Happiness - working

1. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.   Addison, Joseph
2. True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions. Addison, Joseph
3. Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Addison, Joseph
4. Happiness is a positive cash flow. Adler, Fred
5. Call no man happy till he is dead. Aeschylus
6. Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged.  Alcott, Louisa May
7. It isn't necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It's only necessary to be rich.  Alda, Alan
8. To live we must conquer incessantly, we must have the courage to be happy. Amiel, Henri Frederic
9. Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention. Anderson, Greg
10. No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.  Angelis, Barbara De
11. Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. Apollinaire, Guillaume
12. If happiness is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence.  Aristotle
13. Happiness is activity. Aristotle
14. Happiness depends upon ourselves.  Aristotle
15. Happiness is a sort of action. Aristotle
16. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Aurelius, Marcus
17. Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. Aurelius, Marcus
18. The really happy man never laughs -- seldom -- though he may smile. He does not need to laugh, for laughter, like weeping is a relief of mental tension -- and the happy are not over strung. Aveling, Prof. F. A. P.
19. Happiness is a small and unworthy goal for something as big and fancy as a whole lifetime, and should be taken in small doses. Baker, Russell (Wayne)
20. Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. Ballou, Hosea
21. The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does. Barrie, Sir James M.
22. Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. Barthel, Mildred
23. We find greatest joy, not in getting, but in expressing what we are. Men do not really live for honors or for pay; their gladness is not the taking and holding, but in doing, the striving, the building, the living. It is a higher joy to teach than to be taught. It is good to get justice, but better to do it; fun to have things but more to make them. The happy man is he who lives the life of love, not for the honors it may bring, but for the life itself. Baughan, R.J.
24. Happiness includes chiefly the idea of satisfaction after full honest effort. No one can possibly be satisfied and no one can be happy who feels that in some paramount affairs he failed to take up the challenge of life. Bennett, Arnold
25. Happiness is like a cat, If you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come. But if you pay not attention to it and go about your business, you'll find it rubbing against your legs and jumping into your lap. Bennett, William John
26. When one is happy there is no time to be fatigued; being happy engrosses the whole attention. Benson, Edward Frederic
27. The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong. Bentham, Jeremy
28. Happiness is good health and a bad memory. Bergman, Ingrid
29. There is no greater joy than that of feeling oneself a creator. The triumph of life is expressed by creation. Bergson, Henri L.
30. Happiness is an agreeable sensation, arising from contemplating the misery of others. Bierce, Ambrose
31. A good way I know to find happiness, is to not bore a hole to fit the plug. Billings, Josh
32. If you ever find happiness by hunting for it, you will find it as the old woman did her lost spectacles. Safe on her own nose all the time.  Billings, Josh
33. The world's literature and folklore are full of stories that point out how futile it can be to seek happiness. Rather, happiness is a blessing that comes to you as you go along; a treasure that you incidentally find. Binstock, Louis
34. It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self. Black, Hugo
35. The truth is that all of us attain the greatest success and happiness possible in this life whenever we use our native capacities to their greatest extent. Blanton, Smiley
36. Not only is there a right to be happy, there is a duty to be happy. So much sadness exists in the world that we are all under obligation to contribute as much joy as lies within our powers. Bonnell, John S.
37. All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife. Boone, Daniel
38. We all want to be happy, and we're all going to die. You might say those are the only two unchallengeably true facts that apply to every human being on this planet. Boyd, William
39. Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living! Bradley, Amanda
40. The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, Let no one be called happy till his death; to which I would add, Let no one, till his death be called unhappy. Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
41. Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again -- this is the brave and happy life. Buckrose, J.E
42. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha
43. Happiness and virtue rest upon each other; the best are not only the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best. Bulwer-Lytton, Edward G.
44. What ever our wandering our happiness will always be found within a narrow compass, and in the middle of the objects more immediately within our reach. Bulwer-Lytton, Edward G.
45. The secret of happiness is something to do. Burroughs, John
46. To have joy one must share it. Happiness was born a twin. Lord Byron
47. When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him; and you are torn by the thought of the unhappiness and night you cast, by the mere fact of living, in the hearts you encounter. Camus, Albert
48. To be happy we must not be too concerned with others. Camus, Albert
49. But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a person and life they lead. Camus, Albert
50. The only happiness a brave person ever troubles themselves in asking about, is happiness enough to get their work done. Carlyle, Thomas
51. But the whim we have of happiness is somewhat thus. By certain valuations, and averages, of our own striking, we come upon some sort of average terrestrial lot; this we fancy belongs to us by nature, and of indefeasible rights. It is simple payment of our wages, of our deserts; requires neither thanks nor complaint. Foolish soul! What act of legislature was there that thou shoulds't be happy? A little while ago thou hads't no right to be at all. Carlyle, Thomas
52. Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think. Carnegie, Dale
53. Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses. Carnegie, Dale
54. Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don't put off being happy until some future date. Carnegie, Dale
55. In order to have great happiness, you have to have great pain and unhappiness-otherwise how would you know when you're happy? Caron, Leslie
56. That is happiness: to be dissolved into something complete and great. Cather, Willa
57. It seldom happens that any felicity comes so pure as not to be tempered and allayed by some mixture of sorrow.
58. Cervantes, Miguel De
59. They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world. Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
60. Chalmers, Allan K.
61. Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.
62. Chambers, Oswald
63. The creed of a true saint is to make the best of life, and to make the most of it.
64. Chapin, Edwin Hubbel
65. Happiness is a mystery, like religion, and should never be rationalized.
66. Chesterton, Gilbert K.
67. Happiness is a continuation of happenings which are not resisted.
68. Chopra, Deepak
69. Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.
70. Chuang Tzu
71. We think a happy life consists in tranquility of mind.
72. Cicero, Marcus T.
73. Happiness is a hard thing because it is achieved only by making others happy.
74. Cloete, Stuart
75. The greatest joy of life is to love and be loved.
76. Clyde, R.D.
77. Happiness, or misery, is in the mind. It is the mind that lives.
78. Cobbett, William
79. Be happy or die.
80. Cohen, Rob
81. There is this difference between happiness and wisdom, that he that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he who thinks himself the wisest, is generally the greatest fool.
82. Colton, Charles Caleb
83. Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meandering, but leads none of us by the same route
84. Colton, Charles Caleb
85. We take greater pains to persuade others we are happy than in trying to think so ourselves.
86. Confucius
87. Happiness seems made to be shared.
88. Corneille, Pierre
89. Happiness lies first of all in health.
90. Curtis, George William
91. Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
92. Dalai Lama
93. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
94. Dalai Lama
95. Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
96. Davies, Robertson
97. Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.
98. Democritus
99. Such happiness as life is capable of comes from the full participation of all our powers in the endeavor to wrest from each changing situations of experience its own full and unique meaning.
100. Dewey, John
101. Gaiety --a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.
102. Diderot, Denis
103. The happiness of most people we know is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.
104. Dimnet, Ernest
105. The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness.
106. Dostoevski, Fyodor
107. Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it.
108. Dostoevski, Fyodor
109. Shall I give you my recipe for happiness? I find everything useful and nothing indispensable. I find everything wonderful and nothing miraculous. I reverence the body. I avoid first causes like the plague.
110. Douglas, Norman
111. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
112. Downs, Hugh
113. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.
114. Dumas, Alexandre
115. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
116. Dyer, Wayne
117. There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.
118. Dyer, Wayne
119. Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered in grains, and enjoyed every day. It will not keep; it cannot be accumulated; nor have we got to go out of ourselves or into remote places to gather it, since it has rained down from a Heaven, at our very door
120. 
     
