That is right for you,
Not anyone else.
But before the key to the door of meaning can be held,
Two other keys are needed to access that key.
Who are you?
What do you want?
Who are you?
Do not answer this by your lineage,
Or your work occupation,
Or your financial status.
Or anything by which you had no control
To begin with or must do to survive.
These are not who you are.
Who you are is defined by
What you believe,
What you value,
What you hold dearest to your heart
Above all else.
Under what situations would you sacrifice
Yourself for another?
What are the moral boundaries you have drawn
That others should not ever cross or they will
Incur your wrath?
When given a choice,
HOW do you choose?
WHY do you make the decisions you do?
How do you weigh one alternative above another?
What you value, what you believe.
These are who you are.
What do you want?
What is it that you want the most out of life?
What do you desire the most?
Do you desire peace with yourself?
Do you want material wealth?
Do you want happiness?
Do you want true love?
Do you want to share your life with another?
Do you want nothing at all?
Is material wealth really that important?
Is material wealth enough?
Is happiness important?
Is happiness enough?
Is love important?
Is love enough?
By knowing who we are and where we want to go,
Life itself begins to have meaning.
Meaning in life is found in DOING
What is right for you,
In the journey, not in the destination.
It is found in our choices,
And in our decisions
To get to where we want to go.
And from our thoughts we shape our world with our hands
To bring about meaning
Each and every day of our lives.
"The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most
for what we want at the moment."
-Unknown
Perhaps others can do it one time;
I must do it ten times.
Perhaps others can do it the tenth time;
I must do it a thousand times.
But he who really has the perseverance to go this way--
be he foolish, he will become clearheaded;
be he weak, he will become strong.
-Confucius
Look for the good in every soul
No matter what they do
To try to swallow you.
Let your faith be your sword, child,
And it will fight for you
In everything you do.
I know.
Cause there are no happy endings
For nothing ever ends,
And I know you feel like you've lost it all,
But you'll find yourself again.
-Tara MacLean
Child
"We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full."
-Marcel Proust
"My religion is very simple, my religion is kindness."
-Dalai Lama
" Come, let faith be your garden, always changing, always still...still
breathing."
-Tara MacLean, 12-26-97 (New song no one's heard yet)
"Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence."
-Van Gogh
"Where there is love there is life."
-Gandhi
"A man is not where he lives, but where he loves"
-Latin Proverb
"I wish more people could see the everyday angels. Their manifestations are
everywhere if only people would open up their hearts to feel... That is
where I find hope for tomorrow, the angel within us all, amidst the anger and
chaos surrounding the world today. It's in seeing a little child bring
a smile to an elderly person's face."
-Tracy Salisbury
"The only thing we can be sure about is that it will be the children who will
save us."
-Frank Blacke
Millenium
J: "Remember when I asked you a long time ago [as a child] if anyone
would want me?"
S: "Yes."
J: "I thought it took blood to bond people. But it takes something else.
It takes love."
-Jarod and Sydney
The Pretender
If we measure how much we value life soley by our dread of dying, then it may
well be that we have no sense of its value at all.
-from "New Lease"
The Outer Limits
Man has taught computers to perform complex calculations;
to control a factory or to launch a space ship.
But man will never be able to teach computers
to enjoy the beauty of a rose, the sound of a symphony
or the love of another human being.
And we should never try.
-from The Inner Eye
The Outer Limits
Before we allow ourselves to be consumed by our regrets, we should remember the
mistakes we make in life are not so important as the lessons we draw from them.
-from "The Last Supper"
The Outer Limits
What is freedom but the ability to make choices? Between courage and
cowardice... duty and love... or even heaven and hell. The nature of the
choices we make define us as human beings. We choose the world we inhabit.
-from "Tempests"
The Outer Limits
Our destiny is controlled by the choices we make. Those choices can turn an
ordinary man into a king, or reduce him to little more than a pawn. With the
fate of the world in your hands ... what would you choose?
