If we all want....

....peace and understanding, how come we all spend so much time arguing and failing to comprehend why the other people in our world can be so stupid? Serenity is not something we can buy from a supermarket; it is something we have to develop within ourselves. There are no shops that give out 'tolerance tokens' for us to cash in at times of great need.

We create our own... or we live without it and suffer the stress.

Hate is not the first enemy of love. Fear is. It destroys your ability to trust.

People see what they....

....want to see, and hear what they want to hear.  So, that begs the question - How are they ever persuaded of anything? Well, when you need to make someone see things from your point of view, you first need to find out what their point of view is. Then you have to convince them that, in supporting your idea, they are actually confirming their own.

Now where, you may wonder, does argument enter into any of this? It doesn't! Argument is only for people who actively want to grow further apart.

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.   
(Ayn Rand)

Take a look at any item of clothing....

....that you have.  My guess is that it'll have a label on it somewhere, carrying the maker's name. Do we see such a stamp on a new born baby?  Trees, leaves, fruits and vegetables all come beautifully to fruition without showing so much as a brand name or a bar code. And where, in nature's great plan for the propagation of every species, is the business model and the profit margin?

Having spent years - most of my adult life, actually - worrying about labels, I've come to realise that life is about appreciating what feels right and natural and worrying less about the rest.

I am weary of people who have an opinion about everything but a heart for nothing.   (Paul Reid)

Two wrongs do not...

....make a right. Nor, despite our occasional moments of self-doubt, do two rights ever make a wrong. Sometimes, we begin to wonder whether there is really any point in being laudable and applaudable. We watch aghast as amoral individuals appear to get clean away with inexcusable outrages.

We see our own noble efforts to be ethical, creating tension and apparently holding us back.  And then we forget that we are merely looking at a snapshot. A freeze-frame from a film.

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.   (George Sand)

The sayings of Confucius....

.....Wasn't he a loquacious individual?   Here's one of his sayings -  'A person who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make their words good.'   Obviously a great believer in humility.  So, he would have been shocked that many now equate it with humiliation.

We all like to pretend we are perfect. When we are criticized, we persuade ourselves that our accusers are at fault - and that to concede a failing is to show weakness. There's a big difference between being humble and being humbled.

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.  (Kahlil Gibran)

You can't have winners.....

....and losers 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.

What worries you, masters you.    (Locke)

What use is a car without....

....an engine? What use is an engine without something to drive? Even if you combine the two into a stunning automobile, it will serve no purpose unless it has a road to run along and a destination to reach. Even then, it must also have a driver. And the driver must know the way. Many people say that if you want to solve your problems you must break them down into small parts - bite-size chunks. Comfortable components.

Sometimes though you need to piece a picture together; then look at the bigger picture and point the powerful vehicle of your life in the only direction that makes sense.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  

(Martin Luther King Jnr)