β
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
β
β
Mahatma Gandhi
β
The past has no power over the present moment.
β
β
Eckhart Tolle
β
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
β
β
Confucius
β
I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
β
β
Robert Frost
β
Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.
β
β
E.M. Forster
β
When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
If a man is to shed the light of the sun upon other men, he must first of all have it within himself.
β
β
Romain Rolland
β
Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.
β
β
Plato
β
The decisions I made after that moment were not the ones she would have made. They were the choices of a changed person, a new self.
You could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity. Betrayal.
I call it an education
β
β
Tara Westover (Educated)
β
Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
An education is not so much about making a living as making a person.
β
β
Tara Westover (Educated)
β
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
β
β
Helen Keller
β
Do you train for passing tests or do you train for creative inquiry?
β
β
Noam Chomsky
β
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
β
β
Anthony Robbins
β
Let us pick up our books and our pens,β I said. βThey are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves
β
β
Joseph Campbell
β
Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.
β
β
Barry Finlay (Kilimanjaro and Beyond)
β
Education is experience, and the essence of experience is self-reliance.
β
β
T.H. White (The Once and Future King)
β
... what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.
β
β
Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth)
β
Look at children. Of course they may quarrel, but generally speaking they do not harbor ill feelings as much or as long as adults do. Most adults have the advantage of education over children, but what is the use of an education if they show a big smile while hiding negative feelings deep inside? Children donΒt usually act in such a manner. If they feel angry with someone, they express it, and then it is finished. They can still play with that person the following day.
β
β
Dalai Lama XIV
β
There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.
β
β
Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self Reliance)
β
One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.
β
β
Aldo Leopold (A Sand County Almanac)
β
We do not need to eat animals, wear animals, or use animals for entertainment purposes, and our only defense of these uses is our pleasure, amusement, and convenience.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
β
β
Carl Sagan (Cosmos)
β
Our men think earning money and ordering around others is where power lies. They don't think power is in the hands of the woman who takes care of everyone all day long, and gives birth to their children.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
He believed that lack of education was the root of all of Pakistanβs problems. Ignorance allowed politicians to fool people and bad administrators to be re-elected.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also be able to dance with the pen?
β
β
Friedrich Nietzsche
β
A strong woman builds her own world. She is one who is wise enough to know that it will attract the man she will gladly share it with.
β
β
Ellen J. Barrier (How to Trust God When All Other Resources Have Failed)
β
Choices, numberless as grains of sand, had layered and compressed, coalescing into sediment, then into rock, until all was set in stone.
β
β
Tara Westover (Educated)
β
There is no wealth like knowledge, no poverty like ignorance.
β
β
ΨΉΩΩ Ψ¨Ω Ψ£Ψ¨Ω Ψ·Ψ§ΩΨ¨
β
Because I trust in the ever-changing climate of the heart. (At least, today I feel that way.) I think it is necessary to have many experiences for the sake of feeling something; for the sake of being challenged, and for the sake of being expressive, to offer something to someone else, to learn what we are capable of.
β
β
Jason Mraz
β
Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning.
β
β
Louisa May Alcott
β
Itβs hard to believe there are people that donβt read books. Thereβs so much magic in words and well told stories.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Get immersed in the beauty that surrounds you. No filters, edits, or adjustments. Experience the colors, sounds, textures and smells within your reach. Live.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
By 20, you should be smart. By 30, you should be strong. By 40, you should be rich. By 50, you should be wise. But if you are smart, strong, rich and wise, you don't need any age limits.
β
β
Santosh Kalwar (Quote Me Everyday)
β
Woman is a delicate creature with strong emotions who has been created by the Almighty God to shoulder responsibility for educating society and moving toward perfection. God created woman as symbol of His own beauty and to give solace to her partner and her family.
β
β
Ali ibn Abi Talib
β
Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.
β
β
Friedrich Schiller
β
To talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking.
β
β
Charlotte BrontΓ« (Jane Eyre)
β
University can teach you skill and give you opportunity, but it can't teach you sense, nor give you understanding. Sense and understanding are produced within one's soul.
β
β
C. JoyBell C.
β
Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating...too often fathers neglect it because they get so caught up in making a living they forget to make a life.
β
β
John Wooden (Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court)
β
Sustain joy by anchoring yourself with gratitude.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
I believe that what we get out of life is what we've set ourselves up to get, so there's no such thing as an inconsequential decision. Our destinies are the culmination of all the choices we've made along the way, which is why it's imperative to listen hard to your inner voice when it speaks up.
Don't let anyone else's noise drown it out.
β
β
Megan McCafferty (Second Helpings (Jessica Darling, #2))
β
We human beings don't realize how great God is. He has given us an extraordinary brain and a sensitive loving heart. He has blessed us with two lips to talk and express our feelings, two eyes which see a world of colours and beauty, two feet which walk on the road of life, two hands to work for us, and two ears to hear the words of love. As I found with my ear, no one knows how much power they have in their each and every organ until they lose one.
β
β
Malala Yousafzai (I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban)
β
If reading makes you happy, do it. Whatever makes your heart sing and brings you joy, do that too.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Remember to celebrate the small accomplishments along your journey because they will provide the support needed when the road gets rocky.Β
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
I asked her if I was black or white. She replied "You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!
β
β
James McBride (The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother)
β
Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.
β
β
Scott Hayden
β
To merge on the road you are meant to travel, means making a choice and then taking action.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Today is the day you choose to find joy, fulfillment and the path that will make your heart sing. It's your choice, never lose sight of that.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Imagination is not bound by possibilities. The creative mind will always break the shacklesβmaking the impossible, possible.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
The moon is the reflection of your heart and moonlight is the twinkle of your love.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
Blessings! Count them and be thankful. Ask for an abundance of them and accept with gratitude.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.
β
β
Thomas Henry Huxley
β
Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself.
