"I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world. Over the centuries men have sought to discover the highest good. This has been the chief quest of ethical philosophy. This was one of the big questions of Greek philosophy. The Epicureans and the Stoics sought to answer it; Plato and Aristotle sought to answer it. What is the summum bonum* of life? I think I have discovered the highest good. It is love. This principle stands at the center of the cosmos. As John says, “God is love.^” He who loves is a participant in the being of God. He who hates does not know God."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.

*highest good

^1 John 4:8, 16

"[C]owardice asks the questions, is it safe; expediency asks the question, is it politic; vanity asks the question, is it popular, but conscious asks the question, is it right. And on some positions, it is necessary for the moral individual to take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular; but he must do it because it is right."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love - whether we call it friendship or family or romance - is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other's light.”  --James Baldwin, Nothing Personal

"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life."  --Eleanor Roosevelt 

"In writing her autobiography, Eleanor Roosevelt wanted to show “that one can, even without any particular gifts, overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable if one is willing to face the fact that they must be overcome.” Born into the wealthy Roosevelt and Livingston families, she married her distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and became the longest-serving and arguably most influential First Lady of the United States in history. Despite facing profound loss and tragedy in her life, Roosevelt continued to confront heartache and adversity with unwavering determination. She utilized her influential platform to champion various humanitarian causes throughout her life, thereby establishing her legacy as “First Lady of the World.” Though she humbly believed she had no extraordinary talents, Roosevelt’s words reflect her philosophy that, in the face of life’s greatest challenges, the key is to persevere and keep moving forward."  --inspiringquotes.com

“When a phenomenon is inexplicable, if it really exists, then there’s no reason to deny it.”  --Dr. Luc Montagnier 

When the conversation turns to the inexplicable healings in Lourdes and Brother Michel asks the doctor his opinion as a non-believer, Montagnier responds: “When a phenomenon is inexplicable, if it really exists, then there’s no reason to deny it.”

If the phenomenon exists, what’s the point in denying it? It should be studied, not denied. Montaigner affirms that “in the miracles of Lourdes, there is something inexplicable,” and he rejects the position held by some scientists, who “commit the error of rejecting what they don’t understand. I don’t like this attitude. I frequently quote the astrophysicist Carl Sagan, ‘The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.’”

Montagnier continues, “As far as the miracles of Lourdes that I’ve studied, I believe it really is something inexplicable.”

“I don’t have an explanation for these miracles,” he adds, “and I recognize that there are healings that are not included within the current limits of science.”

https://aleteia.org 02/18/2017

"Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."  --Henry David Thoreau

"In these words from an 1848 letter to his friend Harrison Blake, the writer implores us to endeavor to find a reason to be good people beyond just knowing that we should be. Having some sort of solid motivation to back us up increases our chances of becoming the kind of people we’d be proud of."  --inspiringquotes.com

"I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."  --Anne Frank

"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."  --David Foster Wallace

"It’s a fact of life that the truth can hurt, as David Foster Wallace expresses in this line from his epic 1996 novel "Infinite Jest." In this philosophical comic novel, Wallace explores our relationship with entertainment, which can serve as a distraction from the hard realities of life. Finding out the truth — about ourselves, others, or our relationships — can be devastating at first, but it also provides a kind of hopeful freedom. When we face and accept the truth, we're able to see more clearly, and can move forward stronger than before."  --inspiringquotes.com

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”  --Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson, Dune: House Harkonnen

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."  --

Jane Goodall

"The best friend is he that, when he wishes a person's good, wishes it for that person's own sake."  -Aristotle

"Aristotle's influential treatise "Nicomachean Ethics" is considered one of the most important philosophical works ever written. In it, the ancient Greek philosopher examines what is good in life and how people should live honorably and ethically. The topic given the most time in the entire treatise is friendship, of which Aristotle saw three kinds. The lowest friendships are those of utility, in which there is no great regard for the other person beyond what they can provide. Then there are friendships of pleasure, in which two people like to be together, but the relationship is often temporary and can end easily. The highest form of friendship exists between good people who are alike in their virtuousness. In this most noble of friendships, both people truly care for each other without seeking anything in return."  --inspiringquotes.com

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."  --Joseph Campbell