“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living…

The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”

David Attenborough, born on this day in 1926

“Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the fragrance of love.
Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.
Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellow men.
Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden.
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you.”

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941), born on this day

“The medieval world was fascinated by alchemy, enthralled by the idea of turning base metal into gold. On some level nature itself inspires this obsession. We see with our own eyes that the world is full of startling transformations. The lowly caterpillar becomes a stunning butterfly. Bare black trees become glorious celebrations of colour. But in a society driven by commerce, alchemists focused on the gold standard, and a transformation that would create wealth. Perhaps they defined wealth too narrowly.

Look to the sky, as it fills with clouds and rain, then clears again; look to the gardens, to the birth cycles of animals. Radical transformations are everywhere, and they require no special alchemical secrets. Change is the only law.”

From Earth Bound: Daily Meditations For All Seasons by Brian Nelson

“Magnanimity is the expansion of the soul to great things. Magnanimous people put themselves in all kinds of danger for great things, for instance, the common welfare, justice, divine worship, and so forth.”

Thomas Aquinas (c.1225 – 1274), Dominican Friar and theologian

Portrait by Sandro Botticelli

“To have beautiful lips, say beautiful things. To have beautiful eyes, look at people and see the good in them.”

Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993), born on this day

World Press Freedom Day

“If we don’t believe in free expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

Noam Chomsky

“I life my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?”

The Book of Hours I, 2 by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926)

BELTANE

“Maiden of Flowers, open the door,
Smith of souls, come you in.
Let there be welcome to the growing strength,
Let there be welcome to the summer of the year.
In bud and blossom you are travelling,
In fruit and fragrance you will arrive.
May the blessed time of Beltane
Inflame the soul of all beings,
Bringing energy and effort to conflagration.
From the depths to the heights
From the heights to the depths,
In the core of every soul.”

From Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews

“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!”

From A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, first instalment published on this day in 1859

“Happiness and unhappiness inter-are. Happiness can be present only if unhappiness is present, and vice versa. It’s like the rose and the garbage. Without the garbage, there can be no rose. If there is no rose, there can be no garbage. If you have the know-how, you can transform garbage into roses. If you don’t have the know-how, the rose quickly turns into garbage. It’s a matter of skill. Skill is connected to mindfulness. By speaking, listening, communicating, observing, and acting mindfully, you become skilled at mindful living.”

Thích Nhất Hạnh