A human being is a part of the whole called by us “universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling 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 to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
-Albert Einstein
Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment.
-Arthur Jersild
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying “I will try again tomorrow.”
-Mary Ann Radmacher
Brene Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
For those of you have been told you are not good enough:
Jill Bolte Taylor: “My Stroke of Insight”
Watch this inspiring video by a neuroscientist describing her experience of having a stroke and the lessons it taught her about how we can choose to live our lives.
My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which have never happened.
-Mark Twain
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
-HH the Dalai Lama
A child needs your love the most when he deserves it the least.
-Erma Bombeck
We frail humans are at one time capable of the greatest good and, at the same time, capable of the greatest evil. Change will only come about when each of us takes up the daily struggle in ourselves to be more forgiving, compassionate, loving, and above all joyful in the knowledge that, by some miracle of grace, we can change as those around us can change too.
-Mairead Maguire
At night I walked along the shore where so many spend the day gathering shells for their collections. A woman walked among the starfishes that waves and tide had stranded on the beach, picking up each tenderly and casting it out to sea. I haled her and asked, “With so many millions left dying along these sands night after night after night, what difference can you possibly make?” She gathered up another and arched it high over the water. “I made a difference for that one.” Silently I sought and picked up a still-living star, spinning it far out into the waves.
-Loren Eiseley (1907-1977), adapted from The Star Thrower
Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.
-Martin Luther King
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
-Viktor Frankl
When you are angry, you are going to make the best speech you will ever regret.
-William Ury
“An Autobiography in Five Chapters”
by Portia Nelson
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in, again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I fall in… it’s a habit… but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down a different street.
A Cherokee Moral Story
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He Said “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
“One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
“The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which one wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
A Fable About Blessings and Thankfulness
I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.” I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.
Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The angel then said to me, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.” I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.” How is it that there is no work going on here?” I asked. “So sad,” the angel sighed. “After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.”
“How does one acknowledge God’s blessings?” I asked. “Simple,” the angel answered. Just say, “Thank you, Lord.” “What blessings should they acknowledge?” I asked.
“If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.
“If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
“And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.”
“If you woke up this morning with more health than illness… You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. ”
“If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation … You are ahead of 700 million people in the world.
“If you can attend a place of worship without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.
“If you can hold your head up and smile, you’re unique to all those in doubt and despair…”
Make it a practice to be thankful for 5 blessings every day and see how it can change your view on life and how you feel.