A Greater Person

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. 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 …

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Moral Courage

"The courage that is most needed in the day-by-day battle of life is not physical but moral. Moral courage is consecrated self-mastery. It is the optimism of the soul manifest in action. It is the kingly consciousness of the individual that there is a something within him that makes him greater than all the forces …

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A Foundation in Truth

I saw a great many castles while traveling through Europe during my youth and one in particular caught my fancy. Pictured above, the Neuschwanstein castle ("New Swan Rock") is a magical edifice built upon Swan Rock, a massive stone outcropping overlooking Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwestern Bavaria. A powerful symbol for a life built upon …

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The Crown of Individuality II

"The world needs more individuality in its men and women. It needs them with the joy of individual freedom in their minds, the fresh blood of honest purpose in their hearts, and the courage of truth in their souls. It needs more people daring to think their own highest thoughts and strong vibrant voices to …

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Ancient Gladness

Awake, thou wintry earth - Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! ~ Thomas Blackburn I am bewitched by the transformative spirit of spring this year and cannot help but behold the changes I see at every turn with reverence and delight. The seasonal metamorphoses in the natural world - …

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Enriching Down-Time

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body." ~ Benjamin Franklin Of the things that you do at home, how many are truly enriching versus simply entertaining? Entertainment options have proliferated over the last few decades. Cable and satellite television. The internet. iPhone, …

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The Almost Right Word

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." ~ Mark Twain, Letter to George Bainton, 10/15/1888 So the reading of the Constitution was interesting, as much for what they left out as for the fact that they read it …

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