Life

It is not length of life, but depth of life.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Beginnings

There are things that we never want to let go of,

people we never want to leave behind.

But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world,

it’s the beginning of a new life.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beauty

Never lose an opportunity of seeing

anything that is beautiful,

for beauty is God's handwriting --

a wayside sacrament.

Welcome it in every fair face,

in every fair sky,

in every flower,

and thank God for it

as a cup of blessing.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Means and the End

Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit

cannot be severed;

for the effect already blooms in the cause,

the end preexists in the means,

the fruit in the seed

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flowers

Earth laughs in flowers.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Is It To Succeed?

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson