Apiarians

"Were I to be the founder of a new sect,

I would call them Apiarians, and, after the example of the bee, advise them to extract the honey of every sect."  

- Thomas Jefferson

I have no desire to move mountains, construct monuments, or leave behind in my wake material evidence of my existence.

But in the final recollection, if the essence of my being has caused a smile to have appeared upon your face or a touch of joy within your heart…then in living–I have made my mark.

~ Thomas L. Odem, Jr.

When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world. ~ Harold Kushner

If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.

Lao Tzu

When I look into the eyes of an animal I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul.

~Anthony Douglas Williams

"The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another."

Thomas Merton

"I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light."

~Barbara Brown Taylor (b.1951)

"Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can."

~Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."

~ Buddha

"Perhaps the most important thing we bring to another person is the silence in us, not the sort of silence that is filled with unspoken criticism or hard withdrawal. The sort of silence that is a place of refuge, of rest, of acceptance of someone as they are. We are all hungry for this other silence. It is hard to find. In its presence we can remember something beyond the moment, a strength on which to build a life.

Silence is a place of great power and healing."

~ Rachel Naomi Remen (b.1938)