β
β
C. JoyBell C.
β
Inspiration ignites the spark of magic. Creativity is magic.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
The elements of the written word can be purely magical. I read and I write...I inspire and Iβm living.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
We don't have education, we have inspiration; if I was educated I would be a damn fool.
β
β
Bob Marley (Bob Marley - Legend)
β
Keep writing, dreaming and creating. There are no boundaries to your imagination. Writers are gifts to the world.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Writers create impressions that inspire, stir emotions, evoke questions and sprinkle seeds of awe.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Itβs not just the big moments that count, itβs all of the small actions that feed our heart and soul on a daily basis. Cherish those moments and reflect on how to replicate them often.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Writers have influenced thoughts, principals, viewpoints and experiences throughout history. A talented writerβs pen is anointed with magic!
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Lifeβs too short to walk around with your arms crossed and bottom lip poked out. Find a way to smile for yourself even if itβs as simple as licking the spoon clean or putting clean sheets on your bed.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
If you are on social media, and you are not learning, not laughing, not being inspired or not networking, then you are using it wrong.
β
β
Germany Kent
β
Life is complicated. If life was simple, wouldnβt that make us simpletons?
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Segregation shaped me; education liberated me.
β
β
Maya Angelou
β
We are always falling in love or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.
β
β
C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory)
β
If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.
β
β
Ignacio Estrada
β
A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see.
β
β
John Grogan
β
Hard work does not go unnoticed,
and someday the rewards will follow
β
β
Allan Rufus (The Master's Sacred Knowledge)
β
Private Detective, John Ballou, opened his glove compartment and took out his Colt 45 thinking an ex-con might be setting him up to settle an old score. He checked the bullet clip and slipped the powerful pistol into his coat pocket.
β
β
Shafter Bailey (James Ed Hoskins and the One-Room Schoolhouse: The Unprosecuted Crime Against Children)
β
Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also the mind of man.
β
β
Teresa de Γvila
β
A man, whilst he is dreaming, believes in his dream; he is undeceived only when he is awakened from his slumber.
β
β
Mahatma Gandhi (Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule)
β
Once you've decided that something's absolutely true, you've closed your mind on it, and a closed mind doesn't go anywhere. Question everything. That's what education's all about.
β
β
David Eddings (Belgarath the Sorcerer)
β
I drink cup of sunlight every morning to brighten myself.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
By the time a student gets to college, he's spent a decade curating a bewilderingly diverse resume to prepare for a completely unknowable future. Come what may, he's ready--for nothing in particular.
β
β
Peter Thiel (Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future)
β
Come forward as servants of Islam, organize the people economically, socially, educationally and politically and I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by everybody.
β
β
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
β
Giving birth does not make you a mother. Being there daily in good times and bad to provide, care, comfort, teach, sing, feed, clothe, encourage, discipline, clean, hug, pray, listen, cry, experience, protect, kiss, read, advocate, bandage, educate, coach, cheer, laugh, play and love unconditionally...well, that's a mother.
β
β
C. Toni Graham
β
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.
β
β
Albert Einstein
β
An intelligent person, looking out of his eyes and hearkening in his ears, with a smile on his face all the time, will get more true education than many another in a life of heroic vigils".
β
β
Robert Louis Stevenson (An Apology for Idlers)
β
The effects you will have on your students are infinite and currently unknown; you will possibly shape the way they proceed in their careers, the way they will vote, the way they will behave as partners and spouses, the way they will raise their kids.
β
β
Donna Quesada (Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers)
β
The aim of all Christian education, moreover, is to train the believer in an adult faith that can make him a "new creation", capable of bearing witness in his surroundings to the Christian hope that inspires him.
β
β
Pope Benedict XVI (Sacramentum Caritatis: On the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church's Life and Mission)
β
He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think, but the will to act
β
β
Plato
β
To those of us who often procrastinate on the decision we feel intimidated by lack of education or any area of weakness. I relieve you with this statement: It is not how much you know that arms you with the tools of great decision making, but rather how much you ask. Ask questions.
β
β
T.D. Jakes (Making Great Decisions Reflections)
β
An average person with average talent, ambition and education can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals.
β
β
Brian Tracy
β
Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.
β
β
Richard Halliburton
β
An empty skull is the vanitas symbol of modern education.
β
β
Bauvard (Some Inspiration for the Overenthusiastic)
β
In the times of trouble, be like the strong wall. In the times of joy, be like the smiling sun.
β
β
Santosh Kalwar
β
I believe that sanitizing this aspect of the modern and ancient world is at the root of our troubles as a culture now. We're bred to be smug about how peaceful we are, so we can watch television and feel safely distant from violence, when it is part of our makeup. That smugness means we don't feel we have to do anything about the violence we see, because it's obviously committed by people who aren't as educated or civilized as we are. By holding ourselves aloof from global and historical violence, we allow it to continue. If we are ever to survive as a species, we need to admit we are violent and find ways to ease the plight of the victims of violence worldwide. (No, invading a violent country and bombing it will not inspire its people to give violence up. Go figure.) We must face who we are and what creates violence: helplessness, envy, rage, even the drive to grab the good things of the world that are flaunted in the faces of the poor. We must take responsibility and protect each other from violence.
β
β
Tamora Pierce
β
What most of us must be involved in--whether we teach or write, make films, write films, direct films, play music, act, whatever we do--has to not only make people feel good and inspired and at one with other people around them, but also has to educate a new generation to do this very modest thing: change the world.
β
β
Howard Zinn (Artists in Times of War and Other Essays (Open Media))
β
Unless we take that first step into the unknown, we will never know our own potential!
β
β
Allan Rufus (The Master's Sacred Knowledge)
β
Any serious social, political, and economic change must include veganism.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
The one great art is that of making a complete human being of oneself.
β
β
G.I. Gurdjieff
β
Act as if it was, and it will be.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
Whatever you have to say, leave
The roots on, let them
Dangle
And the dirt
Just to make clear
Where they come from.
