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Potpourri of Quotes,
Memes and Photos
Let me begin with an award-winning photograph I came across. I wish you could see it. While 1,000 words would not do it justice, I shall try with about 100.
A majestic elephant, long in tusk, is walking alongside a skinny lioness on a sandy patch in the Savannah. The sky is blue and cloudless, visually radiating scorching temperatures.
But one must look closely to see what makes the photo so special: cradled in elephant’s curved trunk is a tiny lion cub. According to the caption, the cub was overcome by heat and having great difficulty walking. The elephant, realizing the cub would die without assistance, carried it to a watering hole.
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The elephant and lioness remind me of this observation by John Steinbeck: “When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you’ve got two new people.”
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From my mentor Wayne Bryan: “If you can give nothing else, give encouragement.”
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A meme with a runner slogging through a snowstorm encourages: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.”
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Similarly, and more beautifully, a meme with a painting of a woman tending a bed of flowers bears this Rudyard Kipling quote: “Gardens are not made by singing, ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.”
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“Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to accomplish it,” advised H. Jackson Brown. “The time will pass anyway.”
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Echoing time’s theme, I love this answer legendary cellist Pablo Casals gave when asked, at age 90, why he continued to practice: “Because I think I’m making progress.”
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Again from Mr. Brown: “Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.”
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This unattributed friendship meme made me smile: “What’s your favorite place?”
“I don’t have a favorite place. I have my favorite people. And, whenever I’m with my favorite people, it becomes my favorite place.”
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Similarly, Winnie the Pooh shares with Piglet: “Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day.”
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“This is a wonderful day,” Maya Angelou said. “I have never seen this one before.”
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From “butterfly rising”, who like e. e. cummings writes in all lowercase letters, comes this gem: “if i do one thing today / may i be human sunshine / for someone”.
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Speaking of human sunshine, my dear friend Connie “Mrs. Figs” Halpern likes to say, “Where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time.”
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Anonymous wisdom in a sunflower meme: “You will never speak to anyone more than you speak to yourself in your head, so be kind to yourself.”
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On the topic of kindness, I came across this short but powerful vignette without attribution:
“I heard my mother asking our neighbor for some salt. I asked her why she was asking them as we have salt at home. She replied, ‘It’s because they are always asking us for things – they’re poor. So, I thought I’d ask something small from them so as not to burden them, but at the same time make them feel as if we need them, too. That way it’ll be easier for them to ask us for anything they need from us.”
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Or, as Rumi poetically preached: “Be the one who, when you walk in, / Blessing shifts to the one who needs it most. / Even if you’ve not been fed, Be bread.”
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
- Personalized signed copies are at WoodyWoodburn.com