Gandhi's Principles

Truth
Gandhi (1869 - 1948) dedicated his life to the wider purpose of discovering truth, or Satya. He tried to achieve this by learning from his own mistakes and conducting experiments on himself. He called his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Gandhi stated that the most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears, and insecurities. Gandhi summarized his beliefs first when he said "God is Truth". He would later change this statement to "Truth is God". Thus, Satya (Truth) in Gandhi's philosophy is "God".

Nonviolence
Although Mahatama Gandhi was in no way the originator of the principle of non-violence, he was the first to apply it in the political field on a huge scale. The concept of nonviolence (ahimsa) and nonresistance has a long history in Indian religious thought and has had many revivals in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish and Christian contexts. Gandhi explains his philosophy and way of life in his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth. He was quoted as saying:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

In applying these principles, Gandhi did not balk from taking them to their most logical extremes in envisioning a world where even government, police and armies were nonviolent. The quotations below are from the book "For Pacifists".

Gandhism (or Gandhianism) is a collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi), who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement.

It is a body of ideas and principles that describes the inspiration, vision and the life work of Gandhi. The term also encompasses what Gandhi's ideas, words and actions mean to people around the world, and how they used them for guidance in building their own future. Gandhism also permeates into the realm of the individual human being, non-political and non-social. A Gandhian can mean either an individual who follows, or a specific philosophy which is attributed to, Gandhism.

Gandhism is brutal adherence to truth. If it means condemning the practice of untouchability in Hindu society, it means condemning the victimization of Muslim women and coerced conversions to Islam and Christianity in the same breath. Gandhism has no respect for power. No institution or individual is infallible, save God.

Gandhi believed that all humans are susceptible to sinful actions and behavior, and the worst of dictators were essentially the same despite the difference in their lives, beliefs and actions. Despite this, he held firmly that humans had no right to punish each other. He believed punishment to be the responsibility of God.

Kilde: Wikipedia

The wisdom of life...

"Be The Change You Wish To See In The World"

Your thoughts become your beliefs, but more astounding is that quantum physics says that your thoughts are energy and that they entangle the thoughts of others around you. So your beliefs change the reality not only within you, but around you. By being one in Abundance, Beauty, Creativity, Love and Kindness, then being Receptive to the Expanding entanglement, you create what you seek within. ~Unknown

To enter into the initiation of sound, of vibration and mindfulness, is to take a giant step toward consciously knowing the soul. There are hundreds of accurate models for this great journey inward. Each requires belief and discipline as well as the will to allow the inner and outer worlds to relate. Listening, learning, study, and practice are important tools. But we need the courage to enter into ourselves with the great respect and mystery that combines the faith of a child, the abandon of a mystic, and the true wisdom of an old shaman...

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you've gotten the rabbit you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. - Buddha

Trees and animals, humans and insects, flowers and birds: these are active images of the subtle energies that flow from the stars throughout the universe. Meeting and combining with each other and the elements of the Earth, they give rise to all living things. The superior person understands this, and understands that his or her own energies play a part in it. Understanding these things, one respects the Earth as his or her mother, the heavens as his or her father, and all living things as his or her brothers and sisters. Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice reverence for all life; this manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings. -LAO TZU

"If you want to nourish a bird, you should let it live any way it chooses. Creatures differ because they have different likes and dislikes. Therefore the sages never require the same ability from all creatures. Concepts of right should be founded on what is suitable for each. The true sage leaves wisdom to the ants, takes a cue from the fishes, and leaves willfulness to the sheep." -CHANG TZU

You forget your feet when your shoes are comfortable... Understanding forgets right and wrong when the mind is comfortable. There is no change in what is inside, no following what is outside, when the response to the moment is comfortable. You begin with what is comfortable and never experience what is uncomfortable when you know the comfort of forgetting what is comfortable.

Make your will one! Don't listen with your ears, listen with your mind. No, don't listen with your mind, but listen with your spirit. Listening stops with the ears, thinking stops with the mind, but spirit is empty and waits on all things. The way gathers emptiness alone. Emptiness is the fasting of the mind.

