In the time of your life, live — so that in good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches.
Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed.
Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are things that hold death and must pass away.
Discover in all things that which shines, and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world.
Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart. Be the inferior of no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart.
Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret.
In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.
- William Saroyan 1939
People silently struggle from all kinds of terrible things.
They suffer from depression, ambition, substance abuse, and pretension. They suffer from family tragedy, Ivy-League educations, and self-loathing. They suffer from failing marriages, physical pain, and publishing.
The good thing about politeness is that you can treat these people exactly the same. And then wait to see what happens. You don’t have to have an opinion. You don’t need to make a judgment.
I know that doesn’t sound like liberation, because we live and work in an opinion-based economy. But it is. Not having an opinion means not having an obligation. And not being obligated is one of the sweetest of life’s riches.
- Excerpt from How to Be Polite by Paul Ford
Live beneath your means. Return everything you borrow. Stop blaming other people. Admit it when you make a mistake. Give clothes not worn to charity. Do something nice and try not to get caught. Listen more, talk less. Every day take a 30-minute walk. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Be on time. Get organised. Don't make excuses. Cultivate good manners. Take time to be alone. Don't argue. Be kind to people. Be kind to unkind people. Let someone cut ahead of you in line. Be humble. Realise and accept that life isn't fair. Know when to keep your mouth shut. Go an entire day without criticising anyone. Learn from the past. Plan for the Future. Live in the present. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff.
- Found on the littlest, a Quaker blog
Being kind is a way of living that keeps giving long after the kind thoughts, words, and actions have taken place. Kindness is a force without force, and it goes well beyond manners to the very heart of how people respect and treat one another.
Being kind is a vital way of making our own lives, and the lives of others, meaningful. Being kind allows us to communicate better with others, to be more self-compassionate, and to be a positive force in other people’s lives. Kindness has its true source deep within you, and while some people are innately kind, it’s something that everyone can cultivate by choice.
- wikiHow via Dianna Agron
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centred;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
- Kent M. Keith 1968