-from "Dead Man's Switch"
The Outer Limits
If our lives are indeed the sum-total of the choices we've made, then we cannot
change who we are. But with every new choice we're given, we can change who
we're going to be.
-from "In Another Life"
The Outer Limits
Every life is a destination unknown; a journey of tragedies and triumphs that
ultimately allows us to discover not only our world, but more importantly,
ourselves...
-from "Rite of Passage"
The Outer Limits
For centuries philosophers and theologians have debated what it means to be
human. Perhaps the answer has eluded us because it is so simple. To be human is
to choose.
-from "Feasibility Study"
The Outer Limits
We rely upon others to inform us, but wisdom can never be taught... and we must
always decide the truth for ourselves...
-from "A Special Edition"
The Outer Limits
If thou are a master, be sometimes blind; if a servant, sometimes deaf.
-Thomas Fuller
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
-Bible
``Acts of the Apostles'' ch. 20, v. 35
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
-- Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882)
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backwards nor tarries with yesterday.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on children
from The Prophet
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration
from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind;
yet strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.
-Kahil Gibran
from Sand and Foam, 1926
It is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship and
persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity
and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be
created for years or even generations.
-Kahil Gibran
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things
you keep and guard for fear you may
need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to
the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as
he follows the pilgrms to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full,
the thirst that is unquenchable?
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on giving
from The Prophet
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run
murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.
The soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on self-knowledge
from The Prophet
No man can reveal to you aught by that which already lies
half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.
And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge,
so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God
and in his understanding of the earth.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on teaching
from The Prophet
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart
you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in so much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed
unfold its wings but cannot fly.
There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves
and they would escape.
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a
truth which they themselves do not understand.
And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in
words.
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place,
let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of
the wine is remembered
When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on talking
from The Prophet
All these things have you said of beauty,
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretching forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and
a song you hear though you shut your ears.
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on beauty
from The Prophet
Let there be space in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each others cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not to near togehter;
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each
other's shadow.
-Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) on marriange
from The Prophet
"If the problem can be solved, there is no use worrying about it.
If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good."
-Tibetan saying
In Taoist perspective even good and evil lose their absolute character.
The West, encouraged in the last few centuries by puritanism, has tended
to draw categorical distinctions between the two. Taoists are seldom this
positive. They buttress their reticence with the story about a farmer
whose horse ran away. His neighbor commiserated only to be told, "Who
knows what's good or bad?" It was true. The next day the horse returned,
bringing with it a drove of wild horses it had befriended in its
wanderings. The neighbor came over, this time to congratulate the farmer
on his windfall. He was met with the same observation: "Who knows what is
good or bad?" True this time too; the next day the farmer's son tried to
mount one of the wild horses and fell off breaking his leg. Back came the
neighbor, this time with more commiserations, only to encounter for the
third time the same resopnse, "Who knows what is good or bad?" And once
again the farmer's point was well taken, for the following day soldiers
came by commandeering for the army and because of his injury the son was
not drafted. If this all sounds very much like Zen, it should; for Indian
Buddhism processed through Chinese Taoism becomes Japanese Zen.
-Huston Smith
The Religions of Man
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save
you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do bring
forth will destroy you."
-Jesus of Nazareth
Gospel According to Thomas
Coptic Gospel
"Whoever knows the All but fails to know himself, knows nothing."
-Jesus of Nazareth
Gospel According to Thomas
Coptic Gospel
One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of
the shore for a very long time.
-Andre Gide
He who possesses art and science has religion;
he who does not possess them, needs religion.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
It is not doing the thing we like to do,
but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Someday perhaps the inner light will shine forth from us, and then
we'll need no other light.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Hell is here on Earth, in the place we create in our minds and hearts from
all the unwise decisions we have made. From here the weak wallow in self
pity and blame while the strong strive to better themselves by making wiser
choices the next time around. Heaven is also here on Earth. It is in
accepting the beauty and diversity around us everyday. It comes from the
peace and solitude within that is acheived when you start to see yourself
for who you are. The rituals, affirmations and ceremonies should be
inspired and spontaneous, felt not performed.
