Verses to Humanity and Goodwill, Compassion and Forgiveness

Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth,
and that Supreme Being preaches love and goodwill.
Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth,
and that humanity is standing amidst ruins,
hiding its nakedness behind tattered rags,
shedding tears upon hollow cheeks, and
calling for its children with pitiful voice.
But the children are busy singing their clan's anthems;
they are busy sharpening their swords
and cannot hear the cry of their mother's breast.

- Kahlil Gibran

The day we recognize our interdependency, and

accept and embrace the oneness of humanity,

is the day of resurrection for humanity.

- Hooshmand Kalayeh

"We stagger at the incredible reach of mankind in its technologies and communications. Here is a feat in which all the world contributes from every continent, every people, every tongue, and passion. But what more could be done if this old earth could learn to live together in peace and harmony, and not by hatred's wars? What then could this pained world look like if the shimmering sword was put down? If ploughshares of goodwill were fashioned from the industries of war and hate? It would be a grand vision built from the courageous hearts and minds of a grander people locked in mutual self-interest and God-ordained blessing."

- R.E. Slater, "Enlivening Global Communities by Willful Embrace," August 23, 2013

Space Oddity

 

Published on May 12, 2013

A revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity,

recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
(Note: This video cannot be reproduced and is licensed for online music use only.)
With thanks to Emm Gryner, Joe Corcoran, Andrew Tidby
and Evan Hadfield for all their hard work.
Captioning kindly provided by CHS (www.chs.ca)
Find out more:
Twitter: twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AstronautChrisHadfield?­­fref=ts

Google+: plus.google.com/113978637743265603454/po­­sts/p/pub

Verses on Humanity, Goodwill, Compassion & Forgiveness
or the lack thereof

http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/articles/qte_humanity.html

No man is an island entirely of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls—it tolls for thee. - John Donne 

The smallest good deed is greater than the greatest good intention. - anon

There is no limit to the good a person can do, if he does not care who gets the credit. - anon

Humanity is divinity divided without and united within. - Kahlil Gibran

When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul. - Langston Hughes

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass wthout sharing it in some way. - Buddha

Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is - whether its victim is human or animal - we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing we set back the progress of humanity. - Rachel Carson

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ithas become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.  - Albert Einstein

When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. - Catherine Ponder

Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. - Albert Schweitzer

What is important is to look upon everyone with a deep sense of honor,

because your own heart and mind are influenced by the way you look at others.

If we could do just that, we would be rendering the greatest service to our fellow beings.

- Swami Muktananda

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers. - Deepak Chopra

A good heart is better than all the heads in the world. - Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Not a single human can achieve alone what 2 human beings can do when attuned to the same vibration. Two candles are brighter than one. Imagine what a thousand candles can do... a million candles... 6 billion candles! We are all the living prophecy, awakening to our Unity, One with Life, One with the Universe. - "Pathways to Unity"

Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean. - Dag Hammarskjold

Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right. - Ezra Taft Benson

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall: but in charity there is no excess; neither can angel or man come in danger by it. - Francis Bacon, Essays

Those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass. - Confucius

Decide to forgive,

for resentment is negative.

Resentment is poisonous.

Resentment diminishes and devours the self.

Be the first to forgive,

to smile and to take the first step

and you will see happiness bloom

on the face of your brother or sister.

Be always the first.

Do not wait for others to forgive,

for by the forgiving you become the master of fate,

the fashioner of life, the doer of miracles.

To forgive is the highest most beautiful form of Love.

In return you will receive untold Peace and Happiness.

- Robert Muller

Humanity has advanced, [but] when it has advanced, [it is] not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature. - Tom Robbins

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. - Leo Buscaglia

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. - Samuel Johnson

Always forgive, but never forget. If you forget, when the lesson of the past is needed, it may be lost. But if you forgive, when the lesson of the past is heeded, it may be what is needed so you can move forward in life. - Mattie J.T. Stepanek

May I become at all times, both now and forever,
A protector for those without protection,
A guide for those who have lost their way,
A ship for those with oceans to cross,
A sanctuary for those in danger,
A lamp for those in the dark,
And a servant to all those in need
As long as living beings exist,
and suffering afflicts them,
May I too abide to dispel the misery of the world

- anon

The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself. - Robert Green Ingersoll

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own. - Confucius

A realized soul is like a river or a tree, giving comfort and coolness to those who come to him. - Ammachi, Her Holiness Sri Mata Amritanandamayi

The dew of compassion is a tear. - Lord Byron

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. - George Washington

The intellect is a beautiful servant, but a terrible master. Intellect is the power tool of our separateness. The intuitive, compassionate heart is the doorway to our unity. - Ram Dass

We are called to speak for the weak,

for the voiceless, for victims of our nation,

and for those it calls enemy,

for no document from human hands

can make these humans any less than our brothers.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness. - Confucius

Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. - Albert Schweitzer

What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul. - Jewish proverb

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. - Abraham Lincoln

May the roads rise to meet you,

may the wind be always at your back,

may the sun shine warm upon your face,

the rains fall soft upon your fields

and until we meet again

may God hold you in the palm of Her hand.

- An Irish Blessing

The highest exercise of charity is charity towards the uncharitable. - J.S. Buckminster

We have a long long way to go, so let us hasten along the road, the road to human tenderness and generosity. Groping, we may find one another's hands in the dark. - Emily Greene Balch

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. - Proverbs 16:24, the Bible

Though the works of the human race disappear

tracelessly by time or bomb,

the sun does not falter in its course;

the stars keep their invariable vigil.

Cosmic law cannot be stayed or changed, 

and man would do well

to put himself in harmony with it.

If the cosmos is against might,

if the sun wars not in the heavens

but retires at dueful time

to give the stars their little sway,

what avails our mailed fist?

Shall any peace come out of it?

Not cruelty but goodwill upholds

the universal sinew,

a humanity at peace will know

the endless fruits of victory,

sweeter to the taste than any nurtured

on the soil of blood.

- Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi

The seed of God is in us.

Given an intelligent and hard-working farmer,

it will thrive and grow up to God, whose seed it is;

and accordingly its fruits will be God-nature.

Pear seeds grow into pear trees,

nut seeds into nut trees,

and God seed into God.

- Meister Eckhart

Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young

or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way

that it cares for its helpless members.

- Pearl S. Buck

A bit of perfume always clings to the hand that gives the rose. - Chinese proverb

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. - Carl Jung

The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In the final analisis, our most common link is that we inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal. - John F. Kennedy

... if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind,

someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions,

someone who cares about the welfare of the people -

their health, their housing, their schools,

their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties...

if that is what they mean,

then I am proud to be a liberal.

- John F. Kennedy, 1960

If you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this earth. - Roberto Clemente

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help. - Abraham Lincoln

When you look for the good in others you discover the best in yourself. - Martin Walsh

Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart. - Mahatma Gandhi

We are each of us angels with only one wing,

And we can only fly by embracing each other.

- Luciano de Crescenzo

There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The beloved of the Almighty are the rich who have the humility of the poor, and the poor who have the magnanimity of the rich. - Saadi

The highest realms of thought are impossible to reach without first attaining an understanding of compassion. - Socrates

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it. -       Mark Twain

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.  - Horace Mann, educational reformer, 1796-1859

They have a right to censure, that have a heart to help: The rest is cruelty, not justice. - William Penn, Quaker, founder of Pennsylvania, 1644-1718

A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain. - Samuel Johnson, lexicographer, 1709-1784

He that plants a tree loves others besides himself. - Thomas Fuller