Good Living 123

“Listen now to the gentle whispers of hope.”

— Charles D. Brodhead (1827 – 1913)
Postmaster and served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1859 – 1861

Photo by Daniel Mirlea

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

— Mae West (1893 – 1980)
American actress and singer

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”

— James Oppenheim (1882 – 1932)
American poet, novelist, and editor

For World Wish Day, I make this wish.

With all my heart and soul I wish for compassion, caring, and peace.

Photo by Sulmanry Saavedra

“Freedom is never given; it is won.”

— A. Phillip Randolph (1889 – 1979)
American civil rights activist

“I decided early to give my life to something eternal and absolute. Not to these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow, but to God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
American Baptist minister & civil rights activist

“Enthusiasm reflects confidence, spreads good cheer, raises morale, inspires associates, arouses loyalty, and laughs at adversity … it is beyond price.”

— Allan V. Cox (1926 – 1987)
American geophysicist

Photo by Dan Fador

“Character is like a tree and reputation a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
American statesman; 16th President: 1861-65; assassinated following Civil War

“Seeing is not believing; believing is seeing! You see things, not as they are, but as you are.”

— Eric Butterworth (1916 – 2003)
Canadian-American author and spiritual teacher
(from his 2001 book, Spiritual Economics)

“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

— Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937)
American writer & designer

Photo by Randy Jacob

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

— Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
German-born theoretical physicist; developed theory of relativity

Photo by Jill Wellington

“If thou art a man, admire those who attempt great things, even though they fail.”

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65AD)
Roman philosopher and statesman

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”

— Chinese proverb

“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.”

— Carol Burnett (1933 – )
American comedian and actress

“Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.”

— Robert H. Schuller (1926 – 2015)
American author, motivational speaker, and televangelist

“Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; the only earthly certainty is oblivion.”

— Mark Twain (pen name for Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)
19th Century American author and humorist

“Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
German poet, statesman, and critic

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”

— Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)
English writer, director, and filmmaker

Photo by Susan Wilkinson

“Art is a house that tries to be haunted.”

— Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)
American poet

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
American statesman; 16th US President: 1861-65
assassinated following Civil War

Photo by Dave Lowe

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

— 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (1935 – )
Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism

My Grandmother, Marjorie Gulumian, often noted that there was far too much hate in the world. She was right. People who claim to be for civil rights, fairness, and peace are now too often ranting about violence being the solution. As I read hate-filled words on social media and observe divisive media commentaries, I know that we can and must treat each other better, especially at times in which we feel on the downward slide of society. The pendulum swings. Right now, people who have felt terror, hopelessness, and oppression are feeling positive, hopeful, and free. However, many people who had liked the path on which our nation was walking, are now the ones feeling genuine fear, loss, and dread. Compassion needs to be the order of this day and every day.

“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.”

— Sean O’Casey (1880 – 1964)
Irish dramatist & writer

Enjoy April Fool’s Day!

“Do as adversaries do in law. Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.”

— William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
English playwright

“A single rose can be my garden… a single friend, my world.”

— Leo Buscaglia (1924 – 1998)
American author, speaker, and professor

My love and deepest gratitude to you.

A man is not old until his regrets take the place of dreams.

— Yiddish proverb.

“Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.”

— Vittorio Alfieri (1749 – 1803)
Italian dramatist

“The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”

— Robert Frost (1874 – 1963)
American poet

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

— Douglas Adams (1952 – 2001)
English writer

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.”

— Arthur C. Clarke (1917 – 2008)
English science fiction writer

“Every cloud has a silver lining, but it is sometimes difficult to get it to the mint.”
— Don Marquis (1878 – 1937)
American humorist, journalist, and author

Three wildfires continue to burn in our little western NC county. Firefighters are working tirelessly… yet again… to protect lives and property. (We are safe.) Some homes have been lost. The air is at times challenging to breathe.

And yet, when the breezes blow in the other direction, our sky is bright blue. Hope is in the air. Our peach trees have blossomed.

And the first iris blooms are joining us. Hope. May we never let it go.

“People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
American statesman; 16th President: 1861-1865;
assassinated following the Civil War