Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Regrets (1896)

 

 "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

Marcel Proust, Pleasures and Regrets (1896)

Rahindranath Tagore

 

“The one who plants trees, knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” 

Rahindranath Tagore

Robert Burns: Man Was Made To Mourn written in 1784

 

 

Robbie Burns

Man Was Made To Mourn

written in 1784

When chill November's surly blast 

Made fields and forests bare, 

One ev'ning, as I wander'd forth 

Along the banks of Ayr, 

I spied a man, whose aged step 

Seem'd weary, worn with care; 

His face was furrow'd o'er with years, 

And hoary was his hair. 

"Young stranger, whither wand'rest thou?" 

Began the rev'rend sage; 

"Does thirst of wealth thy step constrain, 

Or youthful pleasure's rage? 

Or haply, prest with cares and woes, 

Too soon thou hast began 

To wander forth, with me to mourn 

The miseries of man. 

"The sun that overhangs yon moors, 

Out-spreading far and wide, 

Where hundreds labour to support 

A haughty lordling's pride; - 

I've seen yon weary winter-sun 

Twice forty times return; 

And ev'ry time has added proofs, 

That man was made to mourn. 

"O man! while in thy early years, 

How prodigal of time! 

Mis-spending all thy precious hours- 

Thy glorious, youthful prime! 

Alternate follies take the sway; 

Licentious passions burn; 

Which tenfold force gives Nature's law. 

That man was made to mourn. 

"Look not alone on youthful prime, 

Or manhood's active might; 

Man then is useful to his kind, 

Supported in his right: 

But see him on the edge of life, 

With cares and sorrows worn; 

Then Age and Want - oh! ill-match'd pair - 

Shew man was made to mourn. 

"A few seem favourites of fate, 

In pleasure's lap carest; 

Yet, think not all the rich and great 

Are likewise truly blest: 

But oh! what crowds in ev'ry land, 

All wretched and forlorn, 

Thro' weary life this lesson learn, 

That man was made to mourn. 

"Many and sharp the num'rous ills 

Inwoven with our frame! 

More pointed still we make ourselves, 

Regret, remorse, and shame! 

And man, whose heav'n-erected face 

The smiles of love adorn, - 

Man's inhumanity to man 

Makes countless thousands mourn! 

"See yonder poor, o'erlabour'd wight, 

So abject, mean, and vile, 

Who begs a brother of the earth 

To give him leave to toil; 

And see his lordly fellow-worm 

The poor petition spurn, 

Unmindful, tho' a weeping wife 

And helpless offspring mourn. 

"If I'm design'd yon lordling's slave, 

By Nature's law design'd, 

Why was an independent wish 

E'er planted in my mind? 

If not, why am I subject to 

His cruelty, or scorn? 

Or why has man the will and pow'r 

To make his fellow mourn? 

"Yet, let not this too much, my son, 

Disturb thy youthful breast: 

This partial view of human-kind 

Is surely not the last! 

The poor, oppressed, honest man 

Had never, sure, been born, 

Had there not been some recompense 

To comfort those that mourn! 

"O Death! the poor man's dearest friend, 

The kindest and the best! 

Welcome the hour my aged limbs 

Are laid with thee at rest! 

The great, the wealthy fear thy blow 

From pomp and pleasure torn; 

But, oh! a blest relief for those 

That weary-laden mourn!"

Resilience

 

Resilience is the art of bouncing back, not as the person you were, but as someone stronger, wiser and more determined.  When life pushes you to your limits, it's a call to dig deeper, to find strength you didn't know you had.  Every fall is a chance to rise again, more powerful than before.

Television and other Screens

 

“I think there are enormous obstacles to deep reading now. I think that the tyranny of the visual is a frightening thing.”
— Harold Bloom

Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read! And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.
—Voltaire

DR. SEUSS SAYS,

 

WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU ARE BORN TO STAND OUT!

- DR SEUSS

THE MORE THAT YOU READ, THE MORE THINGS YOU WILL KNOW. THE MORE THAT YOU LEARN, THE MORE PLACES YOU'LL GO.

- DR SEUSS 

BE WHO YOU ARE AND SAY WHAT YOU FEEL, BECAUSE THOSE WHO MIND DON'T MATTER, AND THOSE WHO MATTER DON'T MIND.

- - DR. SEUSS

YOU HAVE BRAINS IN YOUR HEAD. YOU HAVE FEET IN YOUR SHOES. YOU CAN STEER YOURSELF ANY DIRECTION YOU CHOOSE.

-  DR. SEUSS

UNLESS SOMEONE LIKE YOU CARES A WHOLE AWFUL LOT, NOTHING IS GOING TO GET BETTER. IT'S NOT.

- DR. SEUSS

Ralph Waldo Emerson says,

 

“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on the power of walking:

 

Theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard on the power of walking:

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. Even if one were to walk for one's health and it were constantly one station ahead—I would still say: Walk!

Besides, it is also apparent that in walking one constantly gets as close to well-being as possible, even if one does not quite reach it—but by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Health and salvation can be found only in motion... if one just keeps on walking, everything will be alright."

Source: Letters and Documents

Solitude

 

“Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often a torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of words.”

—Carl Jung

Brene Brown says,

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.

Brene Brown

Nikos Kazantzakis says,

 

“The only thing I know is this: I am full of wounds and still standing on my feet.”

—Nikos Kazantzakis

Amanda Gorman's debut of a new work a DNC

 

'This Sacred Scene' by Amanda Gorman

We gather at this hollowed place / because we believe in the American dream.

We face a race that tests if this country we cherish / shall perish from the Earth / and if our Earth shall perish from this country.

It falls to us to ensure that we do not fall, / for a people that cannot stand together / cannot stand at all.

We are one family / regardless of religion, class or color.

For what defines a patriot is not just our love of liberty / but our love of one another.

This is loud in our country's call because while we all love freedom, / it is love that frees us all.

Empathy emancipates, / making us greater than hate or vanity, / that is the American promise.

Powerful and pure, / divided we cannot endure / but united, we can endeavor to humanize our democracy / and endear democracy to humanity.

And make no mistake, / co-hearing is the hardest task history ever wrote.

But tomorrow is not written by our odds of hardship / but by the audacity of our hope, / by the vitality of our vote.

Only now approaching this rare air / are we aware / that perhaps the American dream is no dream at all / but instead a dare / to dream together.

Like a million roots tethered, / branching up humbly, / making one tree, this is our country / from many, one, / from battles, won, / our freedoms sung, / our kingdom come has just begun.

We redeem this sacred scene / ready for our journey from it together.

We must birth this early republic / and achieve an unearthly summit / let us not just believe in an American dream, / let us be worthy of it.

Samantha Kubota

https://www.today.com/news/politics/amanda-gorman-new-poem-dnc-rcna167693

Charles Dickens' Words

 

Have a heart that never hardens

A temper that never tires

And a touch that never hurts.

Charles Dickens

The hero’s journey from The Hero with a Thousand Faces

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. — Joseph Campbell

Cathedrals

 

German poet Heinrich Heine was once asked why men no longer build great cathedrals.

He replied: "People in those old times had convictions; we moderns only have opinions. And it needs more than a mere opinion to erect a Gothic cathedral."

Keep Focus

 

“So much can be accomplished in one focused hour, especially when that hour is part of a routine, a sacred rhythm that becomes part of your daily life.”

— Dani Shapiro