challenge
Shared Wisdom: Words from Wise Ones
Here is an eclectic mix of wise sayings that have come from here, there, and everywhere!
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”. (Audrey Hepburn)
“We all move toward the ego, and we even solidify it as we get older if something doesn’t expose it for the lie that it is: not because it is bad, but because it thinks it is the whole enchilada! (Richard Rohr)
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” (Maria Robinson)
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (Howard Thurman)
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children …….. to leave the world a better place ………. to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each and everyone of us.” (Dorothy Day)
“God will find us, bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure ……….God will find a way to let us know that He is with us in this place, wherever we are.” (Kathleen Norris)
“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.” (Herb Caen)
“If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth.” (Anthony de Mello)
“Do you know why the mighty God of the universe chooses to answer prayer? It is because His children ask. God delights in our asking. He is pleased at our asking. His heart is warmed by our asking.” (Richard J. Foster)
“In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the couch, talking and wondering where the time went.” (Anonymous)
“She said she used to cry everyday, not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful, and life was so short.” (Brian Andreas)
Enough, enough or I shall drown in the beauty of words! Don’t you just love the way they run off the end of the pen in someone’s hand, or appear on the computer screen at the insistence of someone’s fingers flying across a keyboard? It never ceases to amaze me that the wit or humor or intelligence contained in a person’s brain just flows out onto paper in some fashion or another. And then, I get to read it, soak it in, and share it on to others.
Shared Wisdom: The Voices of Others
There are many moments along my path when I have to acknowledge the influence that others have had on my journey. So many times these various pearls of wisdom have led me on a detour or returned me to the “straight and narrow”. Here are a few gems that I would like to offer you today.
“Spiritual life is not listening to the murmurings of the world but to that inner voice.” (Sue Sikking)
“Don’t compare your life with others’. You have no idea what their journey is about. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.” (Anonymous)
“Right here and now, this very day, you have the power to think, the power to dream, the power to make decisions, the power to create, to learn, to influence others, to change things, to experience and enjoy. On top of all that, you have the power to invent, to innovate, to change your mind, to understand, and to move in a new direction.
You have the power to persevere, to work with discipline and focus, to manage your time, to recognize opportunities, to take responsibility and to act responsibly, to solve problems, to effectively utilize your resources, and to make a positive difference in your world.
Some people take these very same powers and achieve great things. Others live as if they didn’t even know they had them. Still others destroy the value of their own positive, living powers by directing them toward negative pursuits.
You have the power to do great things. How will you make use of that power today? It is an incredible opportunity and an awesome responsibility. It is real and it is yours. Challenge yourself to transform that power, with your thoughts and actions, into your own special greatness.” (Ralph Marston – Founder of the web page The Daily Motivator)
“We say that we don’t deserve grace, or need any special favors. Why is it so hard for us to accept a gift we didn’t “earn”? That is EXACTLY WHY we are given grace. Because we believe that we aren’t “good” enough.” (Anonymous)
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” (Soren Kierkegaard)
“The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach.” (Seneca)
“Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays, rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail …….. The spiritual journey is the soul’s life co-mingling with ordinary life.” (Christina Baldwin)
And as a confirming follow-up to that last quotation I will share the prayer from one of my meditation books:
“God, thank you for those small
daily happenings that make
life so spectacular.
Help me celebrate the holiness
of the common day.
Amen!
Blessings to you all.