ROBERT BENCHLEY

Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.

ELIE WIESEL

The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.

This quote is also shown on the 80 plus site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

ANON

Much happiness is overlooked because it doesn’t cost anything.

This post also appears on the 80 plus site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

OSCAR WILDE

Some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

These quotes are also being posted on the 80 plus site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

JOHN BUCHAN

There may be Peace without Joy, and Joy without Peace, but the two combined make Happiness.

These quotes are also being posted on the 80 plus site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.

The quotes on WISE MEN SAY are also being posted every day on the 80 PLUS site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

HORACE

Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.

The quotes on WISE MEN SAY are also being posted every day on the 80 PLUS site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

E.E. CUMMINGS

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.

The quotes on WISE MEN SAY are also being posted every day on the 80 PLUS site
http://80plus.blogspot.com

MOTHER TERESA

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

ANON

Fear less, hope more.
Whine less, breathe more.
Talk less, say more.
Hate less, love more,
And all good things are yours.

JOHN BARRYMORE

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open.

ANTON CHEKHOV

Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.

Chinese Proverb

Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.

ANTOINE de SAINT-EXUPERY

Love does not exist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.

MARK TWAIN

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.

GEORGE ASAF

What's the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile.

[from the song “Pack up your troubles”]

MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

If you don't like the way the world is, change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.

Today on THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE -
Covering a 5-story building, a mural created by 5 artists working round the clock for 16 days,
plus 7 other interesting pictures
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

MAHATMA GANDHI

Freedom is not worth having unless it includes the freedom to make mistakes.

BERTRAND RUSSELL

The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

ANON

If you’re willing to walk the path of the dreamer, anything is possible.

FRANCIS GRAY

Look well to this day.
Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day.

CHARLES LAMB

The greatest pleasure in life is to do good by stealth and be found out by accident.

This week on the Visual Image Site -
The largest pearl in the world, a harvester pulled by 20 horses and other striking images
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

LAURENS van der POST

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right

GEORGE HERBERT

He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.

Chinese Proverb

A single conversation across a table with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.

JULIUS CAESAR

As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see, than about what they can.

POETRY FOR PLEASURE
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

THOMAS HARDY THE WESSEX POET
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

MOTHER TERESA

Don’t worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.

ROBERT FROST

By working faithfully 8 hours a day, you may eventually get to be the boss and work 12 hours a day.

THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

Everything has been figured out, except how to live.

THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY

Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not tie at anchor - sail, not drift.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

POETRY FOR PLEASURE
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

Chinese Proverb

He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.

HAPPINESS IS . . .
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

H.L. MENCKEN

Conscience is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking.

ERICA JONG

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn't.

THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE

The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages. The question is what he will do with the things he has.

There's a new post at THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

SAMUEL JOHNSON

Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

HENRY VAN DYKE

Time is -
Too slow for those who wait,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice -
But for those who love - Time is eternity.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never have tried to succeed.

New - - - THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE - - - New
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

LAYMAN P'ANG

The past is already past.
Don't try to regain it.
The present does not stay.
Don't try to touch it.
From moment to moment.
The future has not come;
Don't think about it beforehand.

New - - - THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE - - - New
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

DR. SEUSS

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

New - - - THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE - - - New
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

MARK TWAIN

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

New - - - THE VISUAL IMAGE SITE - - - New
http://thevisualimagesite.blogspot.com

ELBERT HUBBARD

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.

CAROL BURNETT

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

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.

JOHN DEWEY

A problem well put is a problem half solved.

"Happiness is . . ."
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

ANON

Stop struggling for perfection, and recognise the perfection you already are.

DEEPAK CHOPRA

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.

Chinese Proverb

Think before acting; and whilst acting, still think.

ROBERT FROST

A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.

HELEN KELLER

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

This quote was included yesterday in the "HAPPINESS IS . . ." blog.
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

KHALED HOSSEINI

Better to be hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.