How do I know that loving life is not a delusion? How do I know that hating death I am not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten his way back? How do I know that the dead did not wonder why they ever longed for life?

Poems by Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)

Beauty XXV
And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty."

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?

And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?

The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.

Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."

And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.

Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."

The tired and the weary say, "beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.

Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."

But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,

And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."

At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."

And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say, "we have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."

In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."

And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."

All these things have you said of beauty.

Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,

And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.

It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,

But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,

But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.

It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,

But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.

But you are life and you are the veil.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

Khalil Gibran


Freedom XIV
And an orator said, "Speak to us of Freedom."

And he answered:

At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,

Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.

Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.

And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,

But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.

And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?

In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes.

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?

If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.

You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.

And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.

For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their won pride?

And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.

And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.

Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.

These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.

And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.

And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

Khalil Gibran


Friendship IXX
And a youth said, "Speak to us of Friendship."

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Khalil Gibran




Joy and Sorrow chapter VIII
Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

Khalil Gibran


Peace XVIII

The tempest calmed after bending the branches of the trees and leaning heavily upon the grain in the field. The stars appeared as broken remnants of lightning, but now silence prevailed over all, as if Nature's war had never been fought.

At that hour a young woman entered her chamber and knelt by her bed sobbing bitterly. Her heart flamed with agony but she could finally open her lips and say, "Oh Lord, bring him home safely to me. I have exhausted my tears and can offer no more, oh Lord, full of love and mercy. My patience is drained and calamity is seeking possession of my heart. Save him, oh Lord, from the iron paws of War; deliver him from such unmerciful Death, for he is weak, governed by the strong. Oh Lord, save my beloved, who is Thine own son, from the foe, who is Thy foe. Keep him from the forced pathway to Death's door; let him see me, or come and take me to him."

Quietly a young man entered. His head was wrapped in bandage soaked with escaping life.

He approached he with a greeting of tears and laughter, then took her hand and placed against it his flaming lips. And with a voice with bespoke past sorrow, and joy of union, and uncertainty of her reaction, he said, "Fear me not, for I am the object of your plea. Be glad, for Peace has carried me back safely to you, and humanity has restored what greed essayed to take from us. Be not sad, but smile, my beloved. Do not express bewilderment, for Love has power that dispels Death; charm that conquers the enemy. I am your one. Think me not a specter emerging from the House of Death to visit your Home of Beauty.

"Do not be frightened, for I am now Truth, spared from swords and fire to reveal to the people the triumph of Love over War. I am Word uttering introduction to the play of happiness and peace."

Then the young man became speechless and his tears spoke the language of the heart; and the angels of Joy hovered about that dwelling, and the two hearts restored the singleness which had been taken from them.

At dawn the two stood in the middle of the field contemplating the beauty of Nature injured by the tempest. After a deep and comforting silence, the soldier said to his sweetheart, "Look at the Darkness, giving birth to the Sun."

Khalil Gibran




Pleasure XXIV
Then a hermit, who visited the city once a year, came forth and said, "Speak to us of Pleasure."

And he answered, saying:

Pleasure is a freedom song,

But it is not freedom.

It is the blossoming of your desires,

But it is not their fruit.

It is a depth calling unto a height,

But it is not the deep nor the high.

It is the caged taking wing,

But it is not space encompassed.

Ay, in very truth, pleasure is a freedom-song.

And I fain would have you sing it with fullness of heart; yet I would not have you lose your hearts in the singing.

Some of your youth seek pleasure as if it were all, and they are judged and rebuked.

I would not judge nor rebuke them. I would have them seek.

For they shall find pleasure, but not her alone:

Seven are her sisters, and the least of them is more beautiful than pleasure.

Have you not heard of the man who was digging in the earth for roots and found a treasure?

And some of your elders remember pleasures with regret like wrongs committed in drunkenness.

But regret is the beclouding of the mind and not its chastisement.

They should remember their pleasures with gratitude, as they would the harvest of a summer.

Yet if it comforts them to regret, let them be comforted.

