When a friend is in trouble,
don't annoy him by asking if
there is anything you can do.
Think up something appropriate
and do it.

-- E. W. Howe

Do not assume that she who seeks to comfort you now,           
lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good.
Her life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours.
Were it otherwise, she would never have been able to find these words.

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow;
      it only saps today of its strength.              

-- A. J. Cronin: 1896-1981,                       
British physician, writer                         

I take a simple view of living.
It is keep your eyes open and get on with it.

-- Sir Laurence Olivier, LA Times, 26 Feb 78

The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty.        

-- Original Author Unknown                                     

Nostalgia is a seductive liar.                

-- George Ball, Newsweek, 22 Mar 71

"I know God will not give me
  anything I can't handle.
  I just wish that
  He didn't trust me so much."

  -- Mother Teresa

This one's for you, john...*g*

JOHN WAYNE'S definition of COURAGE ---  
being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

and...

COURAGE...                                                        
is being the only one who knows you're afraid...

What counts is not necessarily      
the size of the dog in the fight -     
it's the size of the fight in the dog.

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower               

When we honestly ask ourselves
which persons in our lives mean the most to us,
we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us
in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us
in an hour of grief and bereavement,
who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing
and face with us the reality of our powerlessness,
that is a friend who cares.

-- Henri Nouwen, "Out of Solitude"

It is well to remember
   that the entire universe,
        with one trifling exception,
is composed of others.

The measure of man                 
is what he does with power.     

-- Pittacus: Greek philosopher

Among those whom I like,
I can find no common denominator,
but among those whom I love, I can;
all of them make me laugh.

-- W H Auden, "The Dyer's Hand,"
   Random House '62

I imagine one of the reasons people          
cling to their hates so stubbornly               
is because they sense, once hate is gone,
they will be forced to deal with pain.        

-- James Baldwin,                                    
       from "Notes of a Native Son"                  

We are all pretending ...      
The important thing is        
to maintain a straight face.

-- Ashby Schocken,              
         NY Times, 30 Nov 84       

When you are inspired by some great purpose,
some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds:
Your mind transcends limitations,
your consciousness expands in every direction,
and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive,
and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far
than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

--Patanjali (Second century B.C.), Philosopher

If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo
would have painted the Sistine floor.   

-- Neil Simon                                          


      

You must be true to yourself.              
Strong enough to be true to yourself.  
Brave enough to be strong enough     
to be true to yourself.                      
Wise enough to be brave enough,       
to be strong enough to shape yourself
from what you actually are.            

-- Sylvia Constance Ashton-Warner,  
New Zealander author          
and educator (1908-1984)     

"True friendship comes
   when silence between two people is comfortable. "

   -- Dave Tyson Gentry

"Wrong" and "right" have little
to do with being found out.    

-- Stephen R. Covey                 

"Untilled ground, however rich,          
will bring forth thistles and thorns;  
so also the mind of man."                  

- St. Teresa of Avila ("St. Tess")       
Spanish Carmelite nun (1515-1582)

   Sometimes you just have to take the leap,
and build your wings on the way down.   

-- Kobi Yamada                                       

 "If I am not for myself, who will be?
   If I am only for myself, what am I?
   If not now, when?"

   - Hillel

Fear knocked at the door.
Faith answered.                

No one was there.             

Hopefully, more to come...soon.
Check back periodically, as we seek and find...
and become Older and Wiser.