β
β
Charles Olson
β
My mother's gifts of courage to me were both large and small. The latter are woven so subtly into the fabric of my psyche that I can hardly distinguish where she stops and I begin.
β
β
Maya Angelou (Mom & Me & Mom)
β
It is the mark of an educated person to search for the same kind of clarity in each topic to the extent that the nature of the matter accepts it.
β
β
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics)
β
Happiness will grow if you plant the seeds of love in the garden of hope with compassion and care.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
Note and Quote to Self β What you think, say and do!
Your life mainly consists of 3 things!
What you think,
What you say and
What you do!
So always be very conscious of what you are co-creating!
β
β
Allan Rufus (The Master's Sacred Knowledge)
β
You start to live when you commit your life to cause higher than yourself. You must learn to depend on divine power for the fulfillment of a higher calling.
β
β
Lailah GiftyAkita
β
What we can change is our perceptions, which have the effect of changing everything.
β
β
Donna Quesada (Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers)
β
NOTE TO SELF β BOOMERANG EFFECT
My words, thoughts and deeds have
a boomerang effect.
So be-careful what you send out!
β
β
Allan Rufus (The Master's Sacred Knowledge)
β
Education develops the intellect; and the intellect distinguishes man from other creatures. It is education that enables man to harness nature and utilize her resources for the well-being and improvement of his life. The key for the betterment and completeness of modern living is education. But, ' Man cannot live by bread alone '. Man, after all, is also composed of intellect and soul. Therefore, education in general, and higher education in particular, must aim to provide, beyond the physical, food for the intellect and soul. That education which ignores man's intrinsic nature, and neglects his intellect and reasoning power can not be considered true education.
β
β
Haile Selassie I
β
Ethical veganism represents a commitment to nonviolence.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Education is not a problem. Education is an opportunity.
β
β
Lyndon B. Johnson
β
In the morning, celebrate the beauty and warmth of sun light,
in the evening, celebrate the song of silence and love of night.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
When you imagine, anything is possible.
β
β
Robert Agnello (The Glimmers Save Christmas)
β
Do you know where your breakthrough begins? Your breakthrough begins where your excuses ends.
β
β
Patience Johnson (Why Does an Orderly God Allow Disorder)
β
Schools train you to be ignorant with style [...] they prepare you to be a usable victim for a military industrial complex that needs manpower. As long as you're just smart enough to do a job and just dumb enough to swallow what they feed you, you're going to be alright [...] So I believe that schools mechanically and very specifically try and breed out any hint of creative thought in the kids that are coming up.
β
β
Frank Zappa
β
Ignorance is a choice. Hatred is a choice. Violence is a choice. But someoneβs existence is never a choice, or a fault, and itβs certainly not a crime. You would be wise to educate yourself.
β
β
Chris Colfer (A Tale of Magic... (A Tale of Magic, #1))
β
The possibility of the dream gives strength.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
Quotes and notes to self β Find your inner peace!
Donβt
be caught up in your outer world.
Pay
greater attention to your inner world
β
β
Allan Rufus
β
Educating the head without educating the heart is no education at all
β
β
Aristotle
β
Science is observing truth in the light of head. Religion is observing truth in the light of heart. Humanity is using both the lights. And education is developing that humanity.
β
β
Amit Ray
β
Formal education makes you a living, self-education makes you a legend.
β
β
Habeeb Akande
β
People have become educated, but have not yet become human.
β
β
Abdul Sattar Edhi
β
The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.
β
β
David Foster Wallace (This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life)
β
The deepness of your mind produces the thickness of your thoughts.
β
β
Michael Bassey Johnson
β
Veganism is an act of nonviolent defiance. It is our statement that we reject the notion that animals are things and that we regard sentient nonhumans as moral persons with the fundamental moral right not to be treated as the property or resources of humans.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, money, circumstances, than failures and success, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearance, ability, or skill. It will make or break a business, a home, a friendship, an organization. The remarkable thing is I have a choice every day of what my attitude will be. I cannot change my past. I cannot change the actions of others. I cannot change the inevitable. The only thing I can change is attitude. Life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it.
β
β
Charles R. Swindoll
β
Our happiness or misery depends upon our perception, not on the situation.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
You cannot live a nonviolent life as long as you are consuming violence. Please consider going vegan.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better,
β
β
Carter G. Woodson (The Mis-Education of the Negro)
β
We can no more justify using nonhumans as human resources than we can justify human slavery. Animal use and slavery have at least one important point in common: both institutions treat sentient beings exclusively as resources of others. That cannot be justified with respect to humans; it cannot be justified with respect to nonhumansβhowever βhumanelyβ we treat them.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Life is too short to be anything but happy. So kiss slowly. Love deeply. Forgive quickly. Take chances and never have regrets. Forget the past but remember what it taught you.
β
β
Abhysheq Shukla (KISS Life "Life is what you make it")
β
Note to Self β Thoughts design my energy!
My
thoughts
WILL
design the energy
that moves
me!
β
β
Allan Rufus
β
A real democracy would be a meritocracy where those born in the lower ranks could rise as far as their natural talents and discipline might take them.
β
β
Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln)
β
Tweet others the way you want to be tweeted.
β
β
Germany Kent (You Are What You Tweet: Harness the Power of Twitter to Create a Happier, Healthier Life)
β
I think deeply about things and want others to do likewise. I work for ideas and learn from people. I donβt like excluding people. Iβm a perfectionist, but I wonβt let that get in the way of publication. Except for education and entertainment, Iβm not going to waste my time on things that wonβt have an impact. I try to be friends with everyone, but I hate it when you donβt take me seriously. I donβt hold grudges, itβs not productive, but I learn from my experience. I want to make the world a better place.
β
β
Aaron Swartz
β
My parents were nonmaterialistic. They believed that money without knowledge was worthless, that education tempered with religion was the way to climb out of poverty in America, and over the years they were proven right.