121. Edwards, Tryon
122. To fill the hour -- that is happiness.
123. Emerson, Ralph Waldo
124. I look on that man as happy, who, when there is question of success, looks into his work for a reply.
125. Emerson, Ralph Waldo
126. Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself.
127. Emerson, Ralph Waldo
128. There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
129. Epictetus
130. Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the world.
131. Epictetus
132. If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.
133. Epicurus
134. It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.
135. Epicurus
136. It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.
137. Erasmus, Desiderius
138. Farms and in castles, in homes, studies, and cloisters -- where sensible people manage to live relatively lusty and decent lives, as moral as they must be, as free as they may be, and as masterly as they can be. If we only knew it, this elusive arrangement is happiness.
139. Erikson, Erik H.
140. Enjoy your happiness while you have it, and while, you have it do not too closely scrutinize its foundation.
141. Farrall, Joseph
142. Some of us might find happiness if we quit struggling so desperately for it.
143. Feather, William
144. One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.
145. Feather, William
146. If we cannot live so as to be happy, let us so live as to deserve happiness.
147. Fichte, Johann G.
148. To be happy is not the purpose of our being rather it is to deserve happiness.
149. Fichte, Johann G.
150. Scarcely one person in a thousand is capable of tasting the happiness of others.
151. Fielding, Henry
152. A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.
153. Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier
154. When what we are is what we want to be, that's happiness.
155. Forbes, Malcolm S.
156. Happy were men if they but understood There is no safety but in doing good
157. Fountain., John
158. Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
159. Frank, Anne
160. There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means -- either may do -- the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier.
161. Franklin, Benjamin
162. Happiness consists more in small conveniences of pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.
163. Franklin, Benjamin
164. One feels inclined to say that the intention that man should be happy is not included in the plan of Creation.
165. Freud, Sigmund
166. Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.
167. Frost, Robert
168. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
169. Gandhi, Mahatma
170. True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents.
171. Gardner, John W.
172. The hardest habit of all to break is the terrible habit of happiness.
173. Garrison, Theodosia
174. Do you want my one-word secret of happiness -- It's growth -- mental, financial, you name it.
175. Geneen, Harold S.
176. There's a hope for every woe, and a balm for every pain, but the first joys of our heart come never back again!
177. Gilfillan, Robert
178. Happiness... is not a destination: it is a manner of traveling. Happiness is not an end in itself. It is a by-product of working, playing, loving and living.
179. Ginott, Haim
180. The most happy man is he who knows how to bring into relation the end and beginning of his life.
181. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
182. The man who is born with a talent which he was meant to use finds his greatest happiness in using it.
183. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
184. What makes people happy is activity; changing evil itself into good by power, working in a God like manner.
185. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
186. The highest happiness of man is to have probed what is knowable and quietly to revere what is unknowable.
187. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
188. A person is never happy till their vague strivings has itself marked out its proper limitations.
189. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
190. Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops.
191. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von
192. If frugality were established in the state, and if our expenses were laid out to meet needs rather than superfluities of life, there might be fewer wants, and even fewer pleasures, but infinitely more happiness.
193. Goldsmith, Oliver
194. Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
195. Goodman, Roy
196. Happiness... she loves, to see men at work. She loves sweat, weariness, self sacrifice. She will be found not in places but lurking in cornfields and factories; and hovering over littered desks; she crowns the unconscious head of the busy child.
197. Grayson, David
198. Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil --or else an absolute ignorance.
199. Greene, Graham
200. Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower-Author Unknown People need your love the most when they appear to deserve it the least.
201. Harrigan, John
202. Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained.
203. Hawthorne, Nathaniel
204. Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
205. Hawthorne, Nathaniel
206. Look up, laugh loud, talk big, keep the color in your cheek and the fire in your eye, adorn your person, maintain your health, your beauty and your animal spirits.
207. Hazlitt, William
208. If you were happy every day of your life you wouldn't be a human being, you'd be a game show host.
209. Heatter, Gabriel
210. Happiness lies in being privileged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing. One man may find happiness in supporting a wife and children. Another may find it in robbing banks. Still another may labor mightily for years in pursuing pure research with no discernible result. Note the individual and subjective nature of each case. No two are alike and there is no reason to expect them to be. Each man or woman must find for himself or herself that occupation in which hard work and long hours make him or her happy. Contrariwise, if you are looking for shorter hours and longer vacations and early retirement, you are in the wrong job. Perhaps you need to take up bank robbing. Or geeking in a sideshow. Or even politics.
211. Heinlein, Robert
212. Happiness is a how, not a what: a talent, not an object
213. Hesse, Hermann
214. The loss of wealth is loss of dirt, as sages in all times assert; The happy man's without a shirt.
215. Heywood, John
216. Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.
217. Hills, Burton
218. The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.
219. Hoffer, Eric
220. Happiness requires problems
221. Hollingworth, H. L.
222. When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things -- not the great occasions -- that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.
223. Hope, Bob
224. You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all.
225. Horace
226. To buy happiness is to sell soul.
227. Horton, Doug
228. It's not a question of happiness, it's a requirement. Consider the alternative.
229. Horton, Doug
230. Happiness in the present is only shattered by comparison with the past.
231. Horton, Doug
232. You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.
233. Howard, Vernon
234. The mintage of wisdom is to know that rest is rust, and that real life is love, laughter, and work.
235. Hubbard, Elbert
236. It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.
237. Hubbard, Kin
238. Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.
239. Hugo, Victor
240. I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves.
241. Humboldt, Karl Wilhelm Von
242. The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness. For this were arts invented, sciences cultivated, laws ordained, and societies modeled, by the most profound wisdom of patriots and legislators. Even the lonely savage, who lies exposed to the inclemency of the elements and the fury of wild beasts, forgets not, for a moment, this grand object of his being.
