Welcome the to Quote of the Week. As we have mentioned, because April is National Poetry Month we have been featuring poems as the Quote of the Week. Below is a story of how this week's poem came to be.
_________
A couple of week's ago, my father and I were having a bite to eat and the TV was on to a rerun the 2005 Ford Ironman Contest in Hawaii. We weren't really paying much attention to it until they featured 3 contestants who were just starting the running part of the contest even though many had already finished the race. One contestant was 80 years old, the other was a women competing on one leg and the last was battling ALS. All were running well into the night. My father, watched intently and suddenly he was inspired to say,
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
__________
As some of you my know, my father is battling Alzheimer's Disease and it was a very moving and humbling experience for me as I listened to him recite this stanza of William Ernest Henley's poem, Invictus. And it was another reminder to me that while Alzheimer's may be stealing his brain cells, it isn't stealing his soul. So, this poem's for you Dad!
__________
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
___________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
27 April 2009
20 April 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, April 20, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week. As you know, because it is National Poetry Month, we have been featuring poems as the Quote of the Week.
This week's poem was one that I had to interpret and write a paper about in my High School English Class (Mr. Jarrod was the teacher). I was able to come up with something thanks to the help of a much smarter and wiser older sister but I was still pretty much clueless of the poem's meaning. I have an idea of it's meaning today but would be interested in what you think!
__________
Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl.
One was an optimistic soul.
But the other took the gloomy view.
"We'll drown," he lamented without much ado,
and with a last despairing cry,
he flung up his legs and said "Goodbye."
Quote the other frog with a steadfast grin,
"I can't get out but I won't give in,
I'll just swim around till my strength is spent,
then I'll die the more content."
Bravely he swam to work his scheme,
and his struggles began to churn the cream.
The more he swam, his legs a flutter,
the more the cream turned into butter.
On top of the butter at last he stopped,
and out of the bowl he gaily hopped.
What is the moral? It's easily found...
If you can't hop out, keep swimming around!
Anonymous
__________
Wishing you a most beautful day, wherever this may find you!
This week's poem was one that I had to interpret and write a paper about in my High School English Class (Mr. Jarrod was the teacher). I was able to come up with something thanks to the help of a much smarter and wiser older sister but I was still pretty much clueless of the poem's meaning. I have an idea of it's meaning today but would be interested in what you think!
__________
Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl.
One was an optimistic soul.
But the other took the gloomy view.
"We'll drown," he lamented without much ado,
and with a last despairing cry,
he flung up his legs and said "Goodbye."
Quote the other frog with a steadfast grin,
"I can't get out but I won't give in,
I'll just swim around till my strength is spent,
then I'll die the more content."
Bravely he swam to work his scheme,
and his struggles began to churn the cream.
The more he swam, his legs a flutter,
the more the cream turned into butter.
On top of the butter at last he stopped,
and out of the bowl he gaily hopped.
What is the moral? It's easily found...
If you can't hop out, keep swimming around!
Anonymous
__________
Wishing you a most beautful day, wherever this may find you!
18 April 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, April 13, 2009
April is National Poetry Month and we are in the second week of featuring poems of note for the Quote of the Week. This week's poem is by former Poet Laureate of the United States, Billy Collins. It is a interesting poem (Link to the animated version) that had a way of staying in my mind. Tell me what you think!
__________
The Dead
The dead are always looking down on us,
they say,
while we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,
they are looking down through the glass-bottom boats,
of heaven as they row themselves slowly through eternity.
They watch the tops of our heads moving below on earth,
And when we lie down in a field or on a couch,
Drugged perhaps by the hum of a warm afternoon,
They think we are looking back at them,
which makes them lift their oars and fall silent and wait,
like parents,
for us to close our eyes
Billy Collins
__________
For an animated version ot the above poem, check out the following link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuTNdHadwbk
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
Derek Walcott
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
__________
The Dead
The dead are always looking down on us,
they say,
while we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,
they are looking down through the glass-bottom boats,
of heaven as they row themselves slowly through eternity.
They watch the tops of our heads moving below on earth,
And when we lie down in a field or on a couch,
Drugged perhaps by the hum of a warm afternoon,
They think we are looking back at them,
which makes them lift their oars and fall silent and wait,
like parents,
for us to close our eyes
Billy Collins
__________
For an animated version ot the above poem, check out the following link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuTNdHadwbk
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
Derek Walcott
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
06 April 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, April 6, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week, your weekly spiritual snack for mind, body & soul. April is National Poetry Month and with that in mind, the QoftheW will feature inspirational and meaningful poems for the next 4 weeks.
Life is An ongoing journey that all people must undergo and Mary Oliver's poem, The Journey, expresses the struggle we all face in trying to find ourselves through the all the obstacles that are in our way. Enjoy!
