Inspiration Quotes, Wisdom Quotes

Life can be a wonderfully exciting adventure. It can also at times seem unbearably difficult. Just remember, without problems we cannot learn, and we could never really appreciate the good times without the less good.

Here are some words of inspiration that embody true wisdom of the highest order. Allow them to elevate you to greater heights, or simply to shed a little light in your darker moments...

Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with the judgment that you pronounce you will be judged,
And the measure you give will be the measure you get.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye,
But do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother,
"Let me take the speck out of your eye,"
When there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
And then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
---- Lord Jesus

Never judge a man
Until you have walked a mile in his moccasins
---- Traditional Native American Indian

Just enjoy the moment of now
Neither the past or the future exists
Only now

Live not for tomorrow
Yearn not for the past
Live only for the moment
It's all that is ours

If good luck is not yours
It is someone else's
Do not be angry or nasty
But be nice to them
Because one day you shall have good luck
And you wouldn't like it
If they were angry and nasty
---- Ayano (8)

There are no mistakes, only lessons. There is no failure, only experience.

Whether you believe you can,
Or believe you can't,
You are right
---- Henry Ford

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe,
It can achieve
---- W. Clement Stone

If you don't try, you cannot succeed
If you try, you might succeed
And will certainly achieve more
Than if you hadn't tried

Don't seek perfection
Seek understanding, experience, and growth

This above all
To thine own self be true
---- William Shakespeare

We are all in the gutter
But some of us are looking at the stars
---- Oscar Wilde

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O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I must have sung this piece a hundred times at Spiritualist church without ever pondering its significance, though I had noticed it was a little different and more poignant that the standard Christian hymn. But last week, after a difficult period that had caused me to question myself intensely, I found the service, and particularly this song, especially thouht-provoking. Inspired to review the lyrics at leisure I did some searching on the Web and discovered it was written by George Matheson, a blind Scottish priest, at a time of intense mental anguish. It is said Matheson was inspired to write it in just five minutes.

Although ostensibly sad, Matheson appears to be describing his own passing, I interpret it as a message of comfort and optimism. However hard this life seems at times, however great a significance we place upon it, in reality we are all part of some infinitely greater whole to which we shall return, both enriching and being enriched by that universal oneness that we might call Spirit or God. Life is thus but a single step along an endless path.

The message is not an excuse to take life lightly, Matheson himself overcame the severe handicap of blindness to enter the ministry, rather it is that having done our best we need not beat ourselves up knowing that our experiences great or small shall some day all be absorbed back into the source of all things.

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

This beautiful rendition is by David Phelps, courtesy youtube.com

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Einstein and Spirituality

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientific geniuses of all time. His theories of special and general relativity cast doubt upon the nature of reality perceived by the senses, opening the door to a far more mysterious universe than ever previously imagined.

On a darker note, lifelong pacifist Einstein's work provided the foundation for the development of the atomic bomb, and fearful that Germany would develop such a weapon, he wrote to US President Roosevelt urging him to take the lead in this endeavour. Einstein later regretted this letter and committed himself to nuclear disarmament.

This reading presents some quotations from Einstein demonstrating a broader, Spiritual, wisdom:

"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

"The only real valuable thing is intuition."

"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."

"I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice."

"God is subtle but he is not malicious."

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."

"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"

"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

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The Wisdom of Einstein

The thoughts of one of the greatest scientists of all time on a wide range of topics display a wisdom way beyond the equations of matter and energy. Enjoy and learn...

Knowledge:
The Search for the truth and Knowledge is one of the finest attributes of a man, though often it is most loudly voiced by those who strive for it the least.

Authority:
To punish me for my contempt of authority, fate has made me an authority myself.

Truth:
It is difficult to say what truth is, but sometimes it is easy to recognize a falsehood.

Cooperation:
A hundred times a day I remind myself that my inner and outer lives are based on the labors of other people, living and dead and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

Wisdom:
Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.

Greatness:
There is only one road to human greatness: through the school of hard knocks.

