Beyond Sameness

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it
a superficial appearance of being right.
- Thomas Paine,
[Likewise, A long habit of not thinking a thing right gives it
a superficial appearance of being wrong.]

The most dangerous phrase in the language is,
"We've always done it this way."
- Grace Hopper

Habit and routine have an unbelievable power to waste and destroy.
- Henri de Lubac

What is it about sameness that so draws me,
and how could I begin to have
that same kind of attraction to change?
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Never quit" is one of those very common expressions that contains only one aspect of an important larger truth. Persistence is a virtue only when the goal is both desirable and attainable. There is no dishonor in redirecting your energies to more worthy or achievable goals.

Sadly, there is comfort in what we find familiar,
even when it causes us pain and suffering.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Don't Be Too Sure

What You've Always Done

The Good Old Ways

Your Whole Toolkit
    

A Firm Foundation

Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground
as you reach for the stars.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
- Confucius

When you jump for joy, beware that no one
moves the ground from beneath your feet.
- Stanislaw Jerszy Lec

If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are,
and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going.
And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.
- Terry Pratchett

The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do,
and the more genuine may be one's appreciation
of fundamental things like home,
and love, and understanding companionship.
- Amelia Earhart

Further reading: Honor Your Roots

A Strong Foundation

Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind

Fulfill Your Dreams
    

How To Keep The Golden Rule

To keep the Golden Rule we must put ourselves in other people's places,
but to do that consists in and depends upon picturing
ourselves in their places.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick (Founding Pastor of New York's Riverside Church)

Do not do to others what would anger you
if done to you by others.
- Isocrates (Ancient Greek)

That which is hateful to you,
do not do to your fellow.
That is the whole Torah;
the rest is the explanation.
- Talmud (Jewish Wisdom)

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Luke 6:31 (the "Golden Rule") 

Know that the true essence of the Golden Rule
is always being compassionate, kind,
generous, and being in service to others.
Compelling others to behave as you wish
them to behave in the name of the
Golden Rule is a corruption of a sacred principle.
Compassion is the universal standard for moral living.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Compassion is the Foundation of All Ethics

Love Your Enemies - Jesus

Go and Do Likewise

Three Wise Monkeys

Love Your Neighbor
   

Respect And Care For God's Natural World

Walk in the woods and listen carefully,
for trees speak with the voice of God.
- George Washington Carver (paraphrase)

Find out how much God has given you
and from it take what you need;
the remainder is needed by others.
- Saint Augustine

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity,
you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Show me your hands.
Do they have scars from giving?
Show me your feet.
Are they wounded in service?
Show me your heart.
Have you left a place for divine love?
- Fulton J. Sheen (Archbishop)

God expects us to care for His world -
to clean up our sewage and our industrial pollution -
to respect His forests and His wild animals.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Keep the Golden Rule

Confession of Sins

Unity in One Body and One Spirit
     

Joy and Inspiration in the Commonplace

Today's affirmation:
I find joy and inspiration in the commonplace
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The enlightened give thanks for what most people take for granted.
- Michael Beckwith

A thankful heart is the greatest virtue.
- Cicero

The invariable mark of wisdom is to
see the miraculous in the common.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Further reading: Simple Pleasures

The Commonplace

Beauty is Everywhere