Resolution

Last January I posted that I had made to a resolution to blog more regularly on here.  Well, in the ensuing year I’ve managed to write one measly blog post.  So much for resolutions.  So instead of making another resolution, I’ll just share a resolution I read made by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket).

“I made a New Year’s resolution never to run for a bus again.  When you run for a bus and miss it, you’re humiliated.  When you run for a bus and catch it, you’re on a bus.”

Compassion

While reading an article this weekend in the latest issue of The Sun magazine, I ran across the poem “Compassion” by Miller Williams.  It talks about how we may never really know what is going on inside a person’s life.  I thought it worth sharing.

Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it.  What seems conceit,
bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign
of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone.

“With That Moon Language”

I am currently reading a wonderful book called Tattoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle.  Father Greg (or “G” as the homies call him) has worked with gang members in Los Angeles for the past two and a half decades.  If L.A. is considered the gang capital of the world, then his parish is in what is considered the gang capital of L.A.  It’s a pretty moving read.

In this book he includes a lovely poem called “With That Moon Language” by Hafez.  Who is Hafez? I wondered.  It turns out he was a 14th century Persian poet.  Apparently, Hafez is a household name in Iran where many people still memorize his poems today.

This particular poem addresses that most basic human desire—to be loved, and it also addresses our own potential as individuals to offer that love to others.  Though written centuries ago, it still feels quite contemporary.

“With That Moon Language”

Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them,
     “Love me.”
Of course you do not do this out loud;
     Otherwise,
Someone would call the cops.
Still though, think about this,
This great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one
Who lives with a full moon in each eye
That is always saying
With that sweet moon
     Language
What every other eye in this world
     Is dying to
     Hear.

—Hafez

Quote for the Day

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.  What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”

     –Annie Dillard

Quote for the Day

“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.”

     –Virginia Wolff

Today’s quote is in honor of Women’s History Month.

Quote for the Day

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t—you’re right.”
     –Henry Ford