Saturday ~ January 11, 2020

A ritual takes what happened a long time ago and drags it into the present so you can experience it here and now. Rituals keep us from forgetting what must not be forgotten and keep us rooted in a past from which we must not be disconnected.

(Tony Campolo, b. 1936)

Friday ~ January 10, 2010

Sublime places repeat in grand terms a lesson that ordinary typically introduces viciously: that the universe is mightier than we are, that we are frail and tempory and have no alternative but to accept limitations on our will; that we must bow to necessities greater than ourselves... This is the lesson written into the stones of the desert and the ice fields of the poles. So grandly is it written there that we may come away from such places not crushed but inspired by what lies beyond us, privileged to be subject to such majestic necessities. The sense of awe may even shade into a desire to worship.

(Alain de Botton, b. 1969)

Wednesday ~ January 8, 2020

Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not easy.

(Aristotle, 384 - 322 BCE)

Tuesday ~ January 7, 2020

Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere, and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

(Helen Keller, 1880 - 1960)