The more we understand the One Idea, how all of life is interconnected and interdependent, the more we can act in positive ways for the good of all.
No matter who our ancestors are, our own personal and monumental task is to become the best person that we can possibly be – someone in whom our own descendants in times to come can take great pride and find inspiration.
All of our ancestors live within each one of us whether we are aware of it or not.
Every succeeding generation has the opportunity to heal the wounds of the past.
My charge, then, in putting down my pen, and giving over this work to posterity, is this: Take the time. Take the time to preserve the stories, the photographs, the small mementos that mean so much. This is your legacy to future generations. Give it the attention it deserves. Your children and your grandchildren will thank you for it.
A society that has no respect, no regard for its bards, its historians, its storytellers, is a society in steep decline, a society that has lost its very soul and may never find its way.
Being good or being evil is not something that is inherent in our nature over which we have no control, rather we define ourselves by the choices we make, moment by moment, situation by situation. All it takes is an act of will to be the best that we can be.
We are the collective creator of our own agony. It is time for a re-awakening of consciousness when we recognize the best in ourselves and overcome the worst.
Those who oppose equality, compassion and social justice have been on the wrong side of history time and time again.
The truth hurts. But if we want to heal the world, we had better start paying attention to the pain.
There are basically two kinds of people: those who have empathy and care about others and those who don’t. The ones who don’t are creating most of the problems in the world.
If you can make your ancestors real for yourself, learn their stories and who they were, your life – and death – will take on added meaning. You will see yourself in the Big Picture that includes all human life that has come and gone on the planet.
An honest, poor, but otherwise unremarkable man and his loving, tender-hearted wife, though long forgotten and lost to history, may have been the ancestors who are most worthy of our admiration today.
Every child comes into this world as a gift to humanity. It is up to us, as adults, to see that they are properly taken care of and given all the love and attention they deserve. If we did so, I have no doubt our world would be drastically different and much more humane.
Our individual power to effect change may not seem like much, but remember, we are all interconnected: We are One. Powerlessness itself is an illusion. Every positive action we take, no matter how small, will have an impact.
Racists cling to the false notion that we are separate. They refuse to acknowledge that they are connected to, and even descended from, other people of different skin color. Their egos demand that they be superior and that others be inferior. This is how they seek to justify their hatred of, and cruelty towards, others.
Good people turn to love, courage and kindness in times of crisis, not hate, fear and cruelty.
I don’t make much of a living, but I do live much of a making.
It takes no genius to destroy. The creators, the givers, the lovers, the healers – these are the heroes who know – the building up is so much more difficult than the tearing down.
Cupid’s bloody bow is strung with a million hearts, wisdom bought at a terrible price, and love laid to rest on the river of Time.