Quality; Questions     Reflection; Relationships; Reputation; Responsibility; Risk Self-esteem/Self-image/Self-awareness; Service; Silence; Sympathy/Grief     QUALITY We shall build good ships here; at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always good ships. ~Collis P. Huntington It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow If you don't have time to do it right, you must have time to do it over. ~Unknown QUESTIONS To know when to be generous and when firm—that is wisdom. ~Elbert Hubbard He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes. But he who never asks a question remains a fool forever. ~Tom J. Connelly No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious. ~George Bernard Shaw I'd rather know some of the questions than all of the answers. ~James Thurber You will know the clever by their answers; but the wise you will know by their questions. ~Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel prize winner REFLECTION It is nonsense to say that there is not enough time to be fully informed. Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all. ~Norman Cousins Reflection enables experience to connect with spirit to create meaning. ~r brazier You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. ~ James Allen RELATIONSHIPS Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same. ~Flavia Weedn Success in relationships is not so much about finding the right person as it is being the right person. ~Unknown I like her because she smiles at me and means it. ~Tas Soft Wind The mill cannot grind with the water that's past. ~George Herbert It is only when we no longer compulsively need someone that we can have a real relationship with them. ~Anthony Storr It's the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it's the little differences that make them interesting. ~Unknown Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. ~Emily Kimbrough The best relationship is the one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. ~Unknown Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships... the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world, at peace. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thirty-second President of the USA It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship. ~Norman Vincent Peale Trouble is part of your life, and if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you enough chance to love you enough. ~Dinah Shore The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands. ~Unknown Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade. ~Leo Buscaglia In any relationship in which two people become one, the end result is two half people. ~Wayne Dyer Assumptions are the termites of relationships. ~Henry Winkler Many people come to praise the cherry trees in bloom --- But they are truly kind who visit them after the blossoms are fallen. ~Japanese Poem Death ends a life, not a relationship. ~Robert Benchley Suggestions for Building and Maintaining a Wonderful Relationship Think of your relationship as a total commitment on your part without asking for anything in return. Every day think of how you can contribute to your partner in some way, however small. Every day tell your partner that you love him/her; more often if you remember. Your partner will never get tired of hearing it. On a regular basis tell your partner why you love him/her. Every day give your partner a long and loving hug; it should last for at least a minute. As often as you can just lie in each others arms for at least fifteen minutes and just be. Do this without the expectation that it will lead to sex. Plan to spend some time each week having fun together. Never deviate from this plan. Be your partner's greatest cheerleader. When it is appropriate tell those you are close to what is so special about your partner. Don't try to change your partner; change yourself so that you can accept your partner the way she/he is. Never make your partner wrong. Give up the right to HAVE to be right. Always be the first one to stop an argument, even if you think you are right. (Both partners have to play by the same rules to make this one work). When there is anger between always be the first one to give your partner a hug and say "I love you in spite of the stress we are experiencing." Invite your partner to be your coach. Instead of thinking of the coaching as criticism accept it as a contribution to your personal growth. Always complete your "incompletes." (An incomplete is something you really don't feel like sharing with your partner because you know they might become upset, however slightly, or could lead to problems if not resolved). Never do anything that you wouldn't feel comfortable sharing with your partner. Try never to be jealous. If you are, try to determine what it is in your relationship that you are unsure of. Every year "tune-up" your relationship by participating in some type of activity that will enable you to know each other better or that brings you closer together. Stay healthy by exercising regularly and eating good foods. Your partner will never complain about you being in great shape. Never stop trying to make your relationship better. Anger repressed can poison a relationship as surely as the cruelest words. ~Dr. Joyce Brothers People change and forget to tell each other. ~Lillian Hellman It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, bit it is the little differences that make them interesting. ~Todd Ruthman We control fifty percent of a relationship. We influence one hundred percent of it. ~Unknown I felt it shelter to speak to you. ~Emily Dickinson The glue that holds all relationships together - including the relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on integrity. ~Brian Tracy top of page REPUTATION You cannot build a reputation on what you are going to do. ~Henry Ford RESISTANCE Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. ~Malcolm Muggeridge RESPONSIBILITY It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits of our abilities do not exist. ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility. ~Albert Einstein Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them. ~Elbert Hubbard RISK Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be overcome first. Ships in safe harbour are safe, but that is not what ships are built for. ~William Shedd Sail forth - steer for the deep waters only, Reckless O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me, For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all, O my brave soul! O farther farther sail! O daring joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God? ~Walt Whitman Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. ~Robert F. Kennedy Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death. ~Betty Bender Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. ~D.Lloyd George Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. ~Helen Keller Risk and reward travel side by side. Avoid one, and the other will also pass you by. ~Unknown Better hazard once than always be in fear. ~Thomas Fuller Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. It’s too high. Come to the edge! And they came, and he pushed....and they flew. ~Christopher Logue He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea. ~Thomas Fuller If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out. ~Arthur Koestler Risk! Risk Anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those other voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth. ~Katherine Mansfield Dare to be naive. ~Buckminster Fuller Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. ~Goethe Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity. ~Omar Idn Al-Halif Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping. ~Augustus Hare Growth means change and change involves risks, stepping from the known to the unknown. ~George Shinn To win without risk is to triumph without glory. ~Pierre Corneille Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown. ~Charles de Gaulle To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. ~Soren Kierkegaard Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost. ~Chauncey Depew Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. ~Unknown Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~T.S. Eliot If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. ~June Jordan If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room. ~Unknown To discover new oceans, we must have the courage to lose site of the shore. ~Unknown And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. ~Erica Jong SELF-ESTEEM, SELF-IMAGE, SELF-AWARENESS They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them. ~Gandhi Think highly of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate. ~Unknown Spiritual self-esteem begins with the realization that each new morning is a gift from God. ~Russell M. Nelson Know yourself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. ~Ann Landers Of all knowledge the wise and good seek most to know themselves. ~Shakespeare People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. ~St. Augustine To contact the deeper truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves. ~A. H. Almaas He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away. ~Raymond Hull The strongest single factor in prosperity consciousness is self esteem; believe you can do it, believing you deserve it, believing you will get it. ~Jerry Gillies The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none. ~Thomas Carlyle top of page SERVICE If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain. ~Emily Dickinson Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large. ~Gandhi Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. ~Sally Koch Businesses planned for service are apt to succeed; businesses planned for profit are apt to fail. ~Nicholas M. Butler In nothing do men approach so nearly to the gods as in doing good to men. ~Marcus Tullius Cicero I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. ~Albert Schweitzer I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do. ~Helen Keller We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or by the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind. ~Martin Luther King Jr. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other. ~George Eliot His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life. "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. ~Unknown Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily. ~Sally Koch Work done in the true spirit of service...is considered as worship. ~Baha Allah, founder of the Baha’i faith. If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day. ~Alex Noble We are here to help one another along life’s journey. ~William Bennett When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness. ~Joseph Campbell SILENCE Silence is the virtue of fools. ~Francis Bacon Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. ~Josh Billings Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from. ~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Sometimes a whisper speaks volumes. ~Scott Sheddan Much silence makes a powerful noise. ~African proverb It is better to be silent, and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. ~Silvan Engel top of page SYMPATHY/GRIEF Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift up-flinging of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. ~Mary Frye No one's death comes to pass without making some impression, and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer in their humaneness. ~Robert Oxton Bolt The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live. ~Joan Borysenko Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. ~Buddha If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master. ~Michelangelo Buonarroti THE LEGACY When I die, give what is left of me to children. If you need to cry, cry for your brothers walking beside you. Put your arms around anyone and give them what you need to give to me. I want to leave you with something, something better than words or sounds. Look for me in the people I have known and loved. And if you cannot live without me, then let me live on in your eyes, your mind and your acts of kindness. You can love me most by letting hands touch hands and letting go of children that need to be free. Love does not die, people do. So when all that is left of me is love... Give me away...

 

 

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