Something Way Down Deep ~ Thornton Wilder

“We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars . . . everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being."

― Thornton Wilder

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Wilder

Artwork by Hans Tisdall  http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/tisdall-hans-19101997/paintings/slideshow

Hear the Groans ~ Oliver Cromwell

"Strengthen us O God, to relieve the oppressed,
to hear the groans of poor prisoners,
to reform the abuses of all professions;
that many be made not poor to make a few rich;
for Jesus Christ’s sake."

~ Oliver Cromwell

More at    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Fox#Encounters_with_Oliver_Cromwell

Hurry and Impatience ~ Evelyn Underhill

“On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur.”

― Evelyn Underhill

More at ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Underhill

Like a Pebble ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion
that if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble
Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret,
Spilled on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow

Artwork by Stephen S Yaeger http://www.yaegerart.com/

Beyond our Control ~ Contemplative Scholar

"We are taught to think that good days just happen to us, occasionally, and for reasons beyond our control. But the truth is, our days are mostly shaped by our own actions. Yes, other things happen to us, but it is our own responses to the unpredictable events in our lives that really makes a difference. It is possible to deal with good fortune badly; but it is also possible to deal with tragedy well. Much in our lives is beyond our control, but what is within our control matters enormously. No matter how much our lives feel driven by the unpredictables of life, or by our own demanding schedules, at every moment there is a "space" of choices, and in this space we can always find the Spirit if we look."

~ Contemplative Scholar

More at  http://contemplative-scholar.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/unprogrammed-quaker-living-highly.html

Artwork by Edward Bawden http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bawden

The Book our Mothers Read ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

"We search the world for truth;
We cull the good, the pure, the beautiful,
From all old flower fields of the soul;
And weary seekers of the best,
We come back laden from our quest,
To find that all the sages said,
Is in the book our mothers read."

John Greenleaf Whittier

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Greenleaf_Whittier

The photograph is of Louisa Hooper Stewart, 1818-1918 http://www.stokenewingtonquakers.org.uk/nbhist1.html

Your Day's Business ~ William Penn

"In the rush and noise of life, as you have intervals, step home within yourselves and be still. Wait upon God, and feel His good presence; this will carry you evenly through your day's business."  ~ William Penn

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn