Good Thought to Live By #15

In Tune with the Music of Faith "Please understand that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments is and always will be the defining test of mortality. Above all else, each of us must realize that when one is tone deaf to the music of faith, he or she is out of tune with the Spirit. As the prophet Nephi taught, 'Ye have heard his voice … ; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.'" —Elder Quentin L. Cook, "In Tune with the Music of Faith", General Conference, Apr. 2012 Topics: Faith, Jesus Christ, Holy Ghost

My cousin's sail boat with her dog in a life jacket-Northern California

The Champion’s Creed
I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed.  And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep trying!
-Tom Hopkins, sales trainer and writer


Love that my life began,
Love,  that will close life’s span,
Love that grows ever by love-giving
Love, from the first to last,
Love, till all life be passed,
Love that loves on after living!
-George Sigerson

. . . for a time I play catch while the children sing; then it is my turn.  Playing like this, times slips aways.  Passersby point and laugh, asking, “What is the reason for such foolishness?”  I only bow.  Even if I answered, they would not understand.  Look around!  There is nothing else but this.
-Ryokan


Ercell has had this little, yellowed piece of paper, with the thoughts below, tucked away in a drawer for many years:


I was that which others did not want to be.
I went where they feared to go and did what others failed to do.
I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly
accepted the thought of eternal loneliness . . . should I fail.
I have seen the face of terror; felt the stinging cold of fear;
and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment’s love.
I have cried, pained, and hoped . . . but most of all,
I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.
At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of
what I was–just a soldier.

Sail away, sail away

Believe nothing, O monks, merely because you have been told it . . . or because it is traditional, or because you yourselves have imagined it.  Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher.  But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings–that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.
-The Buddha


The wonder that shows itself today, tomorrow, and yesterday can never be relived.  Once you understand this, life can get a whole lot more interesting.
-Bernard S. King


May your mind forever sparkle like a star, your heart remain pure as fallen snow, and your spirit forever sense the wonderment of a child.
-Mary Summer Rain


Learn to hold loosely all that is not eternal.
-A. Maude Royden