Equals

Here are a few more quotable quotes:

Joseph Epstein wrote, "We do not choose our parents. We did not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how to live."

Rudolf Dreikurs observed, "A great many people fall in love with a person who offers the least possibility of a harmonious union."

John Gardner wrote, "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."

Jack Gibbs said, "Self-confidence is the result of successfully surviving risk."

Garrison Keillor said, "Sometimes you have to look reality in the eye - and deny it."

And I like this one. Sir Winston Churchill said, "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs see us as equals."

Two Horses

I loved going to the Houston Rodeo when I was a boy.

I will never forget the fellow who came in near the end of the Grand Parade, riding around the ring with each of his feet on the back of a different white stallion. The band was playing "The Eyes of Texas;" he had a U.S. flag in one boot and a Texas flag in the other boot; and he was waving a ten-gallon hat.

I thought to myself, Wouldn't it be great to do that and to have everyone clap and shout for you?

As he rode by one section of stands, two little boys leaned over the rail: one waved a red nylon jacket, and the other stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Instantly, both horses bucked and ran east and west. They hauled the rider off in an ambulance.

I learned a serious lesson that day: It is dangerous to ride two horses at the same time. We have to decide.

Swiss Goats

The Swiss say that in the mountains there are steep pathways where there is only room for one traveler. They say that often two goats, going in opposite directions, meet on these paths. When this happens the goats have a choice: they can butt heads, causing at least one, and perhaps both, to fall off a cliff; or one can kneel down and let the other step over.

It is sad to say but Swiss goats are smarter than people. Inevitably, one goat kneels and allows the other to pass over his body. We humans don't do that. We will lower our heads and collide with others even if it means our own destruction.

Pacific Salmon

Do you know about the life cycle of the Pacific salmon? It is hatched in a little inland brook. As it grows, it begins to make its way into streams, then rivers, and finally into the Pacific Ocean. There it enjoys a wonderful life roaming the broad, powerful waves.

But for some unknown reason, one day a timer goes off in the salmon's head, and it makes its way from the ocean, to the river, to the stream, to the brook where it had been hatched. And there it dies.

They call it a homing instinct. The same instinct in the Pacific salmon exists in thousands of other creatures: pigeons, Monarch butterflies, geese, and the caribou, to mention a few.

And the same instincts are in each of us. The Good Book says it this way: "The creator has put eternity in our hearts."

Quotable Quotes

Here are more quotable quotes.

John Gardner wrote, "We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."

Mark Twain quipped, "The only way to keep your health is to eat what you do not want, desire what you do not like, and do what you had rather not do."

There is a Chinese proverb, "The leaving of something brings the true appreciation of it."

The French scientist-priest, Teilhard de Chardin observed, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

The writer William Somerset Maugham said, "People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise."

And Henry Kissinger was right when he said, "Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad name."

Which Dog Will You Feed?

I love this quote from the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw.

"A Native American elder once described his own inner struggle in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most."

Mr. Shaw was right. Inside each of us there is good and evil. They compete for control of our lives, and which one wins is determined by what we choose to think about, nurture, and obey.

So which dog will you choose to feed today?

Decisions

Many of us feel guilty about some of the bad decisions we have made. We did wrong, and we have suffered a banquet of consequences.

But has it ever occurred to you that if you had made other choices, they might not have worked out perfectly either?

Life is not mechanical. It is not about making all the right choices and living happily ever after.

No matter who we are, how great we are, we are going to make some bad choices. The good news is that there is a merciful supreme being who loves us and who uses even our worst mistakes for good in our lives and in the lives of others.

Besides, even when we make mistakes, life is not over. There are still choices to be made, and those choices will be woven into the fabric of our life's story.