“In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see. In the face of injustice, one may not look the other way. When someone suffers, and it is not you, he comes first. His very suffering gives him priority… To watch over a man who grieves is a more urgent duty than to think of God.”
Elie Wiesel, via Sunbeams (Page 66)
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us what matters is the individual. To get to love the person we must come in close contact with him. If we wait till we get the numbers, then we will be lost in the numbers. And we will never be able to show that love and respect for the person. I believe in person to person; every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment.”
Mother Teresa, via Sunbeams (Page 60)
Marianna Williamson Quote on How All Human Behavior Is Either Love Or A Call For Love
“The way of the miracle-worker is to see all human behavior as one of two things: either love or a call for love.”
Marianna Williamson
Beyond the Quote (Day 405)
I have been a Martial Arts Instructor for my entire professional life and have had the privilege of working with thousands of students of all ages and from all different backgrounds. Based on all of the human behavior that I have experienced, I see it as the same: either as acts of love or as calls for love. And usually, it’s the students who are acting out the most who are calling for love the loudest.
Read More »Marianna Williamson Quote on How All Human Behavior Is Either Love Or A Call For Love
Viktor Frankl Quote on Influence and How To Nurture Greatness in Others
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.”
Viktor Frankl, Brain Pickings
Beyond the Quote (323/365)
For those who are trying to influence greatness in others I suggest this: don’t demand greatness; create the environment for greatness and let greatness flower as it may. Of course when you take the time to plant a seed, you want it to flower to its full potential—to become the greatest flower it has the potential to be. After all, you’re investing all of this time and energy into preparing its soil, watering it daily, protecting it from leaf-eating predators, and ensuring it has bountiful access to sunlight. Nobody wants to invest all of that time and energy into a seed that fails to flower to its full potential.
Read More »Viktor Frankl Quote on Influence and How To Nurture Greatness in OthersSir Wilfred Grenfell Quote on Meaning and How Service Is The Rent We Pay For Our Room On Earth
“The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth. It is obvious that man is himself a traveler; that the purpose of this world is not ‘to have and to hold’ but ‘to give and to serve.’ There can be no other meaning.”
Sir Wilfred T. Grenfell
Beyond the Quote (313/365)
How could the purpose of the world be ‘to have and to hold’ if nothing that we have and nothing that we hold onto will come with us at the end of our lives? It will all be left behind—every prized possession, every luxury, and every dollar. What could possibly be the purpose of hoarding it all from one part of the world to your part of the world? It will simply be hauled from your part, back, when you die. It seems futile when you really think about it.
Read More »Sir Wilfred Grenfell Quote on Meaning and How Service Is The Rent We Pay For Our Room On EarthDon’t Fix Me. Love Me For What Is Broken.
Excerpt: There is such a thing as trying to do too much. Your intentions may be good, but your actions are what leave an imprint. Don’t fix me, love me for what is broken.
Read More »Don’t Fix Me. Love Me For What Is Broken.
“I believe that we are here—on this star is space—to help one another. And first, we have to survive. And then we have to thrive. And to thrive—to express ourselves—we have to know ourselves. What do you love? If you get close to what you love, who you are will be revealed to you—and it expands.”
Ethan Hawke, TED
Sadio Mané Quote on Luxury and How He Choses To Give Back From What He’s Been Given
“Why would I want ten Ferraris, 20 diamond watches and two jet planes? What would that do for the world? I starved, I worked in the fields, I played barefoot, and I didn’t go to school. Now I can help people. I prefer to build schools and give poor people food or clothing. I have built schools [and] a stadium; we provide clothes, shoes, and food for people in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people from a very poor Senegalese region in order to contribute to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars, luxury homes, trips, and even planes. I prefer that my people receive a little of what life has given me.”
Sadio Mané
Beyond the Quote (273/365)
What an incredibly refreshing perspective coming from one of the worlds premier soccer players whose net worth is upwards of $15 million. Mané is someone who made it out from intense poverty-stricken conditions and could easily choose to live a life of luxury and riches that I’m sure he dreamed of when he was starving, working the fields, or playing barefoot as a young boy. But, he hasn’t forgotten his roots and he chooses instead to live his life giving back “a little of what life has given him.” But, “a little” doesn’t feel, to me, to be the right choice of words.
Read More »Sadio Mané Quote on Luxury and How He Choses To Give Back From What He’s Been Given101 Acts of Kindness To Help Recalibrate The World
Excerpt: Instead of doing arbitrary random acts of kindness, do deliberate deeds of recalibration when wronged to help “recalibrate” the world.
Read More »101 Acts of Kindness To Help Recalibrate The World
Mark Ruffalo Emmy Award Acceptance Speech on Using Privilege To Fight For Those Less Fortunate
“[Our story] asks a big question, how are we going to deal and honor and take care of each other and our most vulnerable people? And we do that with love, and we do that with compassion, and we do that by fighting for them. And that’s what we have to do today. We have to come together with love, for each other. And if you have privilege, you have to fight for those who are less fortunate, and more vulnerable. And that is what is great about America, our diversity. One thing I’ve learned from my wife and children, is that we’re stronger together when we love each other and we respect each other’s diversity. And so we have a big, important moment ahead of us. Are we going to be a country of division and hatred? A country only for certain kind of people? Or are we going to be one of love, and strength, and fighting for those—all of us—so all of us can have the American dream and the pursuit of life, and liberty, and love, and happiness, in this great country of ours? That’s what we’re facing right now. So get out and vote, make a plan, and vote for love and compassion and kindness. I love you all. Thank you so much.”
