Only someone who submits to the authority of the universal order and of creation, who values the right to be a part of it and a participant in it, can genuinely value himself and his neighbors and thus honor their right as well.
It follows that, in today's multicultural world, the truly reliable path to peaceful coexistence and creative cooperation must start from what is at the root of all cultures and what lies infinitely deeper in human hearts and minds than political opinion, convictions, antipathies or sympathies: it must be rooted in self-transcendence.
I found myself faced with a familiar dilemma; this freedom I cherished came with a precondition: I had to decide where I wanted to go.
Richard Bode, first you have to row a little boat
Baruch Ata Adonai Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam a-sher ke-d-sha-nu b- mitz-vo-tav, v-tzi-va-nu al s-fi-rat ha-omer.
Praised be you Adonai our God who rules the Universe instilling within us the holiness of mitzvot by commanding us to count the Omer.
Today is the thirty-first day of the Omer.
We usually look outside of ourselves for heroes and teachers. It has not occurred to most people that they may already be the role model they seek. The wholeness they are looking for may be trapped within themselves by beliefs, attitudes, and self-doubt. But our wholeness exists in us now. Trapped though it may be, it can be called upon for guidance, direction, and most fundamentally, comfort. It can be remembered. Eventually we may come to live by it.
Rachel Naomi Remen, Stories That Heal
All of science, all of music, all of art, all of travel, all of literature, all new discoveries and adventure happen when people forget the words "impossible" and "never."
Most hostile people are very self-involved, an understandable complement to their cynicism. The longstanding focus on self, as well as the need to be in control, grows out of a lack of trust in others. If you don't place much trust in other people, you have only yourself to count on. Hence, much of your conversation is laced with references to yourself - I, me, mine. This low level of trust in others and its attendant high level of self-involvement frequently cause the hostile person to pay little attention to what the other person is saying or doing.
