To wit:
If what you say is not necessary, be sure it is kind and true.
If what you say is not kind, be sure it is true and necessary.
If what you say is not true, be sure it is necessary and kind.
Liz passed away suddenly and unexpectedly a few weeks later. Her thought was picked up from here by "The Quote Garden" and has found considerable circulation on the net. I am so pleased that Liz has attained this recognition for something she said here.
Now a few new thoughts of my own.
"If you will recognize the blessings in your life, your intellect will soon enough come to accept their source."
"In the soul of every gardener is a vestige of belief in the Tooth Fairy."
"What is a gardener, after all, but a magician's assistant.
"If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden."
"One might define God as whoever it is who knew exactly the kids you would have picked out for yourself."
"You can awaken each day to obligations you never chose -- or you can decide now to choose them."
"Never hold a grudge, especially one whose year of origin can only be determined by radioactive dating."
While others are laid to their rest, an American is buried with a list of "Things I Gotta Do in the Six Weeks the Fingernails Keep Growing."
Talk about a persuasive tongue -- you know those TV ads where they say "Strict limit of three to a caller?" Well, I talked the guy into selling me four.
"At some point in childhood you discover that nothing is fun forever, which news you then have to break to your dog."
"The more side roads you stop to explore, the less likely that life will pass you by."
"What every manipulator of crowds knows is that no two people are alike; it takes three or more."
In one compartment of my mind reside my thoughts and in the compartment below reside my beliefs, and my beliefs keep pounding on the ceiling, shouting, "Be quiet up there!"
"If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded."
~~ Robert Brault
22 comments:
"The more side roads you stop to explore, the less likely that life will pass you by." so well said Robert. Thanks again. Have added a note .. slowly slowly .. penned few months back. Am keen to learn about "a bit of a Transcendentalist by way of Emerson and Thoreau" Sweet regards
Thank you for thoughts for today...just stopping by to say hello.
Raj,
I checked your "Slowly, Slowly" post and left an appreciative note for you.
Marlene,
My goodness, you're up early this morning!
smiles,
rb
"If you will recognize the blessings in your life, your intellect will soon enough come to accept their source."
This one resonates with me, Robert. May I be so bold as to post an addendum to your wisdom? "... And you will become the kind of person other people want to be around!"
patriciapaddey
Thanks. You hit upon a key side effect of becoming a positive and appreciative person -- you become the kind of person other people want to be around.
smiles,
rb
I had a hard time picking a favorite today. The gardening ones are wonderful (you must have been doing some yourself this weekend?)and now I'm excited to plant and pot and make a mess while soaking up the smell of damp dirt and greenery.
But this one brought back sweet memories:
"If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded."
My dad has very long legs, and my mother could never figure out why his pants were always so dirty around the knees and lower leg until we were looking at a couple of pictures snapped of two of the grandchildren (then 5 and 2) clutching his pant legs with their little hands. How they loved going on long exploring walks with him!
Have a great week - you've made mine!
karen,
Four inches of rain around here since Saturday. My area was fortunately spared wind damage. Now the forecast calls for sunny and 60's all week!! The thought of green grass and fragrant soil is thrilling!
What an engaging story of your dad and the grandkids. I don't think Norman Rockwell would even need brush and canvas. The picture paints itself.
smiles,
rb
Warmly acknowledging your time, thought & fine pearls along the way Robert. Grateful.
Happened to come across this book & liking it :
Letters to Sam: A Grandfather's Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life by Daniel Gottlieb
Raj,
Thanks. I'll check it out.
smiles,
rb
I had a precious little person tugging on my pant leg just this morning -- looked down, saw that sunshiney little face smiling up at me and it made my day happy. Loved that thought -- thank goodness I wasn't too busy or I'd have missed out for sure. As always, you make my heart feel warm.
It's always so hard to pick favorites, but these three especially stood out to me.
"One might define God as whoever it is who knew exactly the kids you would have picked out for yourself." I love this one. I am always telling my son that he is exactly the boy I prayed to have.
"What every manipulator of crowds knows is that no two people are alike; it takes three or more." Mob psychology perfectly explained in one short sentence. Should be at the beginning of every Abnormal Psych 101 text.
"In one compartment of my mind reside my thoughts and in the compartment below reside my beliefs, and my beliefs keep pounding on the ceiling, shouting, "Be quiet up there!"
Exactly! How often do we come up with new thoughts, new ways of doing things, new paradigms, only to have our beliefs say, "Go to sleep.I don't feel like being an iconoclast."
Still waiting for the book...
Jan,
Thought you might appreciate that one. It's getting so, when I'm ready to post, I say, "Is there anything here for Jan?"
Randi,
As always, you catch my drift. BTW, the new thought in the page header was inspired by your "Conquering Shyness" piece of last April. It's been quoted many times on the net, and it's about time I gace you credit for it.
smiles both,
rb
Well done Robert. I think I must miss the depth of your quotes a lot of the time and sometimes I understand but am unable to pen a response. I'm just pleased I'm able to skate around the surface and occasionally fall in.
Ken,
I appreciate the good will (and ingenuity) of all who comment here. What can you really say about a bunch of one-liners. Ideally, there would three buttons under each thought: "How True", "How Silly" and "Huh?" -- and you could just select one. Come to think, Google does offer something like that, although it applies to the whole post. I think I'll check that out.
smiles,
rb
Robert I'm in Chile these days and I have to tell you reading your posts makes my day. It's a bit scary here especially after the big Earthquake in Concepcion. Thanks a ton for quips and quotes.
khushi,
If you're in Chile as part of the rescue effort, I commend you. In any case, take care.
smiles,
rb
No Robert, I'm not a part of the rescue effort. I shifted base from my hometown in India to be with my kids.
Thank you for sharing Liz's beautiful saying on my site. I'm praying that Liz is resting with the Lord now.
Luce
Oh I'm late visiting here, Robert!
*been burning the candle at both ends*
I started visiting your blog back in June '09. I always enjoy reading all the comments left here and Liz always had such great comments ~ What a wonderful spirit {and it's so nice to know her words still enrich others}
This quote is especially speaking to me tonight:
"In one compartment of my mind reside my thoughts and in the compartment below reside my beliefs, and my beliefs keep pounding on the ceiling, shouting, "Be quiet up there!"
Thank you, Robert, for your insights and such kindness in sharing this post with Liz*
~Maria
khushi,
You are living an interesting life, that's for sure.
lucemichael,
Thanks. It appears that there is less contention in our views than I imagined.
Maria,
Your comments enrich this site as did Liz's. Thank you.
smiles,
rb
I like the bits about gardening. I could very well relate to them despite being in metaphors.
synthetic grass,
Glad you like -- and welcome to my garden.
smiles,
rb
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