β
β
James McBride (The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother)
β
Take the challenge of your life.
Reach out to your goals.
There is no limit to what you can achieve.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita
β
5 Ways To Build Your Brand on Social Media:
1 Post content that add value
2 Spread positivity
3 Create steady stream of info
4 Make an impact
5 Be yourself
β
β
Germany Kent
β
Christ was sent not to mend wounded people or wake sleepy people or advise confused people or inspire bored people or spur on lazy people or educate ignorant people, but to raise dead people.
β
β
Dane C. Ortlund (Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers)
β
Education is every day and everywhere, the only thing you have to pay is attention.
β
β
Tim Fargo
β
To make us feel small in the right way is a function of art.
β
β
E.M. Forster
β
-We need more love, to supersede hatred, -We need more strength,
to resist our weaknesses,
-We need more inspiration,
to lighten up our innermind.
-We need more learning,
to erase our ignorance,
-We need more wisdom,
to live longer and happier,
-We need more truths, to suppress deceptions,
-We need more health,
to enjoy our wealth,
-We need more peace, to stay in harmony with our brethren
-We need more smiles,
to brighten up our day,
-We need more hero's, and not zero's,
-We need more change of ourselves, to change the lives of others,
-We need more understanding,
to tackle our misunderstanding,
-We need more sympathy,
not apathy,
-We need more forgiveness,
not vengeance,
-We need more humility to be lifted up,
-We need more patience and not undue eagerness,
-We need more focus, to avoid distraction,
-We need more optimism,
not pessimism
-We need more justice,
not injustice,
-We need more facts, not fiction,
-We need more education,
to curb illiteracy,
-We need more skills, not incompetence,
-We need more challenges,
to make attempts,
-We need more talents,
to create the extraordinary,
-We need more helping hands,
not stingy folks,
-We need more efforts,
not laziness,
-We need more jokes, to forget our worries, -We need more spirituality,
not mean religion,
-We need more freedom,
not enslavement,
-We need more peacemakers,
not revolutionaries...with these, we create an heaven on earth.
β
β
Michael Bassey Johnson
β
I prayed that our growth would be as strong and determined as the seeds of coconut palms, boldly reaching skyward toward the sun diligently boring deeper into the earth to secure a firm foundation for the beautiful, durable, fruit-bearing trees they would become. For me, Mhonda was the place to continue the growth of the still young but strong roots of my tree planted in Kifungilo. This was my life now, the life Iβd prayed for, the life that would provide me with an education and would open doors. I wanted this life very much. I told my wavering spirit to bear with me because, just like the coconut palm, I would sway and bend and bruise, but I would survive. I would have to become the tree in the African saying: βThe tree that bends with the wind does not break.
β
β
Maria Nhambu (Africa's Child (Dancing Soul Trilogy, #1))
β
Be like a peacock and dance with all of your beauty.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
Embarrassing facts, those would really help our children remember their classroom lessons better.
β
β
Bauvard (Some Inspiration for the Overenthusiastic)
β
The amount of educational programming on television today is simply desensitizing. The only reason left to go to school is to see gun violence.
β
β
Bauvard (Some Inspiration for the Overenthusiastic)
β
It is great to do what you love but greater with the great team.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
β
Donβt do it! Donβt you dare think about giving up! EVERYTHING has a process. Work with the process, not against it. Move forward with purpose and never stop believing. You can do this! You know you can.
β
β
Stephanie Lahart
β
A homeless man visited my store today. The few quarters that he had in his pocket he invested on books. I offered him free books, but he insisted on giving me his quarters. He walked away filled with joy as if he possessed the world's riches in his hands. In a way, he did. He left me smiling and knowing that he was wealthier than many others... (01-21-10)
β
β
Besa Kosova (Raindrops)
β
Live a life that leaves a memory, nobody can steal.
β
β
Abhysheq Shukla (KISS Life "Life is what you make it")
β
Education: learning to find your purpose. Upon finding your purpose: what did I learn?
β
β
Bauvard (Some Inspiration for the Overenthusiastic)
β
The problem is not people being educated. The problem is that they are educated just enough to believe what they've been taught, but not educated enough to question what they've been taught.
~ Author Unknown
β
β
M.J. DeMarco (UNSCRIPTED: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship)
β
Pick a leader who will make their citizens proud. One who will stir the hearts of the people, so that the sons and daughters of a given nation strive to emulate their leader's greatness. Only then will a nation be truly great, when a leader inspires and produces citizens worthy of becoming future leaders, honorable decision makers and peacemakers. And in these times, a great leader must be extremely brave. Their leadership must be steered only by their conscience, not a bribe.
β
β
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
β
Anybody who writes a book is an optimist. First of all, they think they're going to finish it. Second, they think somebody's going to publish it. Third, they think somebody's going to read it. Fourth, they think somebody's going to like it. How optimistic is that?
β
β
Margaret Atwood
β
To say that a being who is sentient has no interest in continuing to live is like saying that a being with eyes has no interest in continuing to see. Deathβhowever βhumaneββis a harm for humans and nonhumans alike.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Challenges are part of life. Overcoming them makes you a stronger person.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
You have to go head, even if no one goes with you.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
β
The first bud of spring sings the other seeds into joining her uprising.
β
β
Amanda Gorman
β
Your sweet thank-you touches my heart, take my breath away, my only love. This day is only I have got.
β
β
Santosh Kalwar
β
The victory over our inner self is a daily struggle. Be strong and do not give up.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
I leave pansies, the symbolic flower of freethought, in memory of the Great Agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, who stood for equality, education, progress, free ideas and free lives, against the superstition and bigotry of religious dogma. We need men like him today more than ever. His writing still inspires us and challenges the 'better angels' of our nature, when people open their hearts and minds to his simple, honest humanity. Thank goodness he was here.
β
β
Bruce Springsteen
β
You must completely dedicate yourselves to it. To do less will be to let down your country, your state, your parents, your teachers, and ultimately, yourselves. Remember this: The only good citizen is the well-educated citizen.
