Got your bucket list in front of you....

.....or in the forefront of your mind?  We think we want so many things. We create those lists full of hope, dreams, desires and details. Yet, actually, we don't want anywhere near as much as we think we want. When it really comes down to it, we all of us only ever want one thing. Wisdom.

 

 

 

When we have that, we have everything else we require or, at least, we have the way to it... Which amounts to the same thing.







 

Everyone can be great – because anyone can serve.      (Martin Luther King Jr)

Do you remember organ grinders....

....with their little monkeys on top of the organ?  I very much doubt it.  But think about them for a moment - If an organ grinder is playing a tuneless melody, what's the point in drawing this to the attention of the little monkey who is dancing on the top of the musical instrument? It is, of course, to be hoped that there is no little monkey.

 

 

Gone are the days when street entertainers felt free to abuse animals by having them perform for the public. But then, think about how this barbaric and abusive practice, in itself, got stamped out. The authorities complained to the organ grinders, not the monkeys.

 

It always helps to talk to the right person.

 

 

 

 

Ask me not what I have, but what I am.   (Heinrich Heine)

 

 

 

 

 

People are not....

....always reasonable. Sometimes, they don't realise when they are being unreasonable. Their actions, to them, seem perfectly reasonable! When you try to tell them that they don't seem very reasonable to you, they think that you are the one who is being unreasonable.

 

 

You may have many reasons to do something, and those reasons may make plenty of sense, but it still doesn't mean they are the right reasons.

The people starve because those above them eat too much tax-grain.  That is the only reason why they starve.   (Lao Tzu)

Banged your head against...

....any walls, lately?  Well, if you find that you are banging your head against a brick wall, which of the following options should you choose: a) get a crash helmet?; b) persuade several other people to bang their heads against the wall, too - in the hope that between you all, you can make an impact?; or c) stop doing it? I don't really have to create a questionnaire to get the answer.

 

I know how every reasonable person in this world will reply.  As do we all.

 

 

 

The worst of all evil is to leave the ranks of the living before one dies.   (Seneca)

Winners and losers don't exist....

....unless you have some kind of a competition going on. Despite the fact that we are encouraged from an early age, to see life as a race or a battle, our happiness is not dependent on point scoring.  



 

True joy is not linked to the ability to get what you want. It stems from the ability to see that there's more to existence than material success.

 

 

 

Sometimes all a person needs to succeed is just a little support.

Things that are easy to say....

....are not always easy to hear. A few words, uttered in an unguarded moment, can reverberate in an awkward echo that is never satisfactorily silenced. Fortunately, the opposite is true. There are some speeches that we mull over in our minds for ages, afraid that they will go down badly. Yet when we finally deliver them, they can be surprisingly well received.

 

 

 

As long as you think about what you are really trying to say, you're very likely to say it in a way that brings about the right result.

 

The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.

Another one of those blogs...

...that's different from the norm -

The Imperial Diet of Worms

 

On 17 April 1521, Martin Luther was asked if a collection of books (25) was his, and if he was prepared to recant and revoke their heresies.   Luther asked for more time to give a proper answer, so was given until the next day.

On 18 April, Martin Luther, stating he'd prayed for long hours, consulted with friends and mediators, and presented himself before the Diet.  Among other things, he said - Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me.   Amen

 

 

 Here is one of his prayers -

Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.
I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbour.
I do not have a strong faith; at times I doubt.
O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.
With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.
Therefore I will strive to remain with you. Amen.