What the world needs now …
For all its bumps and twists, despite always facing new challenges, the world and its travellers are a wondrous thing.
A Merry Christmas and thank you to all for your stimulating company – you make an old woman realise she has a lot to learn.
At this time of year, politics seems so measly … so trivial.
I came across this list of quotes and would like to share it with you. Perhaps someday we will finally agree about what’s really important.
1. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
3. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. “Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” – George Sand
5. “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William Arthur Ward
6. “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” – Albert Schweitzer
7. “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana
8. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” – Barbara de Angelis
9. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams
10. “One who is kind is sympathetic and gentle with others. He is considerate of others’ feelings and courteous in his behavior. He has a helpful nature. Kindness pardons others’ weaknesses and faults. Kindness is extended to all — to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of station as well as the high.” – Ezra Taft Benson
11. “There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.” – Nathaniel Branden
12. “The level of our success is limited only by our imagination and no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
13. “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
14. “Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander
15. “You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force.” – Publilius Syrus
16. “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” – James M. Barrie
17. “Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times.” – John Gerzema
18. “Kind people are the best kind of people.” – author unknown
19. “Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” – Theodore Isaac Rubin
20. “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” – Henry James
21. “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart
22. “How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it!” – George Elliston
23. “One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession.” – Sophocles
24. “He that has done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” – Benjamin Franklin
Best wishes to you all.
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Return to home pageMerry Christmas from an older man (Ye Olde Fart) and peace be with you and yours.
One thing I do more often now is smile, being older now, I feel safer smiling at people I encounter. Ironic .. but I’ll leave that alone.
Dionne Warwick’s song as valid now as it was then, if not more so.
The truly courageous are kind.
Thank you Kaye, that’s very kind of you! I will pass it on, Malcolm
Thanks for all your opinions and I am wishing you and all at AIM A Merry Christmas and Happy 2019.
Thanks Kaye. These are lovely.
Thanks to you Kaye. My late father always said when asked how to reciprocate a kindness: Pass it on.
Kaye, yes what the world needs now is love, sweet love, that’s the thing that there’s just too little of…. another year almost gone, an enjoyable year as far as AIM wtiters go and especially you Kaye. I have not read a post of your’s that I have not liked and admired.
Merry Christmas and a Happy and more Prosperous year to all AIM writers, and all AIM readers.
I have seen the light and the light is kindness.
Now DON’T SWITCH THE BLOODY THING OFF!
A happy Xmas Kaye and a happy Xmas to everyone else!
I’m with Sophocles (no23)
Be well, be happy, be amazing but even more importantly, be bloody kind!
Kaye, thank you for all your writing over the year. They were always thought provoking. Wishing you and the AIM family a very kind and loving Christmas and an inspiring New Year.
“Perhaps someday we will finally agree about what’s really important.”
Whilst words provide comfort, solace, or even inspiration, there is something wonderful and endearing about the humanity of humanity. When people act out of no other consideration than kindness. There is no accountant’s ledger to weigh a cost against a future income, no lawyers contract to value a gift against a potential return. Anna Funder’s description of Australia and Australian’s encapsulate so much.
“It is a glorious country, which aspires to no kind of glory. Its people aim for something both more basic and more difficult: Decency. I couldn’t see it at first, but now it is all around me, quiet and fundamental.”
There is a fellow by the name of Kon Karapanagiotidis, and, if you want to give yourself a Christmas present that will last beyond a single day, read his book, ‘The Power of Hope’.
https://www.readings.com.au/products/25001341/the-power-of-hope
You may be aware that our government has been in relentless pursuit of any who are ‘doing it tough’. Mr Karapanagiotidis has been equally relentless in refusing to accept that they represent the Australia he lives in. Through the ASRC, there have been literally dozens of campaigns launched to seek funds and support to protect people from this government over the past years. On December 20, Mr Karapanagiotidis launched a drive for funds for legal challenges for refugees and asylum seekers and a ‘food drive’.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=341910905847062
For those who think this government is in any way a reflection of Australia or Australian’s, read the posts from 23rd December, about an asylum seeker who had found work through the ASRC and returned with a boot load of food, about young Jack who raised $30 by selling lemonade.
Read the post from 24th December, describing how 1,500 Australians in just two days changed Christmas for so many more people.
Without wishing to dampen in any way the significance of words, it is very reassuring to know that humanity really is powered by that inherent kindness.
As always, a wonderful read Ms Lee. All the very best to you and yours for the season. Take care
Thank you KL for your spirited writing this past year. I think # 19 says it all, as wisdom seems to come with age too!
Thank you, Kaye, for all your postings: wise, incisive when needed, always honest and direct. You are indeed a treasure. A friend and I share and discuss every one of your contributions. Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and keep posting, please!
