flash of inspiration/insight

[donq]

As our forum recently has been a bit quiet, I'll try to daily post some inspired quotations I like here.

A man walked along the seashore with his grandson. As they passed beached starfish, the boy picked them up and tossed them back into the ocean.
The old man protested, “The beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish. What you are doing won’t make any difference.”
The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, gently threw it into the ocean, and said, “It will make a difference to this one.”

[gruntal]

We look for a Messiah, a savior; we idolize Mother Teresa. How many of us are willing to do the dirty anonymous work in the trenches ? Especially when no one seems to notice ?

[donq]

Waiting for a Miracle: Resistance to Help

As the flood waters began to rise, the man took great comfort in his faith that God
would not allow any harm to befall him. A group of emergency workers knocked
on his door and tried to persuade him to evacuate. He responded to their offer of
help by saying that they need not worry because God would protect him.
The waters continued to rise, and the man retreated to the second story of his
home. A rescue team came by boat to his window and urged him to come with
them. Still steadfast in his faith, he declined their offer, saying, “I have faith that
God will save me.”
Finally, the rising water forced the man to seek sanctuary on the roof of his
home. Shortly thereafter, a helicopter hovered over him and let down a ladder.
The rescue worker shouted for him to climb up to safety. Again, he waved the
help away.
The waters continued to rise. Finally the man was swept away by the raging
waters and died. When he appeared before God, he was quite angry.
“God,” he asked, “how could you have allowed this to happen to me? I had faith that you
would preserve me from harm. Why didn’t you save me?”
“Save you?” God incredulously replied. “I tried to. I sent a rescue team, a
boat, and a helicopter.” (Source unknown)

[mojomojo]

What is it about human nature, that they feel the need to look up to someone, someone has to be put on a pedestal.

[gruntal]

Luke 17:20-21. "The Kingdom of God is within you". The evil are not excluded and the Righteous are not excused. Salvation is not to be found because it was never lost. But Humans instinctively look for it in all the wrong places ...

[donq]

Hi George and Robert,

Yes, I agree with both of you (for example, about "Waiting for a Miracle", I thought of the Chinese proverb that says, "A man must sit in a chair with his mouth open for a very long time before a roast duck will fly in". And as for “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say" (Luke 17:20-21) or "look for it in all the wrong places" as you said or "put on a pedestal" as Robert said, I thought of Nasrudin's story (he lost the key in the house but was searching for it in the street just because there was more light here.)

In the past 40 years or so I've read tons of (English) books and collected so many quotations from them. I even put them in my (published) books and articles and even in many of my posts here. Anyway, I apologize if I didn't directly reply your posts, as I do love to hear what you and others think about these quotations.
So, any comment would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Here's for today.

Life is more than any science.

According to the theory of aerodynamics, and as may be readily demonstrated through laboratory and wind tunnel experiments, the bumblebee is unable to fly. The size, weight, and shape of its body in relationship to its total wingspread make flying impossible.
The bumblebee, however, ignorant of these profound scientific truths, goes ahead and flies anyway—and manages to make a little honey at the same time. (Source unknown)