Today's
quotation:
Human
greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character
and
goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults
and
shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.
Anne Frank
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Today's
Meditation:
I've met
quite a few people whom I consider to be great, and few of
them are wealthy or "powerful." The great
people whom I've been fortunate enough to get to know have
been kind, compassionate, and caring human beings who are
able to help other people get by during difficult times,
who are able to succeed on their own terms when they
undertake difficult or risky tasks, and who stick to their
own ways of doing things even when things get difficult.
Great
people don't compromise their integrity or their
values. they know what they stand for, and they
would rather suffer a short-term loss because they won't
compromise their character than win a battle by doing
something that violates their integrity. They are
willing to be there for other people when needed because
they know that they are called to serve while here on this
planet, not to be served. You can depend on them to
keep their word, and you know that they would never, ever,
stab you in the back.
They
are also very good at taking care of themselves.
They don't let their lives unbalance; that is, when their
strength is waning, they make sure that they recoup that
strength before trying to take on some other tasks.
Sometimes what they do for others is simply sit and talk
with them, allowing them to vent and to sort out issues in
their minds, and they're very good listeners-- they don't
need to tell others what to do in order to feel that
they're helping them.
I
hope to be great one day-- I hope to be kind and
compassionate and loving, and I hope to be able to help
others to cope with the difficulties that they encounter
in the lives that they're leading. But I don't fool
myself into thinking that greatness equals fame, or even notoriety;
rather, I keep in mind the great people whom I've known
and I do my best to emulate the ways that they've shown
the greatness in themselves through the kindness and the
service they offer others.
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