“Reading literature can develop the kind of imagination without which civility is impossible. To be fully human we must be able to imagine others’ hurt and to relate it to the hurt we would experience if we were in their place. Consideration is imagination on a moral track.”
—P.M. Forni
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
—Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Then [good manners] must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“First, that each and every person should be regarded as worthy of sympathetic consideration, and should be so treated…Secondly, that no person should be regarded by another as a mere possession; or used as a mere instrument, or treated as a mere obstacle, to another’s satisfaction; and…Thirdly, that persons are not and ought never to be treated in any undertaking as mere expendables.”
—Errol E. Harris
“My past has taught me well the importance of love and the relative unimportance of just about everything else. Through love we find energy, contentment, and wisdom greater than we’d ever dreamed. Without love, the glittering prizes of our modern lives sooner or later turn to dust.”
—Margot Silk Forrest
“Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Our planet … is a mysterious orb of mind and spirit, a world of hope and love – but, unfortunately, a world of clashing thoughts and feelings. … If our world is to survive and find its destiny, new ways of achieving harmony must be found. – John McConnell, “Minute for Peace” speech to National Education Association, 29 June 1965
The planet belongs to us – all of us. We have spiritual and material rights and responsibilities during our journey here. – Definition of World Equality, Inc., an organization created by John McConnell in 1969
This is for young and old who care about the Earth, its air, water, land and living things. We must change the attitudes and actions now destroying the Earth into those that will heal and build our planet. – John McConnell, speech, 1974
Flatland vision is caused by closing one eye – the eye of the heart. If we will open it and look at the whole world – with full vision – we will see new depths of love and new promises of peace. – John McConnell, “Flatland” essay, 1975
Who ‘owns’ the sea? You do! And your property is being vandalized, stolen, destroyed. What are you doing about it? – John McConnell, “Who Owns the Sea?” speech, 1975
Namaste: “All that is good in me bows to all that is good in you.”
“Self-care is never a selfish act. It is simple good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.”
—Parker Palmer
“Understanding kindness means accepting our personal power. If you see your place in the universe, really see it, you will not be struck by your insignificance. Rather, you will be awed by your power to build and contribute.”
—Robert Furey
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”
—Rabindranath Tagore
