“Never be afraid. Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion, against injustice and lying and greed.”

William Faulkner (1897 – 1962), born on this day

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late.. to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”

From The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940), born on this day

Autumn Equinox

“Now day and night are equal in both hemispheres.

We too experience balance and integration as we reconnect to our inner selves. We become aware of the changing season, which gives us the chance to start again. This is a good time to release the past and move forward with clarity as we begin to prepare for the coming Winter and to incubate new seeds within.

This is a time of ripening fruits, nuts, berries, mushrooms and seeds. Trees and plants are letting their energy fall back down into their roots. Leaves are dropping to the Earth to make compost, rich in nutrition and goodness, providing the best conditions for future new growth.

This is the time for long-term planning and nurturing. The seeds of ideas and the seeds of hope that we plant now will re-emerge in the Spring, strengthened and consolidated by their time in the dark and stabilized by their strong roots.

It is time to celebrate the power of balance, to move beyond our old habits of polarity, the ‘us and them’ mentality which has led to war, misery and poverty. Now we seek inspiring new ways to bring harmony and equality into our lives and the world.”

From Earth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred

International Day of Peace

“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

“Be grateful for your life,
every detail of it,
and your face will come to shine like the sun,
and everyone who sees it will be made glad and peaceful.
Persist in gratitude,
and you will slowly become one
with the Sun of Love,
and Love will shine through you
its all – healing joy.
The path of gratitude
is not for children;
it is path of tender heroes,
of the heroes of tenderness who,
whatever happens,
keep burning
on the altar of their hearts
the flame of adoration.”

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi

“To be happy, we have to learn to live simply. When we live simply, we have much more time, and we can be in touch with the many wonders of life. Living simply is the criterion for the new culture, the new civilization. With the development of technology, people lead more and more complicated lives. Shopping has replaced other activities as a way to satisfy ourselves. To be happy you must live simply, with harmony and peace in yourself and with the people around you.”

From Peace Is This Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh

“We do not need to invent sustainable human communities. We can learn from societies that have lived sustainably for centuries. We can also model communities after nature’s ecosystems, which are sustainable communities of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Since the outstanding characteristic of the biosphere is its inherent ability to sustain life, a sustainable human community must be designed in such a manner that its technologies and social institutions honor, support, and cooperate with nature’s inherent ability to sustain life.”

Fritjof Capra, physicist and deep ecologist

“Human beings are very frail.. Wise people seek out the company of others, so they can support one another as they walk.”

Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179), abbess, composer, healer, mystic, preacher, and visionary, who died on this day

Art by Peder Severin Krøyer

“Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud.”

Vernon Howard (1918 – 1992), writer and philosopher

International Day of Democracy

“Oh, democracy…. That’s a word that means different things everywhere. One thing’s certain, it never means what the Greeks originally meant by it.”

From Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976), born on this day