Pride, even if it be of righteousness, takes us away from love.
It blinds us with a false strength
and erodes our heart with a fear
of losing the things which we attach our self-worth unto,
things which can easily be lost.
Love, on the other hand,
can never be truly lost,
but needs only to be found
again
and again
and again…
If we spend the time we waste in sighing for the perfect golden fruit
in fulfilling the conditions of its growth,
happiness will come,
must come.
It is guaranteed in the very laws of the universe.
If it involves some chastening and renunciation,
well, the fruit will be all the sweeter for this touch of holiness.
-Helen Keller
The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery— even if mixed with fear— that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man.
-Albert Einstein
How can the very rich co-exist with the poorest of the poor and still deem himself holy while doing nothing for the sake of his brother?
Seems a bit shocking, but in my country this seems to be the case. For while beggars roam the streets for food or for whatever garbage to scavenge, the rich proudly and comfortably ride their luxurious cars, making their way every Sunday to Church to attend a mass where they proclaim their holiness as though they and they alone are God’s children, seeing not what suffering his brother is going through.
Each of us must illuminate and warm our surroundings. In this cold world we cannot suffice with warming ourselves by donning a fur coat. We must light a fire warming everyone around us.- Rabbi Simon Jacobson
I may not leave lasting footprints when I pass by, but may I pass on a flame that will keep on burning until it reaches another torch that will carry on the radiance of its warmth.