Apple Seeds^® begins its thirty-eighth year of sowing "seeds" of inspiration and motivation. The intent of this publication is to provide quotations and short stories from eclectic sources that promote positive attitudes and personal development of holistic human potential — from tiny seeds to ripened fruit. Your favorite quotes, stories or suggestions that would enhance Apple Seeds^® are appreciated.

     "The aim of common learning is the understanding of oneself and a capacity for sound judgment…which brings purpose and meaning to human lives. Who am I? What is the purpose of life? What are my obligations to others; what are theirs to me?"

     "O God, for this new day now dawning, make me an optimist. Although there are signs of hope surrounding me, sometimes I see only the negative, the imperfections, the decay. Teach me to refocus on the marvelous possibilities, the great potentialities, the vibrant new life which fills my world each new day. Whenever my vision is darkened by pessimism, open my eyes, Lord, to the light of hope. Amen."

Our Chief Want  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Our chief want in life is somebody who can make us do what we can.
That is the service of a friend."

     "One of the most wonderful and exciting facts about your life is that whatever has gone before is merely prelude to what is going to happen to you in the future. There are no limitations on what you can be, do or have, except for the limitations you place on your mind. You have enormous reserves of capacity and potential and talent that you’ve never even come close to using. Those reserves lie within you, dormant, and are waiting for you to unlock them and bring them into every part of your life."

Values that Govern  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Wells

"The fate of people and nations is determined by the values that govern their decisions."

     "…there is one moment in life that towers above all others and summons us, heart and soul, to urgent prayer. The moment when, after a more or less carefree youth, a person fully realizes for the first time the grave choice before him or her: what meaning, what content, what direction do I want my life as a whole to have? I can choose or refuse my mission, my vocation. Fancy or caprice cannot be allowed to dictate the decision; it must be made only on reference to my first beginning and my final goal. I must implore God’s light. Show me Lord, what the meaning of my life should be."

Fail/Succeed  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theodore Roosevelt

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
In this life we get nothing save by effort."

Find Happiness  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Stuart Mill

     "Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way."

"Do a few good turns to others today.
You won’t get dizzy.

     "If our entire society is to be revitalized, it will depend on what we as individual Americans are willing to do on our own, in association with others, and how willing we are to extend ourselves beyond our own personal interests."

     "I used to try to be like my friends. But it never worked. Then one day, I realized something great! I didn’t have to be like anyone else. I’m the best me there could ever be. I’m special. There’s no one else like me. I’m one of a kind. I’ve been created by God for a purpose. There’s a reason I am on this earth. When I stopped trying to be like everybody else, and started feeling good about me, everything changed."

Sharing the Gospel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE DAILY WALK

"If we are not sharing the Gospel with others,
we have not truly heard it ourselves."

• Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
• Never trouble another with what you can do yourself.
• Never spend your money before you have it.
• Never buy a thing you do not want because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
• Take care of your cents. Dollars will take care of themselves.
• Pride costs more than hunger, thirst or cold.
• We never repent of eating too little.
• Nothing is troublesome that one does willingly.
• How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
• Take things always by the smooth handle.
• Think so as to please, and so let others, and you will have no disputes.
• When angry, count to 10 before you speak, if very angry, count to 100.

More than a list of maxims, these canons show Jefferson’s high regard for perseverance, moderation, patience and respect for others. Cultivating these virtues, today, may be even harder than in the time of this statesman and scholar, but they are still invaluable guides to the good life.

Wisdom  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salada tea bag

"Wisdom is the ability
to discover alternatives."

The Fine Details  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J. Willard Marriott

     "It’s the little things that make the big things possible. The close attention to the fine details of any operation…makes that operation first class."

     Picking up a lovely shell from the early morning’s tidal pool, a young woman said, "I shall name you Island Shell. I cannot live forever on this island, on my vacation. But I can take you back to my desk in my office.

     You will sit there and fasten upon me images and vision of the sea. You will help me think of the island I lived on for a few weeks. You will say to me solitude.

     You will remind me that I must try to be alone for part of the year, even a week or a few days; and for a part of each day, even for an hour or a few minutes in order to keep my core, my heart-center, my island quality. You will remind me that unless I keep the island quality intact somewhere within me, I will have little to give to my friends to the world.

     You will remind me that I must relax, be still, as the axis of a wheel, in the midst of my activities; that I must be the pioneer in achieving this stillness, not only for my own salvation, but for the salvation of family life, of society, perhaps even of our civilization."