-Tracy Salisbury
I become one with everything. I become one with you. I become everything.
Therefore I become nothing. Therefore you are nothing. Without my anger, you
have no substance. Without my pride, you have no form. Without my hate, you
have no being.
-Duncan MacLeod, in fighting the evil within
Armageddon, Highlander the series
"Feet on ground...
Heart in hand...
Facing forward be yourself..."
-Jann Arden
Good Mother
Its really good advice. Be yourself. Think for yourself (feet on ground)
Feel the wonder in living (heart in hand) never aganize over past choices.
it's too late to worry about them now. Try harder next time around (facing
forward).
-Tracy Salisbury
love is the voice
under all silences,
the hope which has no opposite in fear,
the strength so strong
mere force is feebleness:
the truth more first than the sun more last than star...
-ee cummings
Do not walk in the path of the wise. Seek what they sought.
-Basho
What I'm talking about is the human spirit. That's the challenge,
that's the voyage, that's the expedition."
-George Malley
Phenomenon
Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything.
-George Malley
Phenomenon
Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then
choose that way with all his strength.
-Hasidic saying
I was thinking out loud
One life's such a short time for love
When a match made in heaven arrives
Eternity is never enough
It's all been so simple 'til now
There's no brilliance like beauty out there
No knowledge as wise as the heart
We all need a reason to care
I need to dance with life
Sweep you away into the night
When there is no one else around
I will make every day count
We need to dance with life
Swim in the soul of your eyes
'til we melt into the night
Oh we need to dance with life
And we leave a brilliant light behind
We could lay on the ground
We could look at that light in the sky
Show the moon and the million stars
The stars that we become when we die
I need to dance with life
Sweep you away into the night
When there is no one else around
I will make every day count
We need to dance with life
Swim in the soul of your eyes
'til we melt into the night
Oh we need to dance with life
And we leave a brilliant light behind
-Taupin and Page
"Dance With Life"
Performed by Bryan Ferry
Never deny any part of your existence, especially if it's an emotion. If you
do, it may surface again when you least expect it and when you are least
prepared to deal with it.
-Albert S. Wang
"I've been down this road walkin' the line
That's painted by pride
And I have made mistakes in my life
That I just can't hide
Oh, I believe I am ready for what love has to bring
Got myself together, now I'm ready to sing
I've been searchin' my soul tonight
I know there's so much more to life
Now I know I can shine a light
To find my way back home
One by one, the chains around me unwind
Everyday now I feel that I can leave those years behind"
-Vonda Shepard
"Searchin' My Soul"
Thank you TDS, always.
"So what are we? Helpless? No. The big moments are going to come. But it's
what we do afterwards that counts. That's when we find out who we are."
-Whistler
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"You know I don't know who or what you are Methos
And I know you don't want to hear this,
But you did teach me something.
You taught me that life's about change
About learning to accept who you are, good or bad.
And I thank you for that."
-Duncan MacLeod
"Not To Be", Highlander the series
"Accept who you are. Love who you are. And if you are to love another, then
love them for who they are, not what they are not. For what use is it to
love that which does not exist, when what does exist is by far more
beautiful?"
-Albert Wang
Ded. to TDS, MH, SK, AS
Passion. Passion is the fire that can breathe life in everything you do,
giving it the beauty of an eternal glow. But uncontrolled it destroys the very
beauty you seek to protect that's worth more than anything else in this world.
Have patience, for the universe will unfold in its own time. In everything you
do, seek balance so you know where and who you are. Live with compassion so
you understand the world from eyes not your own. Accept what is because that
is all there is. Desire not at all because it is not. Simply enjoy what is
and just be, because happiness in true friendships are worth more than anything
else in this world. God have mercy on you should you lose that.
-Albert Wang
What is a friend? I will tell you . . . it is someone with whom you
dare to be yourself.
-Frank Crane
"Figuring things out for yourself is the only freedom anyone really has. Use
that freedom. Make up your own mind, Rico."
