Thoughts collected for my Grandson

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT OR JUST “COLLECTED WISDOM”
Where Streets Of The World Meet Avenues Of The Mind
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1

These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they
are not original with me,
If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to
nothing,
If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are
nothing,
If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing.
This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,
This the common air that bathes the globe. - Walt Whitman“Song of Myself”

“Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise”

“To love another person is to see the face of God”

One makes mistakes: That is life. But it is never quite a mistake to have loved” Romain Rolland

Poem: "too sweet," by Charles Bukowski from Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way (Ecco Press).
too sweet
I have been going to the track for so
long that
all the employees know
me,
and now with winter here
it's dark before the last
race.
as I walk to the parking lot
the valet recognizes my
slouching gait
and before I reach him
my car is waiting for me,
lights on, engine warm.
the other patrons
(still waiting)
ask,
"who the hell is that
guy?"
I slip the valet a
tip, the size depending upon the
luck of the
day (and my luck has been amazingly
good lately)
and I then am in the machine and out on
the street
as the horses break
from the gate.
I drive east down Century Blvd.
turning on the radio to get the result of that
last race.
at first the announcer is concerned only with
bad weather and poor freeway
conditions.
we are old friends: I have listened to his
voice for decades but,
of course, the time will finally come
when neither one of us will need to
clip our toenails or
heed the complaints of our
women any longer.
meanwhile, there is a certain rhythm
to the essentials that now need
attending to.
I light my cigarette
check the dashboard
adjust the seat and
weave between a Volks and a Fiat.
as flecks of rain spatter the
windshield
I decide not to die just
yet:
this good life just smells too
sweet.
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and if it is possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” Goethe
“To destroy the Western tradition of independent thought it is not necessary to burn books. All we have to do is leave them unread for a couple generations.” Robert M. Hutchins

“When we see ourselves in a situation which must be endured and gone through, it is best to make up our minds to it, meet it with firmness, an accommodate everything to it in the best way practicable. This lessens the evil; while fretting and fuming only serves to increase your own torments.” Thomas Jefferson
“I have the simplest of tastes. I am always satisfied with the best” Oscar Wilde

We may give advice, but we cannot inspire the conduct. ~François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, Sermons and soda water the day after” Bryon “Don Juan”

REQUIEM

by: Robert Louis Stevenson

UNDER the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

WEAR SUNSCREEN
Don't Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit…
Rest if you must—but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped
down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It's when things go wrong
That you mustn't quit.
– Unknown



Advice on Daily Living
• Rise and pray every day: "Again today, dear God, I commit and trust my life and way to you. I'm available. Please use me to be as Jesus to every life I touch."
• "Don't sweat the small stuff."
• Remember these simple sentences: "I was wrong." "I am sorry." "Please forgive me." "Thank you." Say them whenever needed and say "I love you" often—whether needed or not.
• Come apart and rest a while before you come apart—stress is a killer.
• Remember, "Nothing changes if nothing changes."
• Don't nurse grudges: "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."
• Carpe diem. Seize the day. "Opportunity comes to pass
—not to pause."
• Quit the blame-game—"it's choice, not chance, that determines destiny."
• Control your thinking or your thinking will control you. "What the mind dwells on the body acts on."
• Invest your life in a worthwhile cause by having a noble purpose for which to live—a purpose that is bigger than yourself for which to live—one that will help make your world a better place in which to live.
• Be a positive realist. You will always see what you are looking for: "Two men look out the same prison bars. One sees mud, the other stars."
• The greatest abilities are availability, dependability and responsibility.
• "There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience."
• "Smooth seas never make skillful sailors."
• When God is silent. "I believe in the sun even when it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when he is silent."
• Cry when needed. "Every unshed tear is a prism through which all of life's hurts are distorted."
• Laugh a lot. It's still the best medicine.
• Remember, "The bumps are what we climb on."
• Fear not. At least 95 percent of the things we fear never
happen. Trust God for the other five percent.
• Have faith and put God first with your time, talents, and tithe.


IF
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!


Rules That Warren Buffett Lives By
Rule No. 1: Never Lose Money. Rule No. 2: Never Forget Rule No. 1.
If The Business Does Well, the Stock Eventually Follows"
It's Far Better to Buy a Wonderful Company at a Fair Price Than a Fair Company at a Wonderful Price"
Our Favorite Holding Period Is Forever"
Advise I’m not Proud Of
To make money, you have to spend money
Overestimate the time something takes, and underestimate its rewards.
Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.
When in doubt, follow your gut.
If you go to war, always strike first. Strike hard, and hope it's the only strike you need.
Nothing lasts forever.
Whenever you're in doubt about whether an enemy should respect or fear you, always choose fear.
A handful of luck is better than a mountain of wisdom.
For every one word you say, let your enemies say 10.
Cash is cash, even if it comes from an elephant's stomach.
Never reveal 100% of anything to anyone.
A man is nothing without his word.
Keep your mouth shut. If you have to lie, keep it short and simple.
Never forgive betrayal.
When you can't win a war by playing fair, bend the rules. Better yet, break them.