Words to Live By
Friendship
We gain nothing by being with such as ourselves: we encou-rage each other in mediocrity I m always longing to be with men more excellent than myself.
– Charles Lamb
Your friend is the one who knows all about you, and still likes you.
– Elbert Hubbard
A faithful friend is an image of God.
– French proverb
Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.
– Jewish proverb
It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to be friends to the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.
– Mahatma Gandhi
Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.
– Swedish proverb
Attitude
I am impartial to all the created beings. I have neither friend nor foe.
– Bhagavad Gita 9.29
I am enemy to no one, and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am the friend of all.
– Guru Granth Sahib
Conquer anger by love, and evil by good.
– Dhammapada
God enjoins justice, kindness, and charity to one’s kindred, and forbids indecency, abomination, and oppression.
– Qur’an 16.90
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
– Matthew 5.8.44
A soft answer turns away anger, but a sharp word makes tempers hot.
– Proverbs 15.1
God is one. Our religions may divide us, but dharma teaches us to come together in peace. Let us not fight over our differences, but seek peace in God.
– Baba Virsa Singh
People here on earth, they sleep, wake and think. Various thoughts: watching over all of this with intent eye (witness) There dawns a priceless light, which never shall dim again. Led onward by this, one should move forward.
– Sri Narayana Guru
To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from want of sympathyand from positive enmity among strangers, as nations or as individuals,Is one of the highest functions of civilization?
– Abraham Lincoln
Patience & Perseverance
Prosperity forsakes those who always dream of fate and favors those who persevere. One should Therefore always be active and alert.
– Matsya Purana 221.2
It matters not what you j inquire into but when you inquire into a thing, you must never give it up, until you have thoroughly understood it. It matters not what you try to think out, but when you once try to think out a thing, you must never give it up until you have got what you want.
i – Doctrine of the Mean 20
What is patience? Shankaracharya says: “Sit by the seashore and take one drop of water on a blade of Grass. If you have enough patience and there is a place nearby wherein that drop can be stored, you may, in time, empty the ocean of all its water”. This is an illustration of almost perfect patience.
– Mahatma Gandhi
A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe fruit at length falls into his lap.
– Abraham Lincoln
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg — not by smashing it.
– Arnold Glasow