And there are among you those who are neither young to seek nor old to remember;

And in their fear of seeking and remembering they shun all pleasures, lest they neglect the spirit or offend against it.

But even in their foregoing is their pleasure.

And thus they too find a treasure though they dig for roots with quivering hands.

But tell me, who is he that can offend the spirit?

Shall the nightingale offend the stillness of the night, or the firefly the stars?

And shall your flame or your smoke burden the wind?

Think you the spirit is a still pool which you can trouble with a staff?

Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recesses of your being.

Who knows but that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow?

Even your body knows its heritage and its rightful need and will not be deceived.

And your body is the harp of your soul,

And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.

And now you ask in your heart, "How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?"

Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower,

But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.

For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,

And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,

And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.

People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.

Khalil Gibran

Musiske mennesker rir på blå hester!

Vær barmhjertig, Herre.
Vis en særskilt omsorg
for de mennesker som er så logiske,
praktiske,
realistiske
at de forarges
når noen kan tro
at det finnes en liten blå hest ... (Dom Helder Camara)

Det finnes mennesker som aldri kommer til Fantasia ... og det finnes mennesker som kan komme dit, men som blir der for alltid. Men det er også noen som reiser til Fantasia og vender tilbake igjen. Og det er disse som gjør begge verdener friske (Michael Ende).

Jeg tror at det finnes en liten blå hest! Gjør du???

What is reverence for life?

"Slowly we crept upstream, laboriously feeling - it was the dry season - for the channels between the sandbanks. Lost in thought I sat on the deck of the barge, struggling to find the elementary and universal conception of the ethical which I had not discovered in any philosophy. Sheet after sheet I covered with disconnected sentences, merely to keep myself concentrated on the problem. Late on the third day, at the very moment when, at sunset, we were making our way through a herd of hippopotamuses, there flashed upon my mind, unforeseen and unsought, the phrase, "Reverence for Life." The iron door had yielded: the path in the thicket had become visible". Albert Schweitzer

WHAT IS REVERENCE FOR LIFE?

Reverence for Life is a philosophy that says that the only thing we're really sure of is that we live, and want to go on living. And this is something that we share with everything else that lives – from elephants to blades of grass. So we are brothers and sisters to all living things, and nothing else, neither race nor colour nor religion nor sex, should be more important than this one deepest, most extraordinary thing connecting us.

The whole world, indeed the whole universe, has evolved to give us life - you and me and the rest of the living world. But only humans are aware of all this. This is some responsibility. Because we also have the ability to neglect, to destroy, to cause suffering and death. And indeed some suffering and death is inevitable. Even vegetarians can only survive by eating some living thing.

Reverence for Life is not some cranky and impossible commandment. It just says we must be aware of what we're doing. We must take responsibility for what we do when we harvest a crop of grain, when we eat the bread that's made from it, when we grill a steak, when we kill a dangerous insect.

The key is awareness. Which makes us more alive.

For life is extraordinary. Every scientific advance tells us this. We now know the billion to one chances ever since the Big Bang that have enabled life to develop and then to survive on this planet, and the extreme rarity of it in the universe. More than ever, we have good reason to feel reverence for it.

Kilde: MARSH MySpace Blog

Vakker poemvideo fra Iran

Vakker film som viser landskap og historisk arkitektur i Iran. Musikk: Dariush Eghbali med tittel "Rumi". Resitasjon: Molana. Poesi: Rumi. Filmen ble laget 2007 i anledning Rumis 800 års fødselsdag.God reise!

I died from minerality and became plant;
And from plant I died and became animal.
I died from animality and became man.
Then why fear disappearance through death?
Next time I shall die
Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;
After that, soaring higher than angels -
what you cannot imagine,
I shall be that.

