OPEN CONNECTIONS by Yehudi Menuhin

Let us keep open the connections
whereby the human spirit may
freely move between
the arts and the sciences
and thus make more of each.

May we thus become better
violinists, scientists, artists,
writers, and above all,
better human beings
by enlarging and enriching
our personal needs to include each other's.

PASSING THIS WAY by William Penn

I expect to pass through the world but once.
Any good therefore that I can do,
or any kindness or abilities
that I can show to any fellow creature,
let me do it now.
Let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.

PRAYING

People who pray for miracles usually don't get miracles.
But people who pray for courage,
for strength to bear the unbearable,
for the grace to remember what they have left
instead of what they have lost,
very often find their prayers answered.
Their prayers helped them tap hidden reserves
of faith and courage
that were not available to them before.

~Harold S. Kushner~

PUEBLO BLESSING

Hold on to what is good
Even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe
Even if it is a tree that stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do
Even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life
Even if it is easier to let go.
Hold on to my hand
Even if I have gone away from you.

ROCKS, PEBBLES, AND SAND

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. He asked his students again if the jar was full. They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things -- your family, your partner, your health, your children -- anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, house, or car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff."

The professor continued: "If you put the sand or the pebbles in to the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important."

What do we learn: Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

In other words, take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just pebbles and sand.

ROLES AND HOW WE PLAY THEM

Whenever you're disappointed with your spot in my life,
Stop and think about little school boy.
He was trying out for a part in a school play.
And he had set his heart on being in it,
And his mother feared he would not be chosen.
On the day the parts were awarded,
She went to collect him after school.
The child rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.
"Guess what Mom," he shouted, and then said those
words that should be a lesson to all of us:
"I've been chosen to clap and cheer."

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