Sunday 16 September 2012

..and even more, bye!

Quotes About Kindness

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

“People who love themselves come across as very loving, generous and kind; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness.”
― Sanaya Roman, Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
― Oscar Wilde

“For it is in giving that we receive.”
― St. Francis of Assisi

“You have a unique gift to offer this world. Be true to yourself, be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests you and keep away from people who bring you down. When you treat yourself kindly and respect the uniqueness of those around you, you will be giving this world an amazing gift... YOU!”
― Steve Maraboli

“When we know ourselves to be connected to all others, acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do. ”
― Rachel Naomi Remen

“As you read my stories of long ago I hope you will remember that the things that are truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth, and helpfulness are always the same and always needed.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

“If you hit bottom, there's a whole lot of people here to help you up”
― Suzanne Collins, Gregor and the Code of Claw

“Know that the same spark of life that is within you, is within all of our animal friends, the desire to live is the same within all of us...”
― Rai Aren, Secret of the Sands

“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.”
― Brian Tracy

“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can show...let me do it now.”
― William Penn

“Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone. Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

“There is no small act of kindness.
Every compassionate act makes large the world.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

“Treat other people's home as you want them to respect yours because what goes around comes around.”
― Ana Monnar

“The happiest people I have known have been those who gave themselves no concern about their own souls, but did their uttermost to mitigate the miseries of others.”
― Elizabeth Cady Stanton, History of Woman Suffrage, Volumes I-II

“You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
― Debbie Macomber, One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity

“Today I will take the opportunity to do unanticipated good.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“It seems to me that no matter what religion you subscribe to, acts of kindness are the stepping-stones to making the world a better place--because we become better people in it.”
― Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart

“Thousands of years ago, man lived in harmony with the rest of the natural world. Through what we would today call Telepathy, he communicated with animals, plants, and other forms of life-none of which he considered "beneath" himself, only different, with different jobs to perform. He worked side by side with earth angels and nature spirits, with whom he shared responsibility for taking care of the world.”
― Benjamin Hoff, The Te Of Piglet

“It’s much easier to be cruel than one might think.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer

“(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.”
― J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace

“The wise man does not lay up his own treasures.
The more he gives to others,
the more he has for his own.”
― Lao Tzu

“What virtue is there in a man who demonstrates goodness because he has been bred to it? It is his habit from youth. But a man who has known unkindness and want, for him to be kind and charitable to those who have been the cause of his misfortunes, that is a virtuous man.”
― Deanna Raybourn, Silent on the Moor

“they say it's like true love, good help. you only get one in a lifetime.....there is so much you don't know about a person. i wonder if i could've made her days a little bit easier, if I'd tried. if i'd treated her a little nicer.....”
― Kathryn Stockett

“The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? ”
― Arabian proverb

“Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone -- Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own”
― Adam L. Gordon

“It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other.”
― Aldous Huxley

“Perhaps the most "spiritual" thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.”
― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are

“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

“That's how powerful you are, girl...You pretty, but pretty alone is not what people see. You the kinda pretty, the kinda beauty, that's like a mirror. Men and women see themselves in you, only now they so beautiful that they can't bear to see you go.”
― Walter Mosley, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

“Don't wish...DO! Don't try...BE! Don't think...KNOW! And above all: Bless a stranger with a small, yet powerful, random act of kindness. You feel me?”
― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with "The Divine Presence"

“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.”
― Brendan Behan

“Be kind to one another. Bye, bye.”
― Ellen DeGeneres

“A dog has the soul of a philosopher.”
― Plato

“A dog has one aim in life... to bestow his heart.”
― J.R. Ackerley

“With one kind gesture you can change a life. One person at a time you can change the world. One day at a time we can change everything.”
― Steve Maraboli, The Power of One

“How beautiful a day can be, when kindness touches it!”
― George Elliston

“Once you begin to acknowledge random acts of kindness - both the ones you have received and the ones you have given - you can no longer believe that what you do does not matter.”
― Dawna Markova

“Royse Bergon: "I've seen your integrity in action. It...widened my world. I'd been raised by my father, who is a prudent, cautious man, always looking for men's hidden, selfish motivations. No one can cheat him. But I've seen him cheat himself. If you understand what I mean."
Caz: "Yes."
R.B.: "It was very foolish of you to attack that vile Roknari galley-man."
Caz: "Yes."
R.B.: "And yet, I think, given the same circumstances you would do it again."
Caz: "Knowing what I know now...it would be harder. But I would hope... I would pray, Royse, that the gods would still lend me such foolishness in my need."
R.B: "What is this astonishing foolishness, that shines brighter than all my father's gold? Can you teach me to be such a fool, too, Caz?"
Caz: "Oh," "I'm sure of it.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold

“A yogi is much more disciplined in his speech. Yogic tradition has it that speech must pass before three barriers prior to being uttered aloud. These barriers come in the form of three questions: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? (112-113)”
― Prem Prakash, The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion A Modern Translation of the Narada Bhakti Sutras

“The greatest thrill is not to kill but to let live.”
― James Oliver Curwood, The Grizzly King

“And when something awful happens, the goodness stands out even more ...”
― Banana Yoshimoto, The Lake

“One of the greatest evils is the foolishness of a good man. For the giving man to withhold helping someone in order to first assure personal fortification is not selfish, but to elude needless self-destruction; martyrdom is only practical when the thought is to die, else a good man faces the consequence of digging a hole from which he cannot escape, and truly helps no one in the long run.”
― Mike Norton, Just Another War Story

“I have seem even those who have long since abjured God die in grace. . . . Atheists don't use their drying to bargain for a better seat at the table; indeed they may not even believe supper is being served. They are not storing up 'merit.'; They just smile because their heart is ripe. They are kind for no particular reason; they just love.”
― Stephen Levine, A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last

“If there is such a thing as a universal--and I wasn't ready to throw all of mine out the window--it's that there is power in a story. And if someone pays you such a kindness as to make up a tale so you'll enjoy a gingersnap, you go along with that story and enjoy every last bite.”
― Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest

“Nothing carries more potential for change than individual acts of human kindness. ”
― Jamie Winship

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel

.... and more words of kindness...

Quotes About Kindness

“If you treat people right they will treat you right ... ninety percent of the time.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.”
― J.M. Barrie

“When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be. ”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson

“Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.”
― William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

“The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!”
― Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence

“It is only with true love and compassion that we can begin to mend what is broken in the world. It is these two blessed things that can begin to heal all broken hearts.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Be kinder than necessary,
for everyone you meet is fighting
some kind of battle.”
― T.H. Thompson and John Watson

“Never start a sentence with the words 'No offense.”
― Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

“If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.”
― Lao Tzu

“It's all a matter of paying attention, being awake in the present
moment, and not expecting a huge payoff. The magic in this world seems
to work in whispers and small kindnesses.”
― Charles de Lint

“I made the choice to be vegan because I will not eat (or wear, or use) anything that could have an emotional response to its death or captivity. I can well imagine what that must feel like for our non-human friends - the fear, the terror, the pain - and I will not cause such suffering to a fellow living being.”
― Rai Aren

“Self-talk reflects your innermost feelings.”
― Asa Don Brown

“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.”
― Mother Teresa

“Protect your enthusiasm from the negativity and fear of others. Never decide to do nothing just because you can only do little. Do what you can. You would be surprised at what "little" acts have done for our world.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:1-6”
― Anonymous, Holy Bible: New International Version

“How would your life be different if…You pretended those around you were deaf to your words? Let today be the day…You let your actions speak and communicate your feelings and intentions.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Every single time you help somebody stand up you are helping humanity rise.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“The various features and aspects of human life, such as longevity, good health, success, happiness, and so forth, which we consider desirable, are all dependent on kindness and a good heart.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

