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Volume 28, # 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2013 |
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![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-1c.jpg)
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-2c.jpg)
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
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Diligence to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abigail Adams
"Learning is not attained by chance, it has to be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence."
Before You Speak… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
T Is it truthful?
H Is it helpful?
I Is it inspiring?
N Is it necessary?
K Is it kind?"
Never Too Late . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henry David Thoreau
"It is never too late to give up your prejudices."
Christian ‘Carpe Diem’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI,
Angelus Message – 1/27/2013"…[E]very moment can become a ‘today’ that is propitious for our conversion. Every day (kathermeran) can become the today of salvation because salvation is the story that continues for the Church and for each disciple of Christ. This is the Christian sense of ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day): welcome the today in which God calls you to grant you salvation!"
The Golden Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Frank Crane
"The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize that it is your move."
A Better Way to Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino,
p. 96"R
ULE ELEVEN…Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will erase your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat of the moment. Banish tension and concern and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind the think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously."
Gifted For Something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marie Curie,
Bits & Pieces, 9/`79, p. 14"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."
Evil Never Conquers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"Evil often triumphs but never conquers."
‘Refusal to Remember’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Czeslaw Milosz
Upon receiving his Nobel Prize for Literature Czeslaw Milos commented, "Our planet that gets smaller every year, with its fantastic proliferation of mass media, is witnessing a process that escapes definition, characterized by a refusal to remember."
Many Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Dent
"As you go through life you are going to have many opportunities to keep your mouth shut. Take advantage of all of them."
When We Forgive… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lewis B. Smedes,
Forgive & Forget, p. 38"When you forgive the person who hurt you deeply and unfairly, you perform a miracle that has no equal.…
When we forgive someone, we do not forget the hurtful acts, as if forgetting came along with the forgiveness package…Begin with basics, if you forget, you will not forgive at all. You can never forgive people for things you have forgotten about. You need to forgive precisely because you have not forgotten what someone did; your memory keeps the pain alive long after the actual hurt has stopped. Remembering is your storage of pain. It is why you need to be healed in the first place."
Celtic Spirituality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esther de Waal,
WEAVINGS, II, # 3"Celtic spirituality was a practice in which ordinary people in their daily lives took the tasks that lay to hand but treated them sacramentally, as pointing to a greater reality which lay beyond them. It is an approach to life which we have been in danger of losing, this sense of allowing the extraordinary to break in on the ordinary. Perhaps it is something which we can rediscover, something which Celtic spirituality can give to us if we would let it renew our vision by teaching our eyes to see again, our ears to hear, our hands to handle."
Obstacles as Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous,
Successories, Spring 2003, p. 7"Excellence is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities."
Quest for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kouses & Pozner,
The Leadership Challenge, p. 29"…[T]he root origin of the word lead is a word meaning ‘to go.’ This root origin denotes travel from one place to another. Leaders can be said to be those who ‘go first.’ They are those who step out to show others the direction in which to lead. They begin the quest for a new order.…
By comparison, the root origin of manage is a word meaning ‘hand.’ Managing seems to connote ‘handling’ things. Managers tend to focus on control and maintenance of status quo. A major difference between management and leadership can be found in the root meanings of the words, the difference between what it means to handle things and what it means to go places. The unique reason for having leaders – their differentiating function – is to move us forward. Leaders get us going someplace."
An Irish Blessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Andrew Greeley,
The Irish, p. 57
As determined as the river racing by,
As soft as the cry of the mourning dove,
As sweet and subtle as a lover’s sigh,…
As resolute as the sun rising each day,
As certain as the return each year of spring.
May it break through the darkling clouds
And confirm you against every evil thing.
May Jesus and Mary and Patrick and Brigid
Strengthen your faith and hope and love,
And may God bless you…
Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Doubts are Traitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Shakespeare,
Measure for Measure", Act 1, scene iv"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt."
Original Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Twain
"If you think you have an original idea, you probably forgot where you read it."
Overcome Adversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lou Coach Holtz
"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity."
Have I Misdirected Others . . . . . .
Source Unknown, Sower’s Seeds That Nurture Family Value, p. 101
As an old man was lying on his death bed, it was clear to his pastor that something was troubling him. Finally, the old man broke the silence, "When I was a youngster," he said, "I played a prank that haunts me to this day. One day I twisted the highway route signs in opposite directions so the arrows would direct travelers in the wrong direction.
"I wonder, as I lie here now, how many people I misdirected by that action – and, I wonder, how many I misdirected by the actions of my life?"
Recognize The Flaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
There were troubles in the land – manners, morals, courtesy and respect were forgotten. The king sought advice from the wise, holy man who lived in the forest on what he could do to restore the kingdom. This is the wisdom the holy man told the king:
"A man cannot be redeemed until he recognizes the flaws in his soul and tries to mend them." He continued, "Also, a nation cannot be redeemed until it recognizes the flaws in its soul and tries to mend them. Whoever permits no recognition of his flaws, be it man or nation, permits no redemption. We can be redeemed to the extent to which we recognize ourselves."
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