The Ass and His Shadow by Aesop A traveler hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place. The day being intensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the Traveler stopped to rest, and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow of the Ass. As this afforded only protection for one, …
Liberty and Greatness
A people who still remembered that their ancestors had been the masters of the world would have applauded, with conscious pride, the representation of ancient freedom, if they had not long since been accustomed to prefer the solid assurance of bread to the unsubstantial visions of liberty and greatness. - Edward Gibbons "The Rise and …
Work by Thinking
"I don’t want to have riders who tire themselves out. Work by thinking instead." - Nuno Oliveira Working without thinking reduces the human being to the level of robotic function. Just as a thinking rider will progress more quickly than one who follows and imposes a rigid pattern upon his horse, a thinking worker will …
A Child Again
A Child Again by Gregg Hake O' to be a child again－ Without the coats of fear and sin, By words not spoken. Free to run and leap and play Without the weight of yesterday. O' to be a child again－ Undaunted by the Christ within, My heart ne'er broken. What's that you say, young …
Human History
Human history is a footrace of ideas. Ideas surge forth when embraced and employed by large numbers of people, while others fade back into the pack when they are abandoned for new concepts and beliefs. The primary contenders in our era include, but are not limited to the body of ideas broadly described as science …
Informed Consent
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt In the course of life you will encounter those who love you, those who hate you and many more who will fall somewhere in the middle. Realizing this, it is easy to see that basing your sense of self on the opinions …
To Move Forward
Of all the impediments to spiritual, mental and physical development in the individual, none is more hobbling than faults which were allowed to become habits during childhood and early adulthood. In fact, it is much more difficult to break old, self-destructive habits than it is to form new, constructive ones. To move forward, you must …
Righteousness
Righteousness, a poem by Gregg Hake Righteousness, thou bittersweet remedy To all ills which men bring upon themselves. Blaming the gods for that which they create− Blasphemous scoundrels covering their tracks! Who now shall rise and take up the banner From those who led the charge and are now gone? The enemy is shameless vanity …
The Banner of Blessing
The next time someone cuts you off in traffic, speaks negatively about you behind your back or plays unfairly to get ahead of you, consider these wise words from Socrates: It is never right to do wrong or to requite wrong with wrong, or when we suffer evil to defend ourselves by doing evil in …
Right Action
When you do anything from a clear judgment that it ought to be done, never shun the being seen to do it, even though the world should make a wrong supposition about it; for, if you don't act right, shun the action itself; but, if you do, why are you afraid of those who censure …
Gregory Hake 