Arrogance will scatter us before ignorance does.
The most valuable gift you can give someone is the benefit of the doubt. To believe that they intended things for good. That whatever they did made perfect sense to them at the time, and if you could see through their eyes it would make perfect sense to you, too.
Courage rarely roars.
I played a TED talk for my business communication class and asked each student to write down the main point of the speech. They identified 20 somewhat related but fundamentally different assertions. Speaking is an art. So is listening.
Some days are like a Celtic spelling bee.
Pain does not leave. It forms a crater, and either love or bitterness flows in.
That which enslaves our minds enslaves our actions.
If we let go of every good thing that is accompanied by pain, we let go of every good thing.
It is dangerous to lose sight of the possibilities. To cease to be curious. To stop seeking deeper understanding. To feel justified by limited knowledge. To proclaim that a matter is settled because “research says.” To embrace philosophy simply because it explains one’s personal or group experience. To demand sacrifice rather than to extend mercy
Show restraint, wisdom, compassion, humility, and respect toward all and your children will stay close.
Sometimes you get everything you ever wanted and everything you never wanted at the same time. It’s a reminder that temporal life is a zero sum game, that anything of real value is eternal, and that joy is ultimately a choice.
Love casts out fear because it is selfless. When you act out of love, you act without fear of personal consequences.
A respectful and caring person will respect and care for everyone. I respect others, not because they have earned it but because of who I am and choose to be.
It is one of life’s great blessings that people miraculously change, gain greater wisdom, redirect formerly misguided efforts, and exhibit new levels of courage. I’ve experienced it and seen it happen time after time. Conversely, it is one of life’s great tragedies that we set up their former selves as standards, embracing the old and rejecting the new, forcing new wine into old wine skins and self-righteously shaking our heads when they burst from the pressure. Let new things be new.
More at Fragmentary Life.
Conna Bond 