243. Hume, David
244. Human happiness seems to consist in three ingredients; action, pleasure and indolence. And though these ingredients ought to be mixed in different proportions, according to the disposition of the person, yet no one ingredient can be entirely wanting without destroying in some measure the relish of the whole composition. composition.
245. Hume, David
246. I can sympathize with people's pains, but not with their pleasures. There is something curiously boring about somebody else's happiness.
247. Huxley, Aldous
248. Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.
249. Ingersoll, Robert Green
250. Happiness is not a reward -- it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment -- it is a result.
251. Ingersoll, Robert Green
252. Those who seek happiness miss it, and those who discuss it, lack it.
253. Jackson, Holbrook
254. Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed. which give happiness. Thomas Jefferson We never enjoy perfect happiness; our most fortunate successes are mingled with sadness; some anxieties always perplex the reality of our satisfaction.
255. James, William
256. The really happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour.
257. Jeans, Sir James
258. Happiness is not being pained in body or troubled in mind.
259. Jefferson, Thomas
260. Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.
261. Jefferson, Thomas
262. A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.
263. Jefferson, Thomas
264. Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in stranger's gardens.
265. Jerrold, Douglas William
266. Sir, that all who are happy, are equally happy, is not true. A peasant and a philosopher may be equally satisfied, but not equally happy. Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness.
267. Johnson, Samuel
268. To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity.
269. Johnson, Samuel
270. We are long before we are convinced that happiness is never to be found; and each believes it possessed by others, to keep alive the hope of obtaining it for himself.
271. Johnson, Samuel
272. Happiness is not a state to arrive at, rather, a manner of traveling.
273. Johnson, Samuel
274. For who is pleased with himself.
275. Johnson, Samuel
276. If you can't be happy where you are, it's a cinch you can't be happy where you ain't.
277. Jones, Charles ''Tremendous''
278. True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.
279. Jonson, Ben
280. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.
281. Jung, Carl
282. In theory there is a possibility of perfect happiness: To believe in the indestructible element within one, and not to strive towards it.
283. Kafka, Franz
284. It is not God's will merely that we should be happy, but that we should make ourselves happy
285. Kant, Immanuel
286. Many people have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
287. Keller, Helen
288. True happiness is the full use of your powers along lines of excellence in a life affording scope.
289. Kennedy, John F.
290. My happiness derives from knowing the people I love are happy.
291. Ketchel, Holly
292. Happiness is experienced when your life gives you what you are willing to accept.
293. Keyes Jr., Ken
294. The secret of happiness and prosperity in this world, as in the world to come, lies in thinking of the welfare of others first, and not taking one's self too seriously.
295. Kindleberger, J.
296. I'm fulfilled in what I do... I never thought that a lot of money or fine clothes -- the finer things of life -- would make you happy. My concept of happiness is to be filled in a spiritual sense.
297. King, Coretta Scott
298. We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
299. Kingsley, Charles
300. We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
301. Koenig, Frederick
302. Happiness is the longing for repetition.
303. Kundera, Milan
304. We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves.
305. La Rochefoucauld, Francois De
306. We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine.
307. La Rochefoucauld, Francois De
308. No thoroughly occupied man was ever yet very miserable.
309. Landon, Letitia Elizabeth
310. We cannot be contented because we are happy, and we cannot be happy because we are contented.
311. Landor, Walter Savage
312. We are no longer happy as soon as we wish to be happier.
313. Landor, Walter Savage
314. Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open.
315. Lane, Rose Wilder
316. Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of unhappiness.
317. Lao-Tzu
318. I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude.
319. Lee, Bruce
320. Many search for happiness as we look for a hat we wear on our heads.
321. Lenus, Nikolaus
322. It is not the place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or miserable.
323. L'Estrange, Sir Roger
324. Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.
325. Levant, Oscar
326. Happiness is a by-product. You cannot pursue it by itself.
327. Levenson, Samuel
328. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
329. Lewis, C. S.
330. A person will be just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
331. Lincoln, Abraham
332. Happiness is a thing to be practiced, like the violin.
333. Lubbock, Sir John
334. Suspicion of happiness is in our blood.
335. Lucas, E. V.
336. The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.
337. Lucian
338. Happiness is not so much in having or sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
339. Macewan, Norman
340. Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness.
341. Maeterlinck, Maurice
342. Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.
343. Mandino, Og
344. Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe.
345. Marden, Orison Swett
346. The glow of satisfaction which follows the consciousness of doing our level best never comes to a human being from any other experience.
347. Marden, Orison Swett
348. Happiness is the interval between periods of unhappiness.
349. Marquis, Don
350. Happiness consists in activity -- it is a running stream, not a stagnant pool.
351. Mason, John L.
352. Happiness is not a possession to be prized. It is a quality of thought, a state of mind.
353. Maurier, Daphne Du
354. Happiness is the light on the water. The water is cold and dark and deep.
355. Maxwell, William
356. Success is getting and achieving what you want. Happiness is wanting and being content with what you get.
357. Meltzer, Bernard
358. Be it jewel or toy, not the prize gives the joy, but the striving to win the prize.
359. Meredith, Owen
360. Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.
361. Meynell, Alice
362. I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.
363. Mill, John Stuart
364. Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.
365. Mill, John Stuart
366. Act happy, feel happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.
367. Millman, Dan
368. The smallest annoyances, disturb us the most.
369. Montaigne, Michel Eyquem De
370. If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier that other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.
371. Montesquieu, Charles De
372. False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness is always shared.
373. Montesquieu, Charles De
374. We wish to be happier than other people; and this is difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.
375. Montesquieu, Charles De
376. There is something ridiculous and even quite indecent in an individual claiming to be happy. Still more a people or a nation making such a claim. The pursuit of happiness... is without any question the most fatuous which could possibly be undertaken. This lamentable phrase the pursuit of happiness is responsible for a good part of the ills and miseries of the modern world.
377. Muggeridge, Malcolm
378. I can say that I never knew what joy was like until I gave up pursuing happiness, or cared to live until I chose to die. For these two discoveries I am beholden to Jesus.
379. Muggeridge, Malcolm
380. No burden is so heavy for a man to bear as a succession of happy days.
381. Muller, Max
382. He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed.
383. Munro, Hector Hugh
384. Happiness is a matter of one's most ordinary everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self. To be damned is for one's ordinary everyday mode of consciousness to be unremitting agonizing preoccupation with self.
385. Murdoch, Iris
386. Most of us experience happiness when we are enjoying life and feeling free, enjoying the process and products of our creative and intellectual processes, enjoying the ecstasy of transcendent oneness with the universe.
387. Muriel, James
388. What a man really wants is creative challenge with sufficient skills to bring him within the reach of success so that he may have the expanding joy of achievement. Nash, Fay B.
389. The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control. Nash, Ogden
390. Happiness adds and multiplies, as we divide it with others. Nielsen, A.
391. What happiness is there which is not purchased with more or less of pain? Oliphant, Margaret
392. Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye. O'Malley, Austin
393. The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; The wise grows it under his feet. Oppenheimer, Julius Robert
394. Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness Orwell, George
395. Happiness is a by product of an effort to make someone else happy. Palmer, Gretta Brooker
396. Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast. Peale, Norman Vincent
397. As happy a man as any in the world, for the whole world seems to smile upon me! Pepys, Samuel
398. Happiness doesn't come from doing what we like to do but from liking what we have to do. Peterson, Wilferd A.
399. Happiness must be cultivated. It is like character. It is not a thing to be safely let alone for a moment, or it will run to weeds. Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart
400. The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others. Phelps, William Lyon
401. The happier the moment the shorter. Pliny The Elder
402. Do not speak of your happiness to one less fortunate than yourself. Plutarch
403. Happy the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound, content to breathe his native air in his own ground. Pope, Alexander
404. Know then this truth, enough for man to know virtue alone is happiness below. Pope, Alexander
405. Happiness is a sunbeam which may pass through a thousand bosoms without losing a particle of its original ray; nay, when it strikes on a kindred heart, like the converged light on a mirror, it reflects itself with redoubled brightness. It is not perfected till it is shared. Porter, Jane
406. Our happiness in this world depends on the affections we are able to inspire. Duchess Prazlin
407. Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it. Prevert, Jacques
408. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Proust, Marcel
409. Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible. Proust, Marcel
410. Where one is wise two are happy. Proverb
411. If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap. If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing. If you want happiness for a month -- get married. If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else. Chinese Proverb
412. Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while adversity is often as the rain of spring. Chinese Proverb
413. If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree. English Proverb
414. While we pursue happiness, we flee from contentment. Hasidic Proverb
415. He is rich who owes nothing. Hungarian Proverb
416. Happiness is not a horse, you cannot harness it. Russian Proverb
417. Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead. Scottish Proverb
418. There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness. Spanish Proverb
419. If you cannot renounce the world the genius of happiness will never salute you. Prutz
420. It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. Repplier, Agnes
421. Joy descends gently upon us like the evening dew, and does not patter down like a hailstorm. Richter, Jean Paul
422. It is wrong to assume that men of immense wealth are always happy. Rockefeller, John D.
423. Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. Rohn, Jim
424. The journey to happiness involves finding the courage to go down into ourselves and take responsibility for what's there: all of it. Rohr, Richard
425. Happiness depends more on how life strikes you than on what happens. Rooney, Andy
426. Happiness is not a goal, it is a by-product. Roosevelt, Eleanor
427. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Roosevelt, Franklin D.
428. The thirst after happiness is never extinguished in the heart of man. Rousseau, Jean Jacques
429. Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. Rubin, Theodore I.
430. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition. Rubinstein, Arthur
431. To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life slowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future. Russell, Bertrand
432. Anything you're good at contributes to happiness. Russell, Bertrand
433. Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed. Russell, Bertrand
434. Happiness is not best achieved by those who seek it directly. Russell, Bertrand
435. If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years. Russell, Bertrand
436. Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact. Russell, Bertrand
437. The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; I mean that if you are happy you will be good. Russell, Bertrand
438. The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile. Russell, Bertrand
439. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.
440. Russell, Bertrand
441. Happiness lies neither in vice nor in virtue; but in the manner we appreciate the one and the other, and the choice we make pursuant to our individual organization. Sade, Marquis De
442. It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys. Saint-Exupery, Antoine De
443. True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. Saint-Exupery, Antoine De
444. Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness. Santayana, George
445. Happiness is the only sanction of life; where happiness fails, existence remains a mad and lamentable experience. Santayana, George
446. Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can. This is happiness. Sarnoff, David
447. The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness. Saroyan, William
448. Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. Schachtel, Rabbi H.
449. The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. Schopenhauer, Arthur
450. Joy comes from using your potential. Schultz, Will
451. Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to everyone about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will lead. Schwab, Charles M.
452. The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. Schweitzer, Albert
453. True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. Seneca
454. I had rather have a fool make me merry, than experience make me sad. Shakespeare, William
455. But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes. Shakespeare, William
456. Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intense quality of life. Shaw, George Bernard
457. We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it. Shaw, George Bernard
458. A lifetime of happiness? No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth. Shaw, George Bernard
459. Give a man health and a course to steer; and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not. Shaw, George Bernard
460. The soul's joy lies in doing. Shelley, Percy Bysshe
