Something to ponder: When are we old enough to know what is the right and wrong thing to do? Does it happen when we’re three and we steal our brother’s bottle? Does it happen when we’re ten and we get caught stealing a piece of bubble gum? Does it happen when we’re 15 and we get someone to boot for us or we start smoking weed? Or does it happen at 41 when you make a choice that impacts many more lives than just your own, such as drunk driving?
Sidenote: Alanis Morissette said in an interview, “I feel like I’m living the life of a 45 year old with the emotions of a 12 year old.”
Inner Thoughts: What happens when you open a door and realize you’re stepping into a space in the life and times of someone who’s time with you has ended? Someone you used to know like your very own breathe. Someone whose eyelash could flutter from beneath the others to silently land upon your cheek and wake you with a kiss. Someone you don’t know anymore. You begin to question if you really ever knew this person, or if you are the one who has so radically changed? Then again, have either of you really changed or have you both just grown so tired of the same old thing that you yearn to change something and make a minute difference in the days forward? We’ve often laughed together and said, “It’s not water under the bridge so much as our bridge has washed out!” and isn’t that the truth? Saying goodbye can be such a difficult thing. How many times did you try it out in your head before it actually got spoke aloud and became reality? Oh, you didn’t do that? I’m sorry. I have been doing that for years. Perhaps only as a means of escape when there were babies all around and soap operas with the same plots but different people from last week, or perhaps a growing maturity toward knowing that the past is over and it is time for one to learn from it rather than fight against it…
So, when do we learn right from wrong? I’m sure there are those who say we are born with it and then others who feel it is learned. I know that I have known right from wrong for a long time because I have felt emotions including guilt for a long time, which I believe to be an indicator of behaviour. I remember when I was 3 turning 4 and my mom asked me to watch Jenny, the little girl she babysat. I knew how to ‘play’ and I understood my mom and was remember speaking in full sentences. I remember what our apartment looked like and I remember what Jenny and I both looked like. I also remember not liking Jenny because she would take my mommy when I wanted her attention. She was the ‘baby’ and I wanted to be the baby for a while. So when mommy went to do the laundry and asked me to ‘take care of the baby’ I would look at her and make funny faces until she laughed … and then I would pinch her! Just to see her cry! I would squwinch up my wee little thumb and index finger and put them together and pull her skin! Jenny would release a howl that should have woke the dead and I would cringe in anticipation of mommy coming running down the hall but as I listened there was no one coming. I would do this for a few more times until I heard the telltale squeak of the door hinges and I would jump and giggle and laugh to get Jenny happy again. It never failed – she wouldn’t be sad at all when mommy came around the corner and I would be the only one that was the wiser. Did I know right from wrong at this tender young age? Was I able to distinguish between the two? I think so. Where am I going with all of this? No where really, just food for thought for the day.
Onto some quotes. Credit is given where it was found.
"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances." Martha Washington
"What happens to you in life is not as important as your attitude toward it."
“Nature free at once and rid of her haughty lords is seen to do all things spontaneously of herself without the meddling of the gods.” Lucretius
Amantium irae amoris integratio est. = Lovers quarrels are the renewal of love.
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur. = Many fear their reputation, few their conscience.
Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur. = It is a wise man who speaks little.
Caeca invidia est. = Envy is blind.
Ne quid nimis. = Nothing in excess.
Quieta non movere. = Do not move settled things (let sleeping dogs lie).
"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it." Buddha
Custos morum. = Guardian of morals.
De asini vmbra disceptare. = To argue about the shadow of an ass. (Petty things for petty mind.) [I know a few people like this.]
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Blaise Pascal (Pensees, 1670)
“Those who invalidate reason ought seriously to consider whether they argue against reason with or without reason; if with reason, then they establish the principles that they are laboring to dethrone: but if they argue without reason (which, in order to be consistent with themselves they must do), they are out of reach of rational conviction, nor do they deserve a rational argument.” Ethan Allen (quoted from Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World)
“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.” Abraham Lincoln.
“At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.” Aldous Huxley
“Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that people may grow in vision, stature and dedication.” Algernon Black
“For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked.” Bill Cosby
“I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means.”
Clarence Darrow
“So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.” Cicaro
“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” Robert Louis Stevenson
“It is hard to tell if a man is telling the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place.” H.L. Mencken
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
“He who tells a lie is not sensible of how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain that one.” Alexander Pope
“Remorse--Regret that one waited so long to do it.” H.L. Mencken
“Those accept an obligation lightly who feel lightly about letting it drop.” Janis Rainis
“God either wants to eliminate bad things and cannot, or can but does not want to, or neither wishes to nor can, or both wants to and can. If he wants to and cannot, he is weak -- and this does not apply to god. If he can but does not want to, then he is spiteful -- which is equally foreign to god's nature. If he neither wants to nor can, he is both weak and spiteful and so not a god. If he wants to and can, which is the only thing fitting for a god, where then do bad things come from? Or why does he not eliminate them?" Epicurus
Some Albert Einstein Quotes:
“I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern without any superhuman authority behind it.”
“True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.”
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”
“What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any sense then, you ask, in putting it? I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.”
End quotes.
That brings us to the end of this blog and the beginning of the day. There's something for you to do - now go figure out what it is!
Toodles.
PS: Just a little more…
I’ve been snooping around a bunch of different things and have found some awesome sites and [hopefully] some instructions that will teach me how to make my blog prettier. I’m struggling finding links for free blog templates, so if you know of any good ones, please comment with link. As well, I've lost my counter so that kind of ticks me off - I think it was up around 450 or so. If anyone knows of a way to get that back, that would be awesome! :-)
This fellow has a pretty good blog, that seems so professional! Check it out for some interesting pictures from the new book Unembedded.