My new blog begins today
"HAPPINESS IS . . ."
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

MAHATMA GANDHI

A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.

My new blog begins tomorrow
"HAPPINESS IS . . ."
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

ANON

For every evil under the sun,
There is a remedy or there is none;
If there be one, try and find it,
If there be none, never mind it.

My new blog begins on Monday 3rd October
"HAPPINESS IS . . ."
http://johnshappytalkpage.blogspot.com

MARY PICKFORD

What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.

BUDDHA

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

ANDREW CARNEGIE

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.

Bulgarian Proverb

Tell me who your friends are, so I can tell you who you are.

ANON

It costs nothing, but creates much.
It enriches those who receive without impoverishing those who give.
It happens in a flash, and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
It cannot be begged, borrowed, or stolen, but it is of no earthly good to anyone until it's given away.
So if in your hurry you run across someone too weary to smile, leave one of yours.

WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE

If you are cold, tea will warm you.
If you are too heated, it will cool you.
If you are depressed, it will cheer you.
If you are excited, it will calm you.

BENJAMIN SPOCK

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.

MAYA ANGELOU

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

AESOP

It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.

BERTRAND RUSSELL

The fundamental cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

Spanish Proverb

A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.

Today at the Poetry for Pleasure blog- "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

ROBERT FROST

Never take a fence down until you know why it was put up.

Read "The Ruined Maid" - today's poem at THOMAS HARDY THE WESSEX POET
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

WASHINGTON IRVING

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in travelling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place.

A poem every week-day at - http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

WINSTON CHURCHILL

There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.

The poems of Thomas Hardy at THE WESSEX POET
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

KAREN KENYON

Life need not just happen to us. We can choose. We are choosing every moment which direction to turn, towards the light or towards the dark.

ANDRE GIDE

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.

WOODY ALLEN

Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.


Read the poems of Thomas Hardy at - http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

STEPHEN KAGGWA

Try and fail, but don't fail to try.


read the poems of Thomas Hardy at - http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

JOHN WESLEY

Beware you be not swallowed up in books.
An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.


Read the poems of Thomas Hardy at - http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

Chinese Saying

Begin with an error of an inch and end by being a thousand miles off the mark.

DR. SEUSS

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Have you a minute? Listen to an extract from "Tales from the Vienna Woods" by Johann Strauss at - http://haveyouaminute.blogspot.com

MARGARET THATCHER

To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

ANON

Determination, patience and courage are the only things needed to improve any situation.


Have you a minute? If so, have a quick look at http://haveyouaminute.blogspot.com

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry,
the philosophy which does not laugh
and the greatness which does not bow before children.

Have you a minute? If so, have a quick look at
http://haveyouaminute.blogspot.com

LESLIE NIELSEN

Doing nothing is very hard to do - you never know when you’re finished.

Greek Proverb

A heart that loves is always young

All The Things You Are (Oscar Hammerstein II)
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

Daring ideas are like chess men moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.

Mary's Ghost (Thomas Hood)
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

MARGARET MEAD

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

'Tis the Last Rose of Summer (Thomas Moore)
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

DAVID HUME

Where men are the most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken.

A love poem by Queen Elizabeth I
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

MAHATMA GANDHI

Where there is love there is life.

I wandered lonely as a cloud (Wordsworth)
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

WILLIAM W. PURKEY

You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.

beginning tomorrow
POETRY FOR PLEASURE
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

New - - - POETRY FOR PLEASURE - - - New
Every week-day a poem, ballad, humorous verses or song lyrics
beginning Monday 29th August
http://poetryforpleasure.blogspot.com

CONFUCIUS

If one’s mind is elsewhere, one will look but not see, listen but not hear.

ANON

Don't pretend you know.
Start the day fresh and new.
The only thing you know is that you don't know.

MARY KAY ASH

Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as the mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.

THOMAS EDISON

The value of an idea lies in the using of it.

