Maatkara• Show poetry

The definition of success -- 
 
To laugh often and love much;
to win respect of intelligent persons
and the affections of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give one's self;
to leave the world a little better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition.;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm,
and sung with exultation;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived --
this is to have succeeded.


[a variation of  'Success' by Bessie A Stanley (1904)
often erroneously attributed to R W Emerson]

The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.
A lie may be told by silence, by equivocation, by the accent on a syllable, by a glance of the eye attaching a peculiar significance
to a sentence. All these kinds of lies are worse and baser by many degrees than a lie plainly worded. No form of blinded conscience is so far sunk as that which comforts itself for having deceived because the deception was by gesture or silence, instead of utterance.
-- John Ruskin (1819-1900)

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak,
what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?"

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal.

When words are both true and kind, they can change our world."
~ the Buddha

[M]en will render account for every careless word they utter;
    for  by your words you will be justified,
    and by your words you will be condemned.
    ~ Matt. 12:36-37

As we must account for every idle word, 
so must we account for every idle silence.
 ~ Benjamin Franklin

Courage is the first of human qualities
because it is the quality
which guarantees the others
- Aristotle

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
~ Mohandas Gandhi

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear
and the blind can see. 
~Mark Twain

Jesus said,  
"If you bring forth what is within you, 
what you bring forth will save you. 
If you do not bring forth what is within you, 
what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
~  Gospel of Thomas: 70 
[The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels]

 I disbelieve in the conversion of one person by another. 
 My effort should never be to undermine another's faith 
 but to make him a better follower of his own faith. This implies 
 the belief in the truth of all religions and respect for them. 
  ~ Mohandas Gandhi

His disciples said to him,
"When will the kingdom come?"
It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 
'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, 
and people don't see it.
  ~ Gospel of Thomas: 113

The Christ in Jesus lived among men as one of them 
that they too might learn to live like gods.
~ Paramhansa Yogananda

Real compassion kicks butt and takes names, and it is not pleasant on certain days. If you are not ready for this fire, then find a new-age, sweetness-and-light,

soft speaking, perpetually smiling teacher,
and learn to re-label your ego with spiritual-sounding terms.
But stay away from those who practice real compassion,
because they will fry your ass, my friend.
What most people mean by 'compassion' is: please be nice to my ego.
Well, your ego is your own worst enemy, and anybody being nice to it

is not being compassionate to you.
~ Ken Wilber

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren,
for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.
~ James 3:1

Dum excusare credis, accusas.
[When you believe you are excusing yourself, you are accusing yourself.]
~ St. Jerome

"Integrity  is a character trait. It is the willingness to do what is right
even when no one is looking".

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed,
or hidden that will not be known. 
Luke 12:2

Can there be a love which does not make demands on its object?
~ Confucius (Kung Fu-tzu)