- Rumi -

Besøk gjerne "Seasons of Peace" - a space out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing

Anbefaler hjemmesiden til "Seasons of Peace" hvor du finner, blant mye annet, flere dikt av Rumi. www.seasons-of-peace.net De skriver: Thank you for visiting a space - out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing - dedicated to: Weaving the foundations of a Culture of Peace through the establishment of global networks of Cooperation Circles dedicated to the observaton and celebration of Seasons of Peace:

Healing and restoring the Earth and our selves through open source, inclusive faith- and knowledge-based appreciation of annual seasons of peace, light, reconciliation, renewal and love;

Religious and spiritual teachings, prayers, poetry, songs and practices that express peace and love from all traditions, and the acknowledgment that all of Creation is sacred - La ilaha Ilallah - that there is nothing that is not of God, the Divine, the Great Spirit, the Tao - that there is one Light in all of creation - real, virtual and imaginary;

Respect and appreciation for the Earth as a whole - and for the entire community of life on the Earth - and deepening our connection to and understanding of the cycles, rhythms and phases of the Earth, with particular attention to the life-giving cycles of water;

Commitment to peace & reconciliation, and to nonviolent, loving resolution of conflict - to first do no harm; and to the restoration of the Earth as a peaceful, safe, happy and healthy home for our children, and for our children's children - through the seventh generation and beyond.

The preamble, purpose and principles of the United Religions Initiative (URI) and the adoption of Cooperation Circles as a vehicle for participation in Seasons of Peace.

Kilde:


Seasons of Peace
Cooperation Circles
Email: seasons-of-peace@earthlink.net

Only Breath fra 1300 årh. av Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Diktet "Only Breath" er skrevet i det 1300 årh. av Sulfimystikeren og poeten Jalal ad-Din Rumi, og er oversatt og resiteres av Coleman Barks. Filmen er hentet fra "Seasons of Peace".



Only Breath


Not
Christian
or
Jew
or
Muslim

not
Hindu
Buddhist
Sufi
or
Zen
.

Not
any
religion
or
cultural
system
.

I
am
not

from
the
East
or
the
West

not
out
of
the
ocean

or
up
from
the
ground

not
natural
or
ethereal

not
composed
of
elements
at
all
.

I
do
not
exist

am
not
an
entity

in
this
world

or
in
the
next

did
not
descend

from
Adam
and
Eve

or
any
origin
story
.

My
place
is
placeless

a
trace
of
the
traceless
.


Neither
body
or
soul
.


I
belong
to
the
beloved

have
seen
the
two
worlds

as
one

and
that
one

call
to
and
know

first
last
outer
inner

only
that
breath

breathing
human
being

Norsk samling av ordtak

Etter tips fra blogger, kan jeg meddele at Norge er på høyde med söta bror når det gjelder ordtaksamling. Visste jeg det ikke ...

www.ordtak.no/index.php er en side som inneholder over 10.000 sitater og ordspråk med henvisninger til blant annet kilder og informasjon om forfattere. Les og bli vis!

PRIKKEN over LIVET - Sveriges største samling av ordtak (111068 stykker)!

www.livet.se/ordtak er en side for alle som elsker kloke ord, raske replikker og underlige ordspråk, og ble opprettet 1990. Foruten sitater, finner du forfattere, bilder, årstall og mye mer...

Herved er du invitert til å velte deg i sitater, aforismer og visdomsord. Hva med dette for eksempel?

"Det finnes et slektskap og et indre forhold mellom sjelen og toner og rytmer"
(Aristoteles 384-322 f.Kr.)

Gabrielle i korfilmen "Så som i himmelen"

Det är nu som livet är mitt
Jag har fått en stund här på jorden
Och min längtan har fört mig hit
Det jag saknat och det jag fått

Det är ändå vägen jag valt
Min förtröstan långt bort om orden
Som har visat en liten bit
Av den himmel jag aldrig nått
Jag vill känna att jag lever
All den tid jag har ska jag leva som jag vill
Jag vill känna att jag lever
Veta att jag räcker till
(Oh, oh, oh...)

Jag har aldrig glömt vem jag var
Jag har bara låtit det sova
Kanske hade jag inget val
Bara viljan att finnas kvar

Jag vill leva lycklig
För att jag är jag
Kunna vara stark och fri
Se hur natten går mot dag

Jag är här
Och mitt liv är bara mitt
Och den himmel jag trodde fanns
Ska jag hitta där nånstans

Jag vill känna att jag levt mitt liv

En varm, ærlig og vakker film der medmenneskelig fellesskap og nestekjærlighet vinner over bygdas maktmisbruk og trangsynthet. Filmen treffer - og blir der!

