Author Archives: Laura Dobson

“Civil rights are civil rights. There are no persons who are not entitled to their civil rights… We have to recognize that we have a long way to go, but we have to go that way together… We cannot afford to be separate. We have to see that all of us are in the sameContinue reading “Thought for the day, Thursday 20th April”

“In the presence of whales a hush falls over people. Sacred awe, so profound that it becomes the deepest of meditative silence. Even when children are present they intuitively drift into the quietest of quiet. We have entered a temple of soaring grandeur, into a sacred space that transcends all cultures, all language, and allContinue reading “Thought for the day, Wednesday 19th April”

“Heaven is my father and earth is my mother, and I, a small child, find myself intimately between them. What fills the universe I regard as my body: what directs the universe I regard as my nature. All people are my brothers and sisters: all beings are my companions. Those who are tired, infirm, crippled,Continue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 18th April”

“He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” From Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, who diedContinue reading “Thought for the day, Monday 17th April”

“Walk out on your driveway, or on a pavement around your home and study the concrete closely; it’s starting to break. The earth will only tolerate tarmac for so long. How do those buds make their way through inches, even feet, of solid industrial paving, to send a few gentle sprouts up to the openContinue reading “Thought for the day, Sunday 16th April”

“Owning up to being an animal, a creature of Earth. Tuning our animal senses to the sensible terrain: blending our skin with the rain-rippled surface of rivers, mingling our ears with the thunder and the thrumming of frogs, and our eyes with the molten gray sky. Feeling the polyrhythmic pulse of this place – thisContinue reading “Thought for the day, Saturday 15th April”

“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.” Simone de Beauvoir, feminist writer, who died on this day in 1986

“Constancy, perseverance, and questioning are the three requisites of the spiritual life. Constancy to our self-respect, to our spiritual quest, and to any true teachers whom we meet will encourage and support our progress. Perseverance in prayer, meditation, and the implementation of spiritual practices will maintain our quest; and if certain of those practices areContinue reading “Thought for the day, Thursday 13th April”

“It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind… The door that nobody else will go in at, seems always to swing open widely for me.” Clara Barton, Universalist founder of the American Red Cross, who diedContinue reading “Thought for the day, Wednesday 12th April”

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” Kurt Vonnegut, Unitarian Universalist writer, who died onContinue reading “Thought for the day, Tuesday 11th April”