INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HUMAN FRATERNITY

“I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom…

We must have courage — determination — to go on with the task of becoming free — not only for ourselves, but for the nation and the world — cooperate with each other. Have faith in God and ourselves.”

Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005), born on this day

“At some stage we must let go of the past and begin again. No one is undeserving of forgiveness – and that includes you. I know it can be difficult to offer ourselves the forgiveness that we can so freely give to others. Perhaps we hold ourselves to a higher standard than the standard to which we hold other people – but let’s admit that this double standard is actually a piece of arrogance: “I am a better person than he or she is, so I should behave better.” None among us should be defined as the sum total of our worst actions. None of us is a monster. We are all fragile and flawed humans who commit offences against others. When we do these things, we are not monsters; we are human beings who have become separated from our own goodness.”

Desmond Tutu, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“Hush. I am so close, I may look distant.
So completely mixed with you, I may look separate.
So out in the open, I appear hidden.
So silent, because I am constantly talking with you.”

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273)

“It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.”

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who was elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland on 1st February 2009, becoming the first openly gay Head of Government in the modern world.

“Most High, all-powerful, precious God.
No spoken word can hold your name.
Praise be to You who births all life,
with all Your creatures.

Especially you Sir Brother Sun,
who is the day and is your light.
A beauty so true to you,
there you are. There, you are.

Praise be to You, my Lord you are, Sister Moon and the stars.
Bright, precious heaven, there you are. There, you are.

Praise be to You, my Lord you are, Brother Wind and the air.
Breath of Spirit, there you are.
There, you are.

Praise be to You my Lord you are, Sister Water gift of Life.
Pure, essential, there you are.
There, you are.

Praise be to You my Lord you are Brother Fire,
friend through the night.
Strong and playful, there you are.
There, you are.

Most High, all-powerful, precious God,
through Mother Earth we see your face.
You who govern all of life,
sustain and nurture all that is.
With sister Death, first and last breath.
The key unlocking all we are,
there, we are.”

Simon de Voil, based on the Canticle of the Creatures by St Francis of Assisi

“Years ago, in the bottle-green light
of the cold January sea,
two seals suddenly appeared together
in a single uplifting wave –
each in exactly the same relaxed position –
each, like a large, black comma, upright and staring;
it was like a painting done twice
and, twice, tenderly.
The wave hung, then it broke apart;
its lip was lightning;
its floor was the blow of sand
over which the seals rose and twirled and were gone.
Of all the reasons for gladness,
what could be foremost of this one,
that the mind can seize both the instant and the memory!
Now the seals are no more than the salt of the sea.
If they live, they’re more distant than Greenland.
But here’s the kingdom we call remembrance
with its thousand iron doors
through which I pass so easily,
switching on the old lights as I go –
while the dead wind rises and the old rapture rewinds,
the stiff waters once more begin to kick and flow.”

Winter at Herring Cove by Mary Oliver

“Do silly things. Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.”

Anton Chekhov (1860 – 1904), born on this day

“You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”

From Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, published on this day in 1813

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning

“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”

Bessie Coleman (1892 – 1926), first black woman to earn a pilot’s license, born on this day