On Humility

Humility – a 14th century word from the Latin humilitas

Humility – a state of being humble

Humility – a modest opinion of one’s self-importance

Humility – demureness, down-to-earthness, humbleness, lowliness, meekness, modesty, submissiveness

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. (C. S. Lewis, novelist)

I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps. (Mahatma Gandhi, leader)

Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. (William Penn, statesman)

I don’t have a set of tenets, but I live an ethical life. I practice a humility that presupposes there’s a power greater than myself. And I always believe, don’t inflict harm where it’s not necessary. (Michael J. Fox, actor)

If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results. (Emily Brontë, author)

Personally, I rather look forward to a computer program winning the world chess championship. Humanity needs a lesson in humility. (Richard Dawkins, scientist)

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men. (Lao Tzu, philosopher)

What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself. (Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President)

Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights. (John R. Wooden, college basketball coach)

Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved? (Carl Sagan, scientist)

Enjoy this video with more wisdom from Carl Sagan about humility.

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On Time

Time is a dimension, a non-spatial continuum for ordering events

Time is a measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues

Time is an appointed, fixed, or customary moment for something to happen, begin, or end

Time can be continuous or in intervals

Time is a moment for opportunity

Time is a period

Time is tempo, a rate of speed

Time is the past, the present, and the future

Time is a moment indicated by a clock or a calendar

Time can be a turn

Time can be finite or infinite

Time can be good, bad, hard, or off

Time moves on, but people can call a time out

Time can be a time for being or being on time

Things can be in time, on time, and time and again

Time can be a moment, a beginning, or an end

Time involves a traveling back to do something different

Time can be behind or ahead; something that we have or waste; keep, lose, give, or fight against

Time is a moment, an occasion, an epoch or an instant, wink or a stretch, and even money

Time is something that passes and does not stop, yet people try to manage it

Philosophers have sought to understand time

Einstein explained that time cannot be in isolation from space

There are connections over time, but only time will tell

“Time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for me” –The Rolling Stones

FYI: For this post, Steve selected the photos and determined the theme. I, without seeing the pictures, wrote the text to his theme, and then he inserted the pictures. Next time, I’m determine the theme, which will be Connections.

Steve is a long-time friend and a good guy. I encourage you to visit his site to see his photos, which are available for purchase. He will also respond to comments here when he can, so feel free to ask him questions.

Photos by Steve Ancik, LightWavesImages

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On a Sudden Change

Life is a journey of ups, downs, twists, turns, and even smooth sailing. For example, I just returned from an emotional visit with my aunt and cousins in Italy (after 48 years). Returning after any time away is never easy, and getting back to the normal routine has its challenges – and complicated by jet lag.

Also, many bloggers put extra pressure on themselves to return to writing, posting, commenting, and visiting others – yep, so do I. Fortunately, readers are more patient and tolerant than we expect of ourselves.

As if I haven’t had enough emotions the past two weeks, this morning I received shocking news of the sudden and tragic passing of a good friend. Informing three others of the incident wasn’t easy. With that in mind, the prudent thing to do is step away again for a few days … probably back this weekend.

Peace to my friend’; comfort and strength to his wife.

Stained glass from a church in Florence (I took the picture)

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On a Word

Word is a sensible string of letters

Word is a single, distinct unit in a language

Word is a combination of sounds acting as a representation

Word can phrase, formulate, verbalize, and couch

Word is a signal, a pass to entry, or a personal declaration

Word can be guidance, news, a signal, or authoritative

Word is news, a rumor, a tale, propaganda, a story, or a promise

Word can long or short, monosyllabic or polysyllabic

Word expresses, but sometimes there is no word

Word is used with others words to communicate or be a private conversation

Words can be few or in so many

Words can be a speech, text, meanings, mottos, proverbs, stories, poems, lyrics, an oath, discussion, or a decree

Word has synonyms as lexeme, chitchat, idiom, utterance, concept, expression, and locution

We can put in a good word, describe in a word or in so many words

The right words can deliver an important message

Actions can substitute for a word

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On a Speck

Whenever comparing items, we need references as a perspective. A mouse is small to us, but we are small compared to a blue whale, and the mouse is large compared to one of its cells. Yet, that same whale is small compared to Mt. Everest, which is a meager spot on or planet – but Earth is so small compared to Jupiter.

The pattern can continue to the Sun, our solar system, to the Milky Way, all the way to the universe. Oh, the wonders that creation provides.

Wonder continue as we go in the opposite direction by examining our cells, to cell parts, to the molecule, its atoms, the atomic parts, and even to the smaller quarks.

Each microliter of human blood has approximately 5 million red blood cells (RBC). Considering that 1 liter contains 1 million microliters, and humans have 5 liters of blood, the total number of RBCs in each of us is quite large. Toss in the fact that each RBC contains 250 million molecules of hemoglobin that is responsible for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide through over 60,000 miles of blood vessels – and this is in each of us.

As social beings, each of us know many people – well, we think we do – but compared to the world population, are interactions are limited to a mere few. Encounters of the cyberkind expand our world, but it is still small.

Each of us have countless daily interactions – some positive, others negative, and most have little effect. Sometimes we know when we affect the life of another, but much of the time, we stand in a clueless abyss. After all, we do not know when the effect of that encounter is transferred to others – perhaps even years later.

Toss in the element of time – all the people who passed before me, and all those who lie ahead of my time. People born, people die. A few become notables, most are commoners. Some are giants to societies. Some are giants in their towns, while others are giants in a family – but many are simply everyday people playing a niche in life. Yes, we all have history and in time, forgotten. Of all these people, only a selected few have recognized names of distinction – and only a few of them will make history books.

I am only 1 of over 7 billion people on our planet at this time, and only 1 of about 108 billion humans born to through the ages.

In some way, these thoughts make me feel worthless. On the other hand, science – and yes, my Christian views – allow me to appreciate being a tiny speck living on a particle of dust in the universe that is vast and intricate – thus I impressed and overwhelmed.

From Neil deGrasse Tyson

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From Symphony of Science

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