“To the youngster talking nonsense Zeno said, “The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we might listen more and talk less.””

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 7.1.23

“Every event has two handles – one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t. If your brother does you wrong, don’t grab it by his wronging, because this is the handle incapable of lifting it. Instead, use the other – that he is your brother, that you were raised together, and then you will have hold of the handle that carries.”

Epictetus (c. 50 – 135), Enchiridion, 43

“There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the distressed.”

From Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, author and abolitionist (1811 – 1896), born on this day

“Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.”

Anne Frank (1929 – 1945), born on this day

International Day of Play

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labour and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

L.P. (Lawrence Pearsall) Jacks (1860 – 1955), educator, philosopher, and Unitarian minister

“The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart.”

Judy Garland (1922 – 1969), born on this day

“Wisdom
is shouting in the streets.
It is simply not enough
for those seeking wisdom
merely to read about it.
Wisdom must be discovered.
And once discovered
it must be learned by heart.
You will not find wisdom in your books
for it is not of your books,
but of the books of our God/dess.
What are these books?
They are those which the Divine has written
with her own finger.
Where can they be found?
Everywhere!”

Nicolas of Cusa (1401 – 1464), quoted in Christian Mystics by Matthew Fox

WORLD OCEANS DAY

“I am in love with Ocean
lifting her thousands of white hats
in the chop of the storm,
or lying smooth and blue, the
loveliest bed in the world.
In the personal life, there is
always grief more than enough,
a heart-load for each of us
on the dusty road. I suppose
there is a reason for this, so I will be
patient, acquiescent. But I will live
nowhere except here, by Ocean, trusting
equally in all the blast and welcome
of her sorrowless, salt self.”

Mary Oliver

“Time is something we created in order to measure the span of our lives. It’s not meant to create fear in you or paralyse you from moving forward. You are never too old and it is never too late to start over.”

Prince Rogers Nelson (1958 – 2016), born on this day

“The song of sacred truth is not a tuneless lay on one unvarying note; rather, it is a call sounding at all times for living beings to respond to its challenge in ways appropriate to the time and circumstances. Sacred truth resides in every living moment that we draw breath. We can only be soundboards of this truth, receiving its vibration and absorbing and reflecting its tonality. If we insist that ours is the only authorized song, then we cut across the frequencies of others.”

From The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year by Caitlin Matthews