Words of Wisdom

[Harry Smith]

A famous person is someone who works hard all his life to become known, then wears glasses so that nobody will recognise him.(Fred Allan)

All that glitters is not gold.(William Shakespeare)

[Harry Smith]

First impressions are the most lasting...

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.(Samuel Johnson)

[Harry Smith]

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/2pac/wordsofwisdom.html

 

 

"Every life is like a book

make yours

a best seller."

[Harry Smith]

What is the purpose of life? It is to become happy. Whatever country or society people live in, they all have the same deep desire: to become happy.

 

 

Yet, there are few ideals as difficult to grasp as that of happiness. In our daily life we constantly experience happiness and unhappiness, but we are still quite ignorant as to what happiness really is.

 

 

A young friend of mine once spent a long time trying to work out what happiness was, particularly happiness for women. When she first thought about happiness she saw it as a matter of becoming financially secure or getting married. (The view in Japanese society then was that happiness for a woman was only to be found in marriage.) But looking at friends who were married, she realized that marriage didn't necessarily guarantee happiness.

 

 

She saw couples who had been passionately in love suffering from discord soon after their wedding. She saw women who had married men with money or status but who fought constantly with their husbands.

 

 

Gradually, she realized that the secret of happiness lay in building a strong inner self that no trial or hardship could ruin. She saw that happiness for anyone - man or woman - does not come simply from having a formal education, from wealth or from marriage. It begins with having the strength to confront and conquer one's own weaknesses. Only then does it become possible to lead a truly happy life and enjoy a successful marriage.

 

 

She finally told me, "Now I can say with confidence that happiness doesn't exist in the past or in the future. It only exists within our state of life right now, here in the present, as we face the challenges of daily life."

 

 

I agree entirely. You yourself know best whether you are feeling joy or struggling with suffering. These things are not known to other people. Even a man who has great wealth, social recognition and many awards may still be shadowed by indescribable suffering deep in his heart. On the other hand, an elderly woman who is not fortunate financially, leading a simple life alone, may feel the sun of joy and happiness rising in her heart each day.

 

 

Happiness is not a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that come our way. There is no such thing as a problem-free life; difficulties are unavoidable. But how we experience and react to our problems depends on us. Buddhism teaches that we are each responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness. Our vitality - the amount of energy or "life-force" we have - is in fact the single most important factor in determining whether or not we are happy.

 

 

True happiness is to be found within, in the state of our hearts. It does not exist on the far side of some distant mountains. It is within you, yourself. However much you try, you can never run away from yourself. And if you are weak, suffering will follow you wherever you go. You will never find happiness if you don't challenge your weaknesses and change yourself from within.

 

 

Happiness is to be found in the dynamism and energy of your own life as you struggle to overcome one obstacle after another. This is why I believe that a person who is active and free from fear is truly happy.

 

 

The challenges we face in life can be compared to a tall mountain, rising before a mountain climber. For someone who has not trained properly, whose muscles and reflexes are weak and slow, every inch of the climb will be filled with terror and pain. The exact same climb, however, will be a thrilling journey for someone who is prepared, whose legs and arms have been strengthened by constant training. With each step forward and up, beautiful new views will come into sight.

 

 

My teacher used to talk about two kinds of happiness - "relative" and "absolute" happiness. Relative happiness is happiness that depends on things outside ourselves: friends and family, surroundings, the size of our home or family income.

 

 

This is what we feel when a desire is fulfilled, or something we have longed for is obtained. While the happiness such things bring us is certainly real, the fact is that none of this lasts forever. Things change. People change. This kind of happiness shatters easily when external conditions alter.

 

 

Relative happiness is also based on comparison with others. We may feel this kind of happiness at having a newer or bigger home than the neighbors. But that feeling turns to misery the moment they start making new additions to theirs!

 

 

Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is something we must find within. It means establishing a state of life in which we are never defeated by trials and where just being alive is a source of great joy. This persists no matter what we might be lacking, or what might happen around us. A deep sense of joy is something which can only exist in the innermost reaches of our life, and which cannot be destroyed by any external forces. It is eternal and inexhaustible.

 

 

This kind of satisfaction is to be found in consistent and repeated effort, so that we can say, "Today, again, I did my very best. Today, again, I have no regrets. Today, again, I won." The accumulated result of such efforts is a life of great victory.

 

 

What we should compare is not ourselves against others. We should compare who we are today against who we were yesterday, who we are today against who we will be tomorrow. While this may seem simple and obvious, true happiness is found in a life of constant advancement. And the same worries that could have made us miserable can actually be a source of growth when we approach them with courage and wisdom.

 

 

One friend whose dramatic life proved this was Natalia Satz, who founded the first children's theater in Moscow. In the 1930s, she and her husband were marked by Soviet Union's secret police. Even though they were guilty of no crime, her husband was arrested and executed and she was sent to a prison camp in the frozen depths of Siberia.

 

 

After she recovered from the initial shock, she started looking at her situation, not with despair, but for opportunity. She realized that many of her fellow prisoners had special skills and talents. She began organizing a "university," encouraging the prisoners to share their knowledge. "You. You are a scientist. Teach us about science. You are an artist. Talk to us about art."

 

 

In this way, the boredom and terror of the prison camp were transformed into the joy of learning and teaching. Eventually, Mrs. Satz even made use of her own unique talents to organize a theater group. She survived the five-year prison sentence, and dedicated the rest of her long life to creating children's theater. When we met for the first time in Moscow in 1981, she was already in her 80s. She was as radiant and buoyant as a young girl. Her smile was the smile of someone who has triumphed over the hardships of life. Hers is the kind of spirit I had in mind when I wrote the following poem on "Happiness":

 

A person with a vast heart is happy.

