Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer
"Mindful"
Why I Wake Early (2004)
Bael to Davram Bashere
(15 October 1994)
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer
"Mindful"
Why I Wake Early (2004)
“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
Misattributed
Source: Cited as being from The Meditations. This quote does not exist there; although there are several other statements about everything being an opinion, none of these are connected to a sentence about perspectives.
Max Lucado (1955) American clergyman and writer
Source: Max on Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions
Richard Hamming (1915–1998) American mathematician and information theorist
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics (1980)
“We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) Russian dramatist, author and physician
Act IV
Uncle Vanya (1897)
Alvin C. York (1887–1964) United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
Account of 8 October 1918.
Diary of Alvin York
Context: We were deep in the brush and we couldn't see the Germans and they couldn't see us. But we could hear their machine guns shooting something awful. Savage's squad was leading, and mine, Early's and Cutting's followed. — And when we jumped across a little stream of water that was there, they was about 15 or 20 Germans jumped up and threw up their hands and said, "Kamerad!" So the one in charge of us boys told us not to shoot: they was going to give up anyway.
It was headquarters. There were orderlies, stretcher bearers and runners, and a major and two other officers, They were just having breakfast and there was a mess of beef-steaks, jellies, jams, and loaf bread around. They were unarmed, all except the major.
We jumped them right smart and covered them, and told them to throw up their hands and to keep them up. And they did. I guess they thought the whole American army was in their rear. And we didn't stop to tell them anything different. No shots were fired, and there was no talking between us except when we told them to "put them up."
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian spiritual philosopher
Vol. II, p. 30
1980s, Letters to the Schools (1981, 1985)
Context: Attention involves seeing and hearing. We hear not only with our ears but also we are sensitive to the tones, the voice, to the implication of words, to hear without interference, to capture instantly the depth of a sound. Sound plays an extraordinary part in our lives: the sound of thunder, a flute playing in the distance, the unheard sound of the universe; the sound of silence, the sound of one’s own heart beating; the sound of a bird and the noise of a man walking on the pavement; the waterfall. The universe is filled with sound. This sound has its own silence; all living things are involved in this sound of silence. To be attentive is to hear this silence and move with it.
“Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.”
Shunryu Suzuki (1904–1971) Japanese Buddhist missionary
Wherever You Are, Enlightenment Is There (page127)
Not Always So, practicing the true spirit of Zen (2002)