|
|
 ®
Volume 27, # 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 2011 |
|
© |
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-1c.jpg)
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-2c.jpg)
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
download
PDF
Aspire to Decency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ted Koppel
"Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically you fail – as you surely will – adjust your lives, not the standards."
Add to Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sir William Osler
"We are here to add what we can to, not get what we can from, life."
Make It Happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR
"Something is going to happen today. Either, you are going to let something happen, or you are going to make something happen. One way or the other, something is going to happen today!"
Life – A Series of Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
"Life is a series of problems. Do we want to moan about them or solve them?
Yet it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems…It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Those things that hurt, instruct.’"
Reverence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAITH TODAY, 12-85
"It is somewhat synonymous with respect but goes beyond respect. The feeling of reverence provokes for me quiet listening, of being open and aware of God. Reverence encompasses awe and mystery."
Grow Great by Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woodrow Wilson
"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dream die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."
Wisdom Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
"Delays, disappointments and defeats cause quitters to give up in resignation; losers, to give in the frustration; winners, to come through with determination."
Mark of Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."
Open to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernest Kurtz, et al, The Spirituality of Imperfection, 142
"Everyone loves to teach, but rarely do any of us take unsought advice well, and even more rarely are we truly teachable. Being teachable means being open to learn. In order to learn, one must listen, and we learn to listen only if we know the most important thing – that we do not know everything, that we do not have ‘all the answers.’"
Ounce of Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mahatma Gandhi
"An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching."
Opportunity to Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William James
"No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one’s sentiment may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one’s character may remain entirely unaffected for the better."
Grace to Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Thomas More
"The things, good Lord, that I pray for, give me your grace to labor for."
Communication Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annette Simmons, The Story Factor, p. 102
"Tone…is the most important aspect of your oral communication. Ultimately your tone will override every message your gestures, body language, or the words of your story sends.…Your tone communicates the emotion and thus the scene of your story.
Most important, the overall tone of your story makes or breaks your power to influence. If your overall tone communicates resentment, self-righteousness, anger, arrogance or low self-esteem, people put up walls. Any negative emotions that you feel toward your listeners – lack of respect, anger, or disillusionment – overlays your story with a negative. Clear up these issues before you tell your story. Don’t try to work on your tone – work on your feelings and your tone will follow. It is a losing battle to fake a positive tone.…"
Inconsolable Regret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney J. Harris
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time;
it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
Group Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coach Vince Lombardi
"Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."
In the Here and Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Brodie, The Rubicon Dictionary of Positive Quotations
"A player’s effectiveness is directly related to his ability to be right there, doing that thing in the moment.…He cannot be worrying about the past, or the future, or the crowd, or some other extraneous event. He must be able to respond in the here and now."
Thanksgiving Proclamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gov. William Bradford
Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made this first Thanksgiving Proclamation three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.
Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."
Gift of Wonder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rev. Alfred McBride, O. Praem., The Priest, Oct. ‘87, p.26
"Each year, God asks us to shed one more coat of awareness, one more dream state and come alive to the vision of God’s plan for each of us and the world-at-large.
The older we get, the harder this is to do. As children we had a sense of wonder. Our eyes were wide open and drinking in the fascinating gifts we beheld…Our thirsty souls could not have enough of the wonders of creation.
Then, somehow, we grew too old to dream. We tired of the abundance of the world, or at least grew weary of keeping up with the feast of life, and stepped away from the banquet of life.
The natural gift of wonder God gave us as children was meant to be kept alive.…Instead we let wonder go to sleep. We entered the typical dream state of most humans.
Why else does Jesus tell us today, ‘Stay awake!’…Advent says, ‘Wake up and realize the gifts of love you have received.’
…Psychology says, ‘Let go.’ Spirituality says, ‘Wake up.’ In both cases there is a withdrawal from the busyness of daily life (our dream state) and a waking up to the subconscious and spiritual depths of ourselves."
Apple images are from ClickArt Incredible Image Pak 65,000 Broderbund, Inc.
Graphics used with permission from ChurchArt Online. They are not to be copied or downloaded.