__________
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.
~ Mary Oliver ~
__________
A Recycle Quote (poem) of the Week Classic...
Little Things
Little drops of water
Little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our world an Eden
Like the Heaven above.
Thus the little minutes
Humble though they be
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
~ Julia Carney ~
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
Life is An ongoing journey that all people must undergo and Mary Oliver's poem, The Journey, expresses the struggle we all face in trying to find ourselves through the all the obstacles that are in our way. Enjoy!
__________
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.
~ Mary Oliver ~
__________
A Recycle Quote (poem) of the Week Classic...
Little Things
Little drops of water
Little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our world an Eden
Like the Heaven above.
Thus the little minutes
Humble though they be
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
~ Julia Carney ~
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
30 March 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, March 30, 2009
Good Morning New and Old members of the Quote of the Week!
Need an attitude adjustment? Dr. Gerald Jampolsky outlined a core framework (Attitudinal Healing principles) to help people to let go of fear, discard negative and hurtful thoughts from the past, and remove inner obstacles to peace. Here they are...
__________
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude”
Zig Zigler
___________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you
Need an attitude adjustment? Dr. Gerald Jampolsky outlined a core framework (Attitudinal Healing principles) to help people to let go of fear, discard negative and hurtful thoughts from the past, and remove inner obstacles to peace. Here they are...
__________
- The essence of being is love.
- Health is inner peace.
- Giving and receiving are the same.
- We can let go of the past and the future.
- Now is the only time there is.
- We learn to love ourselves and others by forgiving rather than judging.
- We can become love-finders rather than faultfinders.
- We can be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside.
- We are students and teachers to each other.
- We can focus on the whole of our lives rather than on the fragments.
- Because love is eternal, death need not be viewed as fearful.
- We can always see ourselves and others as extending love or giving a call for help.
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude”
Zig Zigler
___________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you
24 March 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, March 23, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week! Your weekly spiritual snack for mind, body & soul. Today's quote is by the Senior Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, David Fricke and is dedicated to good friend and Quote of the Week member Mike who just celebrated a milestone birthday.
__________
There are three essential Commandments:
Respect The Elders.
Embrace The New.
Encourage The Impractical and Improbable,
Without Bias.
David Fricke
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."
Lao Tzu
___________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this finds you!
__________
There are three essential Commandments:
Respect The Elders.
Embrace The New.
Encourage The Impractical and Improbable,
Without Bias.
David Fricke
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."
Lao Tzu
___________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this finds you!
From the Quote of the Week Files, March 16, 2009
Are you constantly on the "GO"? Are you ready to "GO" and you embrace your life confidently? Will you "GO" and satisfy your basic needs or fulfill your lifelong dreams? " GO" is the theme of this week's quote. "GO" for it!
__________
A fresh start
A chance to go into a whole new direction
So will you…
Will you go out the door and go left instead of right?
Will you create a new recipe?
Find a new favorite song?
Do something you always wanted to do?
Will you go forward while also giving back?
And will you keep going no matter what life throws your way?
Well, let’s GO
Visa Commercial
__________
And in honor of St Patrick's Day, we have this Irish Blessing (sent in by QoftheW member, Rich and is dedicated to Grandma Dooley)...
"May those who love us, love us:and those who don't love us,
may the Good Lord turn their hearts;and for those whose hearts won't turn,
may the Good Lord turn their anklesso we'll know them by their limping!"
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
Let's "GO"....
It is a big beautiful world!
__________
A fresh start
A chance to go into a whole new direction
So will you…
Will you go out the door and go left instead of right?
Will you create a new recipe?
Find a new favorite song?
Do something you always wanted to do?
Will you go forward while also giving back?
And will you keep going no matter what life throws your way?
Well, let’s GO
Visa Commercial
__________
And in honor of St Patrick's Day, we have this Irish Blessing (sent in by QoftheW member, Rich and is dedicated to Grandma Dooley)...
"May those who love us, love us:and those who don't love us,
may the Good Lord turn their hearts;and for those whose hearts won't turn,
may the Good Lord turn their anklesso we'll know them by their limping!"
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
Let's "GO"....
It is a big beautiful world!
From the Quote of the Week Files, March 9, 2009
Step out of the chaos as you refresh, reawaken and rediscover yourself with a motivational and inspirational thought with today's Quote of the Week! Nonsense is the the theme for this week's quote. Enjoy!
__________
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
Dr. Seuss
__________
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men!"
Willy Wonka
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
__________
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
Dr. Seuss
__________
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men!"
Willy Wonka
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
From the Quote of the Week Files, March 2, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week! Your weekly spiritual snack for mind, body & soul.
For the past 25 years, a poem about life's journeys, Ithaca, kept appearing in my life and it recently appeared again (is somebody trying to tell me something?). I seem to understand it better each time I read it. I thought I would share it with you as the Quote (Poem) of the Week.
__________
Ithaca
When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygoniansand the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.
Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first timewith such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.
Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.
-K. P. Kavafis (C. P. Cavafy), translation by Rae Dalven
__________
A great reading of this poem by Sean Connery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk
_________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic (1999)...
“He who wants milk should not sit himself in the middle of a pasture waiting for a cow to back up to him.”
Anonymous
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
For the past 25 years, a poem about life's journeys, Ithaca, kept appearing in my life and it recently appeared again (is somebody trying to tell me something?). I seem to understand it better each time I read it. I thought I would share it with you as the Quote (Poem) of the Week.
__________
Ithaca
When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygoniansand the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.
Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first timewith such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.
Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.
-K. P. Kavafis (C. P. Cavafy), translation by Rae Dalven
__________
A great reading of this poem by Sean Connery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk
_________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic (1999)...
“He who wants milk should not sit himself in the middle of a pasture waiting for a cow to back up to him.”
Anonymous
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
From the Quote of the Week Files, February 23, 2009
Hello Everybody and Welcome to the Quote of the Week! This week's quote is by the Greek Stoic philosopher, Epictetus.
__________
Signs of someone who is progressing:
He blames no one,
He praises no one,
He complains of no one,
He accuses no one,
He never speaks of himself as of someone important or who knows something.
Epictetus
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic
"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
Reggie Leach
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
__________
Signs of someone who is progressing:
He blames no one,
He praises no one,
He complains of no one,
He accuses no one,
He never speaks of himself as of someone important or who knows something.
Epictetus
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic
"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
Reggie Leach
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
From the Quote of the Week Files, February 16, 2009
Hello Everybody and Welcome to the Quote of the Week! It is President's Day in the US and we have not just one quote, but five (that's right, five) quotes about leadership by US Presidents. Enjoy!
__________
"Patience and perseverance have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
John F. Kennedy
" 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln
"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."
John Adams
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."
Woodrow Wilson
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
__________
"Patience and perseverance have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
John F. Kennedy
" 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln
"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."
John Adams
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."
Woodrow Wilson
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
09 February 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files; February 9, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week! Did you know that the Quote of the Week is Cruelty Free? I do not test the Quote of the Week on innocent lab animals.
Having fun and living in the moment is the theme of this week's quote. Enjoy!
__________
"Pure fun happens when we are fully engaged with ourselves and our world in each moment. It is the spontaneous delight that bubbles out of us when we let go long enough to bring it through; it is the experience of natural, organic pleasure that springs up from our bellies, through our souls, up through our faces, and down to our toes. We've naturally known how to have pure fun since we were babies and the flicker of lights caused us to jump to attention from the sheer enjoyment of being able to see. Approach your life today with the knowledge that pure fun isn't something that is given or done to you; rather, it is something that you allow yourself to experience".
Daily Om
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week...
"Strangely enough, this is the past that somebody in the future is longing to go back to."
Ashleigh Brilliant
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
Having fun and living in the moment is the theme of this week's quote. Enjoy!
__________
"Pure fun happens when we are fully engaged with ourselves and our world in each moment. It is the spontaneous delight that bubbles out of us when we let go long enough to bring it through; it is the experience of natural, organic pleasure that springs up from our bellies, through our souls, up through our faces, and down to our toes. We've naturally known how to have pure fun since we were babies and the flicker of lights caused us to jump to attention from the sheer enjoyment of being able to see. Approach your life today with the knowledge that pure fun isn't something that is given or done to you; rather, it is something that you allow yourself to experience".
Daily Om
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week...
"Strangely enough, this is the past that somebody in the future is longing to go back to."
Ashleigh Brilliant
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful day, wherever this may find you!
08 February 2009
From the Quote of the Week Files, February 1, 2009
Welcome to the Quote of the Week! Your weekly spiritual snack for mind, body & soul.
Finding purpose and joy during the winter season is the theme of this week's Quotes. Enjoy!
__________
Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition.
Mignon McLaughlin
__
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that
within me there lay an invincible summer."
Albert Camus"
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
One kind word can warm
three winter months."
Japanese proverb
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful winter wherever this may find you!
Finding purpose and joy during the winter season is the theme of this week's Quotes. Enjoy!
__________
Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition.
Mignon McLaughlin
__
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that
within me there lay an invincible summer."
Albert Camus"
__________
A Recycled Quote of the Week Classic...
One kind word can warm
three winter months."
Japanese proverb
__________
Wishing you a most beautiful winter wherever this may find you!
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