β
β
Homer Hickam (Rocket Boys (Coalwood #1))
β
A NATION'S GREATNESS DEPENDS ON ITS LEADER
To vastly improve your country and truly make it great again, start by choosing a better leader. Do not let the media or the establishment make you pick from the people they choose, but instead choose from those they do not pick. Pick a leader from among the people who is heart-driven, one who identifies with the common man on the street and understands what the country needs on every level. Do not pick a leader who is only money-driven and does not understand or identify with the common man, but only what corporations need on every level.
Pick a peacemaker. One who unites, not divides. A cultured leader who supports the arts and true freedom of speech, not censorship. Pick a leader who will not only bail out banks and airlines, but also families from losing their homes -- or jobs due to their companies moving to other countries. Pick a leader who will fund schools, not limit spending on education and allow libraries to close. Pick a leader who chooses diplomacy over war. An honest broker in foreign relations. A leader with integrity, one who says what they mean, keeps their word and does not lie to their people. Pick a leader who is strong and confident, yet humble. Intelligent, but not sly. A leader who encourages diversity, not racism. One who understands the needs of the farmer, the teacher, the doctor, and the environmentalist -- not only the banker, the oil tycoon, the weapons developer, or the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyist.
Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows corporations to outsource jobs for cheaper labor when there is a national employment crisis. Choose a leader who will invest in building bridges, not walls. Books, not weapons. Morality, not corruption. Intellectualism and wisdom, not ignorance. Stability, not fear and terror. Peace, not chaos. Love, not hate. Convergence, not segregation. Tolerance, not discrimination. Fairness, not hypocrisy. Substance, not superficiality. Character, not immaturity. Transparency, not secrecy. Justice, not lawlessness. Environmental improvement and preservation, not destruction. Truth, not lies.
Most importantly, a great leader must serve the best interests of the people first, not those of multinational corporations. Human life should never be sacrificed for monetary profit. There are no exceptions. In addition, a leader should always be open to criticism, not silencing dissent. Any leader who does not tolerate criticism from the public is afraid of their dirty hands to be revealed under heavy light. And such a leader is dangerous, because they only feel secure in the darkness. Only a leader who is free from corruption welcomes scrutiny; for scrutiny allows a good leader to be an even greater leader.
And lastly, pick a leader who will make their citizens proud. One who will stir the hearts of the people, so that the sons and daughters of a given nation strive to emulate their leader's greatness. Only then will a nation be truly great, when a leader inspires and produces citizens worthy of becoming future leaders, honorable decision makers and peacemakers. And in these times, a great leader must be extremely brave. Their leadership must be steered only by their conscience, not a bribe.
β
β
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
β
All one can really leave one's children is what's inside their heads. Education, in other words, and not earthly possessions, is the ultimate legacy, the only thing that cannot be taken away.
β
β
Wernher von Braun
β
Our life stories are largely constructed and without mindfulness can prove destructive.
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Rasheed Ogunlaru
β
Experience does for the soul what education does for the mind.
β
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Casey Neistat
β
You are happy when you are enthusiastic and action-oriented, not when you are luxury and pleasure oriented.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
You have to prepare physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to conquer any mountain.
β
β
Lailah Gifty Akita (Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind)
β
Many little people, in little places, doing little things, can change the world.
β
β
Eduardo Galeano
β
Every great achiever is inspired by a great mentor.
β
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
β
An humble man without learning, but filled with the Holy Spirit,
is more powerful than the most nobly-born profound scholar
without that inspiration. He who is educated by the Divine Spirit
can, in his time, lead others to receive the same Spirit.
β
β
Abdu'l-BahΓ‘
β
As a woman, I know you're young but you gotta hear it now,the most valuable part about you is your brain. Get an education,don't let anybody tell you that your body or the size that you wear or any of that bullshit matters because it doesn't. Your brain matters, so be the smart girl in the room because to be funny you have to be smart, because you have to get the joke
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β
Sophia Bush
β
This is a beautiful morning; the sun is rising with a smiling face. Everything around me is alive and smiling. Everything is whispering in my ear to enjoy every moment and enjoy the morning. My heart is dancing with you, with morning light.
β
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Debasish Mridha
β
Your greatest weapon is your MIND! Lock and load it with the greatest ammunition; EDUCATION. And protect it with your best defense; GOD.
β
β
Marck E. Estemil (It Is Time)
β
Share your love, share you happiness, care for others; your wealth will be endless.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
In the garden of my heart
Flowers of loves were blooming
Not just to express the beauty
But to spread the fragrance
Of happiness.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
Education is for freedom - freedom from mental slavery.
β
β
Ogwo David Emenike
β
The path to wisdom is paved with humility.
β
β
Tim Fargo
β
Happiness will bloom
With fragrance and beauty
If you plant the seeds of love
With a deep driving desire
in the garden of hope
And nurture with tenderness,
Compassion, and care;
If you are always eager to share.
β
β
Debasish Mridha
β
We should always be clear that animal exploitation is wrong because it involves speciesism. And speciesism is wrong because, like racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, classism, and all other forms of human discrimination, speciesism involves violence inflicted on members of the moral community where that infliction of violence cannot be morally justified. But that means that those of us who oppose speciesism necessarily oppose discrimination against humans. It makes no sense to say that speciesism is wrong because it is like racism (or any other form of discrimination) but that we do not have a position about racism. We do. We should be opposed to it and we should always be clear about that.