NICHOLAS SPARKS

Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can.

THOMAS HARDY

Some folk want their luck buttered.

Three short poems by Thomas Hardy have been added today to
THOMAS HARDY - THE WESSEX POET
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

MAE WEST

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

LAURENS van der POST

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right

Viking Saying

Good sense is the best of burdens. While travelling, it is better than gold.

PIERRE NICOLE

We need a reason to speak, but none to keep silent.

GEORGE HERBERT

He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.

PUBLILIUS SYRUS

Every day should be passed as if it were to be our last.

King James Bible - Proverbs

A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.

CHARLES LAMB

The greatest pleasure in life is to do good by stealth
and be found out by accident

ARISTOTLE

If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is Nature’s way.

G.K. CHESTERTON

The way to love anything is to realise that it might be lost.

AMANDA McBROOM

It is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.
It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes a chance.
It is the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.

FRANCIS GRAY

Look well to this day.
Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day.

NISARGADATTA

Wisdom tells me I'm Nothing.
Love tells me I'm Everything.
Between the two my life flows.

Chinese Proverb

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

GEORGE SAND

He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.


Poetry is not a subject that appeals to many people. However, it has been very encouraging to note the interest that is being shown in the new Thomas Hardy blog. If you haven’t visited it yet, you may find it worth a look.
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

SAMUEL JOHNSON

A man had rather have a hundred lies told of him, than one truth which he does not wish should be told.

SYDNEY HARRIS

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time.
It is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

ERIN MAJORS

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.

BLOG STATS
During the month of July my most popular blogs were -
My own Selection of Pre-Raphaelite Paintings - 619 hits
Wise Men Say -527 hits
John's Gallery - 347 hits

RICHARD BRAUNSTEIN

It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.

ANON

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been re-arranged by the hand of man.

Thomas Hardy's poem "At Casterbridge Fair" (complete) can now be read at -
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

KITARO NISHIDA

If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child, I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this.

Tomorrow at THE WESSEX POET site -
the complete poem "At Casterbridge Fair"
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

JOHN F.KENNEDY

An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it

CARL SCHURZ

Ideals are like stars. You will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but, like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them reach your destination.

KATHLEEN NORRIS

None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting a few months or a few years to change all the tenor of our lives.

Chinese Proverb

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

BARON de MONTESQUIEU

Great lords have their pleasures, but the people have fun

MASTER OF COLOUR
the paintings of William Merritt Chase
http://masterofcolour.blogspot.com

SIVANANDA

Love expects no reward.
Love knows no fear.
Love gives - does not demand.
Love thinks no evil - imputes no motive.
To Love is to share and serve.

THE WESSEX POET
The poems of Thomas Hardy
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com

ROBERT BLOCH

The man who can smile when things go wrong has thought of someone else he can blame it on

CHARLES CALEB COLTON

True friendship is like sound health.
The value of it is seldom known until it be lost.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

In the hope of reaching the moon, men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.

ELLA FITZGERALD

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.

WILLIAM HAZLITT

I can enjoy society in a room; but out-of-doors nature is company enough for me.

Arabian Proverb

Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity.

The DALAI LAMA

My religion is very simple.
My religion is kindness.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else


Announcing two new blogs -

THE WESSEX POET
The poems of Thomas Hardy
begins tomorrow 17th July
http://thewessexpoet.blogspot.com
And
MASTER OF COLOUR
The paintings of William Merritt Chase
begins on Monday 18th July
http://masterofcolour.blogspot.com

JOHN MUIR

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.

ANON

Live for today,
Forget tomorrow,
Think of your hopes
And not your sorrow.

MARGARET THATCHER

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.

Ven. K. Sri. DHAMMANANDA

Happy is he who has lofty and noble aspirations.
Happy is he who enriches the lives of others.
Happy is he who allows others to live in peace.
Happy is he who makes this world a better place to live in.
Happy is he whose work, chores and daily tasks are labours of love.
Happy is he who loves love.

