KNOW WHAT WIMBLING is. For it is a fine point in human intercourse.
It is done to test the spirit, and by it one may unconcern probe the most hidden, and the deepest recesses of the heart.
Sometimes it is malicious, sharp, poisoned with the juice of envy, and dipped in the venom of passion, unnoticed darts aimed to bring down the sublime, and the estimable.
Many have fallen from the favor of high or low, wounded by some trifling word: who earlier never feared a whole conspiracy of popular hatred and personal spleen. At other times it works differently, through flattery aiding and abetting, the self-esteem.
But with the same skill with which a plot is projected, let cautio recognize it, and attentiveness expect it: for defence depends on recognition, and the shot foreseen always fails its mark.
“Manner is personality- the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life”
-Emily Post
Behaving in a thoughtful and considerate way helps both morally and aesthetically to make the world a better place. A place where differences in income bracket, age, gender, race, culture and religion are all set aside for common decency towards fellow humans- all our brothers and our sisters, related and unrelated to you. Every single human being is important, regardless of their status quo.
Be nice and assume niceness in others. Good manners are universally appealing and make for a kinder, better, happier life for us and those around us. Lead by example. Far from politeness is the being who is snobbish, arrogant or boring, always show consideration and thoughtfulness to those around us works on every level, with all people from the postman to the queen, and also in respect with nature, from the cat to the tree.
Use socially acceptable and respectful good behavior. Have positive expectations, roles and hopes for yourself and your society, and expect to fulfill them in a way where we can serve and relate to each other in a more pleasant manner. Mutual respect, responsibility and accountability towards each other to build an inclusive society where no one can be human alone and where everyone is responsible for the welfare of others in the society. Re-learn to love thy neighbour.
Manners will ease your way through the toughest obstacles in life. To make everyday encounters that much more bearable to live. Consider polite treatment to your waitress a high duty to society, saying thank you to your bus driver is a service to your world, and offering help to the old man in the car park find his lost car as a huge responsibility to your community. Reconsider your treatment of those who are terminally ill, the homeless, etc. What a wonderful place the world would be, if everyone acted like that.
I can behave quite uncannily like a Normal Person for most of the time, but bearing witness to rudeness or improper behaviour to myself and others sends me over the edge sometimes. Can you blame me? I was brought up with principles and morals, and sure, we all make mistakes sometimes. I have made my own also. I have learned from them. I have always strived to be a better person.
Good manners cost nothing, but using them is priceless. "It´s nice to be nice" as my father-in-law back in England always says. And I heartily agree.
I offer this information for the change it has brought to the way I face the world each day. I have been instilled with the notion that absolutely nobody worth knowing will ever put me down, and for those that have?
I just picked myself up, dusted myself off, and start all over again. Don't let the Bastards get you down. It is always the bastards that fall and NEVER forget that.
Stick to what you feel is right, your morals and your principles, but don´t assume you´re always right either, keep your mind open. We always learn new lessons right to the day we die. Just because you´re older doesn´t make you wiser, and never forget that. Life teaches us lessons, each and every day.
Some people spend the rest of their lives learning the same lessons over and over again and eventually, they learn or worse, they just give up. The signs of it is every where, the junkies, the alcoholics, people dealing with serious depressions, others in serious therapy, they forgot all about kindness and filled their lives up with garbage and just couldn´t get away. Sad.
They forgot what it is to be truly human. They forgot their dreams and their aspirations and eventually let them all go. Closed hearts, closed souls. People living in the cages they built around themselves. Because in life, every action causes a reaction, and let´s hope the actions we make, let them always kind, that kindness will always be thrice returned. And those who harm, the harm will be thriced returned.
The true freedom is being comfortable with who I am and having nothing to hide.
for all the world's a stage, and all it´s men and women merely players...
