Emilie Richards's Blog, page 14
September 24, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Flowers Always Make People Better
My husband Michael took these photos.
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank
As summer slips into the beginnings of fall here in Chautauqua, New York, I find myself saying goodbye to the beautiful flowers that have given me and so many others great pleasure these past months.
I will miss their colorful presence over the winter, but I will appreciate them all the more when they appear again next spring.
I never want to forget that we are always surrounded by beauty, and our task is to bring more of it into the world.
How does your garden grow? Silver bells and cockle shells? Appreciate it now while you can. Soon we’ll have autumn leaves to ogle instead.
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September 17, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Did I offer peace today?
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September 10, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: The Queen
“Over the years, those who have seemed to me to be the most happy, contented and fulfilled have always been the people who have lived the most outgoing and unselfish lives.” -Queen Elizabeth II
What a grand lady and inspirational world leader she was. She will be missed by many. I hope that despite tragedies and trials, her life was happy, and that in her own words she was contented and fulfilled.
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September 4, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Happy Labor Day!
“A hundred times every day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labor of others, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give the same measure that I have received and continue to receive.” -Albert EinsteinThe post Sunday Inspiration: Happy Labor Day! appeared first on Emilie Richards.
August 28, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Serving Others
“Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said.
We are at our best when we serve others.”
Credit: Ira Byock with permission
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August 20, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: You will teach them to fly
“You will teach them to fly,
but they will not fly your flight.
You will teach them to dream,
but they will not dream your dream.
You will teach them to live,
but they will not live your life.
Nevertheless, in every flight, in every life, in every dream,
the print of the way you taught will always remain.”
-Mother Teresa
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August 13, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Go for broke
Salman Rushdie
“Go for broke. Always try and do too much. Dispense with safety nets. Take a deep breath before you begin talking. Aim for the stars. Keep grinning. Be bloody-minded. Argue with the world. And never forget that writing is as close as we get to keeping a hold on the thousand and one things–childhood, certainties, cities, doubts, dreams, instants, phrases, parents, loves–that go on slipping , like sand, through our fingers.” ― Salman Rushdie
As you may know by now, renowned author Salman Rushdie was attacked and seriously injured at our beloved Chautauqua Institution. I want to honor his creativity and courage by sharing his words with all of you. I pray for his recovery and the triumph of love over hate and truth over censorship.
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August 6, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Everyone’s hero
You can’t be everyone’s hero.
You can’t take away everyone’s pain,
solve all their problems,
and make them feel happy with themselves and their lives.
All you can do is love them,
and that’s all you have to do.
Just love them in their messiness,
their confusion, their grief.
See them, hear them, and accept them without judgment.
Then let them know it’s okay to be right where they are,
and if and when they need you, you’ll be there.
-Lori Deschene
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July 31, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Be the person who breaks the cycle
“Be the person who breaks the cycle.
If you were judged, choose understanding. If you were rejected, choose acceptance.
If you were shamed, choose compassion.
Be the person you needed when you were hurting, not the person who hurt you.
Vow to be better than what broke you—to heal instead of becoming bitter so you can act from your heart, not your pain.”
Lori Deschene
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July 23, 2022
Sunday Inspiration: Life is too short
morning with regrets. So, love the
people who treat you right, forgive
the ones who don’t and believe that
everything happens for a reason.
If you get the chance, take it.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said it would be easy, they
just promised it would be worth it.
-Dr. Seuss
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