Saturday ~ January 23, 2016

Every peak is a Crater This is the law of volcanoes.

( Adrienne Rich, 1929 - 2012 )

Friday ~ January 22, 2016

...to look hard, for a long time, at a single glorious thing; a flame of red geranium outside my bedroom window. And then another: my daughter in a yellow dress. And then another: the perfect outline of a full, dark sphere behind the crescent moon. Until I learn to be in love with my life again.

( Barbara Kingsolver, 1955 -   )

Thursday ~ January 21, 2016

The problem of self-identity is not just a problem for the young. It is a problem all the time. Perhaps the problem. It should haunt old age, and when it no longer does it should tell you that you are dead.

( Norman Maclean, 1902 - 1990 )

Wednesday ~ January 20, 2016

Individualism names what many people consider to be the finest achievement of modern civilization. We live in a world where people have a right to choose for themselves their own pattern of life, to decide in conscience what convictions to espouse, to determine the shape of their lives in a whole host of ways that their ancestors couldn't control... The dark side of individualism is a centering on the self, which both flattens and narrows our lives, makes them poorer in meaning, and less concerned with others or society.

( Charles Taylor, 1931 -   )

Tuesday ~ January 19, 2016

The city is the image of the soul, the surroundings walls being the frontier between the outward and inward life. The gates are the senses which connect the life of the soul with the outward world. Living springs of water rise within it. And in the center, where beats the heart, stands the holy sanctuary.

( St. Catherine of Siena, 1347 - 1380 )

Monday ~ January 18, 2016

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change."

( Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929 - 1968 )

Sunday ~ January 17, 2016

It is no easy task to be good. Anyone can act: get angry, give money, speak to friends, and so on. But to do something to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not easy.

( Aristotle, 384 - 322 )