“When any person treats you badly, or speaks ill of you, remember that he acts or speaks from an impression that it is right for him to do so. Now, it is not possible that he should follow what appears right to you, but only what appears so to himself. Therefore, if he judges from false appearances, he is the person hurt; since he too is the person deceived. For if anyone takes a true proposition to be false, the proposition is not hurt, but only the man is deceived. Setting out, then, from these principles, you will be gentle with a person who reviles you; for you will say upon every occasion, ‘It seemed so to him.’”

Enchiridion 42 [Higginson Trans.]

“In the first place, condemn your bad actions; but when you have condemned them, do not despair of yourself, nor be like those poor-spirited people who, when they have once given way, abandon themselves entirely, and are carried along as by a torrent. Take example from the wrestling masters. Has the boy fallen down? Get up again, they say; wrestle again till you have acquired strength. Be affected in the same manner. For, be assured that there is nothing more tractable than the human mind. You need but will, and it is done, it is set right; as, on the contrary, you need but nod over the work, and it is ruined. For both ruin and recovery are from within.”

Discourses 4.9.14-16 [Carter Trans.]

Cherokee Blessing

May the warm winds of Heaven blow softly on your home,
And the Great Spirit bless all who enter there.

Cherokee Traveler's Greeting

I will draw thorns from your feet.
We will walk the White Path of Life together.
Like a brother of my own blood,
I will love you.
I will wipe tears from your eyes.
When you are sad,
I will put your aching heart to rest.

"We spend so much time shouting our opinions at each other, stressing our importance, that we can no longer hear those things which don't have to shout to be important."

-- Ken Masters, 1992
speaking at a congressional breakfast in Washington DC

“Never look for your work in one place and your progress in another.”

Discourses 1.4.17 [Oldfather Trans.]

The society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
--Benjamin Franklin