There is No Freedom Until ALL are Free

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

When the rights of any group, no matter how small, no matter how marginal,
are violated, your liberty, your freedom is put at risk.
Let there never be a day when we cast about in horror
and have to ask the question, "How did it ever come to this?"
- Thomas Childers

Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble
and beautiful end of a human being.
- Khalil Gibran

The end does NOT justify the means.
Freedom cannot be gained by sacrificing the freedom of others.
Free speech cannot be gained by limiting the free speech of others.
Human rights cannot be secured by trampling the human rights of others.
Viciousness in others cannot be fought by becoming vicious oneself.
Neither individual nor nation can long survive by meeting hatred with hatred,
injustice with injustice, prejudice with prejudice.

Freedom Demands Freedom for All
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

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

Further reading: Independence - Liberty - Freedom

Force

Honorable Paths to Noble Goals
    

Take Control of Your Own Life

Whether we allow external events to shape our lives
at a core level is very much within our own control.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

All that is necessary to break the spell
of inertia and frustration is this:
Act as if it were impossible to fail.
- Dorthea Brande

Our fatigue is often caused not by work,
but by worry, frustration and resentment.
- Dale Carnegie

Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
- Vince Lombardi

3 Rs that Plague Humanity - Regret, Resentment, and Revenge.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is hardly possible to build anything,
if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail.
- Lech Walesa

Never Yield to Worry, Frustration or Resentment.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Find Peace in Forgiveness

Live a Stress-Free Life

Feeling Stuck?

How to Think Positive

Renew Yourself
      

Follow Your Heart

Everyone who wills, can hear the inner voice.
It is within everyone.

- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Listen to the compass of your heart.
All you need lies within you.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition -
they somehow already know what you truly want to become.
- Steve Jobs

Your inner knowing is your only true compass.
- Joy Page

Further reading: Feel Your Connection With the Infinite - a Meditation

Three Rules of Life

Ask from a Compassionate Heart
      

My Burdens are Lightened When I Laugh at Myself

What appears very scary is probably nothing to fear when thoughtfully examined in the light.

Take time to laugh at yourself. Those who feel too important to laugh at themselves rob themselves, their family, and their friends of a great source of joy.

Grin your smile; giggle your laugh; unfurl your joy;
dash the last trace of your self-consciousness;
and cavort your most uninhibited play.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
- e. e. cummings

The burden of the self is lightened when I laugh at myself.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Laugh at yourself and at life.
Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity,
but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain,
cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective
that seemingly terrible defeat and worry
with laughter at your predicaments,
thus freeing your mind to think clearly
toward the solution that is certain to come.
Never take yourself too seriously.
- Og Mandino

I will not play tug o' war.
I'd rather play hug o' war.
Where everyone hugs instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins,
and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.
- Shel Silverstein

Further reading: Lighten Up, Be Happy

Laughter

The Need for Humor

Not Too Serious
        

Drop Your Assumptions and Opinions, Look Anew

It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.
It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.

- Mark Twain (attributed)

If you would be a real seeker after truth,

it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt,
as far as possible, all things.
- Rene Descartes

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

About most subjects, there is not "The Truth."
There is merely one's personal truth.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The problem with making assumptions
is that we believe they are the truth
- don Miguel Ruiz

Examine, inquire.
Look into the nature of things.
Search out the grounds of your opinions,
the for and against.
Know why you believe, understand what you believe,
and possess a reason for the faith that is in you.
- Frances Wright

Everything is not as it appears to be.
- Proverb

People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.
- 1997 Comedy Movie "Men In Black"

Further reading: Question Your Questions

The Illusion of Knowledge

Maybe So, Maybe Not.

Expectations

Truth isn't True

Assumptions
     

The Miracle of Gratitude

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.
Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.
Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
- Henry Van Dyke

The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception
to such an extent that it changes the world you see.
- Robert Holden

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude.
Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves,
and spend without fear of bankruptcy.
- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

Our opportunity is to Soar our Spirit.
To see Light and Joy in everything.
To spread our wings and fly boldly.
To give thanks for rainbows and butterflies -
our symbols of renewal and rebirth.
To offer daily Thanksgiving - for ourselves, our family,
our friends, our community, for the whole world.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Miracle of Gratitude

Give Thanks for the Commonplace

Appreciate Today

Gratitude for THIS Moment
   

The Impossible Just Takes a Little Longer

It is difficult to say what is impossible,
for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today
and the reality of tomorrow.
- Robert H. Goddard
(Developed the world's first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926)

Stand often in the company of dreamers.
They believe you can achieve impossible things.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

It always seems impossible until it is done.
- Nelson Mandela

Act as if it were impossible to fail.

- Dorthea Brande

The only place where your dream becomes impossible
is in your own thinking.
- Robert H. Schuller

Further reading: Attitude is Everything

How to Think Positive

How to Choose Your Life Purpose

See all my motivational articles