"The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world. In this long vigil he often has to vary his methods of stimulation; but in this long vigil he is also himself striving against a continual tendency to sleep." ~ Marc Chagall There is a tremendously …
Tag: radiance
The Armor of Self-Respect
"Self-respect realizes that no one but himself can degrade the individual. The undeserved insult which may sting for a moment he forgets quickly in the thought that it is only a revelation of the character of the source from which it comes; that he himself is invulnerable from insult when he is right, when the …
Concision, Precision and Decision
"Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life." ~ Victor Hugo When I lived in Paris many years ago I had the good fortune to attend the press opening of the first ever performance in French of the stage musical adaptation of Hugo's novel, Les Misérables. The experience was fabulous and it left me with …
Living from the Inside Out
A newborn child has no dreams, no hopes, no failures, no past experiences in particular that stand in the way of simply being himself in the moment. His desire to achieve has not yet come to focus and he knows nothing other than being who he is, where he is and how he is. He …
The Courage to Face Ingratitude XI
"The farmer does not expect every seed that he sows in hope and faith to fall on good ground and bring forth its harvest; he is perfectly certain that this will not be so, cannot be so. He is counting on the final outcome of many seeds, on the harvest of all rather than on …
The Courage to Face Ingratitude V
"Man should not be an automatic gas-machine, cleverly contrived to release a given quantity of illumination under the stimulus of a nickel. He should be like the great sun itself which ever radiates light, warmth, life and power, because it cannot help doing so. Because these qualities fill the heart of the sun, and for …
The Courage to Face Ingratitude I
"Ingratitude, the most popular sin of humanity, is forgetfulness of the heart. It is the revelation of the emptiness of pretended loyalty. The individual who posses it finds it the shortest cut to all other vices. Ingratitude is a crime more despicable than revenge, which is only returning evil for evil, while ingratitude returns evil …
The Supreme Form of Charity
"We do not need to judge nearly so much as we think we do. This is the age of snap judgments. The habit is greatly intensified by the sensational press. Twenty-four hours after a great murder there is difficulty in getting enough men who have not already formulated a judgment, to try the case. These …
Light through the Keyhole
Summer Sun by Robert Louis Stevenson Great is the sun, and wide he goes Through empty heaven with repose; And in the blue and glowing days More thick than rain he showers his rays. Though closer still the blinds we pull To keep the shady parlour cool, Yet he will find a chink or two …
Throwing Away Our Happiness V
Continuing our consideration of happiness, we come the the point where you begin to realize how often and how easily you let happiness slip through your fingers. It is epidemic, but fortunately not contagious. In the heat of any moment you have a choice as to whether or not you will give your authority away …
Gregory Hake 