I know that when I walk out of the studio someday and there is a child who has Downs Syndrome, for instance, and that child comes up and gives me a hug, I know that that’s the field I want to be growing in. Because I see that people who are not the fancy people of this world are the ones who seem to nourish my soul. And I want to learn how to be the best receiver that I can ever be. Because I think graceful receiving is one of the most wonderful gifts we can give anybody.
Play is really the work of childhood. One of the most important gifts a parent can give a child is the gift of accepting that child’s uniqueness. When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.
Deep within each of us is a spark of the divine just waiting to be used to light up a dark space.
Let’s take the gauntlet and make goodness attractive in this so-called next millennium. That’s the real job that we have. I’m not talking about Pollyanna-ish kind of stuff. I’m talking about down-to-Earth actual goodness. People caring for each other in a myriad of ways rather than people knocking each other off all the time... What changes the world? The only thing that ever really changes the world is when somebody gets the idea that love can abound and can be shared.
Understanding love is one of the hardest things in the world.
I think that those who would try to make you feel less than who you are, I think that’s the greatest evil.
Love and success, always in that order. It’s that simple AND that difficult.
Out of difference can come the reinforcement of two important values. One is tolerance and the other is awareness that people who disagree over the things they hold dear really can live together in love and respect.
What’s been important in my understanding of myself and others is the fact that each one of us is so much more than any one thing. A sick child is much more than his or her sickness. A person with a disability is much, much more than a handicap. A pediatrician is more than a medical doctor. You’re much more than your job description or your age or your income or your output.
I have long believed that the way to know a spiritual sense is to know it in our real life. I think the best way to understand about God and peace is to know about peace in our everyday lives.
No matter what our particular job, especially in our world today, we all are called to be tikkun olam, repairers of creation. Thank you for whatever you do, wherever you are, to bring joy and life and hope and faith and pardon and love to your neighbor and to yourself.
It’s not easy to keep trying, But it’s one good way to grow. It’s not easy to keep learning, But I know that this is so: When you’ve tried and learned You’re bigger than you were a day ago. It’s not easy to keep trying, But it’s one way to grow.
One of our friends asked Fred about his thoughts on heaven when she was taking a walk with him on a Nantucket beach a few years ago. I’ll bet there was a twinkle in his eye when he told her, “Oh, I think there will be a lot of people surprised to see who’s there!” Fred would never want anyone to think they might not be worthy of getting through heaven’s gate. His God loved everyone – just the way they were!
Grandparents are both our past and our future. In some ways they are what has gone before, and in others they are what we will become.
The most important learning is the ability to accept and expect mistakes, and deal with the disappointments that they bring.
There is a close relationship between truth and trust.
Honesty is closely associated with freedom.
Times when families laugh together are among the most precious times a family can have.
More and more I’ve come to understand that listening is one of the most important things we can do for one another. Whether the other be an adult or a child, our engagement in listening to who that person is can often be our greatest gift. Whether that person is speaking or playing or dancing, building or singing or painting, if we care, we can listen.
Many people work very hard at the things they do for fun.