A thought for the Day

[helenabear]

There have been some really good thoughts here the last few days, so I thank you all for those. CRB, that was a beautiful story you shared there. Your mom certainly lives on in your daughter. I really truly appreciate you sharing that with us.

 

[EROS]

If devotion to truth is the hallmark of morality, then there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking.... The alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short-circuit destroying the mind.

Ayn Rand

 

[Dan Murphy]

Mental sludge

As time goes on, it happens to drain pipes, car radiators, riverbeds and coronary arteries -- the build-up of sludge. If the sludge keeps coming and is never removed, it eventually leads to disaster.
Is there a build-up of dangerous sludge in your mind, as well? Years and years of negative thoughts, critical comments, assumptions, defeats and frustrations can deposit a layer of mental sludge that clogs your thinking and prevents your thoughts from flowing freely.

Think back to when you were a child. You were creative, open minded, curious. You believed that anything was possible. You had big dreams and big plans. Then the sludge began to cover them up. It is all still there, it's just buried. Deep inside, that creative, curious, resourceful person with big dreams is still there. It's still you.

Focus on the dreams and the sludge will start to melt away. Concentrate on the positive, and the possible, and your thoughts will start to flow freely. Unclog the negative thoughts and free your mind and yourself to do great things.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[stevets]

Originally posted by EROS
More people have been killed in the name of Jesus Christ than any other name in the history of the world.

Gore Vidal

That's baloney. Islam has a far bloodier history than Christianity. But it is Atheism that takes the cake for human death and destruction. Stalin alone killed 50 million people when they threatened his atheistic ideology. When you count the number killed in China under Mao (I've read that up to 60 million were killed), and in Cambodia under Pol Pot (2-3 million) you'll see that in ONE CENTURY, more people were killed in the name of atheism than were killed in the name of christianity in two millenia.

 

[EROS]

Stevets, I would agree that there's a great deal of hyperbole in Vidal's quote. During the Crusades (1209-44) it's estimated that there were 1,000,000 deaths. During the 30 Years War (1618-48) between Protestants and Catholics, it's estimated that 7,000,000 died.

However, it should be pointed out that Stalin, Pol Pot, and Mao did not murder millions in the "name of atheism". True, they had atheistic regimes, but their savagery was primarily political.
Adolf Hitler was a baptized Catholic and was aided by many "Christian" Officers in the S.S. ; however, his butchery was no more in the name of Jesus Christ than Stalin's slaughters were in the name of atheism.

 

[stevets]

Let's face it, hostilities between nations are, and always were, political in nature. It's just that the further back in history you go, the greater importance religion has in politics.

Nevertheless, if we are going to count bodies, ideologies that deny the existence of God have far bloodier records than ideologies that include God.

 

[EROS]

"Which is it:...... Is man one of God's blunders, or is God one of man's blunders?"

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

 

[Disney Doll]

I've had many years to be smart. Now I choose to be pleasant.--Elwood P. Dowd

 

[Catzeyes]

Desiderata
GO PLACIDLY AMID THE NOISE & HASTE, & REMEMBER WHAT PEACE THERE MAY BE IN SILENCE. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly: and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story. ~Avoid loud and aggresive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself to others you may be vain & bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as you plans. ~ Keep interested in you own career, however humble; it is a real possesion in the changing fortunes of time Excersise caution in your buisness affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. ~ Be yourself especialy do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in
the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. ~ Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture the strength of the spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome disciplin, be gentle with yourself. ~ You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & stars; you have a right to be here. And whethereor not it is clear to you, no doupt the univers is unfolding as it should. ~ Therefore be at peace with God whatever you percieve him to be, and whatever you labors & aspirations, in the noisey confusion of life keep peace with your soul. ~ With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. ~ Be carefull. Strive to be happy.~
~FOUND IN OLD SAINT PAUL'S CHURCH, BALTIMORE; DATED 1692~

 

[stevets]

The best way out is always through.

--Robert Frost

 

[EROS]

I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies another this right makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.

Thomas Paine

 

[Big Dude]

Eros, no matter what you say, I will continue to pray for you and love you in an unconditional way!

Adam aka Big Dude (an original quote)

 

[EROS]

Thanks, Brother . My sources have provided assurance that your prayers for me DEFINITELY have put you on a fast-track, many years hence, to Heaven ..........

P.S............Yankees lose to Anaheim in 3 straight

 

[Disney Doll]

Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings, radiating kindness over the entire world.--The Buddha

 

[EROS]

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.

Thomas Jefferson

 

[Dan Murphy]

Always have liked Desiderata, Kath. A great piece it is.

Hope


I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant.
After all, in order not to be a fool an optimist
must know how sad a place the world can be. It is
only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day.
-- Peter Ustinov



People who remain focused on the positive are often accused of being unrealistic. This is a shallow logic.

Where there is hope, there is hope. That is to say that hope does not just occur, it is created by the hopeful. It is never unrealistic to be positive, because a positive outlook is ultimately self-fulfilling.

A hopeless situation changes, as soon as someone cares. As soon as someone believes they can make things better, there is hope.

Being positively focused is not unrealistic. It is, rather, a proactive approach to life. The pessimist looks for proof and justification of his pessimism. The optimist has no such requirement, because the optimist is not content to settle for things the way they are. Positive thinking acknowledges circumstance and reality without surrendering power to it. The optimist knows that reality can be changed for the better, and looks for possibilities to do so.

Able to see the positive aspect in any circumstance, the optimist begins the process of actually bringing it about.

Things are not always OK. In fact, they rarely are. Acknowledge the negative, then focus on the positive, and you'll begin to make things better.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[EROS]

I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for other people.

K.H.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Never allow anyone to rain on your parade
And thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day.
Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains,
No character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business.
Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it.
Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days
Combating the menial forces of hate, jealousy, and envy.
Guard your fragile life carefully!
Only God can create a flower,
But any fool can pull it to pieces.

--- Author Unknown

 

[Disney Doll]

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.--The Dalai Lama

 

[tedsmom]

I don't know EROS...for someone who doesn't believe in God, you spend an awful lot of time talking about Him!!!!!

Anyhow, a nice Irish saying- Do not resent growing old.Many are denied the privilege.