“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Posted by Alexandria Sage on April 21, 2012
https://simplysage.org/2012/04/21/springs-eternal-hope/
“…it might be true that the sun rises regularly because God never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life.
The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children—when they find some game or joke they especially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again!” And the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.
It is possible that God says every morning “Do it again” to the sun, and every evening “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike—it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy—but we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
~ G.K. Chesterton
Posted by Alexandria Sage on February 19, 2012
https://simplysage.org/2012/02/19/do-it-again/
“The man who has forgotten to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”
~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Posted by Alexandria Sage on December 17, 2011
https://simplysage.org/2011/12/17/asleep-in-the-light/
“Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” ~ Aristotle
“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” ~ George Washington Carver
As one who always encourages further education I would have to say my “M” Word Challenge is to emphasize the “mind”.
I know there are a lot of ways to be educated. Some require attendance to a school of learning, some require online learning, and some require “hands-on” to possibly learn a new skill. Abraham Lincoln was completely self-educated before he attended college.
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” ~ Victor Hugo
Education to work with your hands or your mind is honorable. And striving to always learn and develop your mind should be a goal of
every human being. If the mind becomes dull and stagnant it is because a person has ceased to learn. And if a person ceases to learn, they cease to grow. And if there is no personal growth, there is no joy in living.
Along that thread I thought I’d share some of the quotes I ran across with this theme. There are many more but I hope you gain something from the few I’ve shared.
“In the face of any disaster you will need three things: a faith life to support you in the midst of the storm, money in the bank (hay in your barn) to keep your family alive in the immediate aftermath, and an education to help you rebuild.” ~ Stephen Deal
“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.”~ Edward Everett
Ultimately, I hope you never cease to educate yourself, whether through formal education, hands-on learning of a new skill, or self-education through reading. In doing so you will never cease to grow, as the last quote says. And there is the joy of learning something
new. You will have pride in your accomplishment.
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. ” ~ Anthony J. D’Angelo
Never cease to develop who you are. Always strive to learn, to stretch, to grow.
Peace, Alexandria
You might enjoy:
https://simplysage.org/2012/08/04/my-thoughts-remember-make-hay-when-the-sun-shines/
https://simplysage.org/2012/08/15/weekly-photo-challenge-growth/
Posted by Alexandria Sage on November 6, 2011
https://simplysage.org/2011/11/06/story-challenge-letter-m-is-for-mind/
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once,
but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
~ Bruce Lee
When I found this quote I wanted a photo that depicted movement in abundance, something to display the persistence and practice required for mastery of a skill. Of course, I looked to the most obvious place–sports. Athletics teach us much about life and I was looking for the sweat, the muscle, the swing, the swoosh. But … nothing came to mind. Until …
Snapping away on my walk I saw this visual. The angle overlapped two massive trees, their branches providing the optical illusion of endless kicking, from right to left. The branches look like a still shot of movement and rhythm.
You and I both know they were not moving but stare at them and they look like planned, precise movement on a grand scale. Perfect visual. Perfect mastery.
Movement.
Posted by Alexandria Sage on October 30, 2011
https://simplysage.org/2011/10/30/master-the-one/
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