β
β
Gary L. Francione
β
Art, literature, and philosophy are attempts to found the world anew on a human freedom: that of the creator; to foster such an aim, one must first unequivocally posit oneself as a freedom. The restrictions that education and custom impose on a woman limit her grasp of the universe...Indeed, for one to become a creator, it is not enough to be cultivated, that is, to make going to shows and meeting people part of one's life; culture must be apprehended through the free movement of a transcendence; the spirit with all its riches must project itself in an empty sky that is its to fill; but if a thousand fine bonds tie it to the earth, its surge is broken. The girl today can certainly go out alone, stroll in the Tuileries; but I have already said how hostile the street is: eyes everywhere, hands waiting: if she wanders absentmindedly, her thoughts elsewhere, if she lights a cigarette in a cafe, if she goes to the cinema alone, an unpleasant incident can quickly occur; she must inspire respect by the way she dresses and behaves: this concern rivets her to the ground and self. "Her wings are clipped." At eighteen, T.E. Lawrence went on a grand tour through France by bicycle; a young girl would never be permitted to take on such an adventure...Yet such experiences have an inestimable impact: this is how an individual in the headiness of freedom and discovery learns to look at the entire world as his fief...[The girl] may feel alone within the world: she never stands up in front of it, unique and sovereign.
β
β
Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex)
β
In plain words, youβve got to make up your mind to study whatever you undertake, and concentrate your mind on it, and really work at it. This isnβt wisdom. Any damned fool in the world knows itβs true, whether itβs a question of raising horses or writing plays. You simply have to face the prospect of starting at the bottom and spending years learning how to do it.
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β
Eugene O'Neill
β
In large part, we are teachers precisely because we remember what it was like to be a student. Someone inspired us. Someone influenced us. Or someone hurt us. And weβve channeled that joy (or pain) into our own unique philosophies on life and learning and weβre always looking for an opportunity to share themβwith each other, our students, parents, or in our communities.
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Tucker Elliot
β
For self-educated scientists and thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Leonardo-da-Vinci, Michael Faraday, myself and many others, education is a relentless voyage of discovery. To us education is an everlasting quest for knowledge and wisdom.
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Abhijit Naskar (The Education Decree)
β
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
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β
Barack Obama
β
One of the main reasons Jesus wanted Mari [Mary Magdalene] to start her own following of female disciples was because in those times, Jewish women had no probative value in society and were therefore not even given a basic education. Their intellect was considered decidedly inferior to men's and apart from this, women's far superior intuition was interpreted as a characteristic that associated them to the devil since the men could not quite understand this inner knowledge or find a plausible explanation for it...
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β
Anton Sammut (The Secret Gospel of Jesus, AD 0-78)
β
I might face death any minute now! But I should try not to put myself in harms' way as long as I can live. Of course it is not important if I die, because this is going to happen anyway. I know my purpose, my purpose is: How will my life or death impact the lives of others?
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β
Samad Behrangi (The Little Black Fish)
β
So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or an option, or for the educated middle classes, or that it shouldn't be read in school because it is irrelevant, or any of the strange and stupid things that are said about poetry and its place in our lives, I suspect that the people doing the saying have had things pretty easy. A tough life needs a tough language - and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers - a language powerful enough to to say how it is.
It isn't a hiding place. It is a finding place.
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β
Jeanette Winterson (Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?)
β
There is an efficiency inspired by love which goes far beyond and is much greater than the efficiency of ambition; and without love, which brings an integrated understanding of life, efficiency breeds ruthlessness. Is this not what is actually taking place all over the world? Our present education is geared to industrialization and war, its principal aim being to develop efficiency; and we are caught in this machine of ruthless competition and mutual destruction. If education leads to war, if it teaches us to destroy or be destroyed, has it not utterly failed?
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β
J. Krishnamurti (Education and the Significance of Life: Jiddu Krishnamurti on Freedom, Self-Understanding, and Mature Love)
β
There may be something going on in your life right now, that seems like a giant, so big that you think it's impossible to conquer. But, remember no matter how gigantic your problems may be, you have everything in you to overcome. You have the power to say to that mountain move, get out my way. Activate your faith, and watch it happen. The victory is yours!
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Amaka Imani Nkosazana
β
A university training is the great ordinary means to a great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of societyβ¦It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them and a force in urging them.
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β
John Henry Newman (The Idea of a University)
β
The greatest Emotion is Love.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest gift is your own Life.
The greatest pleasure is CHOCOLATE!
The greatest thing youβll ever learn is that there's always something new to learn.
The greatest virtue is temperance.
The greatest meditation is a peaceful mind.
The greatest practice is to be Kind.
education.
The greatest challenge is to let go. The greatest wisdom is to be in the NOW
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β
Pablo
β
If we all make systematic mistakes in our decisions, then why not develop new strategies, tools, and methods to help us make better decisions and improve our overall well-being? That's exactly the meaning of free lunches- the idea that there are tools, methods, and policies that can help all of us make better decisions and as a consequence achieve what we desire-pg. 241
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β
Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions)
β
Solitude, the safeguard of mediocrity, is to genius the stern friend, the cold, obscure shelter where moult the wings which will bear it farther than suns and stars. He who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from travelling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, reading, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions. "In the morning, β solitude;" said Pythagoras; that Nature may speak to the imagination, as she does never in company, and that her favorite may make acquaintance with those divine strengths which disclose themselves to serious and abstracted thought. 'Tis very certain that Plato, Plotinus, Archimedes, Hermes, Newton, Milton, Wordsworth, did not live in a crowd, but descended into it from time to time as benefactors: and the wise instructor will press this point of securing to the young soul in the disposition of time and the arrangements of living, periods and habits of solitude.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
β
Public education does not serve a public. It creates a public. And in creating the right kind of public, the schools contribute toward strengthening the spiritual basis of the American Creed. That is how Jefferson understood it, how Horace Mann understood it, how John Dewey understood it, and in fact, there is no other way to understand it. The question is not, Does or doesn't public schooling create a public? The question is, What kind of public does it create? A conglomerate of self-indulgent consumers? Angry, soulless, directionless masses? Indifferent, confused citizens? Or a public imbued with confidence, a sense of purpose, a respect for learning, and tolerance? The answer to this question has nothing whatever to do with computers, with testing, with teacher accountability, with class size, and with the other details of managing schools. The right answer depends on two things, and two things alone: the existence of shared narratives and the capacity of such narratives to provide an inspired reason for schooling.
