If in doubt, assume life

You may discover someone apparently dead,
and it can be difficult to tell whether he is really dead or not….
If there is any doubt whether someone is dead, treat him as being alive.

What to Do When Someone Dies
British Consumers Association book 1967
quoted in Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Longing for Utopia

A map of the world that does not include Utopia
is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out
the one country at which Humanity is always landing.
And when Humanity lands there, it looks out,
and, seeing a better country, sets sail.
Progress is the realisation of Utopias.

        Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism 

 

 

 

 

 

Get up!

I say to the body, Up with you now,
and I can feel it struggling,
like an old hack foundered in the street.

        Samuel Beckett, Stories and Texts for Nothing

Remembering the Beatitudes

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.

"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom? "Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon? Give me a break!

Kurt Vonnegut, Cold Turkey, at online publication In These Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poem: Answer July

Answer July —
Where is the Bee —
Where is the Blush —
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July —
Where is the Seed —
Where is the Bud —
Where is the May —
Answer Thee — Me —

Nay — said the May —
Show me the Snow —
Show me the Bells —
Show me the Jay!

Quibbled the Jay —
Where be the Maize —
Where be the Haze —
Where be the Bur?
Here — said the Year —

            Emily Dickinson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy people

If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue new understandings, seek new achievements, and control their thoughts and feelings. In sum, our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find themselves. If an unhappy person wants to experience interest, enthusiasm, contentment, peace, and joy, he or she can make it happen by learning the habits of a happy person.

Sonja Lyubomirsky
The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want

Look, but don't touch

An actor is supposed to be a sensitive instrument.
Isaac Stern takes good care of his violin.
What if everybody jumped on his violin?

        Marilyn Monroe, Life magazine 1962