To love another person is to see the face of God. - Les Miserables
There are people under public scrutiny all the time... criticized for doing things as if they were doing it as some publicity stunt, simply for the fact that they are in the public eye... I could mention Angelina Jolie as one, and her adoption of children of third world countries... Bono Vox, Hugh Laurie and many others. Personally, I think it is a wonderful thing, that just because they can and that they do it, and I sure as hell won´t criticize them for it... I think it´s beautiful regardless of their status quo. People argue about the fact, that there are many kids in Jolie´s own country that she could do that for, which to a certain extent, is true, but it is also true, that her own country is set up to help kids left right and center, and most third world countries are not.
Here, I would like to talk about all the unsung heroes in our own communities and the things they do to make the world a better place. I know quite a lot of people who go out of their way to make someone smile and make their lives a little bit easier in some way. People I have met and have had wonderful conversations with and even had, eye-opening views to the millions of ways that people go out of their way to help people and make their lives easier in some way.
I have friends who have set themselves up in Gambia, Africa, to teach the kids there how to read and write, also set up a charity to help these kids have a better life. No one really know these two, and they are two of the most wonderful people I´ve ever met. And a family who goes there every year to play Santa for these kids to watch them break into smiles... I think that´s beautiful! I also have a very long time friend who is now retired, but still lectures at the university and still does research in breast cancer to help fight that disease, although technically, he should be retired. I think that´s wonderful! Oh and the list of all the unsung heroes would go on and on. The new neighbor who moves into a community and the neighborhood comes and welcomes him/her in. It´s really nice... isn´t it???
The beautiful people, true beautiful people we meet everyday, people who we are glad to know and make us smile that such people exist and that is what true humanity is all about. Being kind to each other. Trying to make life easier for everyone. Even if you are only able to lend an ear and spend time with someone who isn´t doing too well, to hold their hand and let them know you are there. To let them know you really do care.
To be able to sit with somebody and enjoy a cup of coffee, a complete stranger even, that has sparked your curiousity and have an interesting conversation without any false pretenses... just learning something new everyday and not spoiling the beauty of the natural curiousity for learning something different. Not transforming the natural smile of human kindness and curiousity into tears...
Creating Random Acts of Kindness... that´s what true humanity is all about. The rest is just garbage.
"If our mind is shaped by our experiences, so too, is our body shaped by our repeated actions."
To enjoy the naked form as an art is to grow beyond the human desires we feel. And thus we open up a whole new world of beauty, up till now, only seen as stimulus. The body is a temple, this miraculous body was given to us at birth, treat it well. Responsible treatment of our own body forms a crucial part of a responsible attitude towards life as a whole. Responsibility stands as one of the highest spiritual qualities and that begins within our own body. Awareness of physical sensations, posture, gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, movement, breathing, eating, and all our myriad physical activities grounds us in the present moment, reveals truths about ourselves, and provides a necessary platform for deeper spirituality. Like everything else in human life, the care of our body can suffer many aberrations to it. Hypochondria, fastidiousness, squeamishness, timidity, vanity, lust, gluttony and laziness suggest a wide range of excessive or obsessive attitudes we can have towards our own body and it ruins us. The divine consciousness of love exists within every cell of our bodies, and every thing within and outside of us is connected, How do we harmonize our own aspects? We need only listen to each individual note --body, mind and heart-- so that these may naturally move into a vibrant, resonant chord felt and heard throughout the body of Creation.
Our souls live and breathe in our body-temples, which seek purity and wholeness. Each body, given a voice, will say whether we are honoring or dishonoring it. In listening to the voice of the soul, we begin to receive impressions throughout the web of life connecting us with animals, plants, nature and every other aspect of the Greater Whole.
