Should have settled the science versus religion debate right then and there. The Riverside Church January 19, 1936 My dear Dr. Einstein,  We have brought up the question: Do scientists pray? in our Sunday school class. It began by asking whether we could believe in both science and religion. We are writing to scientists and other important men, to try and have our own question answered.  We will feel greatly honored if you will answer our question: Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for? We are in the sixth grade, Miss Ellis’s class. Respectfully yours,  Phyllis ——————————— January 24, 1936 Dear Phyllis,  I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer: Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish. However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science.  But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.  With cordial greetings,  your A. Einstein From Letters of Note.

Should have settled the science versus religion debate right then and there.

The Riverside Church

January 19, 1936

My dear Dr. Einstein, 

We have brought up the question: Do scientists pray? in our Sunday school class. It began by asking whether we could believe in both science and religion. We are writing to scientists and other important men, to try and have our own question answered. 

We will feel greatly honored if you will answer our question: Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for?

We are in the sixth grade, Miss Ellis’s class.

Respectfully yours, 

Phyllis

———————————

January 24, 1936

Dear Phyllis, 

I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer:

Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish.

However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science. 

But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive. 

With cordial greetings, 

your A. Einstein

From Letters of Note.

Don’t complain about what you do.

Don’t complain about what you do.

I know exactly who I am. I am everything I wanted to be.

I know exactly who I am. I am everything I wanted to be.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: It is very important that you only do what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may lose your car, you may have to move into a shabby place to live, but you will totally live. And at the end of your days you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. Otherwise, you will live your life as a prostitute, you will do things only for a reason, to please other people, and you will never have lived. And you will not have a pleasant death. There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from. The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross:

It is very important that you only do what you love to do. You may be poor, you may go hungry, you may lose your car, you may have to move into a shabby place to live, but you will totally live. And at the end of your days you will bless your life because you have done what you came here to do. Otherwise, you will live your life as a prostitute, you will do things only for a reason, to please other people, and you will never have lived. And you will not have a pleasant death.



There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.



The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

“As one who has suffered, you must consider it your sacred duty in this life to ease the suffering of others, if you can, and never to cause it.” With reverence for life, Albert Schweitzer formulated his meaning of existence. All living things share the pursuit for more life. The thinking person gives every life the same reverence as he gives his own. Good is that which promotes life, evil is that which destroys it.  Everything to be done in deep awareness of this notion. To this end, our value as beings, if we need to define it, lies perhaps in our capacity to do good, and promote life.

“As one who has suffered, you must consider it your sacred duty in this life to ease the suffering of others, if you can, and never to cause it.”

With reverence for life, Albert Schweitzer formulated his meaning of existence. All living things share the pursuit for more life. The thinking person gives every life the same reverence as he gives his own. Good is that which promotes life, evil is that which destroys it.  Everything to be done in deep awareness of this notion. To this end, our value as beings, if we need to define it, lies perhaps in our capacity to do good, and promote life.

Speed, mountains, boats, motorcycles, bare feet - that’s not freedom. Being absolutely truly yourself is freedom. To make change happen, all we need is a vision and a non-compromizing belief and trust in ourselves.

Speed, mountains, boats, motorcycles, bare feet - that’s not freedom. Being absolutely truly yourself is freedom. To make change happen, all we need is a vision and a non-compromizing belief and trust in ourselves.

C.S. Lewis on writing -   What really matters is:1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make ussay “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

C.S. Lewis on writing -  

What really matters is:

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”

4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make ussay “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

Your peers are not competition. If it’s not worth doing together, more or better, maybe you should be doing something else.

Your peers are not competition. If it’s not worth doing together, more or better, maybe you should be doing something else.

Do yourself a favor. Without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late. - Jhumpa Lahiri, the Namesake

Do yourself a favor. Without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.

- Jhumpa Lahiri, the Namesake

Love the earth and sun and the animals,despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men,go freely with powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and with the mothers or families,re-examine all you have been toldin school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul;and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body. - Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, 
stand up for the stupid and crazy, 
devote your income and labor to others, 
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, 
have patience and indulgence toward the people, 
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, 
or to any man or number of men,
go freely with powerful uneducated persons, 
and with the young, and with the mothers or families,
re-examine all you have been told
in school or church or in any book, 
and dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
and your very flesh shall be a great poem, 
and have the richest fluency, 
not only in its words, 
but in the silent lines of its lips and face, 
and between the lashes of your eyes, 
and in every motion and joint of your body.

- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Why is it so tempting to look for heads to put on platters, and then wait until the successor screws up? We must keep our eyes fixed on the uncomfortable task of fixing the broken system, see everything as an experiment and work in progress.

All right, I’ve been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back. GET MAD! I DON’T WANT YOUR DAMN LEMONS! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THESE?! DEMAND TO SEE LIFE’S MANAGER! Make life RUE the day it thought it could give CAVE JOHNSON LEMONS! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I’M THE MAN WHO’S GONNA BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN! WITH THE LEMONS! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that’s gonna BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!

—… Cave Johnson

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY