Great Throughts Treasury

"The rational mind seeks to grasp the finite, whereas the spiritual mind seeks to grasp the infinite."

"The process of losing self-perceptions, roles, and automatic behaviors gained unwittingly in one's family as a child is the essence of becoming oneself."

"The road to enlightenment is long and narrow."

"The somewhat shallow life I lead, albeit pleasant, seems more like meaningless and dull from one point of view. Real friendships punctuate it with camaraderie and anxiety; they turn my pastel existence to a more vibrant hue."

"The strong must herald the banner of the weak; the good champion the rights of the innocent. Only the noble woman helps the meek; standing courageously makes us magnificent..."

"The truest mark of a human matured to their potential is the exercise of mercy; it's absolutely essential. The exalted position of Popes and thrones of monarchs affords the hypocrites the opportunity to prey like sharks."

"The white visitor to the sacred circle asked the Great Spirit, "What do I tell my child when she asks, ?What happened to the Indians?'" "Tell her the truth," was the reply."

"The way Martin Luther King used references to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America was a brilliant move. His charismatic voice, eloquent words, peaceful yet strong demeanor, and strategy of urging the powerful White majority to look within themselves and confront the hypocrisy that results from mixing liberty and justice with complacency and ignorance, all were ingenious."

"The values in this chapter are about deciding what you believe the right thing to do is, and then doing it."

"There are times when we are called to duty; necessity dictates revolutionary action. The time comes when we must stand and be counted; proactivity arises from the place of reaction."

"The wise person makes as high an appraisal of self as they truly can."

"The wise tune into themselves, understand what they feel, and take appropriate risks."

"There is nothing wrong with admitting that you have problems. It is your struggle that makes you worthy, not your perfection."

"They who have experienced the ethereal emotion known by man as "love" - akin to lounging on a hammock as a fragrant breeze wafts by in that sunny place in one's soul - know that the absence of it is hardly worth living for."

"There may come a time in every human's life where they must instantly choose between two monumental paths. One must act strongly and bravely, for the cost of one is but death, whereas the penalty for the other is a lifetime of dishonor."

"Things we bank on can be shattered before our eyes. Hard work and smart planning can disintegrate. Even though we keep our eyes on the prize, we may be victims of insidious fate."

"Those with honor must be vigilant in the presence of those with little."

"To think instead of floundering with nameless emotion, that to me is wisdom."

"To willfully kneel before one's god may be the ultimate act of strength."

"Think not of your cherished memories as a sunset, now long-faded; know that your special experiences from decades ago are words etched deep in an immovable piece of granite, permanent, and always within sight."

"Until humanity evolves significantly, the best way I can envision for a wealthy person to secure the liberty and safety they prize is not by saving an extra 5% in revenue, but rather, to enthusiastically use their influence to force their representatives to wisely use their 40% in taxes to provide for the education and safety and justice of our citizens and to conduct American international affairs with honor, strength, and magnanimity."

"True, there is some risk, but not acting is an action. my old, defunct memories haunt me like tireless ghost. I am writing the same old book again, never transposed. Fresh experiences are perhaps what I need the most."

"We all believe some positive things about ourselves which are true, and some which are untrue. There are also true and untrue negative self-perceptions; the trick is not to be mistaken about which are which."

"Value peace. Children raised in tense homes or experiencing duress in-utero appear to develop brain differences from children not so burdened. One's inability to take responsibility for growth is subjecting one's children to a lifetime of vulnerability."

"Values of the Wise definitely has a 'traditional values' and 'family values' element to it; the folks on the political right don't have dominion over the term 'values' and certainly not over righteousness. And since when did premarital sex become more morally interesting than the hubris and greed with which so many of our leaders conduct themselves?"

"We do not have justice in society. We have some semblance of it - polluted with error, impotence, cowardice, elitism, politics, selfishness, laziness and resignation."

"We all make mistakes and are imperfect. People can fear looking foolish or being shown to have weaknesses. Everything else but our ethical choices, our moral conduct, can easily be overlooked or chalked up to inexperience, ignorance, or just plain being human. If one's values are well-determined and consistently applied, one ought to feel confident."

"We might have been graced with each other, only to find ourselves cursed by merciless time. Perhaps a promising future lay before us, but it's a towering mountain my heart must climb."

"We should choose our friends based primarily on how much pressure they can withstand before selling us out."

"We who use the term honor do not do so lightly. Through all our trials and defeats that must stay constant. We need to grip both our swords and principles tightly. The pull to forsake beliefs is ever present."

"We may never know with certainty if we are correct in a belief we cherish - or a perception we hold, or a way we choose to live, or a decision we make. But if we think carefully, and define our self confidently, that may be the best we can do. For if we don't have confidence in our self, and believe in the power of reason, on whom or in what can we depend? We cannot rely on others to think for us. Insecurity may be the work of the devil."

"We do not think much about using live "lower" animals for our pedantic scientific studies; I'm in favor of doing so, so long as we obtain written or verbal informed consent from such subjects. Until such time, we're selfish, callous, and benighted."

"When one attends to another's garden, one's own garden tends to sprout weeds."

"What should the reasonable person make of this world? If God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and benevolent, why does his creation - wondrous human beings, face atrocity wrought by nature unbridled and humans malevolent?"

"When I feel nostalgic about the past or worried about the future, sometimes it helps to get more vigorously involved in the present, to work on myself, to push myself."

"When you possess fierce self-knowledge, you are excited by your values. You know what you believe, why, and how. Every day you are proud or enthusiastic of the life you lead, the relationships you are in, the mark you?re leaving on the planet. You are motivated to live life, to become all you can, to make a positive difference, to come to love yourself ."

"When you take responsibility for yourself and your values, you become aware of what the influences are on the values you hold, and you make efforts to emphasize those of your choosing and de-emphasize that are really just instilled in you because of culture, genes, religious background, early family environment, etc."

"'White trash' is a term that is used for ignorant, classless, poor white people - as well as for ignorant, classless, rich white people."

"Why accept darkness over seeing, when the light can actually be lit? The funny thing about smog being, that over time, you fail to notice it."

"Why not strive for joie de vivre, beyond a life bereft of fervor? Why not decide to believe, thus taking you higher and further?"

"You can't polish something that doesn't have form and substance; first things first."

"Why view the world two-dimensionally, when three glorious dimensions exist? Why not wonder unconventionally, choosing to live rather than just persist?"

"You know you've changed your whole mental image about companionship and commitment when you use the pronouns "we" and "our" to describe items that were previously described by "my" and "I.""

"Would that I could have the integrity to not feel so lonely about my aloneness... Rather, to accept it, embrace it. Because for whatever reason, it is me."

"Without sounding like a fortune in a fortune cookie, I am seeking wisdom. I believe there is so much out there to learn and do out there, and I want to learn and do as much as I can before I die."

"Why spend your time worrying about the meaning of life and such when there are so many more important things for us to do?"

"You use your values every day, but do you know how you came to honor those particular values? What are they? Can you list them off as quickly as you would list your favorite foods? Most people can?t, and that is curious - since values underlie and affect one?s behavior, success, satisfaction, roles, beliefs, goals, health, and spiritual life."