461. There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment. Sivananda, Sri Swami
462. What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? Smith, Adam
463. We are never happy; we can only remember that we were so once. Smith, Alexander
464. Happiness is a wine of the rarest vintage, and seems insipid to a vulgar taste. Smith, Logan Pearsall
465. If you pursue happiness you never find it. Snow, C(harles) P(ercy)
466. The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it. Snow, C(harles) P(ercy)
467. Happiness is unrepentant pleasure. Socrates
468. Call no man unhappy until he is married. Socrates
469. Like swimming, riding, writing, or playing golf, happiness can be learned. Sokoloff, Boris
470. Let no man be called happy before his death. Till then, he is not happy, only lucky. Solon
471. No man is happy; he is at best fortunate. Solon
472. A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him. Solzhenitsyn, Alexander
473. Happiness is never stopping to think if you are. Sondreal, Palmer
474. Objects we ardently pursue bring little happiness when gained; most of our pleasures come from unexpected sources. Spencer, Herbert
475. It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Spurgeon, Charles Haddon
476. There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Stark, Freya
477. The human spirit needs to accomplish, to achieve, to triumph to be happy. Stein, Ben
478. To describe happiness is to diminish it. Stendhal, Henri B.
479. Happiness comes when we test our skills towards some meaningful purpose. Stossel, John
480. Happiness consumes itself like a flame. It cannot burn for ever, it must go out, and the presentiment of its end destroys it at its very peak. Strindberg, J. August
481. Happiness is a journey not a destination. Sweetland, Ben
482. The best advice on the art of being happy is about as easy to follow as advice to be well when one is sick. Swetchine, Anne Sophie
483. Happiness is a perpetual possession of being well deceived. Swift, Jonathan
484. Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly often attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults. Szasz, Thomas
485. Be open to your happiness and sadness as they arise. Thomas, John M.
486. Man is the artificer of his own happiness. Thoreau, Henry David
487. We are made happy when reason can discover no occasion for it. The memory of some past moments is more persuasive than the experience of present ones. There have been visions of such breadth and brightness that these motes were invisible in their light. Thoreau, Henry David
488. The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage. Thucydides
489. Men expect that religion should cost them no pains, that happiness should drop into their laps without any design and endeavor on their part, and that, after they have done what they please while they live, God should snatch them up to heaven when they die. But though the commandments of God be not grievous, yet it is fit to let men know that they are not thus easy. Tillotson, John
490. No man should desire to be happy who is not at the same time holy. He should spend his efforts in seeking to know and do the will of God, leaving to Christ the matter of how happy he should be. Tozer, A. W.
491. Happiness was not made to be boasted, but enjoyed. Therefore tho others count me miserable, I will not believe them if I know and feel myself to be happy; nor fear them. Traherne, Thomas
492. You never enjoy the world aright, till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars. Traherne, Thomas
493. Happiness ain't a thing in itself --it's only a contrast with something that ain't pleasant. And so, as soon as the novelty is over and the force of the contrast dulled, it ain't happiness any longer, and you have to get something fresh. Mark Twain
494. There are people who can do all fine and heroic things but one: keep from telling their happiness to the unhappy. Mark Twain
495. The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion. Unknown
496. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. Unknown
497. The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a life time. Unknown
498. Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true. Unknown
499. If happiness could be brought, few of us could pay the price. Unknown
500. If you're ever given the choice between happiness and intelligence choose happiness. Unknown
501. It is kind of happiness to know to what extent we may be unhappy. Unknown
502. Next to temperance, a quiet conscience, a cheerful mind and active habits, I place early rising as a means of health and happiness. Unknown
503. The secret to happiness is not in doing what one likes to do, but in liking what one has to do. Unknown
504. The biggest lie on the planet: When I get what I want, I will be happy. Unknown
505. Not what you have, but what you see; Not what you see, but what you choose; Not what seems fair, but what is true; Not what you dream, but what you do; Not what you take, but what you give; Not as you pray, but as you live. These are the things that mar or bless The sum of human happiness. Unknown
506. Happiness is the act of being tough with ourselves and tender with others. Unknown
507. After what we can say you can be sure the happy heart will make the happy day. Unknown
508. Happiness consists of three things; Someone to love, work to do, and a clear conscience. Unknown
509. Happiness is good for the body but sorrow strengthens the spirit. Unknown
510. Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. Unknown
511. Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances. Unknown
512. Where there is joy there is creation. Where there is no joy there is no creation: know the nature of joy. Upanishads, Veda
513. That which you create in beauty and goodness and truth lives on for all time to come. Don't spend your life accumulating material objects that will only turn to dust and ashes. Waitley, Denis
514. It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit. Waitley, Denis
515. Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. Waitley, Denis
516. Happiness comes from... some curious adjustment to life. Walpole, Sir Hugh
517. Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment. Walters, J. Donald
518. Happiness is understanding that friendship is more precious than mere things, more precious than getting your own way, more precious than being in situations where true principles are not at stake. Walters, J. Donald
519. Happiness is not in having being; it is in doing. Watson, Lilian Eichler
520. If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time. Wharton, Edith
521. When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy. Wilde, Oscar
522. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Wilde, Oscar
523. If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing Double Dahlias in his garden.  Wolfe, W, Beran
524. Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing. Yeats, William Butler
525. We are happy when for everything inside us there is a corresponding something outside us. Yeats, William Butler
526. Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower, and draws all good things toward you. Allow your love to nourish yourself as well as others. Do not strain after the needs of life. It is sufficient to be quietly alert and aware of them. In this way life proceeds more naturally and effortlessly. Life is here to Enjoy! Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh
527. Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. Young, Margaret
528. Happiness is perfume, you can't pour it on somebody else without getting a few drops on yourself  Zee, James Van Der
529. Happiness is not pleasure, it is victory. Ziglar, Zig
530. People who never achieve happiness are the ones who complain whenever they're awake, and whenever they're asleep, they are thinking about what to complain about tomorrow. Zimbler, Adam

