William Blake 1757-1827 ~ Katie Melua 1984- ...Shy Boy

To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wildflower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.

Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862 ~ John Prine 1946- ...Bruised Orange

I saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horse's path
and the wheel-track. An inch more to the right or left had sealed its fate,
or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had a thousand
acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger it occurred. It
did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by apprehending it.

Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 ~ Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) 1948- ...The Wind

Of all the sounds despatched abroad there's not a charge to me
Like that old measure in the boughs that phraseless melody
The wind does working like a hand whose fingers comb the sky,
Then quiver down with tufts of tune permitted gods and me.
When winds go round and round in bands and thrum upon the door,
And birds take places overhead to bear them orchestra,
I crave him grace of summer boughs if such an outcast be,
He never heard the fleshless chant rise solemn in the tree,
As if some caravan of sound on deserts in the sky,
Had broken rank then knit and passed in seamless company.

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882 ~ Daniel Lanois 1951- ...Here Is What Is

For flowers that bloom about our feet; for song of bird and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see, Father in heaven, we thank thee!
For blue of stream and blue of sky; for pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze; for beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven we thank thee! For mother-love and father-care,
For brothers strong and sisters fair; for love at home and here each day;
For guidance lest we go astray, Father in heaven, we thank thee!
For this new morning with its light; for rest and shelter of the night;
For health and food, for love and friends; for everything his goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank thee!

Epicharmus 540-450ish BC ~ Jerry Garcia 1942-1995 & The Grateful Dead ...Eyes Of The World

It is the understanding that sees and hears.
It is the understanding that improves everything.

Robert Louis Stevenson 1859-1894 ~ Toy Caldwell 1947-1993 (Marshall Tucker Band) ...Can't You See : Matt Minglewood 1947-

That man is a sucess who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect
of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem,
or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it;
who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.

George Fox 1624-1691 ~ Neko Case 1970- ...Hold On, Hold On

Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts
and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind...
thou wilt receive his strength and power from whence life comes
to allay all tempests, against blusterings and storms.

Anna Quindlen 1952- ~ Bjork 1965- & Thom Yorke 1968- ...I've Seen It All

Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about these things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a cherry with her thumb and first finger. Get a life in which you are not alone, Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love isnot leisure: it is work. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity.
Work in a Soup Kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. Everyone wants to do well. But if you donot do good too, then doing well will never be enough. It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the World and try to give some of it back because I believed in it,
completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: consider the lilies of the field. Eat in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.

Philippians 4:8 ~ Stevie Wonder 1950- ...I Believe (When I Fall In Love)

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.