"When I see children, I see that God has not yet given
up on man."
-Tagore
“The animals of the world exist for their own
reasons. They were not made for humans anymore than black people were
made for whites or women for men.”
-Alice Walker
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
-Gandhi
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead
“It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.”
-Harriet Beecher Stowe
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
"Helping children is not a charity, it's our duty."
-Michael Jackson
"Too many people grow up. Thats the real trouble with the world... They don't remember what its like to be twelve years old."
-Walt Disney
"Don't judge a person who is for animal rights until you've seen the hell they have seen."
-Molly Nicole
"As
I stood in the presence of Christ he spoke these words: "Above all
else, love one another." He was firm, emphatic. This was the most
important truth I would learn in my experience with him, and he wanted
me to understand it, feel its full impact. It is the most important
thing we can know. To love is the reason we exist. To learn to love
more fully is the reason we have come to earth. Love is the energy
which holds the universe in place. It is the gateway through which we
return to our Creator. It can conquer any problem, ease any suffering,
heal any disease. Love creates and magnifies the joys of life. And, at
the moment of death, love turns all earthly pain into indescribable
bliss.We were concieved in love spiritually, and love is the center of
our beings. It is the energy of our souls, the spark of our divine
nature."
-Betty Jean Eadie (from the book The Ripple Affect)
"If
man is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practice kindness
towards animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in
his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment
of animals.
"
-Immanuel Kant
"Practicing empathy could be the first step towards changing the world."
-Molly Nicole
"You're right, Mattie Stepanek was quite an amazing person with a gift of incredible insight.
I call them "Angel children" They're easy to spot- they glow, and it feels so good to be in their presence.
My
thinking is... sometimes, something very serious can only be handled
with a gentle touch-, so that's why an Angel child is sent. People are not threatened by them so they listen- We're astonished to hear a child say something wise and full of insight."
-Judy Myers (my aunt)
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
-Mohandas Gandhi
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
-Helen Keller
"The butterfly counts not months but moments,
and has time enough."
-Tagore
Life is given to us,
we earn it by giving it.
-Tagore
"In their innocence and
their wisdom, in their connection to the earth and it's most ancient
rythyms, animals show us a way back to a home they have never left."
-Susan Chernak McElroy (from the book Animals As Teachers and Healers)
“Children
show me in their playful smiles the divine in everyone. This simple
goodness shines straight from their hearts and only asks to be lived.”
-Michael Jackson
“I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
although I know we've drifted far
What about yesterday
What about the seas
The heavens are falling down
I can't even breathe
What about the bleeding Earth
Can't we feel its wounds
What about nature's worth?
It's our planet's womb.”
-Michael Jackson
“If you enter this world knowing you are
loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that
happens in between can be dealt with.”
-Michael Jackson
“When one door of happiness closes,
another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do
not see the one which has been opened for us.”
-Helen Keller
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is
it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience
asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must
take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but
because conscience tells one it is right.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We will have to repent in this
generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad
people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Those who are not looking for
happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are
searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness
for others.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I get the greatest feeling when
I'm singing. It's other-worldly. Your feet are anchored into the Earth
and into this energy force that comes up through your feet and goes up
the top of your head and maybe you're holding hands with the angels or
the stars, I have no idea.”
-Cyndi Lauper
"Sometimes my mind boggles. It's so deep my mind actually boggles.”
-Cyndi Lauper
"I've always wondered what it would be like if
somebody from outer space landed with three heads. Then all of a sudden
everybody else wouldn't look so bad, huh? Well, OK you're a little
different from me but, hey, ya got one head.”
-Cyndi Lauper
“Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.”
-St. Francis of Assisi
“If you have men who will exclude any
of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will
have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
-St. Francis of Assisi
“In nature, nothing is perfect and
everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and
they're still beautiful.”
-Alice Walker
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any”
-Alice Walker
“The quietly pacifist peaceful always die to make room for men who shout”
-Alice Walker
"In a world filled with hate, we must still
dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to
comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream.
And n a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.”
-Michael Jackson
“And
the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful face... and the
world we once believed in will shine again in grace. Then why do we
keep strangling life wound this Earth, crucify its soul. Though it's
plain to see, this world is heavenly. We could be God's glow... Heal
the world.”
-Michael Jackson
"I cannot but have reverence for all that
is called life. I cannot avoid compassion for everything that is called
life. That is the beginning and foundation of morality."
-Albert Schweitzer
"Not what we eat, but whom we eat is the question on my lips."
-Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
"And
so the suffering of almost all farm animals is unique, particular,
mostly beyond language to describe or explain. If we give it no
thought, and yet eat them for our meals, are we not morally blind,
ethically dumb, and humanly remiss?"
-Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
By Jeni Stepanek (Mattie's mom)
Mattie
defined a Heartsong as "a person's inner beauty and strength" and
"person's special message and reason to be" in this world. He explained
that whatever it is that each person needs or desires most in his or
her own heart and life is what that person most needs to offer to the
world as a gift.
By Jeni Stepanek (Mattie's mom)
He has said
that it is important to take the time and effort to listen to and share
our own Heartsongs, but that it is equally important to take the time
and effort to listen to and share the heartsongs of others, so that we
are a world voice, each of us in harmony with every other person around
the earth. He also said that we should be generous with our own
Heartsongs, sharing them with those we encounter who have forgotten or
lost the song in their hearts, until their own Heartsong is reawaken
and unite to become and integral part of "the festive fabric of life."
"Always remember to play after every storm."
-Mattie J.T. Stepanek
"We must take responsibility upon the actions of others who are irresponsible for animal's well being,
There is no place for "It's not my place"
Because life is to precious
To trade in for our own comfort."
-Molly Nicole
"One man who put it to me most succintly when he said that he was asked (from God) whether he had done the things he did because he loved others, that is, from the motivation of love."
-Raymond Moody Jr. (from the book Life after Life)
"Animals
are real and true to themselves. "Being present" is their lesson to us.
However, being present requires listening with one's whole self, giving
one's full attention, living in the moment, and cherishing what you
have now. Animals continue to demonstrate being in the moment. That is
why time is not a factor. Time, from the first sundial to the current
digital watch, is a human concept. Making a conscious decision to
stop--to look--to hear--to feel--what is happening at the moment is the
richest way to live life. This is the truest expression of self."
-Lydia Hiby (from the book Conversations with Animals)
"Only true love can keep beauty innocent."
-U2
"The best things in life you can't get instantly,
if people rush and try to get somewhere to fast, they miss the scenery,
so they miss half the present."
-Molly Nicole