quotes that speak to me
"I don't believe in final answers, only unfolding stories."
- Tim Low, Australian biologist, environmental consultant and writer.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
"One day while I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling like a part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed."
- Alice Walker
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
- Alan Cohen, writer and entrepreneur.
- Tim Low, Australian biologist, environmental consultant and writer.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
- Anne Frank, writer and Holocaust victim.
"One day while I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling like a part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed."
- Alice Walker
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
- Alan Cohen, writer and entrepreneur.
The Ann Frank comment has the most resonance for me. It is of course true and we should all do whatever we can every day. What is so stunning is that a young girl in her position could even contemplate such magnanimity. As I reflect on history and see what is happening in Burma and Syria today it truly saddens and dismays me. Will we never stop discovering new ways to discriminate against each other, to slaughter each other, to cause each other unbelievable suffering? By any reasonable standard we are not a very agreeable species.
ReplyDeleteDepressing thought, but I fear you're right, David.
DeleteAlan Cohen is much braver than I am. I do cling to routine, to security. Which isn't to say that it is right, or even good for me.
ReplyDeleteLove the other quotes too, which are closer to my own mindset.
Hi EC, I suppose it's a balance, I like change but not too much too quickly ...
DeleteIn change there is power
ReplyDeleteAs we find a way thru our drought, I'll take that one.
Doesn't mean that it's easy, resilience is what we all need.
DeleteIt would be wonderful if certain politicians would learn to read. There are worlds full of wisdom to be gained.
ReplyDeletePoliticians are reading other things. I enjoy blogging but I think we are preaching to the converted.
DeleteI love these quotes! This one by Alice Walker is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteShe is a wonderful writer. I wonder if she has been translated into Russian?
DeleteThe quote from Anne Frank really did shout out at me also.
ReplyDeleteAlastair, We want to improve the world, don't we? How is your campaign to plant trees in your neighbourhood?
DeleteI have loved the Anne Frank quote for a long time, but the first and last ones intrigue me as do the books....thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy reading them. The first one, by Tim Low, is terrific, I'm reading it now. I recommend it and may write a review of it on the blog.
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