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Neil Postman (The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School)
β
There are so many charlatans in the world of education. They teach for a couple of years, come up with a few clever slogans, build their websites, and hit the lecture circuit. In this fast-food-society, simple solutions to complex problems are embraced far too often. We can do better. I hope that people who read this book realize that true excellence takes sacrifice, mistakes, and enormous amounts of effort. After all, there are no shortcuts.
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Rafe Esquith (Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56)
β
I am opposed to animal welfare campaigns for two reasons. First, if animal use cannot be morally justified, then we ought to be clear about that, and advocate for no use. Although rape and child molestation are ubiquitous, we do not have campaigns for βhumaneβ rape or βhumaneβ child molestation. We condemn it all. We should do the same with respect to animal exploitation.
Second, animal welfare reform does not provide significant protection for animal interests. Animals are chattel property; they are economic commodities. Given this status and the reality of markets, the level of protection provided by animal welfare will generally be limited to what promotes efficient exploitation. That is, we will protect animal interests to the extent that it provides an economic benefit.
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Gary L. Francione
β
It seems logical to suppose that history's pattern reflects innate differences among people themselves. Of course, we're taught that it's not polite to say so in public. We see in our daily lives that some of the conquered peoples continue to form an underclass, centuries after the conquests or slave imports took place. We're told that this too is to be attributed not to any biological shortcomings but to social disadvantages and limited opportunities.
Nevertheless, we have to wonder. We keep seeing all those glaring, persistent differences in peoples' status. We're assured that the seemingly transparent biological explanation for the world's inequalities as of A.D. 1500 is wrong, but we're not told what the correct explanation is. Until we have some convincing, detailed, agreed-upon explanation for the broad pattern of history, most people will continue to suspect that the racist biological explanation is correct after all. That seems to me the strongest argument for writing this book.
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β
Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies)
β
When Suzie introduced Helen, she told the audience that one of the best things about books is that they are an interactive art form: that while the author may describe in some detail how a character looks, it is the reader's imagination that completes the image, making it his or her own. "That's why we so often don't like movies made from books, right?" Suzie said. "We don't like someone else's interpretation of what we see so clearly." She talked, too, about how books educate and inspire, and how they soothe the soul-"like comfort food without the calories," she said. She talked about the tactile joys of reading, the feel of a page beneath one's fingers; the elegance of typeface on a page. She talked about how people complain that they don't have time to read, and reminded them that if they gave up half an hour of television a day in favor of reading, they could finish twenty-five books a year. "Books don't take time away from us," she said. "They give it back. In this age of abstraction, of multitasking, of speed for speed's sake, they reintroduce us to the elegance-and the relief!-of real, tick-tock time.
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β
Elizabeth Berg (Home Safe)
β
When it comes to the education of our young, this privilege should only be given to those whose visions are solely in the uplifting benefit of the child. There is no room for the ego in the education of children! Children should not be looked after, nor educated, by those who have not made a sacrifice within their hearts, laying down their own personal agenda and dreams, for the total ascension of the child. Even if you are to educate the children simply sitting under a tree; if you have the vision and the heart of a sage, those children will grow to be mighty men and women under your watch! And even if you wine and dine the children, putting them up in a palace; if you do not have the vision and the selfless heart of a sage, all you do is in utter vanity!
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β
C. JoyBell C.
β
We should teach our kids that they're blessing and not a burden and that they're valuable beyond what they can imagine - in God's eyes, in the world's eyes - that they're purpose is so important to fulfill and it's gonna make a difference in the world. And they're the only ones that can make the difference that they can make, in the way that they can make it. That's why we all have different fingerprints. And I feel like the message is not clear enough. It's not clear because they go to school and they get challenged and they're bombarded with the idea that abortion is okay, that we can just go ahead and, you know, if we're not ready to have a kid we can just take care of that problem. But kids are not a problem, they're not a mistake, they're not a burden. They're blessing from God and that's what we don't understand. My mom was sixteen when she had me and we both almost died, I was a second kid, she had my brother when she was fifteen. And we both almost died and the doctors told her to abort me and I think that a lot of people gave her that advice. So when I grew up I think I had a sense of being a burden. And I think a lot of kids actually have that sense.
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β
Lacey Sturm
β
I ran across an excerpt today (in English translation) of some dialogue/narration from the modern popular writer, Paulo Coelho in his book: Aleph.(Note: bracketed text is mine.)... 'I spoke to three scholars,' [the character says 'at last.'] ...two of them said that, after death, the [sic (misprint, fault of the publisher)] just go to Paradise. The third one, though, told me to consult some verses from the Koran. [end quote]' ...I can see that he's excited. [narrator]' ...Now I have many positive things to say about Coelho: He is respectable, inspiring as a man, a truth-seeker, and an appealing writer; but one should hesitate to call him a 'literary' writer based on this quote. A 'literary' author knows that a character's excitement should be 'shown' in his or her dialogue and not in the narrator's commentary on it. Advice for Coelho: Remove the 'I can see that he's excited' sentence and show his excitement in the phrasing of his quote.(Now, in defense of Coelho, I am firmly of the opinion, having myself written plenty of prose that is flawed, that a novelist should be forgiven for slipping here and there.)Lastly, it appears that a belief in reincarnation is of great interest to Mr. Coelho ... Just think! He is a man who has achieved, (as Leonard Cohen would call it), 'a remote human possibility.' He has won lots of fame and tons of money. And yet, how his preoccupation with reincarnationβnone other than an interest in being born again as somebody elseβsuggests that he is not happy!
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Roman Payne
β
The only road to freedom is self-education in art. Art is not a luxury for any advanced
civilization; it is a necessity, without which creative intelligence will wither and die. Even
in economically troubled times, support for the arts should be a national imperative.