KIN HUBBARD

There's no secret to success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn't tell you about it?

THOMAS HARDY

A man’s silence is wonderful to listen to

JANE AUSTEN

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

Taoist Saying

You can conquer others with power,
But it takes true strength to conquer yourself.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself

A.A. MILNE

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them

LAMA SURYA DAS

Truth is everywhere.
It knows no religious, cultural, temporal or ethnic bounds.
Truth is the perfect circle.
Its centre is everywhere.
Its circumference stretches into infinite space.

MALCOLM FORBES

It's a very short trip. While alive, live.

JOHN'S MIXED BAG
a personal choice
http://johnsmixedbag.blogspot.com

VINCE LOMBARDI

Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.

BLOG STATS
During the month of June my most popular blogs were:-
The Pre-Raphaelites - 808 hits
Wise Men Say - 617 hits
John's Gallery - 237 Hits

ANON

The hardest thing in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX

Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them

HUMPHRY DAVY

Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart, and secure comfort.

RUMER GODDEN

There is an Indian belief that everyone is in a house of four rooms - a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room everyday, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete.

BERNARD MELTZER

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.

Chinese Saying

A rumour goes in one ear and out many mouths.


JOHN'S MIXED BAG
a personal choice
http://johnsmixedbag.blogspot.com

WINSTON CHURCHILL

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

ENID BLYTON

Growing old is compulsory, but growing up is optional.

DAVID RUSSELL

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

From the Dhammapada

Hold not a sin of little worth, thinking "This is little to me."
The falling drops of water will in time fill a water-jar.
Even so the foolish man becomes full of evil, although he gather it little by little.

Hold not a deed of little worth, thinking "This is little to me."
The falling drops of water will in time fill a water-jar.
Even so the wise man becomes full of good, although he gather it little by little.

SAMUEL JOHNSON

The happiest conversation is where there is no competition, no vanity, but a calm quiet interchange of sentiments.

CROWFOOT

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
And loses itself in the sunset.

[Crowfoot (1830-1890) Chief of the Blackfoot people, Canada]

FRIDTJOF NANSEN

The difficult is what takes a little time.
The impossible is what takes a little longer.

ANON

Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.

GEORGE ELIOT

Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

IVAN TURGENEV

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.

JOHN'S MIXED BAG
http://johnsmixedbag.blogspot.com
Mondays and Thursdays

MAHATMA GANDHI

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

ROBERT BENCHLEY

It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

ANON

Do not fear the winds of adversity. Remember: A kite rises against the wind rather than with it.

NEW - John's Mixed Bag - NEW
(a personal choice)
http://johnsmixedbag.blogspot.com

VICTOR HUGO

Life is the flower for which love is the honey.

WILLIAM FAULKNER

All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible.

PLATO

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.

WILLIAM BLAKE

A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

HENRY FORD

Don’t find fault, find a remedy.

BLOG STATISTICS

During the Month of May my most popular blogs were:-

My Own Selection of Pre-Raphaelite Paintings - 1,245 hits

Wise Men Say - 615 hits

John's Gallery - 455 hits

WILLIAM LOUDEN

To be sure of good health - eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.

SOPHOCLES

Look and you will find it.

What is unsought will go undetected.

ANON

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.

HELEN KELLER

The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart

OSCAR WILDE

Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others

ROBERT LOUIS STEPHENSON

No man is useless while he has a friend.

Now online

WHEN OUR PARENTS WERE YOUNG

(An octogenarian turns back the clock)

http://whenourparentswereyoung.blogspot.com

CHRISTOPHER MORLEY

Read every day something no one else is reading.

Think every day something no one else is thinking.

Do every day something no one else would be silly enough to do.

It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

JOHN LENNON

We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.

GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE

Now and then its good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

ANON

Life is a precious gift. Don’t waste it being unhappy, dissatisfied, or anything else you can be.

