Miscellaneous sayings and poems
Love: A Variation on a Theme
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love, I am a housekeeper not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love, my children learn of cleanliness — not Godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before It wipes up spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before It picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the
child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adult hood.
Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart.
before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child.
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the
greatest of all is love.
Jo Ann Merrell
‘Be who you are and say what you feel…
Because those that matter… don’t mind…
And those that mind… don’t matter.’
Happiness keeps you Sweet,
Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrows keep you Human,
Failures keep you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing ,
But Only Friends Keep You Going!
“There are no accidents in life; everything is a blessing and a gift straight from Heaven when we just keep calm and neutral and have complete trust in God.” – Victor Villaseñor
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.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Blaming others for the pain we feel each time someone fails to live up to our expectations is no different than burning our tongue on coffee that’s too hot to swallow, and then calling our cup an idiot! – Guy Finley CelebrateLove.com/expectations
I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result, not only for ourselves, but also for the society to which we belong. I generally refer to this sort of love and affection as a universal religion. Everyone needs it, believers as much as non-believers. This attitude constitutes the very basis of morality. Dalai Lama
“God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas, but for scars.” – Elbert Hubbard (American businessman, writer, printer.)
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” -Ayn Rand
Deep within ourselves there is no separateness, no conflict, no confusion. In our true Being – we are One.
Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free in your head..
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Changing The World
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.
-unknown monk 1100A.D
The highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity. Choose right over wrong, ethic over convenience, and truth over popularity.
Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change. And when we are right, make us easy to live with. ~ Peter Marshall
“The difference between average people and highly effective people is that they are much better organized when they work, than others. Excellent personal and professional organization is a hallmark of highly effective and well paid people.” – Brian Tracy
Nothing separates successful people from unsuccessful people more than how they use their time.” – John Maxwell
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” ~ William Arthur Ward
Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who YOU are.
Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” -Ayn Rand
The compassion we feel normally is biased and mixed with attachment. Genuine compassion flows towards all living beings, particularly your enemies. If I try to develop compassion towards my enemy, it may not benefit him directly, he may not even be aware of it. But it will immediately benefit me by calming my mind. On the other hand, if I dwell on how awful everything is, I immediately lose my peace of mind. Dalai Lama
Loyalty is the desire to defend someone when they are not there to defend themselves.
The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.
Kill nothing but time… Leave nothing but footprints… Take nothing but pictures… Keep nothing but memories…
Do not worry about people talking “behind your back”, it just means that you are one step ahead of them, and they are exactly in the right direction to kiss your @$$!
A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS JUST BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE BOX :
1.) EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK .
2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.
3.) WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.
4.) IN LIFE , YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENINGS, WHICH WILL ONLY MAKE YOU BETTER.
5.) TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.
We all need to be constantly sharpened. This parable may encourage you to know that you are a special person, with unique God-given talents and abilities. Only you can fulfill the purpose which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot be changed and, like the pencil, always remember that the most important part of who you are, is what’s inside of you and then allow yourself to be guided by the hand of God.
“If you write, paint, dance, play music, or engage in sports, you know there is a state of awareness you enter where the small sense of self disappears and Something Greater moves through you.” – Alan Cohen
If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” ~ Lao Tzu
“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.” – Pema Chodron
“When you were born, you were never interested in being right or superior to others. The true, unconditioned self wants cooperation rather than competition.” – Michael Chase
Being the richest person in the world must be fun but it saves you from Nothing. Not loneliness, confusion, regret, sorrow or time’s passing.
Refuse to ever use the term “failure” again about yourself or anyone else. Remind yourself that when things didn’t go as planned you didn’t fail, you only produced a result. Then ask yourself this powerfully life-enhancing question, “What am I going to do with the results I’ve produced?” And proceed to act in such a way as to be grateful rather than resentful for those less than glorious results. – Dr. Wayne Dyer
Your mistakes should be your motivation, not your excuses
The Path of a Cynic: start by chronic faultfinding. Then become a grumbler. Degenerate into a growler. If one can growl long enough, you’ve probably become a cynic, and you’ve reached bottom. There’s nothing lo…wer than a cynic and is of no account, either to himself or anyone else. He is a nuisance and a stumblingblock. He’s become twisted and sour. God save us from the Path of the cynic.