Sidenote: Alanis Morissette said in an interview, “I feel like I’m living the life of a 45 year old with the emotions of a 12 year old.”
Inner Thoughts: What happens when you open a door and realize you’re stepping into a space in the life and times of someone who’s time with you has ended? Someone you used to know like your very own breathe. Someone whose eyelash could flutter from beneath the others to silently land upon your cheek and wake you with a kiss. Someone you don’t know anymore. You begin to question if you really ever knew this person, or if you are the one who has so radically changed? Then again, have either of you really changed or have you both just grown so tired of the same old thing that you yearn to change something and make a minute difference in the days forward? We’ve often laughed together and said, “It’s not water under the bridge so much as our bridge has washed out!” and isn’t that the truth? Saying goodbye can be such a difficult thing. How many times did you try it out in your head before it actually got spoke aloud and became reality? Oh, you didn’t do that? I’m sorry. I have been doing that for years. Perhaps only as a means of escape when there were babies all around and soap operas with the same plots but different people from last week, or perhaps a growing maturity toward knowing that the past is over and it is time for one to learn from it rather than fight against it…
So, when do we learn right from wrong? I’m sure there are those who say we are born with it and then others who feel it is learned. I know that I have known right from wrong for a long time because I have felt emotions including guilt for a long time, which I believe to be an indicator of behaviour. I remember when I was 3 turning 4 and my mom asked me to watch Jenny, the little girl she babysat. I knew how to ‘play’ and I understood my mom and was remember speaking in full sentences. I remember what our apartment looked like and I remember what Jenny and I both looked like. I also remember not liking Jenny because she would take my mommy when I wanted her attention. She was the ‘baby’ and I wanted to be the baby for a while. So when mommy went to do the laundry and asked me to ‘take care of the baby’ I would look at her and make funny faces until she laughed … and then I would pinch her! Just to see her cry! I would squwinch up my wee little thumb and index finger and put them together and pull her skin! Jenny would release a howl that should have woke the dead and I would cringe in anticipation of mommy coming running down the hall but as I listened there was no one coming. I would do this for a few more times until I heard the telltale squeak of the door hinges and I would jump and giggle and laugh to get Jenny happy again. It never failed – she wouldn’t be sad at all when mommy came around the corner and I would be the only one that was the wiser. Did I know right from wrong at this tender young age? Was I able to distinguish between the two? I think so. Where am I going with all of this? No where really, just food for thought for the day.
Onto some quotes. Credit is given where it was found.
"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances." Martha Washington
"What happens to you in life is not as important as your attitude toward it."
“Nature free at once and rid of her haughty lords is seen to do all things spontaneously of herself without the meddling of the gods.” Lucretius
Amantium irae amoris integratio est. = Lovers quarrels are the renewal of love.
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur. = Many fear their reputation, few their conscience.
Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur. = It is a wise man who speaks little.
Caeca invidia est. = Envy is blind.
Ne quid nimis. = Nothing in excess.
Quieta non movere. = Do not move settled things (let sleeping dogs lie).
"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it." Buddha
Custos morum. = Guardian of morals.
De asini vmbra disceptare. = To argue about the shadow of an ass. (Petty things for petty mind.) [I know a few people like this.]
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Blaise Pascal (Pensees, 1670)
“Those who invalidate reason ought seriously to consider whether they argue against reason with or without reason; if with reason, then they establish the principles that they are laboring to dethrone: but if they argue without reason (which, in order to be consistent with themselves they must do), they are out of reach of rational conviction, nor do they deserve a rational argument.” Ethan Allen (quoted from Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World)
“When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.” Abraham Lincoln.
“At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.” Aldous Huxley
“Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that people may grow in vision, stature and dedication.” Algernon Black
“For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked.” Bill Cosby
“I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means.”
Clarence Darrow
“So near is falsehood to truth that a wise man would do well not to trust himself on the narrow edge.” Cicaro
“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” Robert Louis Stevenson
“It is hard to tell if a man is telling the truth when you know you would lie if you were in his place.” H.L. Mencken
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” Abraham Lincoln
“He who tells a lie is not sensible of how great a task he undertakes; for he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain that one.” Alexander Pope
“Remorse--Regret that one waited so long to do it.” H.L. Mencken
“Those accept an obligation lightly who feel lightly about letting it drop.” Janis Rainis
“God either wants to eliminate bad things and cannot, or can but does not want to, or neither wishes to nor can, or both wants to and can. If he wants to and cannot, he is weak -- and this does not apply to god. If he can but does not want to, then he is spiteful -- which is equally foreign to god's nature. If he neither wants to nor can, he is both weak and spiteful and so not a god. If he wants to and can, which is the only thing fitting for a god, where then do bad things come from? Or why does he not eliminate them?" Epicurus
Some Albert Einstein Quotes:
“I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern without any superhuman authority behind it.”
“True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.”
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”
“What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any sense then, you ask, in putting it? I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.”
End quotes.
That brings us to the end of this blog and the beginning of the day. There's something for you to do - now go figure out what it is!
Toodles.
PS: Just a little more…
I’ve been snooping around a bunch of different things and have found some awesome sites and [hopefully] some instructions that will teach me how to make my blog prettier. I’m struggling finding links for free blog templates, so if you know of any good ones, please comment with link. As well, I've lost my counter so that kind of ticks me off - I think it was up around 450 or so. If anyone knows of a way to get that back, that would be awesome! :-)
This fellow has a pretty good blog, that seems so professional! Check it out for some interesting pictures from the new book Unembedded.
So, when do we learn right from wrong? When we realize that we have a right not only to be right but also to be wrong.
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