You got a friend? ...

I følge Rolf Wesenlund, reagerer han på folks behov av å skryte av at de har sååå mange venner. ”Det er praktisk talt ikke mulig!” sier han. Sjøl kan han vise til to eller tre stykker, som i følge hans forståelse av vennskap, er nære og gode venner. Og det rekker … Hvor mange virkelige venner har du? Kanskje følgende sitater kan hjelpe deg på vei med svaret?

A friend is someone we turn to
When our spirits need a lift.
A friend is someone we treasure
For our friendship is a gift.
A friend is someone who fills our lives
With beauty, joy and grace.
And makes the world we live in
A better and happier place.

Friendships come from the heart ...
Someone who accepts you for being the person you are...
The person who is always there when ever you need them most...
The person who gives you the strength when you feel that your strength has gone...
A friend is someone who loves you just because you are you!

If you are alone I'll be your shadow
If you want to cry I'll be your shoulder
If you need to be happy I'll be your smile

But anytime you need a friend - I'll just be me!


Til hvem kunne du sendt et kort med følgende påskrift?

• Friends are the most important ingredients in the recipe of life
• A friend is someone who think you're a good egg even though you're slightly cracked
• With friendship this rose is sent your way. Hoping you have a wonderful day!
• A real friend is hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget
• A bouquet of blossom to say... I care' bout You a lot!
• Thinking of you. Friends are the flowers in the garden of life!!!
• Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things. Thanks for your loving, caring, sharing ways and giving me the wonderful gift of yourself!
• Friendship is a light in the darkness
• You are a blessing from heaven
• You always be - right here in my heart!
• For a special friend... You!
• A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart
• A friend is a gift whose worth cannot be measured - exept by the heart
• Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life
• I didn't find my friends. God gave them to me
• Friendship is continuous
• Friends make the world go round!
• Thinking of you... and all of the reasons I have to call you friend
• I love my computer because my friends live in it
• ... all you need is love
• Thanks for being my true friend! It's a blessing to have you in my life
• Thinking of you...
• And Father - please bless my friends because I love them very much

Du skal ikke svare meg. Bevar heller hemmeligheten i ditt hjerte og send en varm tanke til din venn...

Why are you running my friend?

Det var høst en gang på nittitallet, og et nytt studiesemester stod for døren. Glade, spente fjes overalt og gode klemmer! "Takk for sist!... Så hyggelig å se deg... Gikk det bra til eksamen?!..." Hallen var fyllt til randen av utålmodige, rastløse sjeler som så fram til å komme i gang med studiene - ja, det nærmest kokte! Så ble det stille. Veldig stille.....

"Kjære studenter, velkommen til nytt semester... Først vil jeg dele med dere en opplevelse jeg hadde i sommer, da jeg besøkte de greske øyer. En varm morgen, rett etter frokost, booker jeg ut av et lite og gammelt hotell - klar til å reise videre. Etter et par minutter, da jeg ankommer kaiområdet, oppdager jeg at noe av bagasjen mangler. I all hast snur jeg på hæla og stormer tilbake til hotellet. I resepsjonen møter jeg en hyggelig mann som bekrefter mine antagelser. Det var funnet gjenglemt bagasje på hotellrommet. Jeg mottar bagasjen, takker vennligst for hjelpen, og haster ut av hotellområdet. På min vei tilbake til hotellet, hadde jeg registrert en gammel greker som hadde søkt tilflukt i skyggen av et stort tre. Han satt fremdeles sammenkrøket under treet da jeg passerer han for andre gang. Vi nikker kort til hverandre før jeg løper videre. Da er det jeg hører en stemme som roper bak meg: "Why are you running my friend? Jeg stopper opp - blir stående som forsteinet. Ja, hvorfor har jeg det så travelt? Jeg er på ferie, har nok av tid, ingenting haster, men likevel løper jeg?! Hvorfor??"