Kindness starts with Kaye. 😆
Hey, LOVO, what about me? 😇
PS: Bacchus blamed you for pinching the keys to the cellar. 😱
I never pinched the keys….I kicked the f’n door in…..nothing stands between me and a bottle of Blackberry nip.
waves
I left a case in there just for you.
I knew thus that the Grange would be safe. 😉
Thank you Michael and Carol for this wonderful forum to meet with like (and unlike) minds.
Thank you Kaye for your incredible output, always interesting and pertinent articles.
Thank you Rossleigh for the laughs, so good to see the irritating and hypocritical government actions treated with the contempt and humour they deserve. Laughter is the best resistance.
Thank you to all contributors and commenters. I may not always agree with your opinions but you do make life interesting.
Adrianne
Wish I’d written that … all I can add is
DITTO
Unfortunately the world has Trump.
Thanks, yet again, for sharing your (old lady) love and wisdom, Kaye. Merry Chrissy to all – you’re a good bunch!
I was banned from the Beverley Hills Swimming Club because I’m Jewish.
‘My son’s only half Jewish, I said, ‘so could he go in up to his waist? ‘
Groucho Marx
(…and I thought that only women come up with practical solutions to life’s problems, be they minor or major…sorry blokes, no offence meant, I admit to my error)
Groucho Marx has some wonderful quotes.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
What is this “old” woman business???? I do NOT include “o-l-d” in my lexicon; that is for other people.
As many say above, thank you for your perceptive objective analyses of the self-serving world of Liarbral Notional$ misgovernment that will soon be swept into the WPB of Australian political history.
Beautiful post, Kaye. Your writings have been a highlight for me throughout 2018. Always considered, always thoughtful. Best wishes to you and all of the AIMN family for New Year. Strap in for what could be a wild ride!
Btw, Kaye, I’ve sent your article to my teenage boys – there is wisdom to be gained!
Ian,
I spent Xmas day with our very large extended family spanning four generations. Speaking to the generations below was a real highlight (though I did get in trouble for not spending enough time with my own generation and the one above but it wouldn’t be Xmas without getting in trouble for something). In many ways, it is us that can gain wisdom from our kids. They really do make me smile.
Kaye, I was always getting into trouble with my Dad for going out into the back lane and playing cricket with my nephew. Hitting sixes off my nephew’s sloppy bowling was always more fun than sharing a six pack with boring adults.
A few years later I went to one of my niece’s for Xmas dinner. I bought her oldest son a plastic cricket set. Excitedly, he wanted to have a hit and invited me to bowl.
I bowled him seven tines in seven balls.
He retired from the crease, and asked:
“How did I go, Uncle Michael?”
“Just great,” I replied.
Isn’t that what Christmas is about Michael. There was beach cricket going on at ours – I was on shark patrol which means I get to stand on the verandah drinking. I met my great nephew for the first time. We popped more than our share of bon-bons until he got an orange hat and a fan. He became the most popular boy there with us oldies as he tottered around fanning us all laughing away.
We used to do novelty relays a lot in years gone by. There is always that one brother-in-law that feels he has to beat the 6 year old.
As I spoke to the young ones I was blown away with what they are doing and what exciting people they are. They make me much less scared about the future than our country’s supposed leaders do.
Thank you sincerely Kaye for all the thought provoking writing you have contributed via the AIMN
I concur with your views on the young ones. They are the key to our future.
Kaye, speaking of the wisdom of the young I’d like to retell a recent experience with my two teenage boys (age 19 & 13).
We donated a food parcel to a refugee welfare service (ASRC) and on the walk back to the car our conversation went:
Dad: How was that boys?
Teen 13: It was great to give for the refugees. It was amazing to see so many other people giving freely. It made me feel good.
Teen 19: Yeah, it was good. But I feel a bit sad because in a rich country like ours this shouldn’t be necessary. We should be looking after these people in need much better than we do.
Dad (thinking): My boys are on the right path!
The wisdom of the young, indeed!
Footnote: The ASRC received food valued at $50,000 in just 24 hours. People can be so wonderful when a call for help goes out. 🙂
Your boys sound like wonderful people Ian.
My cousin retired not so long ago and immediately joined the local refugee support group. She collects together donated stuff and delivers it to refugee communities in Sydney. She also volunteered to become a court support person, something which required extensive training and screening.
So many good people doing great things.
As Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change that you want to see in the world.”
…what the world needs now is a bit of cooling.
( I live in Southern Highlands, and even here the temperature is supposed to climb up to mid thirties, oh well ,at least it’s cool inside….)
Thank you Kaye, AIM and contributors; all as inspirational as ever.
Happy New Year!