W. S. GILBERT

Life’s a pudding full of plums,
Care’s a canker that benumbs.
Wherefore waste our elocution
On impossible solution?
Life’s a pleasant institution.
Let us take it as it comes.

OPRAH WINFREY

Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you're going to use it, by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus.

JOHN KEATS

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."
That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Chinese Proverb

We count our miseries carefully, and accept our blessings without much thought.

JOHN MASEFIELD

I have seen flowers come in stony places
And kind things done by men with ugly faces,
And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races,
So I trust, too.

ROBERT C. EDWARDS

Never exaggerate your faults. Your friends will attend to that.

BUDDHA

Nobody is condemned in Buddhism,
For greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest,
Just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds.

ANON

My grandpa notes the world's worn cogs
And says we're going to the dogs.
His grandpa in his house of logs
Said things were going to the dogs.
His grandpa in the Flemish bogs
Said things were going to the dogs.
His grandpa in his hairy togs
Said things were going to the dogs.
But this is what I wish to state.
The dogs have had a long, long wait.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

A man does not have to be an angel in order to be saint.

THERE HAVE BEEN PROBLEMS AT BLOGGER.COM, AND THE RESULT HAS BEEN THAT EVERYTHING I HAVE POSTED TO MY BLOGS SINCE WEDNESDAY HAS BEEN LOST.

I WILL NOW PUT THEM BACK ON

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Arab Proverb

Insults should be written in the sand, and praises carved in stone.

JOHN WOODEN

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.

JOSEPH ADDISON

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles to be sure but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

ECCLESIASTICUS

Have regard for your name, since it will remain for you longer than a great store of gold.

EDDIE CANTOR

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast. You also miss the sense of where you are going and why.

ALFRED MONTAPERT

Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course.

From the Tao Te Ching

Clay is moulded in a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes it useful.

Now online - That Was Another Good Read
(Great Moments from Classic Fiction)
http://thatwasanothergoodread.blogspot.com

RICHARD BACH

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.

St. FRANCIS de SALES

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.

WILLIAM LOUDEN

To be sure of good health - eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.

WILLIAM LOUDEN

To be sure of good health - eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

If you have had no pleasure in yourself, look about you. Go to the people; see how they can enjoy life; rejoice in the happiness of others and you can still live.

MONICA PIPER

Juries scare me. I don't want to put my faith in twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.


Today at John's Gallery - five paintings by Hans Gude
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

Buddhist Saying

Do not speak, unless it improves on silence.

CARL JUNG

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.

MARCUS AURELIUS

Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight.

HELEN KELLER

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.


now online - "Let's hear that song again" - music from the 1930s
http://letshearthatsongagain.blogspot.com

ANON

A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

WASHINGTON IRVING

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in travelling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position, and be bruised in a new place.


A second series begins today at JOHN'S GALLERY with five paintings by Sir Edwin Landseer including "Monarch of the Glen" - http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

OSHO

Meditation is not against action.
It is not that you have to escape from life.
It simply teaches you a new way of life,
keeping yourself centred in whatever you do.

HEDA BEJAR

The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.

BUDDHA

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike. Each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.

THOMAS EDISON

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

DIOGENES

It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend.

Chinese Proverb

You cannot prevent the bird of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from building a nest in your hair.

ISAAC ASIMOV

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It is the transition that is troublesome.

LEO TOLSTOY

Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing himself.

GILDA RADNER

Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.

BARON de MONTESQUIEU

Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.

PETER T. McINTYRE

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.

DAVID FROST

Don’t aim for success if you want it - just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

RUSSELL LYNES

The only graceful way to accept an insult is to ignore it. If you can't ignore it, top it. If you can't top it, laugh at it. If you can't laugh at it, it's probably been deserved.

BYRD BAGGETT

Look at life through the windscreen, not the rear-view mirror.