George Mueller

On his Calvinism] I had been much opposed to the doctrines of election, particular redemption, and final persevering grace; so much so that . . . I called election a devilish doctrine. . . . But now I was brought to examine these precious truths by the word of God. . . . To my great astonishment I found that the passages which speak decidedly for election and persevering grace, were about four times as many as those which speak apparently against these truths; and even those few, shortly after, when I had examined and understood them, served to confirm me in the above doctrines. As to the effect which my belief in these doctrines had on me . . . by the grace of God, I have walked more closely with Him since that period. . . . Thus, I say, the electing love of God in Christ (when I have been able to realize it) has often been the means of producing holiness, instead of leading me into sin. ( Narratives and Addresses , Vol. 1, pp. 46, 40) Pastor George Mueller

[On his first wife's death] When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst, as to the issue, on account of what I had found out about the action of my dear wife's heart, when I felt her pulse; but though my heart was nigh to be broken, on account of the depth of my affection, I said to myself, “The Lord is good, and doeth good,” all will be according to His own blessed character. Nothing but that, which is good, like Himself, can proceed from Him. If he pleases to take my dearest wife, it will be good, like Himself. What I have to do, as His child, is to be satisfied with what my Father does, that I may glorify Him. After this my soul not only aimed, but this, my soul, by God's grace, attained to. I was satisfied with God.” (Vol. 2, pp. 398-399) Pastor George Mueller

[When he almost lost his daughter] My dear wife and I were at peace. Why? Because we did not love her? We loved her intensely. But we were satisfied with God, whatever he might do. (Vol. 2. p. 746) Pastor George Mueller

The Lord never lays more on us, in the way of chastisement, than our state of heart makes needful; so that whilst He smites with the one hand, He supports with the other. (Vol. 1, p. 61) Pastor George Mueller

For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more. (Vol. 2, p. 834) Pastor George Mueller

According to my judgement the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. (Vol. 2, p. 731). Pastor George Mueller

In what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer, This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ. (Vol. 2, p. 731) Pastor George Mueller

 

Mayo Quotes

William James Mayo (June 29, 1861 – July 28, 1939) was a physician and surgeon in the United States and one of the seven founders of the Mayo Clinic. 

William J. Mayo

P 5. "Property rights have heretofore been considered sacred; human rights, of less consequence”

P 38. “The great contribution we can make is to prepare the oncoming generations to think that they can and will think for themselves."

39. "When medical progress apparently lags it is often due to neglect to honor the great physicians of the past, thus neglecting to call public attention to medical progress through those who have made great achievements."

40. “There must be an adjustment of education to the individual."

52. When knowledge is translated into proper action we speak of it as wisdom

53. As we become more civilized we are beginning to emphasize not the differences that lead to antagonism but the common impulses and desires which lead to a better understanding

54. Age carries mental scars left by experience which shorten vision, but age carries wisdom.

55. "It is a great thing to make scientific discoveries of rare value, but it is even greater to be willing to share these discoveries and to encourage other workers in the same field of scientific research.

56.  In the autumn of life one perhaps may be privileged to become reminiscent.

57. Individually the American is the most efficient man on earth; collectively and politically, extraordinarily inefficient.

58. “... it is better to think and sometimes think wrong than not to think at all.”

59. “As a nation, we see that we must raise the average level of intelligence if we are to have a good government because the average intelligence controls the form of government.'

60. "Today, it is impossible for any one man to know more than a little of comparatively few things.

62. "When one thinks of knowledge, books and other evidence of the development of the civilization of man come first to mind."

63. "It has been said, and I believe justly, that one should go to the educator for information but not for advice."

64. “The examining physician often hesitates to make the necessary examination because it involves soiling the finger.

65. "There is no excuse today for the surgeon to learn on the patient.

68. “One of the chief defects in our plan of education in this country is that we give too much attention to developing the memory and too little to develop the mind; we lay too much stress on acquiring knowledge and too little on the wise application of knowledge.

69. "Interpretation of the pathology of the living is the outstanding feature of modern medicine."

78. One meets with many men who have been fine students, and have stood high in their classes, who have great knowledge of medicine but very little wisdom in the application. They have mastered the science, and have failed in the understanding of the human being.'

74. "Democracy had its birth in the failure of autocracy.

75. "Democracy is safe only so long as the culture is in the ascendency, ...

82. "The church and the law deal with the yesterdays of life; medicine deals with the tomorrows."

90. "Books become friends that never fail

93. “To books we turn to learn of the past, opinions of the present, and prognostications of the future."

Liberalism and the Word - "What THE BIBLE really TEACHES" -- Keith Ward

The time has come for me to set out what I think the Bible does say about itself, about the coming of Christ in glory, about who is saved and how, about Christ's saving death on the cross, about eternal life, and about the moral law. On all these matters, the fundamentalists seem to me, and to most Christians, to have it wrong. At the very best, they have just one highly debatable reading of what the Bible really teaches. It is not a very ancient one, and it is not one that most Christians accept. I still respect my fundamentalist friends, and am grateful to them for the vital experience of Christ to which they introduced me. But they do not, as they seem to assume, have privileged access to what the Bible really means. There are many other interpretations, more ancient and widespread than theirs. And on quite a few very important matters they seem just to have got it wrong. 

