Even When Things Seem Bleak, We Must Do What We Can

It was a chilly, overcast day when the horseman spied the little sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road. 

Reining in his mount he looked down 

and inquired of the fragile creature,

“Why are you lying upside down like that?”

“ I heard the heavens are going to fall today,” replied the bird.

The horseman laughed. “ And I suppose your spindly legs can hold up the heavens?”

“ One does what one can,” said the little sparrow.   

 --Author Unknown

When Akiba was on his deathbed, he bemoaned to his rabbi that he felt he was a failure. His rabbi moved closer and asked why, and Akiba confessed that he had not lived a life like Moses. The poor man began to cry, admitting that he feared God’s judgment.  At this, his rabbi leaned into his ear and whispered gently, “God will not judge Akiba for not being Moses. God will judge Akiba for not being Akiba.”   

 --From the Talmud

I understand hell in two ways. First, there is the this-worldly hell I make for myself and others when I fail to act justly and with compassion. Second, there is the other-worldly hell invented by bullies who delight in sadistic fantasies of endless torture and use these fantasies to frighten others into yielding to their will. I take both hells very seriously.

--Rabbi Rami Shapiro

The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. 

And only he who listens can speak.

Is this the starting point of the road towards the 

union of your two dreams– 

to be allowed in clarity of mind to mirror life 

and in purity of heart to mold it?   

--Dag Hammarskjold

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way she handles these three things:

a rainy day, lost luggage, 

& tangled Christmas tree lights.    

--Maya Angelou

Action is what separates a belief 

from an opinion.

--Ibu Patel