-Rasczak to Johnny Rico
Starship Troopers
Ten years searching in the deep forest
Today great laughter at the edge of the lake.
-Soen
"If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child,
I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this."
-Kitaro Nishida
Water which is too pure has no fish.
-Ts'ai Ken T'an
The Way is not difficult;
only there must be no wanting or not wanting.
-Chao-Chou
To set up what you like against what you dislike-
this is the disease of the mind.
-Seng-T'san
It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
-Ursula K. Le Guin
The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction however
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
-Seng-T'san
Life and love are life and love,
a bunch of violets is a bunch of violets,
and to drag in the idea of a point is to ruin everything.
Live and let live, love and let love, flower and fade,
and follow the natural curve, which flows on, pointless.
-D. H. Lawrence
A monk asked Chao-Chou,
"If a poor man comes, what should one give him?"
"He lacks nothing," answered the Master.
-Zen Mondo
If you cannot find the truth right where you are,
where else do you expect to find it?
-Dogden
The only Zen you find on the top of mountains
is the Zen you bring up there.
-Robert M. Pirsig
Wisdom is like a mass of fire-
it cannot be entered from any side.
Wisdom is like a clear cool pool-
it can be entered from any side.
-Nagarjuna
One day Chuang-Tzu and a friend were walking along a riverbank.
"How delightfully the fishes are enjoying themselves in the water!"
Chuang-Tzu exclaimed.
"You are not a fish," his friend said. "How do you know whether or not
the fishes are enjoying themselves?"
"You are not me," Chuang-Tzu said. "How do you know that I do not know
that the fishes are enjoying themselves?"
-Taoist Mondo
The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to
discover new ways of thinking about them.
-Bragg, Sir William
Having ones own thoughts is mandatory. Other ideas can help you open new
doors, but your thoughts still have to be your own. Only you can decide for
yourself what you believe.
-Albert S. Wang
"Choose your ground, choose your weapon, and face what is to come."
-Rebecca to Amanda
Methuselah's Stone, Highlander the Series
**Gather those you love at your side and in your heart.
Measure your relationships not by gifts that increase your possesions,
but by gifts that enrich your heart; loyalty, thoughtfulness,
caring and burden sharing.**
**Don't allow ignorance, fears or insecurities define what
you should do or can do. Challange limits and actions that are
impure and false; TRANSCEND THEM!**
-Unknown
Secret forces are bringing compatible spirits together.
If the man permits himself to be led by this ineffable
attraction, good fortune will come his way. When deep
friendships exist, formalities and elaborate preparations
are not necessary.
-from the I Ching c1150 B.C.
"Waiting 'til dawn light shines through my body
Wasting away another holy day
Washing the rooms in darkness unkindly
Stay with me, stay
Stay with me...
And I will give back to you all you bring to me
Rejoice in you, when you sing to me.
Capture the heart that once knew no passion
Pardon the soul its earthly mistakes
Lay me with you down, gently of fashion
Breath to me a Heavenly state.
Breath to me... a Heavenly state.
And I will give back to you all you bring to me
Rejoice in you, when you sing to me
Give back to you all you bring to me
Rejoice in you, when you sing to me..."
-Mary Dolan
Title track from "(Another) Holy Day"
"In the end only kindness matters."
-Jewel Kilcher
"Look at the things around you, the immediate world
around you. If you are alive, it will mean something
to you, and if you care enough about photography, and
if you know how to use it, you will want to photograph
that meaningness. If you let other people's vision get
between the world and your own, you will achieve that
extremely common and worthless thing, a pictorial
photograph."
-Paul Strand "The Art Motive in Photography" the British
Journal of Photography, 1923, p613.
"Know who you are, where you are going, and what you want. Then choose."