SOPHOCLES

Kindness will always attract kindness.

HENRY FORD

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking

ANON

Every day must come to you as -
a new hope
a new promise
a new aspiration
a new energy
a new thrill
a new delight

PEARL S. BUCK

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it generation after generation.

HORACE

Seize the day! Put no trust in the morrow.

GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTENBERG

He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage - he won't have many rivals.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. (The Merchant of Venice)

Turkish Proverb

Things never go so well that one should have no fear, and never so ill that one should have no hope.

MATTHEW PARRIS

The commonest big mistake the individual outside politics makes about the people inside is to suppose that they have a plan

ELBERT HUBBARD

There is no failure except in no longer trying.

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU

It is too difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living.

St TERESA of AVILA

The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.

ORISON S. MARDEN

Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before
them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.



Now online COME SURF THE NET
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

The Talmud

For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned it is the season of the harvest.

beginning tomorrow
COME SURF THE NET
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.

W.H. AUDEN

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can - all of them make me laugh.

New - - COME SURF THE NET - - New
beginning Saturday 26th March
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

CONFUCIUS

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.



New - - COME SURF THE NET - - New
beginning Saturday 26th March
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

HENRY FORD

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.



New - - COME SURF THE NET - - New
beginning Saturday 26th March
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

DEEPEK CHOPRA

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.

New - COME SURF THE NET - New
beginning Saturday 26th March
http://comesurfthenet.blogspot.com

LILY TOMLIN

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.

ANON

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

MAHATMA GANDHI

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

THOMAS CARLYLE

The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.

ROBERT SOUTHEY

Home - there is a magic in that little word, it is a mystic circle that surrounds comforts and virtues never known beyond its hallowed limits.

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.

OSHO

Love is not a passion, love is not an emotion.
Love is a very deep understanding that somebody somehow completes you.
The presence of the other enhances your presence.
Love gives freedom to be yourself; it is not possessiveness.

SAM LEVENSON

Somewhere on this globe every 10 seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.

Latin Proverb

Possessions dwindle. I mourn their loss. But I mourn the loss of time much more, for everyone can save his purse, but none can win back lost time.

THOMAS H. HUXLEY

Much can be done to change the nature of man himself. The intelligence which has converted the brother of the wolf into the guardian of the flock ought to be able to do something toward curbing the instinct of savaging in civilised man.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

The man who makes no mistakes usually does not make anything

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.

JAMES ALLEN

The greatest achievements were at first and for a time dreams. The oak sleeps in the acorn.

LAO TSU

Knowing others is wisdom,
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force,
Mastering the self needs strength.

CHARLOTTE WHITTON

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult.

PUBLILIUS SYRUS

To do two things at once is to do neither.

DALE CARNEGIE

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

From the Dhammapada

Better than a thousand
Hollow words
Is one word that brings peace.

CHARLES DICKENS

Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

WALT DISNEY

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

St FRANCIS of ASSISI

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

DR. SEUSS

Think left and think right
And think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up
If only you try!

JANE GOODALL

What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

African Proverb

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

CHARLES READER

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

JOHN F. KENNEDY

We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.

G.K. CHESTERTON

The only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it.

ANON

Love while you’ve got love to give
Live while you’ve got life to live

-o0o- WISE MEN SAY is FIVE YEARS OLD today -o0o-

Looking back to the start of the project, I was astonished to see that on that first day I posted no less than 23 quotes! Among them was the one I chose for today. So here's to the next 5 years!!!

ANON

Some minds are like concrete - thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.


Today at John's Gallery - Five Paintings by Women Artists
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

GEORGE ELIOT

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand. The angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.

FRANZ SCHUBERT

Let us take men as they are, not as they ought to be.


Today at John's Gallery - Five famous paintings including the Mona Lisa
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

THICH NHAT HANH

Whatever activity you do, do it slowly, with the attention it deserves. Do not rush to end it. Be relaxed in everything and bring your full attention to it.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.


