Inspiration, Motivation, Spiritual, Quotations, Quotes, Hope, Encouragement, Stories, Apple Seeds

"Love flows from person to person or it does not flow at all. It is not communicated by institutions or organizations but by the people who comprise them.

Love is communicated in what we do. But too often, fear gets in the way of love.…fear of the unknown, fear of danger, fear of loss.

There are many reasons we fail to love and they are familiar reasons pride, anger, jealousy, envy, lust, sloth, gluttony.

Habits of an Irish King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bits & Pieces, Vol. 20, #3, March '87

"In ancient times, an Irish king was asked how he had achieved his station in life. Said he: ‘I was a listener in woods, I was a gazer at stars, I was blind where secrets were concerned, I was silent in a wilderness, I was talkative among many, I was mild in the mead-hall, I was stern in battle, I was gentle toward allies, I was a physician to the sick, I was weak toward the feeble, I was strong toward the powerful, I did not deride the old though I was young, I would not speak of anyone in his (or her) absence, I would not reproach, but I would praise, I would not ask, but I would give, for it is through these habits that the young become old and kingly warriors.’"

On Scrupulosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vauvenargues

"There are those who are so scrupulously afraid of doing wrong that they seldom venture to do anything."

Treasury of Irish Folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Padraic Colum

"For most of us the picture of a white-bearded personage banishing a wriggling snake covers a great deal of what we know about Saint Patrick. However, [t]here were never any snakes in Ireland, and so our saint was under no necessity to banish them. Now the Norse word for toad is paud; coming to Ireland they noticed there were no such creatures there. They heard of a man whose name was Paudrig, and they thought that this meant ‘toad-expeller,’ and out of this misunderstanding came the legend of Patrick’s banishing not only toads but snakes. Of course that helped to add veneration to his name, for the snake was the emblem of evil. And so the most popular of the stories about Ireland’s apostle has a Norse and not an Irish origin.

We have got to get past both the shamrock and the snake to perceive what sort of man the apostle really was. He was a man of great conviction, great energy, great charity; he combined great visionary power with a practical sense and a soldierly audacity; he could have been a good general and a remarkable poet. He was a saint because he loved men and loved God."

The Fisherman’s Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rev. Wm A. Anderson, In His Light, p. 37

"There was a newspaper account about a man who had fallen through the ice while fishing. While he struggled and screamed from the water, he saw a man rushing across the ice with a rope over his shoulder. In a few moments, that man had the fisherman out of the water and on his way to the hospital. The man left the half-frozen fisherman in the ER, shook his hand and said, Someday you may find someone in need, and help that person because of today.’ Only after the man left did the fisherman lightning bolt - make a difference

realize that he didn’t even know his rescuer’s name.

The fisherman told a reporter that encountering this man had changed his life. As he lay in the hospital nervously realizing that he could have been a frozen corpse at the bottom of the lake, he wondered what he would have done if someone else needed his help. ‘Never get involved if you don’t have to,’ had been his life’s slogan. He thanked God that his rescuer did not have the same slogan to guide his life. This fisherman now determined to erase that attitude from his life, to reach out and share with people. He marveled at how the kindness and courage of one man who passed through his life for a little more than an hour, had transformed his life."

Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!