Poems & Quotes

"A voice is a human gift;
it should be cherished
and used, to utter fully
human speech as possible. Powerlessness and
silence go together."
––Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist, poet

War and Speech
by Martin Buber, 1953

War has always had an adversary
who hardly ever comes forward as such
but does his work in the stillness.
This adversary is speech,
fulfilled speech,
the speech of genuine conversation
in which men understand one another
and come to a mutual understanding.
Already in primitive warfare
fighting begins where speech has ceased;
that is, where men are no longer able
to discuss with one another
the subjects under dispute
or submit them to mediation,
but flee from speech with one another
and in the speechlessness of slaughter
seek what they suppose to be a decision,
a judgment of God.
War soon conquers speech and enslaves it
in the service of its battle cries.
But
where speech, be it ever so shy,
moves from camp to camp,
war is already called in question.
Its cannon easily drowns out the word;
but when the word has become entirely soundless,
and on this side and on that
soundlessly bears into the hearts of men
the intelligence
that no human conflict
can really be resolved
through killing,
not even through mass killing,
then the human word has already begun
to silence the
cannonade.

"The best political, social,
and spiritual work we can do
is to withdraw the projection
of our shadow onto others."
––Carl Jung

Mother Teresa wrote a prayer, which is an adaptation of
the Prayer of St. Francis, that clearly shows the path to peace:

"When I am hungry,
give me someone that I can feed.
And when I am thirsty,
give me someone who needs a drink.
When I'm cold,
give me someone to keep warm.
And when I grieve,
give me someone to console."

So...if you want something the only way to truly have it is to give it to someone else.

"There is no such thing as darkness;
only a failure to see."
––Malcolm Muggeridge

The shadow is simply the person you have no wish to be––
all those pieces that you haven’t found a place for in your self-image.
But people’s true gifts and talents are often
caught in the shadow as well.”
––Jeremiah Abrams, editor of The Shadow in America

"There is only one problem
and one solution.
The problem is that you think you're separate from God,
and the solution
is that you are wrong."
––A Course in Miracles

The Guest House
by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentarty awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame,
the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each guest has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

We would define love
as the complete
and total acceptance
of what is;
we would describe love
as “allowing.”
--Omni, as channeled through John L. Payne

Not knowing
is the ground of mystery,
the land of wonder;
a haven to be visited daily.
It is the source of creativity,
inventiveness and tranquility
all in one.
––DailyZen.com

"I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand."
––Confucius

"Suffering
is always the effect
of wrong thought
in some direction.
It is an indication
that the individual
is out of harmony
with himself,
with the law of his being."

––Vic@AsAManThinketh.net
James Allen eMeditation

The Wise Ones of Old

The wise ones of old had subtle wisdom
And depth of understanding,
So profound
that they could not be understood.
Because they could not be understood,
I can only describe
How they appeared in the world:

Cautious, like crossing a wintry stream,
Watchful,
Like one facing danger on every side,
Ceremonious, as one who pays a visit;
Yielding, like ice beginning to melt,
Genuine, like a piece of uncarved wood,
Open-minded, like a valley,
And mixing freely, like murky water.
Which of you can assume such murkiness,
To become in the end still and clear:
Which of you can make yourself still,
To become in the end full of life?
Those who possess this Tao do not try to
Fill themselves to the brim,
And because they do not try to
Fill themselves to the brim
They are like a garment that endures
All wear and need never be renewed.
—Lao Tzu Combined translations from The Wisdom of Lao Tzu by Lin Yutang & The Way and Its Power by Arthur Waley

"Though we travel the world over
to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us
or we find it not."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight." ––Jim Rohn

"Don't spend your precious time
asking 'Why isn't the world
a better place?'
It will only be time wasted.
The question to ask is
'How can I make it better?'
To that there is an answer."
––Leo Buscaglia

The message of the children
is always the same:
"This is the moment.
Love is the way."
It is impossible for us
to know what needs
to happen in the world today,
or how peace will come.
But if we continue
to ask to be used
as Instruments of Peace,
then love will prevail.
It must!
This is the message of the Children
––James Twyman
Peace Troubadour

Mar/Apr 2003

Poems & Quotes