Fix the Environment

Consider this very deep Alexander Den Heijer quote in the context of children/families/schools, of our criminal justice system, of government employees, ...

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
- Alexander Den Heijer

Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens
reflect the kind of care they get.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul
than the way in which it treats its children.
- Nelson Mandela

Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.
- Nelson Mandela

None of us got where we are solely by
pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.
- Thurgood Marshall

Generally speaking, punishment makes men hard and cold;
it concentrates; it sharpens the feeling of alienation;
it strengthens the power of resistance
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Bars can't build better men, and misery can only break what goodness remains.
- Stuart Turton

It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.
A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.
- Nelson Mandela

Gardening is all about optimism.
I put a seed in the ground.
I consistently tend it,
confident I will see the results, in time,
of the nurture I have provided.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: Be Grateful, Pay It Forward
   

You Make Your World

There are no facts, only interpretations.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Your point of view sets you up well in advance
for how you view the events as they unfold.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
- Wayne Dyer

What we see depends more on ourselves than on what is "out there."
We see what we assume will be there.
We see what we expect to be there.
We see what we fear will be there.
And we see what we wish will be there.
Then we label what we "see" as fact.
...
Your world IS as you believe it is.
If you believe your world is a scary place, you are right.
If you believe your world is loving and supportive, you are also right.
You make your world with your attitude toward it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Wherever there are disagreements and confrontations, there are at least two interpretations that are vehemently labeled as "fact." Almost everyone considers "I'm right, you're wrong," to be a fact - the only difference is to whom "I" and "you" refer. 

Further reading: What Is Reality?

Choosing the World You Live In

You are the Window

Assumptions
      

You Make Your World

There are no facts, only interpretations.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
- Wayne Dyer

Your point of view sets you up well in advance
for how you view the events as they unfold.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

If there is any one secret of success,
it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view
and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.
- Henry Ford

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Your world IS as you believe it is.
If you believe your world is a scary place, you are right.
If you believe your world is loving and supportive, you are also right.
You make your world with your attitude toward it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

What we see depends more on ourselves than on what is "out there." We see what we assume will be there. We see what we expect to be there. We see what we fear will be there. And we see what we wish will be there. Then we label what we "see" as fact.

Wherever there are disagreements and confrontations, there are at least two interpretations that are vehemently labeled as "fact." Almost everyone considers "I'm right, you're wrong," to be a fact - the only difference is to whom "I" and "you" refer. 

Further reading: What Is Reality?

Our Opinions

Choosing the World You Live In

Beauty is Everywhere

You are the Window

Practice Conscious Awareness

Prejudices

Assumptions