-Me (ASW)
July 1998
Only the ones who believe
Ever see what they dream
Ever dream what comes true
-Beth Nielsen Chapman
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind blow at your back,
May the sun shine warmly in your face
May the rain fall softly on your field
And until we meet again
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
-Ancient Gaelic Blessing
(courtesy of Sr. Meta Reid)
"There is this strange belief that we can't enjoy something once it's
popular. This seems cowardice to me. We should have the courage to
exalt that which moves us."
-Jewel
"Sitting here at the water's edge now that the storm has gone,
First time in years it feels like nothing's wrong,
There've been a lot of changes, I was so lost for a while,
Sitting here I remember how it's easy to smile..."
-Heather Nova
"Grow Young"
Live for yourself, share with others, give to the world.
-Albert S. Wang
"The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source
from which self-respect springs."
-Joan Didion
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.
-Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing
you will make one.
-Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
Spiritual maturity is a lifelong process of replacing lies with truth.
-Kurt D. Bruner
Throughout our lives, many seeds are planted in our hearts and minds
by many different people. These people will often try to cultivate
these seeds, but never forget that it is ALWAYS up to us to choose to
allow those seeds to grow.
-Cheryl Snider
The variety of choices that one has throughout life is governed
greatly by one's willingness to defend what they believe in their
heart to be true.
-Cheryl Snider
Believe what you say, and say what you believe.
-Cheryl Snider
The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking
what one has to do.
-James M. Barrie
A friend is someone who knows the song of your soul and sings it
back to you when you've forgotten the words.
-unknown
A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.
-Charles Darwin
In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.
-Arany, Janos
Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.
-- Demosthenes (384 B.C.-322 B.C.)
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act
rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those
because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
-Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it.
-Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
The actuality of thought is life.
-Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
The more you judge, the less you love.
-Honore de Balzac (1790-1850)
The highest form of wisdom is kindness.
-Linda Berman
It is never any good dwelling on goodbyes. It is not the being together
that it prolongs, it is the parting.
-Elizabeth Bibesco
"We can only judge what is right and proper by our own standards of
right and wrong, which differs widely from the whites if I have been
properly informed. The whites may do wrong all their lives, and then if
they are sorry for it when they die, all is well, but with us it is
different. We must continue to do good throughout our lives...according
to our custom even an enemy is safe when accepting our hospitality.
For my part I am of the opinion, that so far as we have reason, we have
a right to use it in determining what is right and wrong..If the Great
Spirit wished us to believe and do as the whites, He could easily
change our opinions so that we could see, think, and act as they do...
I believe that every man must make his own path."
-Black Hawk, Lakota Sioux, 1882
Only after the last tree has been cut down,
Only after the last river has been poisoned,
Only after the last fish has been caught,
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.
-- Cree Prophesy
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the
breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which
runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."
-- Crowfoot [Blackfoot warrior and orator] (1821-1890)
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
"Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his
response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it
doesn't matter."
-Lewis Carroll
We have no right to dictate through irresponsible action or narrow-
mindedness the future of our children and their children's children.
There has been enough destruction. Enough death. Enough waste. And it's
time that, together, we occupy a place beyond ourselves, our peoples,
that is worthy of them under the sun, the descendants of the children
of Abraham.
-- Hussein bin Talal [King of Jordan] (1935-1999)
"I just want the truth."
The Truth is out there, Agent Spender. Maybe you should find out for
yourself."
-Agent Jeffery Spender and Agent Fox Mulder
The X-Files
"I was in darkness, but I took three steps and
found myself in paradise. The first step was a good
thought, the second, a good word; and the third, a
good deed."
- Nietzche
"The Sharpest Sword"
On a certain day when the Buddha dwelt at Jetavana, a celestial deva came to
him in the shape of Brahman, whose countenance was bright and whose garments
were white as snow.
The deva asked the Buddha, "What is the sharpest sword? What is the
deadliest poison? What is the fiercest fire? What is the darkrkest night?"
The Buddha replied, "A word spoken in wrath is the sharpest sword;
covetousness is the deadliest poison; hatred is the fiercest fire; ignorance
is the darkest night."
