VOLTAIRE

Stand upright, speak thy thoughts, declare the truth thou hast, that all may share. Be bold, proclaim it everywhere. They only live who dare.

From Fragrantheart.com

When we are connected to Nature even the tiniest creature elicits our awe and reverence.

EDWARD DE BONO

The simple process of focussing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.

BUDDHA

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

There are three things which are extremely hard - steel, a diamond, and to know oneself.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

The more I see of the moneyed classes, the more I understand the guillotine.

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES

Time ripens all things, no man is born wise.

Indian Proverb

Every time you wake up, ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today?" Remember that, when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it.

MALCOLM FORBES

Failure is success if we learn from it.

LAO-TZU

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage.

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Insist on being yourself. Never imitate.

CONFUCIUS

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order. To put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order. To put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life. We must first set our hearts right. 

AUGUSTE RODIN

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

ANNE FRANK

Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.

MARK TWAIN

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

St.BASIL

He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

ANON

A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.

MARCUS AURELIUS

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned the hard way that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live.

VICTOR HUGO

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved - loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.

MICHAEL KORDA

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Zen Buddhist Saying

The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.

ERICA JONG

Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

How poor are they that have not patience.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.

D.H. LAWRENCE

I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.

BUDDHA

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

MARYANNE RADMACHER-HERSHEY

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “ I'll try again tomorrow.”

ANON

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is that special occasion.

T.S.ELIOT

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. You can out-distance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you.

JOAN MILLS

I've gone through life believing in the strength and competence of others, never in my own. Now I discover that my capacities are real - it's like finding a fortune in the lining of an old coat.

from the Dhammapada

Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.

WILLIAM ARTHUR

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.

MARK TWAIN

The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.

Spanish Proverb

How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

I slept and dreamt that life was Joy,
I woke and saw that life was Duty,
I acted and behold - Duty was Joy.

MAYA ANGELOU

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

STEPHEN COVEY

Begin with the end in mind.

DIOGENES

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

Chinese proverb

Even a great feast has a last course

ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly, even if they roll a few stones upon it.

RICHARD NELSON BOLLES

One of the saddest lines in the world is - oh come now, be realistic. The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride.

ANAIS NIN

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and moulding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

OPRAH WINFREY

Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

LORD TENNYSON

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow;
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true

ANON

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

ANON

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.

THICH NHAT HANH

From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax, and to be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, and enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on earth.

ROBERT LYND

Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need to be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

BURTON HILLIS

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree - the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

OREN ARNOLD

Christmas gift suggestions -
to your enemy, forgiveness.
to an opponent, tolerance.
to a friend, your heart.
to a customer, service.
to all, charity.
to every child, a good example.
to yourself, respect.

CALVIN COOLIDGE

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

NORMAN COUSINS

There ain’t much fun in medicine, but there’s a whole lot of medicine in fun.

MILTON GARLAND

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

THE DALAI LAMA

Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.

EDWARD R. MURROW

Difficulty is an excuse history never accepts.

Today's post is the one thousandth on this blog

To mark the occasion I’m publishing again my special favourite -

“You will find meaning in life only if you create it. It is not lying there somewhere behind the bushes, so you can go and you search a little bit and find it. It is not there like a rock that you will find. It is a poetry to be composed, it is a song to be sung, it is a dance to be danced.” (written by the Indian mystic OSHO 1931-1990)

from FragrantHeart.com

The best time of my life is right now.

St FRANCIS of ASSISI

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

BAIZHANG

Cling to nothing; crave for nothing

MARCUS AURELIUS

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind, for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

African Proverb

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

WOODROW WILSON

Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.

FRANZ SCHUBERT

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

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.

BUDDHA

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth - not going all the way and not starting.

ANON

Only those who do nothing make no mistakes.

AUGUSTUS HARE

Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping.

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.

[according to tradition, the 423 verses that make up the Dhammapada were spoken by the Buddha on different occasions]

BARBARA DE ANGELIS

Love is a force more formidable than any other.  It is invisible, it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment and offer you more joy than any material possession could.

HENRY WARD BEECHER

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

DIOGENES

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

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.

ANON

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

[attributed to many sources]

SOCRATES

Let him that would move the world first move himself.

JIM RYUN

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

JAMES EARL JONES

One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.

Buddhist Saying

Do not speak, unless it improves on silence.

St TERESA of AVILA

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

EDWARD R. MURROW

To be persuasive, we must be believable.
To be believable, we must be credible.
To be credible, we must be truthful.
   

Gaelic Saying

Cha bhi fios aire math an tobair gus an tràigh e.
(The value of the well is not known until it goes dry.)

JAMES ALLEN

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

ELISABETH KUBLER-ROSS

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

Swedish Proverb

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

BOB HOPE

I have seen what a laugh can do.  It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.

DAVID O. McKAY

Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best. 

HEDA BEJAR

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

PLATO

At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.

EUGENE O’NEILL

I have had my dance with Folly, nor do I shirk the blame,
I have sipped the so-called Wine of Life and paid the price of shame,
But I know that I shall find surcease, the rest my spirit craves,
Where the rainbows play in the flying spray,
'Mid the keen salt kiss of the waves.

BUDDHA

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

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

African Proverb

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

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope or fear,
But, grateful, take the good I find,
The best of now and here.

CONFUCIUS

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.

The DALAI LAMA

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.

GOETHE

Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.

ANON

When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box.