SSA Blog #034      By Michelle Drew     December 19, 2005

All Good Thoughts

Here are some proverbs to remind us of the collective folk wisdom that this world possesses

One who loves the vase loves also what is inside.
African Proverb

Where there is love there is no darkness.
Burundi Proverb
 
When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.
Ethiopian Proverb
 
The heart that loves is always young.
Greek Proverb

I wept because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.
Persian Saying

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
Chinese Proverb

It is the beautiful bird that gets caged.
Chinese Proverb

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb

Inspirational Reading

FILLING UP YOUR LIFE by Steve Goodier

We can live a long time without thinking about such things as
"meaning" and "purpose" in life. But happy and healthy living requires
that we visit these words from time to time

I have heard that Ralph Barton, a cartoon­ist of a former generation,
left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his life: "I have
had few diffi­culties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from
wife to wife, and from house to house, visited great countries of the
world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four
hours of the day."

Whatever psychological problems may have afflicted him, Ralph Barton
suffered from an empty life. He tried to fill it up -- with
relation­ships and things and busyness. He was no doubt successful in
his work. And probably well liked. His problem was that he felt his
life had no meaning.

Educator Morrie Schwartz helps us put meaning into our lives. In Mitch
Albom's audio book TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE (Grand Haven, MI: Nova Audio
Books, Brilliance, 1997), he chronicles the final months of Morrie's
life, as his former teacher slowly dies of Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).
Morrie, that irrepressible lover of life, says this: "So many people
walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep even when
they are busy doing things they think are im­portant. This is the
product of chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your
life is to devote yourself to lov­ing others, de­vote yourself to your
community around you, and devote yourself to creating some­thing that
gives you purpose and meaning."

Do you want to be happy? Do you want a life that matters? Then fill it
up with loving and caring for those around you! I guarantee, it will
never seem empty again!