Well-behaved women seldom make history” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Conceit is a cloak that shames the person who wears it.
WHEN THE POWER OF LOVE OVERCOMES THE LOVE OF POWER, THEN THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE WORLD.
It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are without any self deception or illusion that a light will develop out of events by which the path of success may be recognized. I Ching
To listen anothers soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another. Douglas Steen
Redheads are Karma’s bodyguards!
Prayer: the original form of wireless communication.
Determination: Find a way, or MAKE ONE!
Question everything. Ignorance is the most expensive thing you will ever pay for
When we choose not to focus on what’s missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present…we experience heaven on earth.”
Those who dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity,” said T.E. Lawrence, (Lawrence of Arabia), “But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.”
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller
INTEGRITY It is not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong; Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich; Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned; And not what we profess, but what we practice that gives us Integrity. ~Anonymous
You are where you are in life because that is where YOU have chosen to be. If you don’t like it, then kwitchyerbitchin and DO something about it. Events in life are neutral. The way you react to them make them good or bad.
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have planty of music.It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music. George Eliot
Instead of condemning people, let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness. To know all is forgive all. ~Dale Carnegie
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Oscar Wilde
When your mind runs from the past and races to the future it forgets the present. And, the present is the balm that heals the mind of problems.” – Dr. Frank J. Kinslow
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs
Being infinitely patient means having an absolute knowing that you’re in vibrational harmony with the all-creating force that intended you here. You know that everything will happen at just the right time, at just the right place, with just the right people. – Dr. Wayne Dyer
People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you a…re kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
– Mother Teresa
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”– Albert Camus
Australian poet Maureen Weiner:
We have a dream inside ourselves
A gift to us at birth
To guide and protect us
On our journey on this earth
We all have something special
…Each one of us unique
You have to find the courage
To find the peace you seek
So dream your dream and live your dream
Don’t be afraid to try
Just take your soul by the hand
And let your spirit fly!
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to,something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is:it must be something you cannot possibly do!”Henry Moore
Attitudes are contagious, are yours worth catching?
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Charles A. Beard
Enthusiasm moves the world. ~J. Balfour
Imagination is the highest kite one can fly. ~Lauren Bacall
Worldwide communication—People smile in the same language.
Fear is the prison of the heart.
Hope is a waking dream. ~Aristotle
Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
A good archer is not known by his arrows, but by his aim. What is your aim in life?
Work is the yeast that raises the dough.
As long as America blesses God, God will bless America.
The best ability is dependability.
Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.
One is judged by what he finishes, not by what he starts.
Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
Patience unlocks the door to achievement.
Victory belongs to the most persevering.
Laughter by definition is healthy.
Beauty without virtue is like a flower without perfume.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Your attitude determines your altitude.
Never lose a chance at saying a kind word.
If you keep your nose to the grindstone rough
And hold it down there long enough,
In time you’ll say there’s no such thing
As brooks that babble and birds that sing.
These three things will your world compose:
Just you, the stone, and your bloody nose.
Imitate the sundial’s ways; count only the pleasant days.
A compliment is a vitamin in words.
Doing what you like is freedom; liking what you do is happiness.
A test of good manners is being able to bear patiently with bad ones.
People are beautiful if you love them.
Experience teaches only the teachable.
Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the year.
The future comes one day at a time.
On two occasions you should be careful to keep your mouth shut: when swimming and when angry.
What I will be I am now becoming.
Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. ~Moody
How do you live your life if you are ruled by your past. How do you let go of a past that made you. The Lazarus Project
WAIT why am I talking
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was you. Lewis Smede
Often the hands will solve a mystery that intellect has struggled wth in vain. Carl Jung
Don’t polish brass on the bandwagon.