Dance, for example, requires funding not only to secure safe, roomy rehearsal space but
to preserve the indispensible continuity of the teacher-student link. American culture has
become unbalanced by its obsession with the blood sport of politics, a voracious vortex
consuming everything in its path. History shows that, for both individuals and nations,
political power is transient. America's true legacy is its ideal of liberty, which has inspired
insurgencies around the world. Politicians and partisans of both the Right and the Left
must recognize that art too is a voice of liberty, requiring nurture without intrusion. Art
unites the spiritual and material realms. In an age of alluring, magical machines, the
society that forgets art risks losing its soul.
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β
Camille Paglia
β
The benefits of a philosophy of neo-religious pessimism are nowhere more apparent than in relation to marriage, one of modern societyβs most grief-stricken arrangements, which has been rendered unnecessarily hellish by the astonishing secular supposition that it should be entered into principally for the sake of happiness. Christianity and Judaism present marriage not as a union inspired and governed by subjective enthusiasm but rather, and more modestly, as a mechanism by which individuals can assume an adult position in society and thence, with the help of a close friend, undertake to nurture and educate the next generation under divine guidance. These limited expectations tend to forestall the suspicion, so familiar to secular partners, that there might have been more intense, angelic or less fraught alternatives available elsewhere. Within the religious ideal, friction, disputes and boredom are signs not of error, but of life proceeding according to plan.
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Alain de Botton (Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion)
β
I believe that life is all about perception and timing. That good things come to those who act and that lifeβs about more than collecting a paycheck. I believe that the only person youβre destined to become is the one that you decide to be. That if you try hard enough you can convince yourself of anything. That having patience doesnβt make you a hero nor does it make you a doormat. I believe that not showing love proves youβre weak and belittling others doesnβt make you strong. That you are never as far away from people as the miles may suggest. That lifeβs too short to read awful books, listen to terrible music, or be around uninspiring people. I believe that where you start has little impact on where you finish. That sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away. That you can never be overdressed or overeducated. I believe that the cure for anything is salt water; sweat, tears, or the sea. That you should never let your memories be greater than your dreams. And that you should always choose adventure.
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β
Todd Smidt
β
I would not tell this court that I do not hope that some time, when life and age have changed their bodies, as they do, and have changed their emotions, as they do -- that they may once more return to life. I would be the last person on earth to close the door of hope to any human being that lives, and least of all to my clients. But what have they to look forward to? Nothing. And I think here of the stanza of Housman:
Now hollow fires burn out to black,
And lights are fluttering low:
Square your shoulders, lift your pack
And leave your friends and go.
O never fear, lads, naughtβs to dread,
Look not left nor right:
In all the endless road you tread
Thereβs nothing but the night.
...Here it Leopoldβs father -- and this boy was the pride of his life. He watched him, he cared for him, he worked for him; the boy was brilliant and accomplished, he educated him, and he thought that fame and position awaited him, as it should have awaited. It is a hard thing for a father to see his lifeβs hopes crumble into dust.
...I know the future is with me, and what I stand for here; not merely for the lives of these two unfortunate lads, but for all boys and all girls; for all of the young, and as far as possible, for all of the old. I am pleading for life, understanding, charity, kindness, and the infinite mercy that considers all. I am pleading that we overcome cruelty with kindness and hatred with love. I know the future is on my side. Your Honor stands between the past and the future. You may hang these boys; you may hang them by the neck until they are dead. But in doing it you will turn your face toward the past... I am pleading for the future; I am pleading for a time when hatred and cruelty will not control the hearts of men. When we can learn by reason and judgment and understanding that all life is worth saving, and that mercy is the highest attribute of man.
...I am sure I do not need to tell this court, or to tell my friends that I would fight just as hard for the poor as for the rich. If I should succeed, my greatest reward and my greatest hope will be that... I have done something to help human understanding, to temper justice with mercy, to overcome hate with love.
I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar KhayyΓ‘m. It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all:
So I be written in the Book of Love,
I do not care about that Book above.
Erase my name or write it as you will,
So I be written in the Book of Love.
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β
Clarence Darrow (Attorney for the Damned: Clarence Darrow in the Courtroom)
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Already the people murmur that I am your enemy
because they say that in verse I give the world your me.
They lie, Julia de Burgos. They lie, Julia de Burgos.
Who rises in my verses is not your voice. It is my voice
because you are the dressing and the essence is me;
and the most profound abyss is spread between us.
You are the cold doll of social lies,
and me, the virile starburst of the human truth.
You, honey of courtesan hypocrisies; not me;
in all my poems I undress my heart.
You are like your world, selfish; not me
who gambles everything betting on what I am.
You are only the ponderous lady very lady;
not me; I am life, strength, woman.
You belong to your husband, your master; not me;
I belong to nobody, or all, because to all, to all
I give myself in my clean feeling and in my thought.
You curl your hair and paint yourself; not me;
the wind curls my hair, the sun paints me.
You are a housewife, resigned, submissive,
tied to the prejudices of men; not me;
unbridled, I am a runaway Rocinante
snorting horizons of God's justice.
You in yourself have no say; everyone governs you;
your husband, your parents, your family,
the priest, the dressmaker, the theatre, the dance hall,
the auto, the fine furnishings, the feast, champagne,
heaven and hell, and the social, "what will they say."
Not in me, in me only my heart governs,
only my thought; who governs in me is me.
You, flower of aristocracy; and me, flower of the people.
You in you have everything and you owe it to everyone,
while me, my nothing I owe to nobody.
You nailed to the static ancestral dividend,
and me, a one in the numerical social divider,
we are the duel to death who fatally approaches.
When the multitudes run rioting
leaving behind ashes of burned injustices,
and with the torch of the seven virtues,
the multitudes run after the seven sins,
against you and against everything unjust and inhuman,
I will be in their midst with the torch in my hand.
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Julia de Burgos Jack AgΓΌero Translator