Such a person lives each day with a broad and embracing spirit.

A person with a strong will is happy.

Such a person can confidently enjoy life, never defeated by suffering.

A person with a profound spirit is happy.

Such a person can savor life's depths

while creating meaning and value that will last for eternity.

A person with a pure mind is happy.

Such a person is always surrounded by refreshing breezes of joy.

[Harry Smith]

Bad news travels fast!

 

A drowning man will clutch at a straw.

 

After a storm comes a calm.Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

It never rains but it pours.

 

Look before you leap.

[Harry Smith]

Actions speak louder than words!

 

Eat to line, not live to eat!

 

Clothes make the man!

[Harry Smith]

Honesty is the policy.

 

Money makes the world go round.

 

One story is good until another is told...

[Harry Smith]

TOMORROW NEVER COMES!

[Harry Smith]

You can't judge the book by its cover.!

Silence is golden!

All's well that ends well!

[Harry Smith]

1.Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either.

 

2.The trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

 

3.To handle yourself, use your head,

To handle others, use your heart.

 

4.Great minds discuss ideas,

Average minds discuss events,

Small minds discuss people.

 

5.Learn from the mistakes of others.

You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

 

6.If you are falling off a cliff, you may as well try to fly. You've got nothing to lose.

[Harry Smith]

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

 

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,

there will be an answer, let it be.

For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,

there will be an answer. let it be.

 

Let it be, let it be, .....

 

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,

shine until tomorrow, let it be.

I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

 

Let it be, let it be, .....

[Harry Smith]

Yesterday,

All my troubles seemed so far away,

Now it looks as though they're here to stay,

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

 

Suddenly,

I'm not half the man I used to be,

There's a shadow hanging over me,

Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

 

Why she

Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.

I said,

Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.

 

Yesterday,

Love was such an easy game to play,

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

 

Why she

Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.

I said,

Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.

 

Yesterday,

Love was such an easy game to play,

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

 

Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.

[Harry Smith]

I can hear your voice and I have no choice

Cause the pain is too deep inside

And the hurt of a love that is lost has no cure

But the love of another heart

Your friends try and say it will all get better

They say that they know how you feel

But your heart isn't sure 'cause it knows what it heard

All the things that it read in the letter

 

All the words of wisdom

Never seem to ease the pain

All the words of wisdom sound the same

 

 

All the lies of kindness

Oh that sweet refrain

But you pay the price for the joy that it brings

Cause you hear the sound of her name

And the morning tries to save you

From the shadows of your heart

They dance and kiss as you reminisce

And it's tearing you apart

[Harry Smith]

1.We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.

~ B. F. Skinner

 

2.I've traveled the world twice over,

Met the famous; saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I've been where no-one's been before,

Learned secrets from writers and cooks

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books.

[Harry Smith]

The Victor

Poet: C.W. Longenecker If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t

If you like to win but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

 

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow’s will

It’s all in the state of mind.

 

If you think you are outclassed, you are.

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize.

 

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

[Harry Smith]

There may be times when others seem enviable. But others are others and you are you. Rather than comparing your joys and sorrows to those of others, you should aim to surpass your limits in the situation you are in right now. Those who can do this are the true victors in life.G.G.

[Harry Smith]

There is an exception to every rule!

[Elena Belobrova]

No pain-no gain.

[Radislav Millrood]

Never contradict.

Never explain.

Never apologize.

Never repeat.

Never think back.

Сказано очень успешным дипломатом.

[Harry Smith]

"Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit."

[nat]

Mother Teresa “ LIFE IS …”

 

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

 

Life is beauty, admire it.

 

Life is bliss, taste it.

 

Life is a dream, realize it.

 

Life is a challenge, meet it.

 

Life is a duty, complete it.

 

Life is a game, play it.

 

Life is costly, care for it.

 

Life is wealth, keep it.

 

Life is love, enjoy it.

 

Life is mystery, know it.

 

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

 

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

 

Life is a song, sing it.

 

Life is a struggle, accept it.

 

Life is tragedy, confront it.

 

Life is an adventure, dare it.

 

Life is luck, make it.

 

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

 

Life is life, fight for it.

[Гусарева Виктория]

Do you know the story about King George III of England? He was in the country one day and stopped at a small hotel for lunch. He wasn't very hungry, so he had only two boiled eggs. He ate them and asked for the bill. The landlord brought hin the bill - two pounds. The King exclaimed,:"What!? Two pounds for two eggs!? Eggs must be very scarce here." "No, sir. Eggs are not scarce - but kings are."

[Harry Smith]

Do you know the story about King George III of England? He was in the country one day and stopped at a small hotel for lunch. He wasn't very hungry, so he had only two boiled eggs. He ate them and asked for the bill. The landlord brought hin the bill - two pounds. The King exclaimed,:"What!? Two pounds for two eggs!? Eggs must be very scarce here." "No, sir. Eggs are not scarce - but kings are."

 

Welcome to the forum! The hussars are also scarce here!

[SheTaVi]

• If life gives you lemons – make lemonade.

[Laddy]

Ronald Knox

A baby is a loud noise at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

 

Milton Berle

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?

Ayn Rand

Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.

 

Dorothy Parker

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

 

Jonathan Swift

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.

Joyce Maynard

A good home must be made, not bought.

Mother Teresa

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones -- the ones at home.

 

Bill Cosby

Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home.

 

Benjamin Franklin

A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.

 

Confucius

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

Christian Morgenstern

Home is not where you live but where they understand you.