Denne enkle historien er blitt min følgesvenn videre i livet. Historien traff meg da, og den treffer meg i dag! Opplever jeg situasjoner der jeg skulle ønske jeg var en blekksprut med mange armer, stopper jeg opp og sier til meg selv: "Why are you running my friend?" Og hvorfor er du redd for at tida skal løpe fra deg? Som indianerne pleier å si: "Tida går ikke - den kommer!" Så kan jeg hvile i roen og hilse tida velkommen... mens jeg går mine trøstige skritt inn i en ukjent framtid.

Stop running - enjoy life! Why are YOU running my friend?

Kjærlighetens mysterium

Jeg har et tantebarn som gifter seg denne helga. En vakker, ung og livsglad kvinne som har tro på kjærligheten mellom mann og kvinne. Må det gå dem vel – at deres illusjoner oppfylles og ikke knuses.
For den reisen de unge nå skal legge ut på, krever kondisjon – veldig god kondisjon! Her skal bestiges høye topper og dype daler, mørke skoger og langstrakte sletter. Ikke alltid vil det lønne seg å følge den strakeste veien. Å ta av fra hovedveien, kan vise seg å bli den lykkeligste dagen i ens liv.
Fra barnsben av lærer vi hvor viktig det er å ta regi over våre liv – opprettholde kontroll og uforutsigbarhet som visstnok skal være synonymt med trygghet. Kjærligheten derimot, har andre fordringer. En av dem er frihet! Så er mitt sterkeste ønske at de unge evner å hegne om hverandre behov og ulikheter. Det er så fort gjort å omforme sin kjære til å bli en kopi av sitt eget speilbilde. Men tenk hvor kjedelig verden hadde sett ut hvis alle mennesker framstod som like? Og er det ikke nettopp forskjelligheten som fasinerer og tiltrekker oss når vi rammes av amors piler? Til lykke med dagen kjære venn. Måtte frihetens kjærlighet få gode vekstvilkår i samlivet ditt.

”Vår kjærlighet er som duskregnet
som faller stille –
men får elvene til å flomme over”

(Afrikansk ordspråk)

Livsinstruksjoner fra India

1.
Gi mennesker mer enn hva de forventer seg, og gjør det for at du liker det...
2.
Tro ikke på alt du hører, spander ikke alt du får, og sov ikke så mye som du skulle ønske...
3.
Når du sier: ' Jeg elsker deg', si det med mening...
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Når du sier: 'Jeg er lei meg', se personen i øynene...
5.
Tro på kjærligheten ved første øyenkast...
6.
Elsk dypt og pasjonert.
Du kan bli såret, men det er den eneste måten å leve livet komplett...
7.
Forulemp ikke!
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Snakk sakte, men tenk fort...
9.
Om noen stiller et spørsmål som du ikke vil svare på - le og spør heller:
'Hvorfor vil du vite det?
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Si prosit når du hører noen nyse...
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La ikke en liten misforståelse ødelegge et godt vennskap...
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Når du oppdager at du gjort en feil, rett det opp med en gang...
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Le når du svarer i telefonen. Den som ringer hører at du ler :o)
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Spander litt tid alene...
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Åpne ditt fang for forandringer, men gi ikke slipp på dine verdier...
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Husk at stillhet er det beste svaret enkelte ganger...
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Lev et bra og verdigfullt liv...
18.
Når du blir gammel og minnes det som har vært, kan du nyte av det for andre gang...
19.
Tro på mennesker, men lås alltid bilen din...
20.
Del med deg av alt du vet... Det er en måte å oppnå udødelighet...
21.
Avbryt aldri noen som begynner å vise deg sin fortrolighet...
22.
En gang om året - dra til en plass du aldri har vært.......
23.
Om du tjener mye penger, invester dem for å hjelpe andre mens de fortsatt lever.....
24.
Lær deg alle reglene, og bryt noen...
25.
Nærme deg kjøkkenet og kjærligheten med djervhet...