Sunday, November 2, 2008

Interesting quotes

Here's a great sampling of quotes from a book called: "Letter To A New President" by Senator Robert C. Byrd. What struck me most about this book was how well read this Senator is and how many wonderful sources he was able to quote from.
First was one from Thomas Edison: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
The next one from Benjamin Franklin follows along the same lines: "Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience."
Albert Einstein concluded: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."
And Saint Augustine observed: "Patience is the companion of wisdom."
It seems to me that there is a serious lack of patience and hard work in most aspects of our modern-day life. It's sad to see youth who are so inundated almost every waking minute by noise and distractions that they have forgotten how to stop, listen, think, work and be patient. I really shouldn't say youth as though it's limited by age. The more I look around the more I see the same patterns emerging in people of all ages. In the Teachings of Joseph Smith manual he states "... to receive revelation and the blessings of heaven it was necessary to have our minds on God and exercise faith and become of one heart and one mind." Have we lost this ability amidst the busyness of our daily lives? How often do we stop ourselves and re-focus so that our minds are on God?
When Senator Byrd added this quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke it struck a chord: "Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions."
I am still pondering the depth and meaning of this one. It seems as though we are so busy doing and moving and finding solutions to our questions that we aren't taking the time necessary to ponder, pray, and focus our minds on God. Sometimes a challenge is placed before us not for us to solve but for us to accept and find different ways of looking at it. Not all answers from God are yes or no. And often, as Rainer Maria Rilke says, the answers can't be given to us because we wouldn't be able to live them. We're not ready yet. God is compassionate enough to let us stew over our questions and eventually come to terms with them without necessarily giving us an answer because we wouldn't be ready to do what would be required to solve the problem, or maybe the problem isn't meant to be solved but meant to be a reminder to turn to God to have the strength to bear our cross daily.

3 comments:

Papa D said...

Fabulous post, Patty. Truly, deeply profound.

Louann and Bari said...

Woweee-wow, you are one profound sis! Thanks for the post- much to think about. Love the new format by the way-

Mama D said...

This is wonderful. I love the quote from Rainer Maria Rilke! Wow, that is profound. Live the questions. Live everything.