Look Deeply Into Nature

Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head,
and knows not that it brings abundance
to drive away the hunger.
- Saint Basil

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
- Albert Einstein

Water is the driving force of all nature.
- Leonardo da Vinci

When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.
- Benjamin Franklin

Give thanks for the rain in your life
which waters the flowers of your soul.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.
- Khalil Gibran

Further reading: Gratitude for Our Blessings

The true meaning of life

Natural World

The World We Leave Our Children

Watering
      

PLEASE: Register to Vote - and Vote! Help Your Family and Friends to Register

PLEASE: Register to Vote - and Vote! EVERY Year! In EVERY Election!
In many ways, our future is determined as much by local school boards and city councils as by federal officials.

And make sure all your family and friends are registered also!
[ONE in FOUR adult American citizens are not yet Registered to VOTE!
College students and other younger adults are the most likely not to be Registered.]

Voting for the kind of America you believe in
is one of the greatest gifts you can give your grandchildren. 
Make a difference.
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold
is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
- Thomas Jefferson

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act!
Action will delineate and define you.
- Thomas Jefferson

Bad politicians are sent to Washington [and state and local government] by good people who don't vote.
- William E. Simon 

Voting is an expression of three key life principles -
CHOICE, INTENT, and ACTION.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: You Are What You Do

Either Accept It, or Change It

Walk Your Path

True Measure of a Successful Life
     

It takes no courage to defend popular speech

I disapprove of what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
- Unknown, but commonly attributed to Voltaire

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way that respects
and enhances the freedom of others.
- Nelson Mandela

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech.
Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.
- Neal Boortz

Without free speech, no search for truth is possible.
- Charles Bradlaugh

Support Freedom of Speech, Especially for Those You Dislike.
...
The whole point of Freedom-of-Speech
is supporting the right of others
to say things you find personally offensive.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.
Free speech is life itself.
- Salman Rushdie

It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree.
- Leo McKern

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.
- Boyle Roche (hopefully said satirically)

One of the surest ways to cause
yourself great suffering
is to insist upon being right -
to demand that all others view life
exactly as you view it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Independence - Liberty - Freedom

Point of View

Our Bond of Humanity
         

Soar Above the Madness of the World

Let today be a day to soar -
soar your spirits, soar your joy,
soar your belief in yourself.
Let all aspects of your life soar.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Protect your vision.
Prevail over adversity.
Persevere in the midst of turmoil.
Passionately act upon your convictions.
Purposely walk into the day.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

We are strange beings, we seem
to go free, but we go in chains -
chains of training, custom, convention,
association, environment -
in a word, Circumstance -
and against these bonds
the strongest of us struggle in vain.
- Mark Twain

Today's affirmation:
I soar on eagle wings,
high above the madness of the world.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Soar, It's Your Natural State

Fly Life on Free Wings

No Limits on Your Life
     

Free Yourself from the Expectations of Others

Value your own opinion more, and others' opinions less.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

To free us from the expectations of others,
to give us back to ourselves -
there lies the great singular power of self-respect.
- Joan Didion

That you may retain your self-respect, it is better
to displease the people by doing what you know is right,
than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.
- William J. H. Boetcker

Celebration wears a lot of different outfits
but always wears the same old, beautiful dancing shoes.
- Mary Anne Radmacher 

Everyone should carefully observe
which way his heart draws him,
and then choose that way with all his strength.
- Hasidic Proverb

To know what you prefer
instead of humbly saying Amen
to what the world tells you you ought to prefer,
is to have kept your soul alive.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Resilience is about believing in yourself,
and trusting your own wisdom
rather than being swayed by the opinions of others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Whatever anyone else says or does, their words and their actions are truly about themselves. Don't take it personally when they rant, even if they direct their unhappiness in your direction.

While I appreciate how unpleasant it is to have others making unreasonable demands of you, it may help to remind yourself that it's not personal. Others are often 100% focused on their own issues and their own perceived needs. They project their frustration out into the mirror of life. When they look into that mirror, they think they are seeing your face, but in reality, they are seeing their own emotions.

Each of us is responsible for the consequences of our choices. When we choose for others rather than for ourselves, we suffer. Make all your choices from the longing of your own heart.

Gather all the facts.
Listen respectfully to others.
Be charitable to all.
And then make your own decisions.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Remember to love yourself and to take time for yourself.

Say NO to the demands of the world.
Say YES to the longings of your own heart.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Make Your Own Choices

Your Intuition is Your Guide

At the Center of Your Being

Experts and Authorities

How to Be Yourself

Personal Boundaries
       

Generate Your Own Inner Peace

What is real is beyond all reach.
- Julian Green

We know nothing at all.
All our knowledge is but the knowledge of schoolchildren.
The real nature of things we shall never know.
- Albert Einstein

Each one has to find his peace from within.
And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion,
for the real and for the truth.
- Abraham Maslow

The wise man looks into space,
and does not regard the small as too little,
nor the great as too much;
for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.
- Lao Tzu

True religion is real living;
living with all one's soul,
with all one's goodness and righteousness.
- Albert Einstein

Know that you are unlimited.

Today's affirmation: I have ready access to a power beyond my wildest imagination.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Go Beyond

Abundance

Beauty and Adventure

The time has come

FEAR
      

Nothing is beautiful until it is looked at

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us or we find it not.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In these times of health, political, social, and economic challenge,
it is our task to generate beauty and happiness for ourselves
rather than hoping to "find" them.
...
The beauty does not live out there; the beauty's in my eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue
by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed -
it is a process of elimination.
- Elbert Hubbard

Perspective. Point-of-view. Is something ugly, or beautiful?
Noble or insensitive? There are six billion ways of seeing life.
Trust your own inner eye for beauty.

Outer show is a poor substitute for inner worth.
- Aesop

Further reading: How to Build Self Esteem

How to Love Yourself

How to Feel Good About Yourself