Heart – God’s Servant; Head – Satan’s lawyer
If you pursue revenge, dig two graves. ~Mark Twain
Fragrance is the forgiveness that the violet sheds on the heel that crushed it.
You have no problems. You only think you do.
We make the wounds of our past as calling cards that keep us bonded to the past. Wayne Dyer
Coincidence = Synchronicity
When you make peace with yourself you take a hard look at everything you have ever done and you remind
yourself that you needed all those experiences in order to provide you with the energy to propel yourself to a higher
spiritual frequency. Eventually you acknowledge that virtually every spiritual advance is preceded by a disaster of
some kind, and that all of the unwanted events of your life were necessary. Why? Because they occurred, and
there are no accidents in this intelligent system we call our universe.
If you are better than you used to be that is a reason enough to make peace with yourself.
When we are so wounded that nothing else will avail; when we can find nothing within the ego’s bag of tricks that will restore meaning or sanity to our lives, then we will reluctantly go to our souls. Robert Johnson
And in the darkest moment, when we are sure there is no hope, we receive the grace of release from longing.
We are not human beings on a spiritual path; We are spiritual beings on a human path. Jean Shinoda Bolen
You help the world when you help yourself.
Family Planning: The art of spacing your children the proper distance to keep you on the edge of financial disaster.
There are 3 ways to get things done: Do it yourself, Hire someone to do it, FORBID your kids to do it.
OW: the first world spoken by children with older siblings.
Blessed is the parent who expects no gratitude for he shall not be disappointed.
I used to have a number of theories on raising children. Now I have a number of children and no theories.
I do not want my life to be perceived as nothing more than noise, but as beautiful music that inspires, soothes, and uplifts.
Our greatest ideas come to us in silence and solitude where the whisper of intuition can only be discerned above the shout of intellect and the raucousness of reason.
Help yourself and Heaven will help you. Jean De La Fontaine
Generosity often requires you to care more about others than some believe is wise.
Feed and educate the poor and poverty will starve to death.
An honest man is someone you can play checkers with over the phone.
Live slightly beneath your means as Shakespeare’s king Lear advised. Have more than thou showest.
You can make more friends in 2 months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in 2 years by trying to get them interested in you. Dale Carnegie
If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them their sorrows know how to swim.
Regarding Contracts: read carefully. Remember the big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
Too many people are spending money they havent earned to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.
By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach. Winston Churchill
Those who spend most of their time making and hoarding money often find the things they want most cannot be bought.
Every day we are given stones. But what do we build? Is it a bridge or a wall?
Happiness is nothing more than health and poor memory. Albert Schweitzer
Luck is what happens when luck meets opportunity.
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they are lost.
Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster and do it with no thoughts of any reward. Your life will never be the same. Og Mandino
To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.
Parents: People who bear infants, bore teenagers, and board newlyweds.
At times kids can be a pain in the neck, when they’re not being a lump in your throat.
History has demonstrated time and again that reprisal only accelerates and intensifies conflict.
Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. Benjamin Disraeli
The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas wont keep. Something must be done about them. Alfred North Whitehead
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. Samuel Johnson
The highest reward for man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it. John Ruskin
Try not to become a man of success but rather a man of value. Albert Einstein
You gain strength courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face… you must do the one thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt
All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Thomas Edison
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been. Wayne Gretzky
It is neither wealth nor splendor but tranquility and occupation which give happiness. Thomas Jefferson
The behavior of some children suggests that their parents embarked on the sea of matrimony without a paddle.
As long as you keep a person down, somepart of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might. Marian Anderson
You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself. Ethel Barrymore
Angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly. G. K. Chesterton
Music is well said to be the speech of angels. Thomas Carlyle
Inspiration is the alignment of our talents with God’s purpose.
