“All my life, I have maintained that the people of the world can learn to live together in peace if they are not brought up in prejudice… We must change the system of education and instruction. Unfortunately, history has shown us that brotherhood must be learned, when it should be natural.”

Josephine Baker (1906 – 1975), performing artist and civil rights activist, born on this day

“We breathe the common wind of the earth
no matter where we live, who we love,
what language we speak.

We drink the common water of the earth
no matter the colour of our skin, how long we live,
the coverings we drape on our forms.

We follow the common paths of the earth
no matter our beliefs, how far we move from home,
the gold that we carry, or its lack.

May we live from these truths, our hearts
open to the holiness all around us,
our hands turned always toward the common good.”

Kathleen McTigue

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962), born on this day

“Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love—or sleep in the bed at night
with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds—or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down—or of stars shining so
quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best—mechanics,
boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans—or to the soirée—or to the opera.
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,
Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring—yet each distinct and in its place.

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass—the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women, and all that
concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the ships,
with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?”

Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892), born on this day

“In a village there was a beautiful statue of a Mahatma (great sage) with outstretched arms. On a plaque beneath the statue, these words were inscribed, “Come into my arms.”
Over the years, the arms broke off. The villagers loved the statue and were very upset. They gathered together to try to decide what to do. Some suggested that the statue should be taken down. Others objected, saying that new arms should be made.
But, finally, an old man stood up and said, “No. Don’t worry about making new arms. Leave it without arms.”
The other villagers responded, “But what about the plaque underneath? It says, ‘Come into my arms.’”
The old man replied, “No problem. Just below the words ‘Come into my arms,’ you should add, ‘by letting me work through your hands.’”

Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi (also known as Amma)

She Told Me the Earth Loves Us by Anne Haven McDonnell

“She said it softly, without a need
for conviction or romance.
After everything? I asked, ashamed.

That’s not the kind of love she meant.
She walked through a field of gray
beetle-bored pine, snags branching

like polished bone. I forget sometimes
how trees look at me with the generosity
of water. I forget all the other

breath I’m breathing in.
Today I learned that trees can’t sleep
with our lights on. That they knit

a forest in their language, their feelings.
This is not a metaphor.
Like seeing a face across a crowd,

we are learning all the old things,
newly shined and numbered.
I’m always looking

for a place to lie down
and cry. Green, mossed, shaded.
Or rock-quiet, empty. Somewhere

to hush and start over.
I put on my antlers in the sun.
I walk through the dark gates of the trees.

Grief waters my footsteps, leaving
a trail that glistens.”

“One of our most important tasks as Unitarians is to convince others that there is nothing to fear in difference; that difference, in fact, is one of the most healthy and invigorating human characteristics, without which life would become meaningless. Here lies the power of the liberal way: not in making the whole world Unitarian, but in helping ourselves and others to see some of the possibilities inherent in viewpoints other than one’s own; in encouraging the free interchange of ideas; in welcoming fresh approaches to the problems of life; in urging the fullest, most vigorous use of critical self-examination.”

Adlai Stevenson, diplomat and Unitarian (1900 – 1965), quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

Image: Adlai Stevenson with Joe Louis, former heavyweight champion of the world, 1952

“Do not measure in terms of time: one year or ten years means nothing. For the artist there is no counting or tallying up; just ripening like the tree that does not force its sap and endures the storms of spring without fearing that summer will not come. But it will come. It comes, however, only to the patient ones who stand there as if all eternity lay before them – vast, still, untroubled. I learn this every day of my life, I learn it from hardships I am grateful for: patience is all.”

From Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

“O God please grant me
enough anger to tackle wrongdoing
enough pride in family, friends and community
enough deceit to pay attention to the tender feelings of others
enough envy to admire people’s good deeds
enough avarice to hoard the world’s resources
enough fear to avoid dangerous living
enough gluttony to savour every flavour
enough lust to live life to the full
enough sloth to be in and down, here and now.”

Josephine Seccombe, Oxford Unitarian, quoted in Fragments of Holiness for Daily Reflection

“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and
the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest critics and endure
the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one’s self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and
sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you
have lived –
This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882), writer and Unitarian minister, born on this day