Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Anwar el-Sadat

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Anwar el-Sadat who was President of Egypt from 1970, until radical extremists assassinated him during the Armed Forces Day parade.

Here are a few quotes from this Nobel Peace Prize winner (He shared the prize with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.)

 I was brought up to believe that how I saw myself was more important than how others saw me.

Fear is, I believe, a most effective tool in destroying the soul of an individual - and the soul of a people.


There is no happiness for people at the expense of other people.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

St. Francis of Assisi

Today is the anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, my favorite Christian mystic. In his honor, I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from St. Francis:

It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.

No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

All the darkness in the world can't extinguish the light from a single candle.

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.

A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received--only what you have given.


I am especially fond of the first quote, I think you can tell a lot about a person's spiritual development by how easily and frequently they laugh.