Keith Ward 

What the Bible Really Teaches SPCK 2004

The Good, the Bad and the Evil - The Protoge

"see most people are good, Mr Hays, and occasionally they do something they know is bad."

"Some people are bad and they struggle every day to keep it under control."

"Others are corrupt to the core and just don't give a dam, and that would be me."

"But evil, Evil is a completely different creature, Mr Hays evil believes bad is OK, its actions justified; violence divorced from conscience, no matter what toll it takes or whome it takes it upon. And there my friend is where we part ways."

The Protoge

Ideals - Alfred Adler

 

 It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.

 

Alfred Adler Biography

Misreading the Scripture - E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien

 

THE FOREIGN LAND OF SCRIPTURE

Christians always and everywhere have believed that the Bible is the Word of God. God spoke in the past, “through the prophets at many times and in various ways,” and most clearly by his Son (Heb 1:1). By the Holy Spirit, God continues to speak to his people through the Scriptures. It is important that Christ’s church retain this conviction, even as it poses certain challenges for interpretation. We can easily forget that Scripture is a foreign land and that reading the Bible is a crosscultural experience. To open the Word of God is to step into a strange world where things are very unlike our own. Most of us don’t speak the languages. We don’t know the geography or the customs or what behaviors are considered rude or polite. And yet we hardly notice. For many of us, the Bible is more familiar than any other book. We may have parts of it memorized. And because we believe that the Bible is God’s Word to us, no matter where on the planet or when in history we read it, we tend to read Scripture in our own when and where, in a way that makes sense on our terms. We believe the Bible has something to say to us today. We read the words, “you are … neither hot nor cold” to mean what they mean to us: that you are neither spiritually hot or spiritually cold. As we will see, it is a better method to speak of what the passage meant to the original hearers, and then to ask how that applies to us. Another way to say this is that all Bible reading is necessarily contextual. There is no purely objective biblical interpretation. This is not postmodern relativism. We believe truth is truth. But there’s no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts.

One of our goals in this book is to remind (or convince!) you of the crosscultural nature of biblical interpretation. We will do that by helping you become more aware of cultural differences that separate us from the foreign land of Scripture.3 You are probably familiar with the language of worldview. Many people talk about the differences between a Christian and a secular worldview. The matter is actually more complicated than that. Worldview, which includes cultural values and other things we assume are true, can be visualized as an iceberg. The majority of our worldview, like the majority of an iceberg, is below the water line. The part we notice—what we wear, eat, say and consciously believe—is really only the visible tip. The majority of these powerful, shaping influences lurks below the surface, out of plain sight. More significantly, the massive underwater section is the part that sinks ships!

Another way to say this is that the most powerful cultural values are those that go without being said. It is very hard to know what goes without being said in another culture. But often we are not even aware of what goes without being said in our own culture. This is why misunderstanding and misinterpretation happen. When a passage of Scripture appears to leave out a piece of the puzzle because something went without being said, we instinctively fill in the gap with a piece from our own culture—usually a piece that goes without being said. When we miss what went without being said for them and substitute what goes without being said for us, we are at risk of misreading Scripture.!

Sound complicated? An example will help. When Paul writes about the role of women in ministry in 1 Timothy, he argues that a woman is not allowed “to teach or to assume authority over a man” because “Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim 2:12–13). The argument may strike us as strange, since Paul’s point hinges on the implications of being first. But what difference does birth order make in an issue such as who is eligible to serve in ministry? To answer that question, we instinctively provide a bit of information that goes without being said in our context; we read into Paul’s argument what first means to us. For us, first is better. We express this cultural value in lots of ways: “No one remembers who finishes second,” or “Second place is the first loser” or “If you are not the lead dog, the view never changes.” We have a strong cultural value that first is preferred, more deserving and better qualified. What goes without being said for us—and thus what we read Paul to be saying—is, “Adam was first, and thus better, than Eve.” That is, by virtue of being “formed first,” men should be pastors because they are more deserving of the office or better qualified than women.

In Paul’s day, however, something quite different went without being said. The law of the primogeniture stated that the firstborn child received a larger inheritance, and with it greater responsibility, than all other children—not because he or she was preferred or more deserving or better qualified in any way, but merely because she or he was firstborn. Esau was the firstborn (until he sold his birthright), yet the Bible indicates clearly that Jacob was the more deserving brother (only a lousy son sells his birthright for a cup of soup). And the firstborn is not always the favorite: “Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” even though he was the tenth of twelve brothers (Gen 37:3). In other words, Paul’s original readers may have understood him as saying that men should be pastors not because they are innately better qualified or more deserving but simply because they are the “firstborn.” In this case, we need to know what we take for granted—as well as what Paul’s audience took for granted—to keep us from reading “males are more deserving than females” into this passage.

In other situations, what goes without being said for us can lead us to miss important details in a Bible passage, even when the author is trying to make them obvious. Mark Allan Powell offers an excellent example of this phenomenon in “The Forgotten Famine,” an exploration of the theme of personal responsibility in what we call the parable of the prodigal son.4 Powell had twelve students in a seminary class read the story carefully from Luke’s Gospel, close their Bibles and then retell the story as faithfully as possible to a partner. None of the twelve American seminary students mentioned the famine in Luke 15:14, which precipitates the son’s eventual return. Powell found this omission interesting, so he organized a larger experiment in which he had one hundred people read the story and retell it, as accurately as possible, to a partner. Only six of the one hundred participants mentioned the famine. The group was ethnically, racially, socioeconomically and religiously diverse. The “famine-forgetters,” as Powell calls them, had only one thing in common: they were from the United States.

Later, Powell had the opportunity to try the experiment again, this time outside the United States. In St. Petersburg, Russia, he gathered fifty participants to read and retell the prodigal son story. This time an overwhelming forty-two of the fifty participants mentioned the famine. Why? Just seventy years before, 670,000 people had died of starvation after a Nazi German siege of the capital city began a three-year famine. Famine was very much a part of the history and imagination of the Russian participants in Powell’s exercise. Based solely on cultural location, people from America and Russia disagreed about what they considered the crucial details of the story.