Learn to cherish it, treat it well and with kindness.Let it grow old gracefully and not in disgrace, and when it is time to leave your body behind, that there be a smile upon your face. because our body was only a temporary dwelling..." - Isabel Gallagher
To the Marxists and the police
To the junkies in the streets
To the gangsters in our towns
And the others underground
To the prostitutes and whores
To the self-admiring bores
To the drinkers in a drought
And the writers steeped in doubt
To the bailiffs and their bills
To the child whose thoughts could kill
To the veteran who fights
All his demons late at night
To the bloody and unbowed
Fanatics and their vows
All the taxes we don't want
To the idiot savant
There's a revolution in my heart
To the indier than thou
To the stadiums of crowds
To the vultures circling near
A new kingdom of fear
To the skinheads and the Sikhs
To the rich and the elite
To the serious dilettante To the idiot savant...
a condition of Being—
not a person,
not a place. * "If I was to personally define faith or spirituality, I would say that it is the binding force that we humans have to protect and heal our hearts from becoming tarnished by the circumstances that life presents us and that in which bonds us humans together. I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the human spirit. The spirit of humanity, like the forces of nature, is just as much a development of the evolutionary process as physical life is; that the origin of spiritual life comes from within our hearts. It is the source of our power, our faith, that keeps us going, that which inspires and enables us to keep going in this journey we call life. Faith is the most centered act of the human mind. Faith is the energy, it is the creator of change. Faith is active, positively and fearlessly upheld."
-Isabel Gallagher (my thoughts)
A friend is the miracle of human warmth that God operates in the heart.
"Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible."
- Mary McLeod Bethune
"Wherever there is a human being, there is a chance for a kindness." - Seneca
"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil." - Cicero
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
-Albert Einstein
"The moral sense reappears today with the same morning newness that has been from of old the fountain of beauty and strength. You say there is no religion now. 'Tis like saying in rainy weather, There is no sun, when at that moment we are witnessing one of its superlative effects." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love." -Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"The unique personality which is the real life in me, I can not gain unless I search for the real life, the spiritual quality, in others. I am myself spiritually dead unless I reach out to the fine quality dormant in others. For it is only with the god enthroned in the innermost shrine of the other, that the god hidden in me, will consent to appear."
- Felix Adler: An Ethical Philosophy of Life
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness..." - HH the Dalai Lama:
“Everything happens for a reason. Every action has a reaction. Always remember that... Life is a series of mirrors..."
and please do read Scott´s poem. (click on name) Brilliant!
Article 1.
ALL human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
'Respect is the objective, unbiased consideration and regard for the rights, values, beliefs and property of ALL people.' (Wikipedia, 2006)
"When boasting ends, there dignity begins." - Young
"Each of us, face to face with other men, is clothed with some sort of dignity, but we know only too well all the unspeakable things that go on in the heart." - Luigi Pirandello
~*~
We as humans, achieve some share of the human virtues of truth, beauty, justice, friendship, integrity and a love for God. We are taught dignity and respect as children by our elders and I find it ridiculous, that a lot of adults lose these basic human virtues. Our abilities to know and choose are not properly exercised, for example, when faced with falsehoods or unjust actions, from single individuals, the public and even the media.
Battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you.
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Ethical behaviour encompasses the concepts of honesty, integrity, probity, diligence, fairness, trust, respect and consistency. It includes avoiding conflicts whenever possible, and not making improper use of any individual's position. NO ONE should be forced to listen to bad language or insults or to be belittled in any way, be it any man, woman or child, be he/she of any race, creed, culture or religion.
People should also be aware that in multi-cultural environments, there is always the danger that a person's behaviour may not be acceptable to another, since the standards of behaviour are different. They should also be aware that some people may be more sensitive than others, or have different tolerance levels. Treating one another with respect and dignity is everyone's responsibility. Mistreatment of anyone can often lead to more serious behaviours such as harassment.
Dignity is something some people have more than others, and undignified moments are pitfalls for all of us, dignity is often considered a universal attribute, an offshoot of each individual´s ability of self-consciousness and practical reasoning. The capacity for choosing and controlling our own will belongs to all of us, and is the base for respect and dignity of self and as well as for others.
One should always try to develop good social habits, without them, you become socially unacceptable. Developing good habits will help us do the right thing without thinking about it too hard. Good habits protect us from falling into bad lifestyles, humans have a tendency to fall into consistent patterns of behavior. If you consciously develop good habits, you are positively training yourself to do the right things.
text by: Isabel Gallagher
Life has a bright side and a dark side, for the world of relativity is composed of light and shadows. If you permit your thoughts to dwell on evil, you yourself will become ugly. Look only for the good in everything so you absorb the quality of beauty. -Paramahansa Yogananda
Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty. -Raisa Gorbachev
"What is virtue, my friend? It is to do good; let us then do it, and that will suffice..."
- Voltaire
The wise man - his eyes are in his head, while the fool walks in the dark.
To know yourself
is the doorway to the truth...
those who know themselves well
can support themselves with their strengths
and with that act upon their weaknesses
and in this way, correct themselves to become better humans
there are people who tend to think
that the faults are of others of all the evils
that befall them...
and they have tendency to project upon others
their own defects...
Let’s look at the idea of what is considered Evil.
Evil is not merely the wish to lie, harm, steal etc. in every day’s life. Most of us are hopefully beyond that, living in society with moral rules and values that protects us from being subject to evil doings or from inflicting evil doings upon others.
Evil is different. It is the sum of the negative feelings and energy within us, which if not dealt with properly will result in distancing us from our own true self and from society.
Evil is Guilt; Sadness; Depression; Jealousy; Low self-esteem; Cynicism; Gossiping; Anger, Pride. It is what’s behind that lack of willingness to get out of bed in the morning, behind those painful words said to a colleague at noontime, behind that headache in the evening. Evil is the pain in my heart at night...
“When a person sins he is in “Alma Depiruda” (Aramaic) and then in every detail he stands alone."
Today, all those who prefer to do what they are told instead of thinking and finding themselves and what is good for them, are the contemporary followers of slaves-out-of-choice. Only when one is as close to his true self as one can be, embracing all parts of his soul in a unifying manner, one can make the right choice for himself without “slavery”. This is true freedom.
I have taken the mask off my face, looking inside it, I am smiling. My soul is cleansed and made pure again. I am one with myself and one with all. I am and always will be true to myself.
We all face each other now, know each other, living in harmony with all the one hundred and twenty seven countries of my soul.
Every one of us is like one letter, and only when attached to another a new word is born.
Unified. One.
text by Isabel Gallagher
"The hardest freedom to maintain is the freedom of making mistakes." Morris West
"Wherefore let us exhort all men to piety, that we may avoid evil, and obtain the good, of which Love is to us the lord and minister; and let no one oppose him-he is the enemy of the gods who oppose him." - Aristophanes' Speech
Everything flourishes; each returns to its root
Returning to the root is called tranquility
Tranquility is called returning to one's nature
Returning to one's nature is called constancy
Knowing constancy is called clarity
Not knowing constancy, one recklessly causes trouble
Knowing constancy is acceptance
- Taoism
"It is forbidden to cry without learning why..." - excerpt from poem by Pablo Neruda
Be wary of anyone who paints a rosy picture in order to sell you a bill of goods. If someone tells you how fantastic everything will be, take a deep breath and then ask a lot of questions. Others may not realize the extent of their unrealistic thinking, but this doesn't mean you have to be an unsuspecting victim.
It´s ok. It´s time to take time out and reflect upon who we are, what it is we want from life. When Depression strikes, it bloody hurts.
When it strikes, stop and get out of circulation. It´s time to be alone. It strikes sometimes from an outside source and may not even be your fault... sometimes it is your fault. You need time to reflect upon it.
Taking drugs to cover it up in my opinion is wrong. That you seek help in understanding it, that´s ok. But when the depression is over, and you fully understood it´s reason, your soul is cleansed and you rise again from the ashes and feel reborn again. Depression feels like death, and it does us good to reflect upon ourselves and how we connect to the rest of the world... it is a time for meditation. To be alone with yourself. To remember who you were and who you are now. It is a time to re-pick up the pieces of your soul and walk your dream again. To be a true human, unique and yet one in friendship again with the rest of the world, walking the common dream.
