We Must Become so Alone ~ Hermann Hesse

"We must become so alone, so utterly alone, that we withdraw into our innermost self. It is a way of bitter suffering. But then our solitude is overcome, we are no longer alone, for we find that our innermost self is the spirit, that it is God, the indivisible. And suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of the world, yet undisturbed by its multiplicity, for our innermost soul we know ourselves to be one with all being."

— Hermann Hesse

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

I’m Against Big Things~ Pete Seeger

"Well, normally I’m against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.”

— Pete Seeger

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

Reading the Book of Nature ~ Michael Faraday

"Speculations? I have none. I am resting on certainties. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."    

 Michael Faraday

"Faraday found no conflict between his religious beliefs and his activities as a scientist and philosopher. He viewed his discoveries of nature's laws as part of the continual process of "reading the book of nature", no different in principle from the process of reading the Bible to discover God's laws. A strong sense of the unity of God and nature pervaded Faraday's life and work."

Jim Baggot,

More at  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/faraday_michael.shtml

The Black Storm ~ Marcel Proust

"Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain emptied of that past which was life until then. And perhaps it is more wonderful still when our landing at the waking-point is abrupt and the thoughts of our sleep, hidden by a cloak of oblivion, have no time to return to us gradually, before sleep ceases. Then, from the black storm through which we seem to have passed (but we do not even say we), we emerge prostrate, without a thought, a we that is void of content."

Marcel Proust

Truth Might Flourish ~ Thomas H. Jeavons,

"The life of faith requires that we have vision, that we be attentive and obedient to revelation. It requires that we have a sense of the potential for God’s work to take place in and through us— the capacity to apprehend the ideals which we can grow to embody and personify in our lives. It also requires an awareness that much of what we must do to live life fully in faith has been revealed and is to be heeded— a commitment to being mindful of what Friends have long called Truth and right order in our lives...

We must be cognizant of how much God has already shown us and our ancestors about what it means to be in harmony with divine purpose. These revelations are available to us in the Bible, in the journals of our Quaker forbears, in the devotional literature, and in the rich and varied record of human history... It is the challenge to become a people with a vision…so that Truth might flourish in our lives for the benefit of all. It is the challenge to become the people God wishes us to be."
— Thomas H. Jeavons, 1987.

More at  http://pipl.com/directory/people/Thomas/Jeavons

Outward Appearances ~ Thomas à Kempis

"A sure way of retaining the grace of heaven is to disregard outward appearances, and diligently to cultivate such things as foster amendment of life and fervour of soul, rather than to cultivate those qualities that seem most popular."

Thomas à Kempis

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%C3%A0_Kempis

Selfish Little Clod— George Bernard Shaw

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." 

— George Bernard Shaw

More at  http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1925/shaw-bio.html

Rise From Pain ~ Sara Teasdale

Like barley bending

In low fields by the sea,
Singing in hard wind
Ceaselessly;

Like barley bending
And rising again,
So would I, unbroken,
Rise from pain;

So would I softly,
Day long, night long,
Change my sorrow
Into song.

Sara Teasdale

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

Sins, and Sorrows ~ Louisa May Alcott

"My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother."


Louisa May Alcott (from Little Women)

More at  http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/23903.shtml

Attitude of Mind ~ Jennifer Kavanagh

"Simplicity is neither simple to achieve nor easy to define. Simplicity is not just a lifestyle option, but an attitude of mind, a path for the inner as well as the outer life.It is not so much to do with possessions, as with our attitude to them. After all, 'the root of all evil', it is said, is not money but 'the love of money'. A simple life will encompass not only our own needs, but those of others, and those of the environment in which we live........ Regardless of label, there can be no simpler practice than sitting down and opening up the self to the Divine or Higher Being."

Jennifer Kavanagh

More at  http://www.o-books.com/book/detail/1035/Simplicity-Made-Easy

Raise your Voice ~ William Faulkner

"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth. "

— William Faulkner

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