Americans tend to treat the mention of the famine as an unnecessary plot device. Sure, we think: the famine makes matters worse for the young son. He’s already penniless, and now there’s no food to buy even if he did have money. But he has already committed his sin, so it goes without being said for us that the main issue in the story is his wastefulness, not the famine. This is evident from our traditional title for the story: the parable of the prodigal (“wasteful”) son. We apply the story, then, as a lesson about willful rebellion and repentance. The boy is guilty, morally, of disrespecting his father and squandering his inheritance. He must now ask for forgiveness.

Christians in other parts of the world understand the story differently.5 In cultures more familiar with famine, like Russia, readers consider the boy’s spending less important than the famine. The application of the story has less to do with willful rebellion and more to do with God’s faithfulness to deliver his people from hopeless situations. The boy’s problem is not that he is wasteful but that he is lost.

Our goal in this book is not, first and foremost, to argue which interpretation of a biblical story like this one is correct. Our goal is to raise this question: if our cultural context and assumptions can cause us to overlook a famine, what else do we fail to notice?

READING THE BIBLE, READING OURSELVES

The core conviction that drives this book is that some of the habits that we readers from the West (the United States, Canada and Western Europe) bring to the Bible can blind us to interpretations that the original audience and readers in other cultures see quite naturally. This observation is not original with us. Admitting that the presuppositions we carry to the Bible influence the way we read it is commonplace in both academic and popular conversations about biblical interpretation.6 Unfortunately, books on biblical interpretation often do not offer readers an opportunity to identify and address our cultural blinders. This can leave us with a nagging sense that we may be reading a passage incorrectly and an attending hopelessness that we don’t know why or how to correct the problem. We hope that Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes will offer a positive corrective by suggesting that there is a discernible pattern by which Western readers read—and even misread—Scripture. Becoming aware of our cultural assumptions and how they influence our reading of Scripture are important first steps beyond the paralysis of self-doubt and toward a faithful reading and application of the Bible.

In the pages that follow, we talk about nine differences between Western and non-Western cultures that we should be aware of when we interpret the Bible. We use the image of an iceberg as our controlling metaphor. In part one, we discuss cultural issues that are glaring and obvious, plainly visible above the surface and therefore least likely to cause serious misunderstanding. In part two, we discuss cultural issues that are less obvious. They reside below the surface but are visible once you know to look for them. Because they are less visible, they are more shocking and more likely to cause misunderstanding. Finally, in part three, we address cultural issues that are not obvious at all. They lurk deep below the surface, often subtly hidden behind or beneath other values and assumptions. These are the most difficult to detect and, therefore, the most dangerous for interpretation.

E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 11–16.

The Drama of Scripture - Bartholomew & Goheen

The Drama of Scripture

Preface to First Edition

 "God did not turn his back on a world bent on destruction; he turned his face toward it in love. He set out on the long road of redemption to restore the lost as his people and the world as his kingdom. The Bible narrates the story of God's journey on that long road of redemption. It is a unified and progressively unfolding drama of God's action in for the salvation of the whole world. The Bible is not a mere jumble of history, poetry, lessons in morality and theology, comforting promises guiding principles, and commands; instead, it is fundamentally coherent Every part of the Bible-each event, book, character, command, prophecy, and poem-must be understood in the context of the one storyline. Many of us have read the Bible as if it were merely a mosaic of little -theological bits, moral bits, historical-critical bits, sermon bits, devotional bits. But when we read the Bible in such a fragmented way, we ignore its divine author's intention to shape our lives through its story. All human communities live out of some story that provides a context for understanding the meaning of history and gives shape and direction to their lives. If we allow the Bible to become fragmented, it is in danger of being absorbed into whatever other story is shaping our culture, and it will thus cease to shape our lives as it should. Idolatry has twisted the dominant cultural story of the secular Western world. If as believers we allow this story (rather than the Bible) to become the foundation of our thoughts and actions, then our lives will manifest not the truths of Scripture but the lies of an idolatrous culture. Hence, the unity of Scripture is no minor matter: a fragmented Bible may actually produce theologically orthodox, morally upright, warmly pious idol worshipers! If our lives are to be shaped by the story of Scripture, we need to understand two things well: the biblical story is a compelling unity on which we may depend, and each of us has a place within that story. This book is the telling of that story. We invite readers to make it their story, to find their place in it, and to indwell it as the true story of our world.

Jim Svedja on Music, God and Life

when ultimately the whole thing is this baffling mystery that I understand less now than I did forty years ago. Forty years ago  I understood everything and understood exactly how it worked and who everyone was and now it's just this wonderful confusion. I know what notes working alongside other notes do and what they are supposed to do and who did it better than somebody else. 

But the core thing "you" is just so mysterious just can't talk about it. It's an irrational art. It's not rational, at all. At the heart of it, it's a mystery. 

I mean it's like God. It's not something fully knowable, because we are not there yet. 

This wonderful french lunatic composer Erik Satie who said, 'people kept telling me when I was young you'll understand, know that I am old I understand nothing, and it's wonderful!'

Jim Svejda @KUSC Between the notes

become iconoclastic - The Comfort Trap - Tim Bascom

The Comfort Trap

We may need to become iconoclastic if we are to be set free spiritually. Aling Nena was afraid that she wouldn't be protected or safe without her Virgin Mary[statue]. Those of us from the First World are afraid that we won't be safe without other icons: a salary to cover all needs, insurance for every imaginable problem, credit cards to cover unexpected costs, a home in a safe neighborhood, enough cars to avoid inconvenience, all the comforts that money can provide.

We pay heavily for such security, and not just in money. For “what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16:26).

Christ once said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 19:24).

He knew that living inside the cocoon of prosperity, people are cut off from reality. Outside it, they are able to see and feel again. Their spirits awaken. 

I HAVE NOT WATCHED THE MONEY TRAP,

I THINK I WILL.