“I remember I used to half believe and wholly play with fairies when I was a child. What heaven can be more real than to retain the spirit-world of childhood, tempered and balanced by knowledge and common-sense.”

From the 1896 journal of Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943), writer, artist and Unitarian, born on this day

International Day of Friendship

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

Saint Basil (330 – 379)

“You are not the oil, you are not the air — merely the point of combustion, the flash-point where the light is born. You are merely the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency — your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end and remain purely as a means.”

From Markings by Dag Hammarskjöld (1905 – 1961), UN Secretary-General and Unitarian, born on this day

“I remember I used to half believe and wholly play with fairies when I was a child. What heaven can be more real than to retain the spirit-world of childhood, tempered and balanced by knowledge and common-sense.”

From the 1896 journal of Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943), writer, artist and Unitarian, born on this day

“O God, you have given us a beautiful earth—
Grant us the wisdom to use it well.
Lead us to an inner life in which we can rejoice.
Speak peace to us, that we may live in peace.
May your mercy and truth meet together
Righteousness and peace kiss each other,
Surrounding us with your light.
Help us know true prosperity,
And be gentle with your Earth.
Guide our feet in the ways of peace.”

Psalm 85 Peace by Christine Robinson

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Without, everything seems discordant; only within does it coalesce into unity. Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes.”

Letter to Fanny Bowditch, 22 October 1916, by Carl Jung (1875 – 1961), founder of analytical psychology, born on this day

“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and death, in ebb and flow.. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.”

Rabindranath Tagore

“A rabbi asked his students, “How do you know that night has ended and the day is returning?”
One answered, “Is it when you see an animal in the distance and can tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?”
“No,” the rabbi replied.
Another asked, “Is it when you look at a tree in the distance and can tell whether it is a fig or an olive tree?”
“No,” replied the rabbi. “It is when you look upon the face of any man or woman and can see that he or she is your brother or sister. If you cannot do this, no matter what the time, it is still night.”

Hasidic tale, shared in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“In my life I had come to realize that when things were going very well indeed it was just the time to anticipate trouble. And, conversely, I learned from pleasant experience that at the most despairing crisis, when all looked sour beyond words, some delightful “break” was apt to lurk just around the corner.”

From notes made in preparation for her last flight by Amelia Earhart (1897 – 1937), aviator, born on this day

“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and death, in ebb and flow.. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.”

Rabindranath Tagore