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Volume 31, # 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2015 |
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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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On Liberal Education . . . . . . . . . . . Frank H.T. Rhodes, President, Cornell University, 11/16/1986
"…[W]e must strive to impart not just facts but encouragement and support for students to develop some philosophy of life; not just credentials, but commitment to large and noble goals; not just skills, but high ideals of personal and professional service. We must confess our own bewilderment and uncertainty. We must acknowledge our own limitations as we strive to explore the human condition and the human aspiration in all its richness and all its ambiguity. And we must encourage students to make not only intellectual, but also moral and ethical, sense of their world."
Importance of Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur Brisbane
"The man who is always killing time is really killing his own chances in life; while the man who is destined to succeed is the man who makes time live by making it useful,"
Do Your Best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabbi Zelig Pliskin,
Daily Lift #361, Gateway to Happiness, p.130"Our goal should be to keep improving ourselv
es, rather than ‘being the best.’
Someone who feels the need to be ‘the best’ should ask himself, ‘Why do I really have to be better than others? What is so awful if someone else is better than me in any given area?’
People who feel the need to be ‘the best’ often suffer much anxiety. They frequently tell themselves, ‘If I am not the best, then I am a failure. I am nothing.’
There is no basis for this. In ultimate terms, no human can really say who is best. Comparing yourself to anyone else is arbitrary – so why cause yourself misery by doing so?"
Missed Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Christophers, 3 Minutes A Day, #23
"So often we miss the opportunities that are ours today because we are busy looking back in sadness and sorrow at events that can’t be changed, or we look forward with such anxiety that we are unable to take advantage of the moment that is ours."
Be Truthful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edward R. Murrow
"To be persuasive, we must be believable.
To be believable, we must be credible.
To be credible, we must be truthful."
Rob From Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Will Rogers
"We’re just now learning that we can rob from nature the same way as we can rob from an individual. The pioneer thought it was nature he was living off of, but it was really future generations that he was living off of."
Discover the Divine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Josemaría Escrivá,
Conversations with Monsignor Escriva de Balaguer, #114"…[Y]ou must understand now, more clearly, that God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating theatre, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it."
One’s Regrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cameron Diaz
"When you’re old, they say that your regrets aren’t what you did, but what you did not do. So I like to take every opportunity that I can."
Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled, p. 33
"We cannot solve life’s problems except by solving them.…This is because we must accept responsibility for a problem before we can solve it. We cannot solve a problem by saying, ‘It’s not my problem.’ We cannot solve a problem by hoping that someone else will solve it for us. I can solve a problem only when I say, ‘This is my problem and it’s up to me to solve it.’"
Purpose of Prayer . . . . . . . . Sr. Ruth M. Fox, OSB, LIVING FAITH, 11/13/’91
"The purpose of prayer is not to convince some heartless god to have compassion on us and change the events of our lives. The purpose of prayer is to open and change our hearts so that we might see more clearly the direction we must go. Seeing the direction, prayer gives us the courage and strength to do what we can. We pray in order to not bend God’s will to our own, but to place our will in the hands of God."
Affirmation of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"In Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s words, if affirmation of life is genuine it will ‘demand from all that they should sacrifice a portion of their own lives for others.’"
On Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Denis Waitley
"Perfection is devastated by failure, while excellence learns from failure."
Shake It Off – Stomp It Down – Step Up
Bill Denton, Pulpit Helps, Aug. 1992, p. 19A parable is told of a farmer whose mule fell into an abandoned well. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the mule out of the well, the farmer decided it was a hopeless situation. With sadness, the farmer figured that the only humane thing to do would be to haul truckloads of dirt to bury the old mule, while filling in the dangerous well, at the same time.
He backed up the truck, and began to shovel in the dirt. The old mule, however, went berserk when the first load of dirt hit its back. That old mule started shaking off the dirt, stomping it down and stepping up a bit. Shovel full after shovel full caused the mule to shake off the dirt and firmly stomp it down. Truckload after truckload, the old mule repeated the same process. It shook off the dirt, stomped it down and stepped up a bit. Little by little, that mule was lifting itself out of the hole.
No matter how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought off panic when it realized that no matter how much was dumped on its back all it had to do was shake it off, stomp it down and step up. And, guess what? It wasn’t too long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, triumphantly stepped out of the well.
Have you ever noticed that there are different ways people have of dealing with the problems life dumps on them? If we respond to our problems positively, and refuse to panic, or fall further into bitterness and despair, the adversities that come along to bury us usually contain within them the potential to benefit and bless us! Rather than burying us, the adversities and criticisms can make us better, lifting us up, bit by bit.
The Salesman’s Temptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
An enthusiastic but somewhat unscrupulous salesman was waiting to see the purchasing agent of the engineering firm. The salesman was there to submit his company’s bid, or price quote, for a particular job.
He couldn’t help but notice, however, that a competitor’s bid was on the purchasing agent’s desk. Unfortunately, the actual figure was covered by a soda can. The temptation to see the amount quoted was too strong, so the salesman lifted the can. His heart sank as he watched thousands of BB’s pour from the bottomless can and scatter across the floor.
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Graphics used with permission from ChurchArt Online. They are not to be copied or downloaded.