William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow'd.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
2008-11-02
2008-10-23
I Love You
Roy Croft
I love you . . .
Not only for what you are
But for what I am when I am with you.
I love you
Not only for what you have made of yourself
But for what you are making of me.
I love you, for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you, for putting your hand
into my heaped-up heart,
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
That you can't help dimly seeing there,
And drawing out into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern, but a temple;
Out of my life, of my everyday
Not a reproach, but a song.
I love you,
Because you have done
More than any creed could have done
To make me feel my goodness.
You have done it,
With your touch, with your words,
With yourself.
I love you . . .
Not only for what you are
But for what I am when I am with you.
I love you
Not only for what you have made of yourself
But for what you are making of me.
I love you, for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you, for putting your hand
into my heaped-up heart,
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
That you can't help dimly seeing there,
And drawing out into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern, but a temple;
Out of my life, of my everyday
Not a reproach, but a song.
I love you,
Because you have done
More than any creed could have done
To make me feel my goodness.
You have done it,
With your touch, with your words,
With yourself.
2008-08-17
Diary 1985, Hannover, Germany
A. Ferrer, 1985, somewhere in Hannover, Germany:
“Hunger is, as such, negative. But nevertheless, it is a much lesser evil in comparison to Greed. In fact, there is no plausible comparison between the two. Hunger can be stilled with a generous portion of a decent meal. But greed? Greed is insatiable. No amount of portion, be it generous or little, can satisfy greed. It is not a mere virus of the society, but a malignant cancer that should be taken away as soon as possible, in order to save what is still left of what has been once a healthy part of social life. Greed can be found nowhere else but in the very core of human beings infested and corrupted by it. Money, power, influence, property, or all of the aforementioned are the ‘foods’ of greed: Foods that will never fill up a bottomless hole. People from all walks of life are both victims and carriers of this cancer. I am not for eliminating walking cancers, my friend. But we can do something directly against the situation:
DO NOT FEED THEM.
DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO INFEST ANYBODY, FROM TODDLERS TO ADULTS.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM.
DO NOT WORK FOR OR WITH THEM.
AVOID THEM WITH ALL YOUR POWER AND DETERMINATION.
DO NOT VOTE THEM INTO OFFICE, WHETHER GOVERNMENTAL OR ECCLESIASTICAL.
DO NOT SHOW RESPECT FOR THEM BECAUSE THAT WILL SEND A DEADLY SIGNAL OF TOLERANCE, ACCEPTANCE OR IMMORAL INDIFFERENCE.
DESPISE THEM AND LET THEM FEEL THAT THEY ARE DESPISED.
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY BY THEIR SWEET TALKS AND PROMISES.
NEVER EVER ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM. CANCER CELLS SPREAD RAPIDLY. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY HAVE GOTTEN YOU ALREADY.
And yet, my friend, every person can change from within… a thorough change… a METANOIA. Should there be clear and genuine transformation, authenticated by deeds and action, another chance should be given them. Just as we would want another chance after true repentance, so should we be to our fellowmen. But unless there is this METANOIA, be strong and determined to fight this devastating social cancer called Greed.”
“Hunger is, as such, negative. But nevertheless, it is a much lesser evil in comparison to Greed. In fact, there is no plausible comparison between the two. Hunger can be stilled with a generous portion of a decent meal. But greed? Greed is insatiable. No amount of portion, be it generous or little, can satisfy greed. It is not a mere virus of the society, but a malignant cancer that should be taken away as soon as possible, in order to save what is still left of what has been once a healthy part of social life. Greed can be found nowhere else but in the very core of human beings infested and corrupted by it. Money, power, influence, property, or all of the aforementioned are the ‘foods’ of greed: Foods that will never fill up a bottomless hole. People from all walks of life are both victims and carriers of this cancer. I am not for eliminating walking cancers, my friend. But we can do something directly against the situation:
DO NOT FEED THEM.
DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO INFEST ANYBODY, FROM TODDLERS TO ADULTS.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM.
DO NOT WORK FOR OR WITH THEM.
AVOID THEM WITH ALL YOUR POWER AND DETERMINATION.
DO NOT VOTE THEM INTO OFFICE, WHETHER GOVERNMENTAL OR ECCLESIASTICAL.
DO NOT SHOW RESPECT FOR THEM BECAUSE THAT WILL SEND A DEADLY SIGNAL OF TOLERANCE, ACCEPTANCE OR IMMORAL INDIFFERENCE.
DESPISE THEM AND LET THEM FEEL THAT THEY ARE DESPISED.
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY BY THEIR SWEET TALKS AND PROMISES.
NEVER EVER ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM. CANCER CELLS SPREAD RAPIDLY. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY HAVE GOTTEN YOU ALREADY.
And yet, my friend, every person can change from within… a thorough change… a METANOIA. Should there be clear and genuine transformation, authenticated by deeds and action, another chance should be given them. Just as we would want another chance after true repentance, so should we be to our fellowmen. But unless there is this METANOIA, be strong and determined to fight this devastating social cancer called Greed.”
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