Life Grows in the Soil of Time by Thomas Mann What I believe, what I value most, is transitoriness. But is not transitoriness - the perishableness of life - something very sad? No! It is the very soul of existence. It imparts value, dignity, interest
Taxi Drivers Are People, Too By John Hughes I believe honesty is one of the greatest gifts there is. I know they call it a lot of fancy names these days, like integrity and forthrightness. But it doesnt make any difference what they call it; its stil
Learning to Get Out of the Way by Aldous Huxley In every one of the higher religions, there is a strain of infinite optimism on the one hand and on the other, a profound pessimism. In the depths of our being, they all teach there is an inner light, b
The Soundest Investment of All by C. Jared Ingersoll I feel very presumptuous and uncomfortable about trying to explain out loud the things I believe in. But I do think that all human problems are in some way related to each other, so perhaps if peop
Fixing Up the Run-Down Places by Dr. David Dallas Jones Every life coheres around certain fundamental core ideas whether we realize it or not. If I were asked to state the ideas around which my life and my life's work have been built it would seem th
The Light of a Bright Day By Helen Keller I choose for my subject faith wrought into life, apart from creed or dogma. By faith I mean a vision of good one cherishes and the enthusiasm that pushes one to seek its fulfillment regardless of obstacles. F
Matisse and the Music of Discontent By Andre Kostelanetz On Easter Sunday, 1945, the last year of the war, my wife and I were in Marseilles. We had just arrived for four days rest, after a tour of entertaining the troops in Burma. It was a wonderful
Inspiration from a Drainpipe By Mrs. John G. Lee I think the most profound influence in my life was my father. He was an inventor and a scientist with a most inquisitive mind. He loved and was greatly stimulated by the beauty and the design he found
The Only Way to Make a Friend By Herbert Lehman So many things affect a mans philosophy and his life that I find it difficult to put into words my personal beliefs. I hesitate to speak of them publicly for fear of giving the appearance of preaching.
I Wish I Could believe by C. Day Lewis The best lack all conviction, While the worst are full of passionate intesity. Those two lines of Yeats for me sum up the matter as it stands today when the very currency of belief seems debased. I was brought u
Three O' Cat Is Still a Game by Lillian Bueno Mccue What do I believe? What laws do I live by? There are so many answers - work, beauty, truth, love - and I hope I do live by them. But in everyday things I live by the light of a supplementary set of
Two Commandments Are Enough By Peggy Wood Occasionally my mother used to announce that she was going to take time out from the day's activities to rest, she would say, and to invite my soul. She always put the phrase in quotes, in order, I expect, to