Mark Ruffalo, Emmy Award Acceptance Speech
Beyond the Quote (262/365)
Our first priority is to ensure that we are able to care properly for ourselves. Next, is to ensure that we are able to properly care for our family and loved ones. What’s next is where we are all given a destiny altering choice that can—quite literally—reshape the structure of our world. We can choose to either move from “properly cared for” to “overly cared for” or we can choose to continue broadening our circle of care outwards. In other words, with privilege, we can choose luxury or greater impact. The path you choose, and the degree to which you choose to follow that path, can alter the very essence and purpose of your life.
Read More »Mark Ruffalo Emmy Award Acceptance Speech on Using Privilege To Fight For Those Less FortunateQuote from Modern Love About Recalibrating the Universe When Anything Bad Happens
“Whenever anything bad happens, you should try and recalibrate the universe or whatever you want to call it with its opposite.“
Yasmine, Modern Love
Beyond the Quote (255/365)
Spoilers ahead. In the final episode of Modern Love, Season 1, we are shown a scene of a young man, Rob, who gets stood up at a café. Disheartened and upset, he goes to leave the café and (appropriately enough) walks out into the rain. He slowly pulls back to shield under the café’s awning as an attractive blond women, Yasmine, runs to shield on the other side.
Read More »Quote from Modern Love About Recalibrating the Universe When Anything Bad Happens“Kobe [Bryant] was a serial winner who could fire up his teammates and steel himself like a warrior monk. But few people have seen another side to Kobe: the man who performed Make-A-Wish requests after almost every home game—and many road games—throughout his career. I got to document a few of those nights when Kobe was there for kids and their families as a different kind of hero—one who understood the profound impact of basketball beyond simply winning and losing. Behind Kobe’s relentless determination was a gentle and sober compassion.”
Andrew Bernstein, via Mamba Mentality (Page 206)
“Perhaps the most counter-intuitive truth of the universe is that the more you give to others, the more you’ll get. Understanding this is the beginning of wisdom.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog
“If you feel called upon to alleviate suffering in the world, that is a very noble thing to do, but remember not to focus exclusively on the outer; otherwise, you will encounter frustration and despair. Without a profound change in human consciousness, the world’s suffering is a bottomless pit. So don’t let your compassion become one-sided. Empathy with someone else’s pain or lack and a desire to help need to be balanced with a deeper realization of the eternal nature of all life and the ultimate illusion of all pain. Then let your peace flow into whatever you do and you will be working on the levels of effect and cause simultaneously.”
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Page 203)
Iain Thomas Quote On Giving People A Chance and How Everyone Is Someone
“Joan of Arc came back as a little girl in Japan, and her father told her to stop listening to her imaginary friends. Elvis was born again in a small village in Sudan, he died hungry, age 9, never knowing what a guitar was. Michelangelo was drafted into the military at age 18 in Korea, he painted his face black with shoe polish and learned to kill. Jackson Pollock got told to stop making a mess, somewhere in Russia. Hemingway, to this day, writes DVD instruction manuals somewhere in China. He’s an old man on a factory line. You wouldn’t recognize him. Gandhi was born to a wealthy stockbroker in New York. He never forgave the world after his father threw himself from his office window, on the 21st floor. And everyone, somewhere, is someone, if we only give them a chance.“
Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
Beyond the Quote (176/365)
What do you see when you look into the eyes of another human being? Do you see a person for what they appear to be? Do you see them for who they were? Do you see them for who they could be? It depends on the person, I suppose. When I look into the eyes of another human being, I try to see someone who, when given a chance, can become somebody. Somebody who has limitless potential inside that is only but waiting to be molded and realized. Somebody who is capable of great things. Somebody who can make a real difference in their world. I see this in almost everyone. But, not everybody sees it in themselves or others.
Read More »Iain Thomas Quote On Giving People A Chance and How Everyone Is SomeoneClay Jensen Quote on Choosing To Live and To Keep Moving, Whatever Happens.
“Whatever happens, keep moving. Get through it. Choose to live. ‘Cause even on the worst day, there are people who love you. There’s new music waiting for you to hear; something you haven’t seen before that will blow your mind in the best way. Even on the worst day, life is a pretty spectacular thing.”
Clay Jensen, Graduation Speech, 13 Reasons Why (Season 4)
Beyond the Quote (173/365)
If you’re going through hell… keep going. I mean, why would you want to stay in hell? Not moving doesn’t seem like an option when hell is where you find yourself—so don’t fool yourself if you’re in some kind of hellish reality. Keep moving. Whatever happens. No matter how hard things get. Keep moving forward in some kind of direction that’s going to take you away from where you are and out of the hell that you might find yourself in. What’s the alternative?
Read More »Clay Jensen Quote on Choosing To Live and To Keep Moving, Whatever Happens.Kahlil Gibran Quote on Giving To Others That Which You Most Hope To Receive (and Knowing What to Give)
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
Kahlil Gibran
Beyond the Quote (118/365)
Once a group of 500 people were attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each person a balloon. Each person was then asked to write their name on it using a marker. Then all of the balloons were collected and put in another room.
Read More »Kahlil Gibran Quote on Giving To Others That Which You Most Hope To Receive (and Knowing What to Give)