Fill the cup of happiness for others, and there will be enough overflowing to fill yours to the brim. Rose Pastor Stokes
Things only get better over time when those with generosity of vision bring about change; otherwise things tend to stay the same or get worse.
Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. Buddha
Generosity, like patience, must be consistent and continuous, otherwise it is merely occasional tolerance.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
Generosity is throwing someone a rope and taking the trouble to hold on to the other end.
Always keep your feet on the ground, in case someone needs to lean on you.
If you’re not close enough to get hurt, you’re not close enough to make a difference in someone’s life.
Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle. Helen Keller
If you were arrested for generosity, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Every time we perform a generous act, a star shines brighter. How many galaxies will you have illumined when you die?
The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have shown you kindness and generosity.
If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. Bob Hope
Remember that there is no happiness in having or getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. Og Mandino
The responsibility of tolerance lies in those who have the wider vision. George Eliot
Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing. Quincy Jones
He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help. Abraham Lincoln
Follow your passion; the ungenerous people are the way they are because they are compensating for the fact that they have travelled so far away from their passion that it is almost out of sight.
How many things are there in this world which you do not need; how many of these do you already own?
God does not ask your ability or your inability. He asks only your availability Mary Kay Ash
Hoarding is like holding your breath; generosity is like breathing out.
If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.
Anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given. Deepak Chopra
If we had to carry all our money, no one would have more than they could carry.
The purpose of life is discovering the things you are good at; the meaning of life is sharing them.
While humans clog up their life with junk, every other animal is busy living.
To know the value of generosity, it is necessary to have suffered from the cold indifference of others. Eugene Cloutier
Few rich men own their things. The things own them.
Generosity in words creates confidence, generosity in thinking creates depth, but generosity in feeling creates love.
It is no coincidence that when giving to someone we say, “Here,” because we are truly living in the present and making full use of that moment.
One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each others stories. Rebecca Falls
If you don’t like someone, make a point of getting to know them better.
If the world is to grow to its full potential, we must encourage each other with generosity, sincerity, and intelligence.
Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him. Simone Weil
A generous person has the ability to listen to somebody that they have nothing in common with and still be fascinated with their presence.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia
The most basic of human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Ralph Nichols
Listen to your head and your heart. If they disagree, follow your heart.
Possessions are like grains of sand; we can fill our pockets with them or share them to create a beautiful beach.
Be generous to everyone, young and old, weak and strong, because some day in your life you will have been all of these.
Generosity is like a radar that see through the fog of inequality, poverty and injustice.
A selfish person is like a bird who spends his life walking because he doesn’t want to use his wings.
In everyone’s life, at some point, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. Albert Schweitzer
The most solid comfort one can fall back on is the thought that the business of one’s life is to help in some small way to reduce the sum of ignorance, degradation, and misery on the face of this beautiful earth. George Eliot
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music. George Eliot
We are all a little weird, life’s a little weird, and when someone else’s weirdness is compatible with yours we call it…love 🙂
Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression. Margaret Langer
I am not eccentric. It’s just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel in a pond of goldfish. Dame Edith Sitwell
I could never tell where inspiration begins and impulse leaves off. I suppose the answer is in the outcome. If your hunch proves a good one, you were inspired; if it proves bad, you are guilty of yielding to thoughtless impulse. Beryl Markham
Women are repeatedly accused of taking them personally. I cannot see any other honest way of taking them. Marya Mannes
If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. Katharine Hepburn
Sometimes I wonder if men and women suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. Katharine Hepburn
Good communication is stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. Anne Morrow Lindbergh
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain:
If I can ease one life of aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. Emily Dickinson
A man when he is making up to anybody can be cordial and gallant and full of little attentions and altogether charming. But when a man really is in love he can’t help looking like a sheep. Agatha Christie
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. Oprah Winfrey
How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than set out and create it herself. Anais Nin
Comedy is tragedy plus time. Carol Burnett
Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of deadness. Shakti Gawain
There IS a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. Sophia Loren
In youth we learn, in age we understand. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach