“We are here to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don’t know.” – W. H. Auden
I love the simplicity and purity of this statement The Christian commandment that we do for others as we would like them to do for us does not include the caveat that we only have to do that if they return the favor. In other words, you can’t really know why ‘others’ are here, only yourself. So, pay attention to what you are called to do. That will be the best way to lean the arc of the universe towards good.
“The longer we dwell on our misfortunes the greater is their power to harm us.” – Voltaire
The key here is that if you have had a misfortune it obviously is in the past. If it is in the past then dwelling on it probably is not helping you prepare for the future very wellEvaluating what led to the misfortune is important. But dwelling on the woe attached to it has to be put on the shelf in short order otherwise it starts to influence your current life and thus your future.
“If you judge people you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa
One can have only one conscious thought going through your head at a time. You may have it for just a split second with a completely opposite one right behind it, but for that split second it is all you are thinking.
Why then, if you want the world to be a more loving place, and you yourself would like people to judge you less and love you more, would you want to have your brain occupied with thoughts of judgment instead of love?
Forgiveness, mercy, compassion, sympathy,…none of those exist well with judgment.
“Nature makes boys and girls lovely to look upon so they can be tolerated until they acquire some sense.” – William Lyon Phelps
We do aspire to live in a tolerant society, after all!
Having raised 4 daughters and been around youth groups for many years I can say this quote is accurate. If it wasn’t for them being cute and adorable it would be a lot harder to suffer through their development, especially when you are in charge of that development and they don’t really want you to be!
“There’s no giving without living.” – Marty Coleman
Christmas season is such a paradox. It is the time of giving and largeness of heart. It is also the time of increased depression and loneliness. I woke up thinking about how if you focus on what you can give to the world (the world can be just one individual, one animal, not the big wide), won’t you always make the choice to live in it as well?
“He Who Accepts Evil Without Protesting Against It Is Really Cooperating With It.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
The easiest thing in the world to do is to sit back and do nothing.
But it really is true that if we want ‘evil’ to diminish we must not just hope it goes away, we must actually speak and act against it. I am not talking just about the big protests or letter writing campaigns you can be part of (I don’t do well in either of those categories either). I am talking about standing up for what is right with the person right in front of you.
The courage to confront someone who cuts someone down because they have a disability, or are of another race or nationality. The willingness to defend someone who isn’t there when they are talked about. The desire to stop innuendo or rumors in their tracks when you hear them. Those are the real day to day work of changing the world to be a better place. That is what defeats evil right where you live.
For those of you who worry about ‘confrontation’ or what my friends will think, then there is no easy way around it. You will likely lose a friend and have a confrontation. But if you practice speaking the truth in love, with a kind heart towards those who said the offensive statement, you can often become closer and more of a friend to the person, not less.
In the end, confrontation or none, you will become a person you and others can be proud of.
Just wanted to let you know that this drawing is in the latest Time Magazine! It is the ‘Person of the Year’ issue and it comes out today (12/19). So, go to your local newstand/bookstore/back alley and pick up a copy!
You will find it in the section dedicated to “Obama on Flickr’ that shows the big surge in images, drawings, graphics, photos that surrounded his election.
When Obama was elected I went looking through my napkins to find just the right quote and drawing to express my positive feelings about the event. I just couldn’t find one so I went into the kitchen, found a napkin, rustled up the only marker I could find and drew away! I posted it the morning after the election on flickr and here. Along with many others who posted election related material I got a huge push in hits on that particular piece. It also engendered a lively conversation about Obama, elections, hope, hype and other ideas.
Time found my image as a result (along with many others) and after a little bit of back and forth with them they decided to publish it. I am excited to have the image among those generated by people spontaneously happy and proud of our country. As I said in my blurb below the napkin, I am not talking about Obama’s politics when I say that. I am talking about our American ideals of working towards the best in all of us.
“The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.” – Bret Harte
Luck is like the tides and waves of the ocean. They ebb and flow, are quiet then crashing, come unaware and can be forecasted with great accuracy. But one thing we know to be true, if you aren’t in the ocean or on the shore it is very unlikely you will reap the benefit of that movement. So for luck to happen to you (good luck) you need to be engaged, involved, thinking, working, planning, putting yourself on the surfboard at the right spot to catch the wave of luck.
