True Quotes

Dear Friends and Readers,

I have decided to suspend updating this Blog — TrueQuotes. 

I will be putting my efforts into my other Blog: God Family Crafts

It is my hope that you will visit God Family Crafts often,  and also, that you will make plentiful use of the archives here at TrueQuotes.

Please check back from time-to-time and see if I have posted any special notices, and…

in the mean time - see you at God Family Crafts.

Peace be with you,

Ann

 Virtues are placed in our hearts and consciences by nature, by our very creation we are endowed with natural law in our hearts.  As we grow, our consciences guide us to the greater good for mankind and for the world around us.

Education is a part of this important process.  For as we become aware of and reflective upon the virtues, this goodness within ourselves, we can enrich these qualities by learning more, but practicing, by noting the importance of such goodness to all involved.

If virtue is pleasing to the Almighty, then growth by education and cultivation of these is that much more pleasing.  The only pitfall we must avoid is to place education above virtue - for then we have missed the point.

 Take a look at the simplest of flowers.  The center of a daisy is made up of so many parts. but these parts form a pattern. The center of a flower often forms a spiral pattern. A common pattern in nature has been named the Fibonacci Sequence, as the scientist by this name defined it. The pattern goes like this: add the occurring number to the number preceding it to arrive at the next number.eg: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 , 13, 21. 

You see, 1+1 is 2; add 3, you get 5;  3 + 5, you get 8; etc.

I’m not sure if the daisy center follows the Fibonacci Sequence, but many things in nature do.

Do me a favor, my friend, and look closely at something, anything. It may become wonderful to you!

When you state it that way, Mr. Ambrose, it explains a lot. We all know that we need to learn from the past.  And I suppose we could even view the fact that the future, and the fact that there is a future at all, gives us hope.  But to put the two together, shows that we do indeed have hope and even faith in the future.

Of course,  what do we need to succeed? We need a path clearly laid out — knowledge, and a belief that there is time to live it out and right spirit to live it out properly — hope.

Today I know that tomorrow, God willing, I will get out of bed.  I have something to live for, something that I learned about in the past 50 years of my life.  I know that God has given us another day, and that must be a good thing. I have knowledge and I have hope.

May you as well.

Courage is of no value unless accompanied by justice; yet if all men became just, there would be no need for courage.

What a complex lot we are as human beings.  This king of Sparta, a Greek City-state known for its austerity and military dedication, spoke of courage that was expected of his soldiers. Yet, be spoke too of justice. The difficulty arises in the individual perception of justice.  As king of Sparta, he surely must have thought the Athenians unjust, therefore he expected his warriors to have courage and fight against them.

Courage was one of the hallmarks of the Spartan soldier. One wonders if justice was one of the goals of the Spartan king.

At any rate, when this quote is applied to our ouwn lives today, it speaks a relevant truth. If we as individuals have courage to speak out for what we believe in, then this courage is commendable. But it must be done in justice and kindness.  If true justice exists, we would not even need this courage to speak our truth.

The light of a single candle may not glow for great distances in a world of darkness. But those who are near that one candle can see and benefit from the light.  That light can inspire others to be a light themselves, and then there are two candles burning brightly against the dark.

Good works breed more good works.  Kindness from one brings forth kindness in others.  All good things can multiply like healthy seeds, when cast on fertile ground. Generosity, peace, kindness, gentleness - ways of shining the light - all keep the world moving toward light and away from darkness.

I can be one candle, and light a bit of inspiration among those whose lives I touch.  If you are touched by someone’s light, will you go forth and be that light for another? Please do.

“Even God cannot change the past. “

–  Agathon

When we think of God as all-powerful, this quote might for a moment jar us, take a breath away. But when it is pondered, it seems that it is very true.

What can God do in His all-powerful nature about the past?  We are told in the New Testament “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) 

True, God cannot change the past, but that does not mean we need to despair of the bad things that have happened.  We, instead, look for and expect that good will come of it somehow.  The good may not balance the bad past, but God will work on our side, if we give him the chance.

“You have to allow a certain amount of time in which you are doing nothing in order to have things occur to you, to let your mind think.”

– Mortimer Adler

This time, in which we do nothing, could be the much enjoyed and sometimes coveted opportunity to spend in the wilderness.  It could be the time we sit on a dock and gaze out to the ever-moving waters.  We can spend time people-watching, sitting silently in church, or watching birds.

The key to using this time of doing nothing is to not be reading, not be working figures, not be listening to the radio, or television, and not having a conversation.

For some people the time of doing nothing may be preparation for going to sleep at night.  A time when the mind wanders, clears itself, works through problems. The process then continues during sleep.

To feel a peaceful and uncluttered sense of well-being, we need this time of “doing nothing” which in fact we are really doing something very important - filing, organizing, de-fragmenting and deleting.  Our mental computer works much better that way!

Wow, does that take a weight off my shoulders!  In many areas of life, the outcome depends upon the choices of others.  As a mother, I can raise my children the best I know how — that is my duty.  Then I can rest.  The results are God’s, says Adams.

Well, rest is not exactly what I am supposed to do. I am, most likely, expected to go on to my next duty, and again leave the results to God.

This quote brings to mind something said by Mother Theresa of Calcutta. “We are called upon not to be successful but to be faithful.”

The peace that this realization can bring is overwhelmeing.  We cannot control it all! Nor should we try.  Here we have it in the words of two great people - a statesman and a saint of our time.

 You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.

John Adams

What a poetic way of John Adams to give his thoughts on the value of poetry!  This comment is from a letter Adams wrote to his son.

The enjoyment of poetry by the masses has diminished.  There was a time not so long ago when major magazines had poetry columns or whole pages devoted to the form. Just a generation ago, certain poems were usual fare for elementary, junior high and high school students. Memorizing a poem at a young age, brings the joy of reciting it for a fresh audience years later.

There are times when a book or newspaper, or even an iPod just won’t do the trick.  Perhaps those are the times Adams refers to.  We need only to reach in our pocket and find some familiar verse to keep us company.