This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
Man’s task is to reconcile liberty with service, reason with faith. This is the deepest wisdom man can attain. It is our destiny to serve, to surrender. We have to conquer in order to succumb; we have to acquire in order to give away; we have to triumph in order to be overwhelmed. Man has to understand in order to believe, to know in order to accept. The aspiration is to obtain; the perfection is to dispense. This is the meaning of death: the ultimate self-dedication to the divine. Death so understood will not be distorted by the craving for immortality, for this act of giving away is reciprocity on man’s part for God’s gift of life. For the pious man it is a privilege to die.
Aspiration | Death | Destiny | Giving | Liberty | Man | Meaning | Order | Perfection | Pious | Reason | Reciprocity | Will | Wisdom | Aspiration | Privilege | Understand |
The deepest wisdom man can attain is to know that his destiny is to aid, to serve. We have to conquer in order to succumb; we have to acquire in order to give away; we have to triumph in order to be overwhelmed. Man has to understand in order to believe, to know in order to accept. The aspiration is to obtain; the perfection is to dispense. This is the meaning of death: the ultimate self-dedication to the divine. Death so understood will not be distorted by the craving for immortality, for the act of giving away is reciprocity on man’s part for God’s gift of life. For the pious man it is a privilege to die.
Aspiration | Death | Destiny | Giving | Man | Meaning | Order | Perfection | Pious | Reciprocity | Will | Wisdom | Aspiration | Privilege | Understand |
Survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention...the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.
Katherine Anne Porter, born Callie Russell Porter
One of the marks of a gift is to have the courage of it.
Courage |
Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life -- including ourselves. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.
Creativity | Dreams | Force | Good | Life | Life | Order | Safe | Yearnings |
Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington, Lady Blessington, born Margaret Power
Praise is the only gift for which people are really grateful.
People |
Everything is a gift of the universe -- even joy, anger, jealously, frustration, or separateness. Everything is perfect either for our growth or our enjoyment.
Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love
Love |
We have created an industrial order geared to automatism, where feeble-mindedness, native or acquired, is necessary for docile productivity in the factory; and where a pervasive neurosis is the final gift of the meaningless life that issues forth at the other end.
Speech is the gift of all, but the thought of few.
Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by the state pending good behavior.
Good | Individual | Nothing | Trust |
For yesterday I hold no apologies, For tomorrow I hold no answers, Today is a gift and I will honor it by fully living in it.
May Sarton, pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton
Whether success or failure: the truth of a life really has little to do with its quality. The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.
May Sarton, pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton
Did someone say that there would be an end, An end, Oh, an end, to love and mourning? What has once been so interwoven cannot be raveled, nor the gift ungiven. Now the dead move through all of us still glowing.... We who find shelter in the warmth within, Listen, and feel new-cherished, new-forgiven, As the lost human voices speak through us and blend our complex love, Our mourning without end.
Meher Baba, born Merwan Sheriar Irani
Be pure and simple, and love all because all are one. Live a sincere life; be natural, and be honest with yourself. Honesty will guard you against false modesty and will give you the strength of true humility. Spare no pains to help others. Seek no other reward than the gift of Divine Love.
Meryl Streep, born Mary Louise Streep
The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.
Mike Ditka, fully Michael Keller Ditka, Jr., aka "Iron" Mike Ditka
Here's what I tell anybody and this is what I believe. The greatest gift we have is the gift of life. We understand that. That comes from our Creator. We're given a body. Now you may not like it, but you can maximize that body the best it can be maximized.
Body | Understand |
Mickey Hart, born Michael Steven Hartman
The adventure of composition is a mystery. The muse has her ways, she hides from you, comes for you in the middle of the night, at midday, at dawn. You must believe wholeheartedly in this divine power. Its an elusive gift that can appear at any time, anywhere. Artists are in awe of it.