Affirmations

    

If the world is a verb as Heidegger once said it may be than the world is worlding without us. This isn't news if you're a Mayan priest or a Buddhist or a Labrador retriever but it "is" news for those who are caught in the trap of getting and spending or for those who are the victims of getting and spending like the children of Rawanda. The world will die on its own but we have the power to sustain life if we so choose.

I believe that in a season of associated holidays this pledge to take care of life is all encompassing and this principle offers the only antidote to cynicism.

If you are worn out with holiday treacle here are a few quotes I favor this time of year. Happy holidays to all.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.

Albert Einstein:

"

The most important human endeavor is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it. Only morality in our actions can give beauty and dignity to life.

"

Emma Goldman:

"The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and well-being.

Stephen Kuusisto's dog:

"Dignity Shmignity. If you don't have health care–and that includes food,clothing and shelter along with medicine and the right to see a doctor, then dignity is a false pretense like those porcelain frogs you see in suburban gardens."

Sammy Davis Jr.:

"There's nothing that can match Broadway for stature and dignity."