“You have received certain talents, some ten, some five, some one . . .” Dr. Karl T. Compton said to a class at Commencement. “Whether you wish it or not. . . the world will hold...
“Marriage if for adults only,”1 wrote one eminent author⎯not necessarily maturity of years, but maturity of attitude⎯the maturity to know that there aren’t any perfect people, that...
“The deepest urge in human nature,” said John Dewey, “is the desire to be important,”1 to be needed, to be appreciated as a person, to have a place, to perform a part. And...
Always it seems there is an expectancy that someone will rush in and do something dramatic to solve our problems, with some spectacular solution. But often what is needed is the undramatic, and...
Loyalty, like love, is not just a sentiment, and not simply what someone says, but something that is proved by performance, by character and conduct loyalty to principle, to family, to country;...
Too often there is too much distance between people who should keep closer⎯a distance that separates those who live in the same place. It happens too often between parents and children, who...
“A hundred times every day,” said Albert Einstein, “I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself to...
“How often do we see men and women set themselves about as if with stiff bristles,” said Samuel Smiles, “so that one dare scarcely approach them without fear of being pricked! For...
“Though sometimes small evils, like invisible insects, inflict great pains,” said Richard Sharp, “and a single hair may stop a vast machine, yet the chief secret of comfort lies in...
From Dwight L. Moody we turn to a short, challenging sentence: “Character is what you are in the dark.” Every man is two things at least — what others see and what he is inside. Both are...
A sentence heard somewhere quotes a restless young person as saying: “I am running from, not to.” Many it seems are running from, who don’t really seem to know what they are...
Sometimes we suppose that other people’s work is easier than ours. We may sometimes suppose that some occupations, some assignments are always glamorous and exciting. But of this we may be...
The moods of people, encouragement and discouragement, the ups and downs are all cause for concern. All of us have high and low points in life, and knowing this we should not become too discouraged...
The words of an old song suggest a subject: “Let us oft speak kind words to each other. At home or wher-e’er we may be…” Negatively, it suggests another subject: the opposite of...
One of the urgent needs of our time is misunderstanding; and one of the ways to understand is to communicate. Understanding and communication are essential in all relationships of life: in marriage,...
One morning there came into my mind an old Sunday School song, one I had not sung or heard since the years of my youth. Where had it been in memory? How and why did it now come back to mind? We...
In some situations a person may keep too closely to himself. It helps to have someone to talk to. And those who too much withdraw themselves from loved ones and trusted friends likely aren’t...
As to unresolved differences and feelings and offenses, the fact is that when we resent others, it is damaging to us, and it is to our own advantage, no matter whose fault it is, to bring the matter...
“Life gets continually broken in upon,…” said Charles Henry Parkhurst. “Nothing ought so little to surprise us as a surprise.” One of the realities is that life isn’t...