“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer

“The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish something. The strongest, by dispensing his over many, may fail to accomplish anything. The drop, by continually falling, bores its passage through the hardest rock. The hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar, and leaves no trace behind.”

Thomas Carlyle, essayist and historian

“As you go about your day, notice the mirror faces around you and feel the muscles of your own face. When you feel a bit of stress or tension, allow the ends of your mouth to curve up, lightening heaviness; softening the energy within and around you as you share the gift of your smile. 

A smile can carry you lightly through an entire day.”

Florence Ondré

“Underground nuclear testing, defoliation of the rain forests, toxic waste… 
Let’s put it this way: if the world were a big apartment, we wouldn’t get our deposit back.” 
John Ross

“Translation is the art of erasing oneself in order to speak in another’s voice.”

David Cole, professor, author, and correspondent (b. 1958)

“Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction.”
Francis Picabia, painter and poet (1879-1953)

 We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice – that is, until we have stopped saying ‘It got lost,’ and say, ‘I lost it.’

Sydney J. Harris, journalist (1917-1986) 

“We are all wanderers in the desert; at heart, searching for the oasis of companions in kindness.”

Florence Ondré

“It’s not where you start. It’s not even where you finish. It’s the journey along the way!”

Florence Ondré

‘Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

James M. Barrie