Everywhere in life, the true question is not what we gain, but what we do.
The Crimson Candle*
A man lying at the point of death called his wife to his bedside and said:
“I am about to leave you forever; give me, therefore, one last proof of your affection and fidelity, for, according to our holy religion, a married man seeking admittance at the gate of Heaven is required to swear that he has never defiled himself with an unworthy woman. In my desk you will find a crimson candle, which has been blessed by the High Priest and has a peculiar mystical significance. Swear to me that while it is in existence you will not remarry.”
The Woman swore and the Man died. At the funeral the Woman stood at the head of the bier, holding a lighted crimson candle till it was wasted entirely away.
*Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce. Transcribed from the 1899 G. P. Putnam’s Sons edition by David Pric
The Truth
The Truth — is stirless –
Other force — may be presumed to move –
This — then — is best for confidence –
When oldest Cedars swerve –And Oaks untwist their fists –
And Mountains — feeble — lean –
How excellent a Body, that
Stands without a Bone –How vigorous a Force
That holds without a Prop –
Truth stays Herself — and every man
That trusts Her — boldly up –
Will
You will be what you will to be; Let failure find its false content
In that poor word “environment,” But spirit scorns it, and is free.
It masters time, it conquers space,
It cowes that boastful trickster Chance,
And bids the tyrant Circumstance Uncrown and fill a servant’s place.
The human Will, that force unseen, The offspring of a deathless Soul,
Can hew the way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene.
Be not impatient in delay,
But wait as one who understands;
When spirit rises and commands The gods are ready to obey.
The river seeking for the sea Confronts the dam and precipice,
Yet knows it cannot fail or miss;
You will be what you will to be!
Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” ~ Dorothy Day
A blind man finding himself stopped in a rough and difficult road, met with a paralytic and begged his assistance. “How can I help you,” replied the paralytic, “when I can scarcely move myself along?” But, regarding the blind man, he added: “However, you appear to have good legs and a broad back, and, if you will lift me and carry me, I will guide you safely through this difficulty, which is more than each one can surmount for himself. You shall walk for me, and I will see for you.” “With all my heart,” rejoined the blind man; and, taking the paralytic on his shoulders, the two went cheerfully forward in a wise partnership which triumphed over all difficulties.
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
Charles Darwin
