“Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.”

From Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809), born on this day

“People tend to misunderstand solitude and sometimes it is seen as being selfish—but it is not. It’s not being socially awkward, not being anti-social, not being entirely withdrawn and not being lonely or sad. Solitude is something more than these misconceptions and if you feel like being away from the crowd, go, take steps away, take time and find rest among nature and yourself. It’s true when they say, solitude will fill you more than it will empty you.”

M. J. Blossoms

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

“I really see no other solution than to turn inward and root out all the hardness there. I no longer believe we can change anything in the world until we change ourselves. That seems to be the only lesson to be learned.”

Etty Hillesum (1914 – 1943), Dutch Jewish writer, murdered in Auschwitz

International Day of Clean Energy

“Climate change is not just another issue. It is the issue that, unchecked, will swamp all other issues. The only hope lies in all the countries of the world coming together around a common global project to rewire the world with clean energy. This is a path to peace – peace among people, and peace between people and nature.”

Ross Gelbspan (1939 – 2024), journalist

“For ourselves, who are ordinary men and women, let us return thanks to Nature for her bounty by using every one of the senses she has given us; vary our state as much as possible; turn now this side, now that, to the warmth, and relish to the full before the sun goes down the kisses of youth and the echoes of a beautiful voice singing Catullus. Every season is likeable, and wet days and fine, red wine and white, company and solitude. Even sleep, that deplorable curtailment of the joy of life, can be full of dreams; and the most common actions—a walk, a talk, solitude in one’s own orchard—can be enhanced and lit up by the association of the mind. Beauty is everywhere, and beauty is only two finger’s-breadth from goodness.”

From Montaigne by Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941), writer, born on this day

Image: Orchard in Winter by Valerius de Saedaleer, 1907

“It was part of her discernment to be aware that life is the only real counselor, that wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissues.”

From Sanctuary by Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937), novelist, born on this day

“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.”

Django Reinhardt (1910 – 1953), Jazz guitarist, born on this day

“Alchemy may be compared to the man who told his sons that he had left them gold, buried somewhere in his vineyard; while they by digging found no gold, but by turning up the mould about the roots of the vines procured a plentiful vintage. So the search and endeavours to make gold have brought many useful inventions to light.”

De Augmentis Scientiarum by Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), philosopher, born on this day

“Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning:
What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion?
What for tranquility?
What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things.
What then? A rational being.
What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions.
How did I steer away from serenity?
What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring?
How did I fail to do in all these things?”

Discourses, 4.6.34 – 35 by Epictetus (c.50 – 135), Greek Stoic philosopher

“Only one thing is certain. People get out of life exactly what they put into it.”

From The Searching Spirit by Joy Adamson (1910 – 1980), naturalist, born on this day