The deva asked, "What is the greatest gain? What is the greatest loss? What
armor is invulnerable? What is the best weapon?"
The Buddha replied, "The greatest gain is to give to others; the greatest
loss is to receive without gratitude. Patience is an invulnerable armor;
wisdom is the best weapon."
The deva asked, "Who is the most dangerous thief? What is the most precious
treasure?"
The Buddha replied, "Unwholesome thought is the most dangerous thief; virtue
is the most precious treasure."
The deva asked, "What is attractive? What is unpleasant? What is the most
horrible pain? What is the greatest enjoyment?"
The Buddha replied, "Wholesomeness is attractive; unwholesomeness is
unpleasant. A bad conscience is the most tormenting pain; awakening is the
height of bliss."
The deva asked, "What causes ruin in the world? What breaks off friendships?
What is the most violent fever? Who is the best physician?"
The Buddha replied, "Ignorance causes ruin in the world; envy and
selfishness break off friendships; hatred is the most violent fever; the
Buddha is the best physician."
The deva then continued, "Now I have only one doubt to be cleared away: What
is it fire cannot burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind crush down, but is able
to benefit the whole world?"
The Buddha replied, "Blessing! Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can
destroy the blessing of a good deed, and blessings benefit the whole world."
Hearing these answers, the deva was filled with joy. Bowing down in respect,
he disappeared suddenly from the presence of the Buddha.
-- from "The Gospel of the Buddha" by Paul Carus
"Attitude is everything. It motivates action, which increases
productivity and improves morale, which perpetuates a positive
attitude."
Robert Urich
"We can change the world when we change ourselves.
And the energy of our consciousness, like the energy of all light, continues into the eternity.
When there is light in the soul there will be beauty in the person.
When there is beauty in the person there will be harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home there will order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation there will be peace in the world."
Chinese Proverb
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin
The curtailing of freedoms and basic rights in the name of security
whittles away at the very heart of liberty. By dismantling liberty,
we do to the very soul of this country what those who wish us harm could
never have done. We risk the very soul of our identity as a people.
-Me
No one can see past the choices they do not understand.
-the Oracle from Matrix Revolutions
Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it, to understand the `why.' `Why' is what
separates us from them, you from me. `Why' is the only real social power, without it you are
powerless. And this is how you come to me, without `why,' without power.
-the Merovingian to Neo, Matrix Reloaded
Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson, why? Why? Why do you do it? Why? Why get up? Why keep fighting?
Do you believe you're fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me
what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom, or truth, perhaps peace? Could it be for love?
Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception, temporary constructs of a feeble human
intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose.
And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself. Although... Only a human mind can invent
something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson, you must know it by
now. You can't win, it is pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson, why, why you persist?
Neo: Because I choose to.
-Smith and Neo from Matrix Revolutions
Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.
Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.
Approach it, and there is no beginning;
follow it, and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.
- from the Book of the Way
"I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I've seen the lunacy of fanatics of every
denomination be called the will of God. Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf
of those who cannot defend themselves. And goodness- what God desires, is here <points
to head> and here <points to heart>. By what you decide to do every day, you will be a
good man. Or not."
- Hospitaller to Balian from Kingdom of Heaven
"When I was sixteen I won a great victory. I felt in that moment that I should live to be
one hundred, now I know I shall not see thirty. You see, none of us choose our end really.
A king may move a man, a father may claim a son. But remember that, even when those who
move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand
before God you cannot say 'but I was told by others to do thus' or that 'virtue was not
convenient at the time'. This will not suffice. Remember that."
- King Baldwin IV to Balian from Kingdom of Heaven
"For me there are no forbidden things"; maybe, but not everything does good. I agree there are no
forbidden things for me, but I am not going to let anything dominate me.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
For more inspiring thoughts, also visit my Jewel Quotations page.
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| Last updated 12-08-05 by Albert S. Wang - Please send all suggestions and comments to: bahamude@yahoo.com |
| All designs and images are copyrighted 1994-2002 by Albert Wang and may not be reproduced or used without permission. |