“The moral decline we are compelled to witness and the suffering it engenders are so oppressive that one cannot ignore them even for a moment. No matter how deeply one immerses oneself in work, a haunting feeling of inescapable tragedy persists. Still, there are moments when one feels free from one’s own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments, one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable: life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only being.”

Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist (1879 – 1955), born on this day, writing to Queen Mother Elisabeth of Belgium on 9 January 1939, asking for her help in getting his elderly cousin out of Germany into Belgium.

“Respect a parliamentary king, and chearfully pay all parliamentary taxes; but have nothing to do with a parliamentary religion, or a parliamentary God.
Religious rights, and religious liberty, are things of inestimable value. For these have many of our ancestors suffered and died; and shall we, in the sunshine of prosperity, desert that glorious cause, from which no storms of adversity or persecution could make them swerve? Let us consider if as a duty of the first rank with respect to moral obligation, to transmit to our posterity, and provide, as far as we can, for transmitting, unimpaired, to the latest generations, that generous zeal for religion and liberty, which makes the memory of our forefathers so truly illustrious.”

From Institutes of Natural and Revealed Religion by Unitarian minister Joseph Priestley (1733 – 1804), born on this day

Image: Joseph Priestley playing backgammon as he receives the news that his house is about to be attacked by a mob, in 1791

“You gotta have a swine to show you where the truffles are.”

From Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1961) by Edward Albee, playwright (1928 – 2016), born on this day

“Meditation isn’t for avoiding problems or running away from difficulties. We don’t practice escaping. We practice so that we have enough strength to confront problems effectively. To do this, we must be calm, fresh, and solid. That is why we need to practice the art of stopping. When we learn to stop, we become calmer, and our mind becomes clearer, like clear water after the particles of mud have settled. Sitting quietly, just breathing in and out, we develop strength, concentration, and clarity. So sit like a mountain. No wind can blow the mountain down. If you can sit for half an hour, enjoy sitting for half an hour. If you can sit for a few minutes, enjoy sitting for a few minutes. That is already good.”

From Peace Is This Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh

“All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome.”

Kate Sheppard, suffragette (1847 – 1934), born on this day

“I dwell in the shelter of the Most High.
and abide in the shadow of the Holy One.
I say, “You are my refuge and stronghold,
my God in whom I put my trust.
You will deliver me from the snare of the hunter
and from all manner of evils.
You will cover me with your pinions
and hide me in the shadow of your wings.
I need not be afraid of any terror of the night,
or danger of the day.
I will be strong in the face of difficulty
and face the trials of my life with calm assurance.
I need not fear illness or injury,
people who roar like lions or hiss like snakes,
You will tread on my fears.

I hear you whisper, “I am bound to you in love,
therefore I will help you in times of trouble.
I am with you when you call for me.
I will dwell in your heart through the years of your life—and forever.”

Psalm 91 Trouble by Christine Robinson

International Women’s Day

“a woman can’t survive
by her own breath
alone
she must know
the voices of mountains
she must recognize
the foreverness of blue sky
she must flow
with the elusive
bodies
of night winds
who will take her
into herself
look at me
i am not a separate woman
i am a continuance
of blue sky
i am the throat
of the mountains
a night wind
who burns
with every breath
she takes”

From Fire by Joy Harjo

“Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue.”

John Herschel (1792 – 1871), polymath, born on this day

“To those who are wise, nothing more resembles that merciful spring whence all derive than every beauty to be found here.”

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564), born on this day

Ash Wednesday

“Be with us, O God, when we think of the wrongs we have done to other people; lest, hating ourselves for our evil-doing, we turn our hatred outward on to them. Help us to forgive ourselves, acknowledging that we are no better than we are; and then help us to believe that we can be better.”

A. Powell Davies (1902 – 1957), Unitarian minister, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection