Consequences

Outer consequences are not in our power to control; it is only possible to make an effort, and inner consequences always follow from our effort. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 11 November) 30 November 2012

Troubles

I itemize my troubles like a grocery list.

(Marion Bond West in Daily Guideposts - 2010, 10 November)

29 November 2012

Boundaries

... establish and maintain clear boundaries and ... honor the boundaries others have set for themselves. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 13 September) 28 November 2012

Life Is Short

Life is short. Do not forget about the most important things in your life, living for other people and doing good for them. (Marcus Aurelius in A Calendar Of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 19 September) 27 November 2012

Peace On Earth

People of planet Earth are on a very low level of development. Every day in the newspapers you read the news of military treaties, about the preparations for war, for mass manslaughter. People do not understand that the life of each man is his own personal private property. (Camille Flammarion)

The majority of people now understand not only the uselessness, but also the stupidity and cruelty of any war.

War is murder. No matter how many people get together to commit murder or what they call themselves, murder is the worst sin in the world.

Until such time as people reject the power of government to govern, to tax, to legislate, and to punish, war will never stop. War is the consequence of the government's power.
(All quotations from A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 25 November)
25 November 2012

Sick Bay

Illnesses of the mind are much more dangerous than illnesses of the body.

(Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 6 October)

24 November 2012

Support Peace

Refuse to say anything or do anything that will not create or support peace, healing and love. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 12 September) 23 November 2012

Giving Thanks

There is always something for which to be thankful. (Charles Dickens, The Little Book Of Virtues, 23 November) 22 November 2012

Mine, Mine, Mine

Image of seagulls in the movie - Finding Nemo

It is difficult, if not impossible, to find some reasonable limit for acquiring more and more property. (Arthur Schopenhauer in A Calendar Of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 3 October) 21 November 2012

Life Story

A successful life is the result of making the assumption that you will be successful.

A focused, consistent, positively motivated and disciplined character is essential to making your life story have a happy ending. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 10 September and 8 September) 20 November 2012

Jump Up & Down

[Get up, get on your feet, jump up and down.] While you are jumping shake off bad habits, bad feelings, bad attitudes, and don't forget [to include] people who may have a bad influence. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 11 November) 19 November 2012

******

On Sunday night, 18 November 2012 I watched the first two-hour episode of the Ken Burns PBS program - The Dust Bowl.  The rest of the program will be shown in another two-hour segment on Monday night.  I thought the program was excellent, shocking and very moving. I always enjoy anything that Peter Coyote narrates.  During the years of the Dust Bowl my parents were in their thirties and living in central and eastern Nebraska.  My maternal grandfather, John Carlson, was the owner of a hardware store in the little town of Mead in Saunders county.  During the Great Depression he suffered business losses from which he never recovered and which impacted all of us.

Mr. Dickie

19 November 2012

Run Amuck

Do not allow people to run amuck in your life. 

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 15 October) 

18 November 2012

A Sudden Gem

Hope Diamond

It sometimes happens that the words of those who are unschooled, or those who are negative and confused, can bring us a sudden gem of thought that will help us. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 12 November) 17 November 2012

Truth

Once you know the truth, you cannot go back to not knowing.
Living the truth that you know is the greatest service you can offer the world.
(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 1 November)
16 November 2012

The Game Of Life

Life takes new twists all the time. 

Very little works out as we expect. 

(Fran Coyne in Keepers Of The Wisdom by Karen Casey, 25 October) 

15 November 2012

Underpromise & Overperform

Photo: Mr. Dickie - Catoctin Mountain Orchard, near Thurmont, MD

Underpromise and overperform.

That's my motto.

(Fran Coyne in Keepers Of The Wisdom by Karen Casey, 6 November)

14 November 2012

Loyalty

Photo by Mr. Dickie: Honey at Catoctin Mountain Orchard  

November 2012

If you don't have any loyalty to what you are doing, you ought not be doing it. (Tom Harding in Keepers Of The Wisdom by Karen Casey, 15 September) 13 November 2012

Be Prepared To Pay

Everything you do in life causes the effects that you experience. 

When you get the bill, be prepared to pay. 

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 18 October) 

12 November 2012

Our Impulse

Our impulse may be to complain bitterly about the state of the world,
about the crises in our cities,
about the irresponsibility of the youth,
but our complaints have no good effect.
They solve nothing.
They only add to the frustration and turmoil.
What might we do instead?
(Karen Casey, Keepers Of The Wisdom, 10 November)
11 November 2012 (Veteran's  Day)

Learning How To Live

I never suspected that I would have to learn how to live - that there were specific disciplines and ways of seeing the world I had to master before I could awaken to a simple, happy, uncomplicated, life. (Dan Millman in Touchstones, 17 October) 10 November 2012

Self-Knowledge and Self-Improvement

Photo: Cape May Lighthouse at Cape May, NJ by Mr. Dickie

Don't take anyone's inventory but your own. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 21 October)

There is no need for me to accept blame for another person's irrational actions. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 4 October)

Self-inquiry puts you in touch with vital information about yourself which you have ignored, denied or may not be aware of. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 26 July)

It is easy to fool oneself about motives, and admitting it is hard, but very beneficial. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 26 September)

Self-knowledge and self-improvement are very difficult for most people. It usually needs courage and long struggle. (Abraham Maslow, in Touchstones, 23 October)

... we can get unlimited benefits from changing our way of thinking. No realistic person would consider this an easy task; indeed there is nothing more difficult in life! (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 24 September)

Many situations can be clarified by the passing of time. (Theodore Isaac Rubin in Touchstones, 21 August)

Just for today, allow the little surprises of life to provide you with some more information that you need to know. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 26 September)

... pass what you have learned on to someone you know who is not moving. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today!, 19 August)
9  November 2012

Zip It

The more urgently you want to speak, the more likely it is that you will say something foolish. (Leo Tolstoy, A Calendar Of Wisdom, 4 November) 8 November 2012

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some of your hurts you have cured,

And the sharpest you've even survived,

But what torments of grief you've endured,

From evils which never arrived.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson in One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 13 August0

7 November 2012

Humble Person

The humble person is tolerant of others' failings, and does not have a critical attitude toward the foibles of others.  Humble people are hard on themselves and easy on others. (Twenty-Four Hours A Day, 18 October) 6 November 2012

Doom

Men are doomed to live in an overwhelmingly tragic and demonic world. (Ernest Becker in Touchstones, 5 October)

We must endure surprises, pressures and blows from the world as a normal part of life. (Touchstones, 24 August)

... a society built on luxury, on wantonness, on pride, on callousness to human life, and personality is necessarily doomed ... (William Barclay, The Revelation Of John, Vol. 2, p. 164)
5 November 2012

Life Tasks

The purpose of your life is not to do as the majority does, but to live according to the inner law which you understand in yourself. Do not act against your conscience or against truth. Live like this, and you will fulfill the task of your life. (Marcus Aurelius in A Calendar Of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 23 October) 4 November 2012

This Deary Seashore

I stand, on this dreary seashore of my life, looking over this dreary backwash bay. Nothing invigorating, or inspiring. Nothing ... to inspire anyone. (Amy Carmichael in A Gentle Spirit, 3 November) 3 November 2012

The Nature Of Things

That which is lacking in the present world is a profound knowledge of the nature of things.

(Frithjof Schuon, Touchstones, 30 October)

2 November 2012

Only In The Storm

Only in the storm can you see the art of the real sailor; only on the battlefield can you see the bravery of a soldier. The courage of a simple person can be seen in how he copes with the difficult and dangerous situations in life. (Daniel Achinsky in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 28 October) 1 November 2012