Security is mostly a superstition

"Security is mostly a superstition; it does not exist in nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

~ Helen Keller

Equipoise

e·qui·poise (kw-poiz, kw-)
n.

1. Equality in distribution, as of weight, relationship, or emotional forces; equilibrium.

2. A counterpoise; a counterbalance.

3. Equilibrium and poise. The sublime balance of emotion.

4. The state of being perfectly balanced; equilibrium.

5. Equality of distribution; counterbalance, equilibrium, balance
structure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"

6. Conformation - a symmetrical arrangement of the parts of a thing.

7. Symmetry, proportion - balance among the parts of something.

8. A state of being equally balanced; equilibrium; -- as of moral, political, or social interests or forces.

examples:

"What matters is the poetry, and the truest readings of it "are those which are sensitive to the strangeness of Marvell's genius: its delicate equipoise, held between the sensual and the abstract, its refusal to treat experience too tidily, the uncanny tremor of implication that makes the poems' lucid surfaces shimmer with a sense of something undefined and undefinable just beneath."
~ James A. Winn, "Tremors of Implication", New York Times, July 9, 2000

"I cannot see how the unequal representation which is given to masses on account of wealth becomes the means of preserving the equipoise and the tranquillity of the commonwealth."
~ Edmund Burke, "Reflections on The Revolution In France"

"Our little lives are kept in equipoise
By opposite attractions and desires."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Haunted Houses"

Legends never die

"Heroes are remembered but legends never die."

~ author unknown

organize, don’t agonize

"Organize, don’t agonize."

~ Nancy Pelosi

The Keys

"I don't know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

~ Bill Cosby

How to Tell If You Are Management Material

Here's ten ways to tell whether or not someone is management material.

Difficulty Level: easy Time Required: 5 minutes
----------------------------------------------------
Here's How:

10. You like not doing anything
9. You have no trouble telling others what to do
8. Work fascinates you - you can sit and watch it for hours
7. You like ‘sweating the small stuff’
6. You have always been something of a loner
5. You don’t think ‘plan’ is a four-letter word
4. Your favorite cocktail is milk of magnesia
3. On Halloween you dress up as Alex P. Keaton
2. Your favorite horror writer is Tom Peters

And the number one clue you are management material -
1. You enjoy having people despise you just for doing your job.

Open Channels

"In hopelessness, we become open channels."

~ Native American saying

Yogi Berra quotes

quotes from Yogi Berra,
The Grand Master of the Malaprop:

"When you come to the fork in the road, take it."

"You know, a nickel isn't worth a dime any more." (To the economist Milton Friedman.)

"What paper do you write for?" (Upon being introduced to Ernest Hemingway.)

"Thank you for making this day necessary." (To the fans, on Yogi Berra Day.)

"You can't hit and think at the same time."

"Half this game, is 90 percent mental."

when his teams lost: "We made too many wrong mistakes."
or: "We were overwhelming underdogs."

"We may be lost but we're making good time."

Years later, Yogi was being interviewed on radio, part of a campaign to promote his memoirs, Yogi: It Ain't Over. He struggled so obviously that during a commercial break the interviewer asked: "Yogi, have you actually read this?"

Yogi blithely replied: "Why should I? I was there."

"It ain't over till it's over, but when it's over, it's over."

Bill Lyon, "As catcher and phrasemaker, Yogi Berra has had no equal"
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/
20090405_As_catcher_and_phrasemaker__
Yogi_Berra_has_had_no_equal.html

Do What is Right

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do and damned if you don't"

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Delight in Our Salvation and Grace

"For it is God's will
that we have true delight
with him in our salvation,
and therein he wills that we be
mightily comforted and strengthened,
and thus wills he joyfully
that our soul be occupied with his grace.
For we are his bliss,
for in us he delights without end;
and so shall we in him
with his grace."

Julian of Norwich
The Gift of Julian of Norwich,
text by Karen Manton, illustrated by Lynne Muir
Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2005,
p. 63

Approval and Happy Attentions, Decisive Reigning

quotes from The Autobiography of the Queen,
a novel by Emma Tennant, Arcadia Books Ltd. 2007

"All at once, as concierge and Jolene conveyed to each other with their mutual looks of astonishment and pleasure, the old lady became someone whose approval and happy attentions were highly desirable and impossible to forget once experienced." p. 59

"The Queen was an expert listener. ... there was always a moment when the teller, over-emotional at being granted a royal audience, mentioned the one grudge -- or crime -- or stain of illegitimacy, which continued to haunt them and would do so for the rest of their days. ... she had perfected the art of listening to a stage where not coming out with some kind of confession seemed to the teller to be a crime in itself." p. 119

""For over half a century, she had reigned as a model sovereign: dutiful, always ready to hear the complaints or demands of her people and to put these before her own wishes and interests." p. 4

"As she had so often been taught when young, thinking of yourself leads to muddle and to vanity." p. 132

"It seemed that no one could live without the secret hope of an opposite to what they had been dealt in life." p. 210

"A monarch cannot indulge in regrets: too many resonances of heads cut off and kings and queens exiled overseas all their lives for a lack a decisive reigning presented themselves." p. 211

Love

Go out into the world in peace
and the God of joy and peace will be with you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength;

love your neighbor as yourself,

and love your enemy,

for God’s love is stronger than death.

A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat.
Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help. "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder.
Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

~ Author Unknown

Why Waste Your Time Worrying?

40% of worry will never happen, for anxiety is the result of a tired mind.

30% of worry concerns old decisions which cannot be altered.

12% of worry centers in criticism, mostly untrue, made by people who feel inferior.

10% of worry is related to my health which worsens while I worry.

Only 8% of worry is "legitimate," showing that life does have real problems which may be met head-on when I have eliminated senseless worries.