OTHER WRITERS

April 15, 2020 –

“One thing about humans: we are doing creatures. We always seem to be doing something. When we’re not doing something, we’re thinking about doing something, which, of course, is doing something. When we sleep, we toss and dream. We do exercises to keep our bodies in shape so we can do even more.

Humans are well designed for doing. Unlike trees, our bodies can move from place to place. Our emotions can move from happy to sad and back again in a matter of minutes. Our thoughts move us to places we can’t go physically: our memory moves us back in time, our intelligence anticipates future movement, and our imagination moves us to places we’ve never been.

We also do to nature-—you name it, and humans have either moved it or done something to it. (At the very least, we named it.) We seem bent on rearranging the world. We invent tools to move that which we cannot move with our bodies alone.

It’s often been observed that, from afar, the doing of humans resembles the frantic bustling of ants. We must occasionally wonder, “What is the purpose of all this doing?” We are not, after all, rocks, which don’t seem to do much at all. We were obviously given the ability to do, but why?

We must, of course, do in order to meet our bodily needs (which would not be as great if we did not do as much), but even after these needs are met, we keep on doing. Why? Our suggestion: Our doing allows for more learning.”

—Author unknown

 “Aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives, and if, periodically, you fail—as you surely will—adjust your lives, not the standards.”

Ted Koppel, journalist and former news anchor

“Never suppose that in any possible situation or under any circumstances that it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing however slightly so it may appear to you encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity arises, being assured that they will gain strength by exercise  and that exercise will make them habitual.”

Thomas Jefferson, US president 1801—1809

“I’m convinced that we can write and live our own scripts more than most people will acknowledge. I also know the price that must be paid. It’s a real struggle to do it. It requires visualization and affirmation. It involves living a life of integrity, starting with making and keeping promises, until the whole human personality, the senses, the thinking, the feeling, and the intuition, are ultimately integrated and harmonized.”

Stephen Covey, management consultant

“Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.”

Brian Tracy, talk show host