Today at John's Gallery - Five Paintings by Adolphe-William Bouguereau
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

ANON

Three things that make us human:
our longing to know the meaning of life, our capacity for love, and our ability to laugh.

ELLEN DeGENERES

The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren’t any space aliens. We can’t be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we’re not all there is. If so, we’re in big trouble.

MALCOLM FORBES

Failure is success if we learn from it.

Chinese Proverb

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will avoid one hundred days of sorrow.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

I have had to eat my own words many times, and I have found it a very nourishing diet.

MILTON GARLAND

Don't worry about anything. Worrying never solved anything. All it does is distort your mind.


Today at John's Gallery - Avenue at Middelharnis, by Meindert Hobbema
http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

PHYLLIS THEROUX

Mistakes are the usual bridge between inexperience and wisdom.

OSCAR WILDE

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved bring a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.

JOHN WAYNE

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.

ANON

Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Do not go where the path may lead. Go where there is no path and make a trail.

ALDOUS HUXLEY

Several excuses are always less convincing than one.

MARILYN VOS SAVANT

Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent

THOMAS CARLYLE

Silence is deep as Eternity, speech is as shallow as Time.

JESUS of NAZARETH

You have heard that it hath been said - thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.

JOHN C. WU

Spring has its flowers,
Autumn has its moon,
Summer has its cooling breezes,
Winter has its snow.
If you allow no idle concerns to weigh on your heart,
Your whole life will be one perennial good season.


Have you discovered the Poetry Path yet?

http://thepoetrypath.blogspot.com

***The Poetry Path***The Poetry Path***The Poetry Path***

FRANCOIS DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us

EPICTETUS

In prosperity it is very easy to find a friend, but in adversity it is the most difficult of all things

HUGH WHITE

The past cannot be changed. the future is yet in your power.

HELEN KELLER

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

ANON

Every day must come to you as -
a new hope,
a new promise,
a new aspiration,
a new energy,
a new thrill, and
a new delight

BUDDHA

Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love; this is an eternal truth - overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good, overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth.

PETER USTINOV

Contrary to general belief, I do not believe that friends are necessarily the people you like best. They are merely the people who got there first.



Beginning today - JOHN'S GALLERY is showing four paintings by Jan Vermeer, including "The Girl with the Pearl Earring." The address is http://johnsgallery.blogspot.com

J.R.R. TOLKIEN

It is the job that is never started that takes the longest to finish.

The Talmud

Who is wise? One who learns from all.

SOCRATES

Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs. Therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity.

MARY ANNE RADMACHER

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying "I will try again tomorrow."

DAVID GRAYSON

Commandment Number One of any truly civilised society is this: let people be different.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

My eyes have seen too much, but they are not weary.
My ears have heard much, but they thirst for more.



Now online - Series 2 of the Pre-Raphaelite Paintings blog
http://myownselection.blogspot.com

ZENNA SCHAFFER

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and you get rid of him all weekend.

WALT DISNEY

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are



Now on THE POETRY PATH - Henry VIII the Poet
http://thepoetrypath.blogspot.com

PUBLIUS SYRUS

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm

Maltese Proverb

The wallet of a timid man neither increases or decreases

HELEN FIELDING

It is a truth universally acknowledged that, as soon as one part of your life starts looking up, another falls to pieces

CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it - will do anything but live for it.

MARK TWAIN

Man is the only animal that blushes or needs to.



A TOUCH OF CULTURE remembers LEWIS CARROLL
http://atouchofculture.blogspot.com

JACOB BRONOWSKI

The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.

JEAN GIRAUDOUX

Only the mediocre are always at their best.



Now online - The Poetry Path
http://thepoetrypath.blogspot.com

MOLIERE

One should look long and carefully at oneself before one considers judging others.

beginning today - THE POETRY PATH - beginning today
http://thepoetrypath.blogspot.com

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.