"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
-Kurt Vonnegut
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I love that quote. The first two sentences especially. But focusing on the last, let me just say that the world really is a beautiful place. The grandeur of towering mountains, the peacefulness of a clear stream, the beauty of a tree robed in the colors of Fall, the pure, blue sky with beautiful, white clouds, and a million other beautiful things all evidence this. The aesthetics of the world around us are, as cliche and cheesy as it sounds, capable of filling our souls and making our hearts sing.
The world isn't only beautiful in the physical sense, however. All of the billions of people that inhabit the globe add to the beauty as well. While nobody anywhere is perfect, we are all capable of so much good. So many people choose to let their light shine every day. Which leads me to another quote I love:
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
There is so much I could say about both of the above quotes, and maybe I will someday, but in short, don't let life get you down. The world is beautiful, and God created it for you to enjoy. Love others will everything in you. Help others on their way, because you might be exactly what they need to keep going. Add to the beauty of the earth by the way you live.
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