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goodness
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Goodness
consists not in the outward things
we do, but in the
inward thing we are.
--To be good is the great thing.
Edwin
Hubbell Chapin |
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I did and still do find a
serious error in the emphasis of spiritual masters
and hagiographers of all faiths on self-denial and austerity as an end
in itself,
instead of a means. L'art pour l'art. We must do the good
because it is good,
not because it is difficult.
Ada Bathune
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Good will is a power that can be used every day of
the year and
every hour of the day. It is instantly available. By
continuously practicing
good will we cultivate a deep subconscious habit of good will.
It
becomes a pattern of our response in all situations.
Good will works as silently as the sun and with as much power.
It thaws
the ice and snow of resistance and indifference. It warms and
wins
human hearts. It draws forth the best in others as flowers are
drawn from the soil. It stimulates growth.
Wilferd A. Peterson
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Doing
nothing for others
is the undoing of one's
self. We must be
purposely
kind and generous, or we
miss the best part of
existence. The heart that
goes out of itself gets
large and full of joy.
This is the
great secret
of the inner life. We do
ourselves the most good
doing something for others.
Horace
Mann
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Goodness is the only
investment that never fails.
Henry
David Thoreau
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I live for
those who love me,
for those who know me true;
For the heaven that smiles above me,
and awaits my spirit too.
For the cause that lacks assistance,
for the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
and the good that I can do.
G.L. Banks
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anonymous, quoted by Arthur Gordon
Give in to goodness now and then. I
don't mean masochistic self-sacrifice.
I mean the
deliberate performance of an act that has ethical value:
helping someone in need, righting a wrong, forgiving an enemy.
For best results, the act should be one that
can't possibly benefit you. . . .
if we give in to
goodness once in a while, we gain strength.
If we
consistently refuse, we're at cross-purposes with
everything,
including our deepest nature. People not
only have the capacity
for ethical behavior, they have a
built-in need for it.
If you give in to goodness
reasonably often, you won't have
to seek self-renewal.
It will come to you.
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Nothing is rarer than real goodness.
La Rochefoucauld |
Nature does not bestow
virtue;
to be good is an art.
Seneca |
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You'll always have to deal with
bastards, being lied to, deceived,
slandered and
ridiculed, but that's to be expected
and you must thank
heaven when you meet the exception.
Gustave Flaubert
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What
can one say about goodness? It's tempting to say that it's
a dying character trait, that the world is suffering from
a dearth of goodness these days, but I don't believe that
for a second. We're so overwhelmed with the horrible
things that the people involved in the news media
consider to be news that we tend to forget just how much
goodness is out there. Charles Kuralt said that the
kindness found on the back roads more than makes up for
the terrible things found in the headlines. My personal
theory is that fewer than one percent of the population (politicians,
criminals, entertainers, athletes) make up over 95% of
the news we read. Perhaps the percentage is even higher,
but I haven't had time to do the necessary research.
The
world is full of wonderful people--not just good--and if
we're to keep our minds focused on the beauty and the
good, we have to choose to do so. We have to choose what
we're going to read, which movies we're going to see,
which TV shows to watch, which people we're going to talk
to. Focus on good things for a week, and see the effect
of doing so on your own perspective--you'll be amazed at
just how much good you see when you're looking for it!
Perhaps you'll see enough to make you want to continue
looking for it even after the week is over.
And while you're
looking for goodness, you might want to spend some time spreading it,
too. It's free, and it's pretty easy. A compliment here, a
bit of encouragement there, a good deed for this person, a little
favor for that one, and you'll be amazed at the effect you have on
others. The world would be a great place if everyone were
focused on spreading goodness, and the spreading has to start
somewhere--let's start it with us!
tdw
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In
goodness there are all kinds of wisdom.
Euripides
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The
smallest good deed is better
than the grandest good intention.
Duguet
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Until
they extend the circle of their compassion to all living things,
people will not themselves find peace.
Albert
Schweitzer
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The work of an unknown good person is like a vein
of water
flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground greener.
Thomas Carlyle
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The
answer to helplessness is not so very complicated.
A person can do
something for peace without having to jump into politics.
Each person has
inside a basic decency and goodness.
If we listen to it and act on it, we are
giving a great deal of what the world needs most.
It is not complicated but it
takes courage.
It takes courage for a person to listen to his or her own
goodness and act on it.
Do we dare to be ourselves?
This is the question that counts.
Pablo Casals
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Do
not wait for extraordinary circumstances
to do good; try to use ordinary situations.
Jean Paul Richter
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Like
a lovely flower, full of color but lacking in fragrance, are the words
of those who do not practice what they preach. Like a lovely
flower full
of color and fragrance are the words of those who practice what they
preach. The scent of flowers or sandalwood cannot travel against
the wind;
but the fragrance of good spreads everywhere. Neither sandalwood
nor the
tagara flower, neither lotus nor jasmine, can come near the fragrance of
the good.
from
the Dhammapada
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Because
the divine goodness could not be adequately represented
by one creature alone, God produced many and diverse creatures,
that what was wanting in one in the representation of the divine
goodness
might be supplied by another.
For goodness, which in God is simple
and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided.
Thus the whole
universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly
and represents it better than any single creature.
St. Thomas Aquinas
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Dedication to
goodness--dedication in response to an inner moral
mandate rather than external restraint--was both the antidote
to the pain and the source of great happiness.
Sylvia Boorstein
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Goodness has to come
from the heart, that's one thing
I know for sure. I also know for sure that not everything
that comes from my heart is goodness, and that's something
I'm working on. Goodness has to be pure in intention, and I
know that my good acts aren't always intended solely for the
good of the recipients. I'm working on that, too. When I
truly
do good, there's a very good chance that no one ever will
notice it, and I'll never be recognized as someone who has
done something good. When I can live with that and be
at peace with it, I know that I'll have
reached a very high level of living.
tom walsh
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In
his collection of Bengali poems, Gitanjali, Rabindranath Tagore writes
that
the song he wanted to sing has never happened because he spent his days
"stringing and unstringing" his instrument. Whenever I
read these lines
a certain sadness enters my soul. . . . I get so preoccupied with the
details
and pressure of my schedule, with the hurry and worry of life, that I
miss
the song of goodness which is waiting to be sung through me.
Joyce
Rupp
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When you
have done a good deed that another has had
the benefit of, why do you need a third reward--as
fools do--praise for having done well or
looking for a favor in return.
Marcus
Aurelius
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