“You don't always have to chop with the sword of truth. You can point with it too.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, of self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God's name, it was bad theology. ”
― Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness

“Nothing,' wrote Tolstoy, 'can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.”
― Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

“Love and compassion are the mother and father of a smile. We need to create more smiles in our world today. Smiles, after all, pave the way to a happy world.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“I was helpless in trying to return people's kindness, but also helpless to resist it. Kindness is a scarier force than cruelty, that's for sure. Cruelty isn't that hard to understand. I had no trouble comprehending why the phone company wanted to screw me over; they just wanted to steal some money, it was nothing personal. That's the way of the world. It made me mad, but it didn't make me feel stupid. If anything, it flattered my intelligence. Accepting all that kindness, though, made me feel stupid.

Human benevolence is totally unfair. We don't live in a kind or generous world, yet we are kind and generous. We know the universe is out to burn us, and it gets us all the way it got Renee, but we don't burn each other, not always. We are kind people in an unkind world, to paraphrase Wallace Stevens. How do you pretend you don't know about it, after you see it? How do you go back to acting like you don't need it? How do you even the score and walk off a free man? You can't. I found myself forced to let go of all sorts of independence I thought I had, independence I had spent years trying to cultivate. That world was all gone, and now I was a supplicant, dependent on the mercy of other people's psychic hearts.”
― Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape

“The shortest distance between two people is a smile.”
― Victor Borge

“If you can't be kind, at least be vague.”
― Judith Martin

“I must be cruel only to be kind;
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.”
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Our kindness may be the most persuasive argument for that which we believe.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

“Give freely to the world these gifts of love and compassion. Do not concern yourself with how much you receive in return, just know in your heart it will be returned.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“May all that have life be delivered from suffering”
― Siddhārtha Gautama

“I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness of human beings. I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels.”
― Pearl S. Buck

“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over. So in a series of acts of kindness there is, at last, one which makes the heart run over.”
― James Boswell

“When you find yourself in need of spiritual nourishment, it is in the opportunities to serve others that you will find the abundance you seek.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

“Be kind. Always if you have a choice, be kind.”
― Anne Rice

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

“I don't want my life to be defined by what is etched on a tombstone. I want it to be defined in what is etched in the lives and hearts of those I've touched.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Christ came to be Father's compassion to the world. Be kind in your actions. Do not think that you are the only one who can do efficient work, work worth showing. This makes you harsh in your judgment of others who may not have the same talents. Do your best and trust that others do their best. And be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

“He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it.”
― Dante Alighieri

“There is no religion without love,
and people may talk as much as
they like about their religion, but
if it does not teach them to be good
and kind to man and beast,
it is all a sham.”
― Anna Sewell

“Search for contentment in each person you meet.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Kindness, I’ve discovered, is everything in life.”
― Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Be kind to people whether they deserve your kindness or not. If your kindness reaches the deserving good for you if your kindness reaches the undeserving take joy in your compassion.”
― James Fadiman, Essential Sufism

“Moments of kindness and reconciliation are worth having, even if the parting has to come sooner or later.”
― Alice Munro

“Remember!--It is Christianity to do good always--even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbours as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything. If we do this, and remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace.”
― Charles Dickens

“Never question the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has in inspired the movement of change.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“Sometimes it's easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.”
― Randa Abdel-Fattah, Does My Head Look Big In This?

“They weren't nice words he said. He could've lived a good life and died never having made a person feel rubbed down to bones and too sad to hold together. ”
― Shannon Hale, Book of a Thousand Days

“Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and to watch over them in tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow'r it has over my mind.”
― Joseph Smith Jr.

“If we have the opportunity to be generous with our hearts, ourselves, we have no idea of the depth and breadth of love's reach.”
― Margaret Cho

“Practice kindness - particularly when you feel irritated or things are not going well. Kindness hardly ever goes wrong.”
― Lewis Richmond, Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job