Happiness:
A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.

Fame:
With fame I become more and more stupid, which of course is a very common phenomenon.

Life:
Life is sacred, that is to say, it is the supreme value, to which all other values are subordinate.

Ageing:
I have reached an age when, if someone tells me to wear socks, I don't have to.

Praise:
The only way to escape the personal corruption of praise is to go on working.

Problems:
Fear or stupidity has always been the basis of most human actions.

Relativity:
An hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.

Goals:
One should not pursue goals that are easily achieved. One must develop an instinct for what one can barely achieve through one's greatest efforts.

Racism:
The only remedies against race and prejudice are enlightenment and education. This is a slow and painstaking process.

Solitude:
I lived in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

Value:
Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.

Imagination:
When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come close to the conclusion that the gift of imagination has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing absolute knowledge.

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A Tour of Heaven

A man passed away and went to heaven. He was met by the gatekeeper who granted him admission and offered to show him around.

It was a beautiful place. The grass was greener and the flowers more vivid than anything he'd ever imagined. The houses and other buildings were magnificent. Just as he thought he'd never be able to afford one the gatekeeper explained he could have any house he dreamed of in any location. All he had to do was imagine it and it would be built to his precise specification.

Just then they came across a huge wooden stockade and the gatekeeper bade him to be silent. Once they had passed it the guided tour continued.

This time it was explained that he could eat or drink anything he chose, all free of charge, again just by thinking about it. To demonstrate the gatekeeper manifested an apple tree, and plucking two apples offered one to the new arrival. It was the sweetest, most succulent fruit he'd ever tasted.

But just as he was finishing it they again came across a huge wooden stockade and he was ordered to remain silent. The tour again continued once they had passed the vast structure.

The guide now showed the man the great halls of learning where, when he was ready, he could prepare to take the next step along his evolutionary path.

Before long they came to yet another stockade and again he was instructed to keep quiet.

After they had passed it the man could contain his curiosity no longer and asked what the stockades were for.

The guide explained that the first one was for the Christians, the second for the Jews, and the third for the Moslems.

But why did they have to be silent when passing by?

The guide smiled. It was because each group believed they were the only ones in heaven.

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Mark Twain's War Prayer

Ever thought war might be right, just or moral? Read this powerful piece by a giant of American literature and think again...

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation

God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:

"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think.

"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. the whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory -- must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(After a pause.) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

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The Village

The following was presented to me at a Spiritualist church. I trust the provider approves of it being passed on.

There was once a village at the foot of a mountain. The village elder was growing old and knew his earth days were drawing to a close. He wanted to choose a successor from his four sons; Albert, Bill, Charles and Dan.

He called them together and set them a task. They were to climb the mountain and report back to the elder what they had seen.

Albert started from the South side, Bill from the West, Charles from the North and Dan from the East.

Albert climbed so far and looked around. All he could see was sea, nothing but sea. He returned to tell his father.

Bill climbed so far and looked around. All he could see was forest, nothing but forest. He returned to tell his father.

Charles climbed so far and looked around. All he could see was snow and ice, nothing but snow and ice. He returned to tell his father.

Dan climbed, and climbed, and climbed until he came to the top of the mountain. He looked around. To the East he could see nothing but desert, as far as the eye could see. To the South he could see nothing but sea,as far as the eye could see. To the West he could see nothing but forest, as far as the eye could see. And to the North he could see nothing but snow and ice, as far as the eye could see.

Dan returned to tell his father. He was disappointed to find his three brothers already waiting. They had all completed their task faster than him and he was afraid his father would be angry. However, after they all told their stories Dan was made the new village elder.

The moral of this story is to avoid being the victim of biased ideas. Be sure to see the whole picture before reaching a conclusion.

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The mayonannaise jar and the wine glasses

Not sure where this comes from but was given to me as I give to you...

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a handful of small pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. Again they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things in life. Your God, your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions: things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else: the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children. Look after your health. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean house and fix the disposal.

Take care  of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend."

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If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

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Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann

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