go ahead

Standing on nothing, nothing is lost if a step is taken.

made by belief

We are what we believe, not what we believe we are.

acquiring new strenghts

Disciple: one who learns under another's discipline. To be taught and trained requires giving up freedoms to acquire new strengths.

nature

I was asked, 'What is nature?' I replied, 'Nature is intelligence without an I.'

an act of kindness

An act of kindness is equal to an eternity of friendship.

shilling trust

Whatever a man's distinction, be they breeding, education, drive, charm, or entrusted responsibilities, they may be given too much esteem and account a man too well. Such distinctions can lead to unwarranted regard. Consider the apostles. Eleven of the twelve never suspected their treasurer of treachery.

spared the incompatible

Don't be concerned about being rejected; you've just been spared the company of the incompatible.

misers begging

How absurd ~ the misers of mercy begging Heaven's gifts.

answers to a prayer

[a true story]

There was once a man deeply troubled in love who earnestly asked Heaven to send him the highest angel to help. Then one night an angel came. ¨I am he¨, the angel said. The angel showed this man a vision ~ among others so real ~ of a young man and woman seated at table writing. Standing over them were another young man and woman watching. The angel said, ¨Do as you see. With the woman you love, write all the things you each privately and publicly want and need. Have with you others who know you both. They will insure nothing is left out.¨ Embarrassed, this man asked, ¨Even our most intimate wants and needs?¨ ¨Yes,¨ replied the angel, ¨Then exchange your writings.¨
. . . . .

possessing an instrument

Never confuse the possession of an instrument ~ tool, body, or mind ~ with the ability to use it. All instruments require mastery, and mastery is acquired by the application of one's life to it.

how a story is told

When events are the result of lies, duplicities, and deceptions, they become complicated stories to tell. They require much fore-thought, organization and effort to explain. Honesty, truth and integrity may have their mysteries, but the stories that result are always straight-forward and simple.

excellence

I was asked, 'What is excellence?' I replied, 'Excellence is where intent and actions are equal, uniform and commensurate vectors achieving an outcome that is good or beautiful to the elevation of life.'

scratching the head in wonder

Reckoning by their impatience, I am slow to learn the lessons others wish to teach me. But by and by I master their lessons to often discover that those who taught me have yet to learn the lessons they teach.

the ends we value

Goal is value. We can measure the value of our goal by how many other goals it displaces. The goal we ultimately value, however, is the one for which we are prepared to risk other great values.

comforting impulse

Opportunity implicates proximity. We seize what is near.

the straight line of the circle

All that is hidden is pregnant ~
All that is revealing is birthing ~
Revealing is continual because the hidden is perpetual.

tyranny's hunt for the just

I was asked, ¨What is tyranny?¨ I replied, ¨Tyranny is where the unjust hunt the just as outlaws.

¨

strength in love

Love has beauty. Truth has strength and lends its strength to Love. Then Love's beauty cannot be sullied, nor its tenderness compromised.

transacting

We trade on values, not principles.

precious distinctions

Be generous with your love, and spend your time as tho it were scarce.

you make the difference

Unhappiness and dissatisfaction are completely different. Unhappiness is the sense you cannot alter events. Dissatisfaction is the prelude to doing just that.

the ridiculously stupid

One does not drink a cupful of wine from a tub. Let the means fit the purpose. Ostentation can be ridiculously stupid.

leadership and management skills

[opening paragraph for a conference paper]

Leadership and management skills: they are an academic's tautology, a binary god in the cosmology of modern management theory, fraternal twins profitably employed in the pursuit of every organization's goals and objectives. Though uniquely different, neither can be successfully subsumed under the other; they mutually benefit.
. . . . .

change your attitude

The chief problem with a sense of superiority is that it is made from such inferior material.

the usual problem

The problem isn't that there are bad people in the world. There will always be bad people. The problem is that good people think they're too good to come together to fight the bad.