Sacrificed Any Lately?

If a man has any genuine talent, he should be ready to make almost any sacrifice in order to cultivate it to the full.
—    G. H. Hardy
From his book:  “A Mathematician’s Apology“
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The Dream

There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.
They are Right.
It is.
It is the American Dream.
—    Archibald MacLeish
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Something Of Value

The case for my life, then, or for that of any one else who has been a mathematician in the same sense in which I have been one, is this:  that I have added something to knowledge, and helped others to add more;  and that these somethings have a value which differs, in degree only, and not in kind, from that of the creations of the great mathematicians, or of any of the other artists, great or small, who have left some kind of memorial behind them.
—    G. H. Hardy
From his book:  “A Mathematician’s Apology“
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Transitional Choice To Ride The Wave

Some of us may not like transitions.  Some of us may be afraid.  But as I see it, we have two choices.  We can either stay scared and resist changes for as long as we can.  Or we can embrace transitions and say “Bring it on.  Let me ride the wave.”  We can see change as ways of growing wiser and stronger.  We can see transition as lessons that teach us to be more mature and to live more deeply, in order that we may be the best persons that we can possibly be.  We can embrace change and transitions and say – “This is my future.  And I welcome it and embrace it with all the strength and courage I can muster.”
—    Father Joseph N. Goh
Originally posted on his blog:   “Queer Eye for God’s World“
under the posting titled:   “Trinity Sunday, June 3, 2012, “Transitions”“
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Habit Forming

We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
—    Aristotle
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Ashes Not Dust

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stilled by dry rot.  I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
—     Jack London
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More Than A Race

Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints.  I like to make something beautiful when I run.  I like to make people stop and say, “I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.”  It’s more than just a race, it’s style.  It’s doing something better than anyone else.  It’s being creative.
—    Steve Prefontaine
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Help Save

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
—    President John F. Kennedy
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Hangin’ With His P’s

We must all hang together now, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
—    Benjamin Franklin
[Remembering that only 10% of the American colonists supported a revolt from England, I wonder if the majority considered the “Founder’s” to be “Patriots” or “Terrorists”…     —    kmab]
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Until Found

…so easy it seemed
Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought
Impossible
—    John Milton
From:  “Paradise Lost“
[And un-doable, until done.    —    KMAB]
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What Price Freedom?

There is no proportion between twenty pieces of silver and liberty.
—    Samuel Sewall
From:  “Vol. II. The Beginnings of Americanism: 1650–1710“
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One Measure

One measure of civilization is man’s understanding of the natural world and of his place in nature.
—    KMAB
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Just One??

O God, may I live to have one day of unsullied joy!
—    Ludwig van Beethoven
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Implications

I believe that every right implies a responsibility;  every opportunity, an obligation;  every possession, a duty.
—    kmab
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So, Not Yet Then

No one can be perfectly free till all are free;  no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral;  no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.
—    Herbert Spencer
From his book:  “Social Statics“
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