Lucid Speaker: February 2020

Saturday, February 29, 2020

“The mind is never right but when it is at peace within itself.” - Seneca

“Me Too, 365,” by Arnold Kunst

29 February

“The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

“You won’t live a life worth remembering if you don’t do the impossible on a fairly regular basis.” - Anonymous

“Me Too, 365,” by Arnold Kunst

28 February

“Ladies, if you want a man to tell the truth you must do away with moodiness. A man would rather be spat at.” – Jonathan Hanaghan

“How much better our family life would be if we used the words ‘Please,’ ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I’m sorry.’” – Pope Francis

“Me Too, 365,” by Arnold Kunst

27 February

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” – Gloria Steinem

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

29 February

We’re meant, courageously, to transcend fear, not wallow in it. To turn our backs on validated self-pity and, as the expression has it, to go where no man has gone before. Shrinking from that supreme adventure of necessity means I choose to live in a land of delusion where I’m authorized - by me - to glory in scaling ten-foot mountains, where I fondly expect a trophy for showing up.

“When you choose to forgive those who hurt you, you take away their power.” - Anonymous

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

28 February

If the Lord’s Prayer is anything to go by, we're forgiven only insofar as we forgive. There’s something delicious about what you might call the mathematical exactitude implicit in all that. Since I have no idea when I'm going to die, I should jettison all the garbage of recrimination on a regular basis as and when it builds up; I should make forgiveness a habit like I mean business; I should leave the dead to bury their dead, and move on to what gives life/Life. If nothing else, traveling light that way seems like a smart idea.

"The first duty of love is to listen; the last duty of love is to forgive." - Anonymous

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

27 February

“Talk about nose-bleed compassion! Which of Lincoln’s contemporaries – or our contemporaries for that matter - would ever say, ‘I don’t like that man; I must get to know him better’? When I’m in that place, I’m inclined to say, ‘I don’t like that man; I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole!’ Or, ‘I don’t like that man; somebody should get to know him better.’ Or, ‘I don’t like that man; I should get to know him better.’ The rubber meets the road with what Lincoln actually said: ‘I must get to know him better.’ Frontal assault!” – Arnold Kunst

"What's your price?" - Anonymous

February 29

Robert E. Lee was a simple man. When the Civil War was over he was approached by an insurance company which offered him $50,000 for his endorsement. $50,000 was a gigantic sum of money in those days [ by way of comparison, it was twice Lincoln’s annual presidential salary], and when Lee enquired further into this unusual offer – more in keeping with the 20^{th or}21^st than the 19^th century – he was informed that he did not, in fact, have to do anything to earn that money beyond giving his endorsement. He turned the offer down precisely because it required nothing from him; a kind of unjustifiable gain after having done nothing to earn it.

Ulysses S. Grant was a simple man. When the Civil War was over he was offered a very fine, luxurious home free of charge by friends who assured him that they were acting on behalf of a nation grateful for his having been so instrumental in winning the war. Since, in his view, he had been so instrumental in having won the war he gratefully accepted the house.

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” - Edith Wharton

From “Lincoln 365,” by Arnold Kunst

February 28

Early on Lincoln took to writing letters for the illiterate among his family and friends. In this way he combined two urges that never left him: to help those who needed what he could do with consummate ease, and to express himself both clearly and concisely in writing.

"Give them the benefit of the doubt you crave for yourself." - Arnold Kunst

From “Lincoln 365,” by Arnold Kunst

February 27

“First convince a man that you are his sincere friend. Therein is the drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what you will, is the great high road to his reason, and which, when once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause.” - Abraham Lincoln

“I resolve to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but rather by some means excuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon proper occasions speak all the good I know of everybody.” - Benjamin Franklin

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

“Love is intelligent, not sloppy.” – Jonathan Hanaghan

“Me Too, 365,” by Arnold Kunst

26 February

“Works of love are always works of peace.” – Mother Teresa

“There are some fleas a dog just can’t reach.” – Abraham Lincoln

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

26 February

If you find that you fail to impact this or that person you intended to impact, rest assured; you’re not alone! My guess is, not everyone who came in contact with Jesus Christ became a Christian either.

I can just imagine two guys coming down from the Sermon on the Mount, and the first guy says, "Wasn't he fantastic! Imagine: it’s the poor in spirit, not the rich, who are blessed!" The other guy says, "I don't know; it was a little chilly; I should have brought a jacket." One perceives only what one is open to. Maybe the problem with the guy who "didn't get much out of that” was that he didn't bring anything to put it into!