Hold this ThoughtHold This Thought is a daily, 1-minute thought from literature, history, or culture designed to change the world.Sen. Everett Dirksen speech: Jola Morris- September 8, 2008 Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois became known as Mr. Marigold for his repeated attempts to have the marigold designated the national floral emblem. Dirksen said: "The marigold is ... national in character, for it grows and thrives in every one of the 50 states of this nation. ... Its robustness reflects the hardihood and character of the generations who pioneered and built this land into a great nation. It is not temperamental about fertility. It resists its natural enemies, the insects..http://www.holdthisthought.org/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/8/Sen-Everett-Dirksen-speech-Jola-Mor... The Log from the Sea of Cortez: Trevor Storrs- September 5, 2008 In The Log from the Sea of Cortez, John Steinbeck writes about his friend Ed&39;s unique "ability to receive, to receive anything from anyone, to receive gracefully and thankfully and to make the gift seem very fine. Because of this everyone felt good in giving to Ed -- a present, a thought, anything. ... It is so easy to give, so exquisitely rewarding. Receiving, on the other hand, if it be well done, requires a fine balance of self-knowledge and kindness. It requires humility and tact...http://www.holdthisthought.org/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/5/The-Log-from-the-Sea-of-Cortez-Trev... Tales of the Hasidim: Peggy Kugel- September 4, 2008 In several of his books, Martin Buber tells the story of a famous Hassidic rabbi, Abraham Yaakov of Sadagora. The rabbi insisted that something can be learned from everything, even from the inventions of his time. "Everything can teach us something, and not only everything God has created. What man has made has also something to teach us." "What can we learn from a train" one student asked dubiously. "That because of one second one.http://www.holdthisthought.org/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/4/Ten-Rungs--Hasidic-Sayings-Peggy-Ku... The Open Road: Susan Derrera- September 3, 2008 In The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Pico Iyer writes: The Buddha &39;had no wish to spread his discoveries, since he didn&39;t feel confident that they would be of use or interest to anyone else; the essence of his teaching, famously was "Be lamps unto yourselves" and "Seek no refuge but yourself." But when he became convinced that there might be some virtue in talking of his own experience, he spent the last forty-five years of his life...http://www.holdthisthought.org/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/3/The-Open-Road-Susan-Derrera "Unity": Heather Lende- September 2, 2008 Essayist E.B. White -- he also wrote Charlotte&39;s Web -- spent most of his life celebrating life in a small Maine community, and his observations from that little window changed the way many people saw the wider world. Like this one: in his essay, "Unity," E.B. White writes: "In 1899, the year I was born, a peace conference was held at The Hague. I don&39;t remember how it came out, but there have been two memorable wars since then, and I am now sixty, and peace parleys..http://www.holdthisthought.org/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/2/Unity-Heather-Lende |