Saturday ~ April 4, 2020

Even in the darkest of times, we have the right to expect some illumination... Such illumination may well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over he time-span that was given them on earth.

(Hannah Arendt, 1906 - 1975)

Friday ~ April 3, 2020

In my own worst seasons I've come back from the colorless world of despair by forcing myself 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 another: the perfect outline of a full, dark sphere behind the crescent moon. Until I learned to be in love with my life again. Like a stroke victim retraining new parts of the brain to grasp lost skills, I have taught myself joy, over and over again.

(Barbara Kingsolver, b. 1955)

Tuesday ~ April 2, 2020

So far as I can see, all the great leaders - and the great exemplars of religion - possessed... faith in life's essence, in its hidden meaning, in its moral claim, and in the rightness of its inner spiritual guidance. And by this, the great ones lived their lives. So must we. There are no problems greater than our power to solve them. There are no burdens greater than our strength. We shape - by every moment of our lives - the great decisions. then let us venture still! - with reason as a lamp to guide us - but lighted with the light of faith.

(A. Powell Davies, 1902 - 1957)

Wednesday ~ April 1, 2020

Is there an angel in the house?
If there is, come to me...
And if you are too tired,
or otherwise occupied,
and if it isn't too tacky a request,
please rock me.
I am bruised.
If you will hold me until morning,
I promise I will rise and light the fire
and break the bread and put back on my shoulder
my corner of the world.
But for now, I could use the shelter of a wing.
Excuse me,
excuse me, is there an angel in the house?

(Pat Schneider, b. 1934)

Tuesday ~ March 31, 2020

The hill, though high, I covet to ascend;
The difficulty will not me offend;
For I perceive the way to life lies here:
Come, pluck up, heart, let's neither faint nor fear.
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.

(John Bunyan, 1628 - 1688)

Monday ~ March 30, 2020

I think it is important to try to see the present calamity human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Hunan culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself... We are mistaken when we compare war with 'normal life.' Life has never been normal. Even those periods which we think most tranquil... turn out, on closer inspection, to be full of cries, alarms, difficulties, emergencies.

(C.S. Lewis, 1898 - 1963)

Sunday ~ March 29, 2020

How to be perfect:
Get some sleep.
Eat an orange every morning.
Be friendly. It will help make you happy.
Hope for everything. Expect nothing.
Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room before you save the world. Then save the world.
After dinner, wash the dishes.
Calm down.
Forgive your country every once in a while. If that is not possible, go to another one.
If you feel tired, rest.
Be good.
Be honest with yourself, diplomatic with others.
Do not go crazy a lot. It's a waste of time.
Drink plenty of water. When asked want you would like to drink, say, "Water, please."
Take out the trash.
Live life.

(Ron Padgett, b. 1942)