Be
a Hero for a Better World ... Every Act of Kindness Makes
a Difference!
BREATHE
"I
can't imagine a right more basic than the right to
breathe clean air. We've debated for years how that
might be possible. Now that we know it is, will we
have the courage and the conviction to get there?"
~ Ed
Begley, Jr.
*
"I have never believed we had to choose between either
a clean and safe environment or a growing economy.
Protecting the health and safety of all Americans
doesn’t have to come at the expense of our economy’s
bottom line. And creating thriving companies and new
jobs doesn’t have to come at the expense of the air
we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, or
the natural landscape in which we live. We can, and
indeed must, have both."
~ Bill
Clinton
"The
air, the water and the ground are free gifts to man and
no one has the power to portion them out in parcels. Man
must drink and breathe and walk and therefore each man has
a right to his share of each."
~ James Fennimore Cooper
To
laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children; to earn the
appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal
of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to leave the
world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden
patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that
even one life has breathed easier because you have
lived. This is to have succeeded. -- Ralph
Waldo Emerson
Every
breath we take, every step we make, can be filled
with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be
awake, alive in the present moment.
-- Thich
Nhat Hanh
We have
ignored cultural literacy in thinking about education We
ignore the air we breathe until it is thin or foul. Cultural
literacy is the oxygen of social intercourse. -- E. D. Hirsch,
Jr.
*
"Let
America be America, where equality is in the air we
breathe."
-- Langston
Hughes
*
"Our
most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet.
We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's
future. And we are all mortal." -- John
F. Kennedy
*
"...if
we want to meet the obligations of our civilization
and our culture which are to create communities for
our children that provide them with the same opportunities
for dignity and enrichment as the communities that
our parents gave us, we've got to start by protecting
that infrastructure; the air that we breathe, the
water that we drink, the landscapes that enrich us."
~ Robert
Kennedy, Jr.
*
We are living in a science-fiction nightmare where
children are gasping for breath on bad-air days because
somebody gave money to a politician. And my children
and the kids of millions of other Americans can no
longer go fishing and eat their catch because somebody
gave money to a politician. ~ Robert
Kennedy, Jr.
If you want to get peace, you can get it as soon
as you like if we all pull together. You're all
geniuses and you're all beautiful. You don't need
anybody to tell you who you are or what you are.
You are what you are. Get out there and get peace.
Think peace, live peace, and breathe peace and you'll
get it as soon as you like.
-- John
Lennon
"I
shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"In
the midst of living life; in the midst of chaos; in
the midst of endless lists of to-do's and people to
take care of and little pieces of you going outward,
I challenge you to shift your subconscious, to shift
your attitude, and find three things to feel grateful
for. Look around you with your senses. What three
small things can you feel grateful for? Think about
it and breathe it in and say: 'I am grateful. I am
grateful. I am grateful for all the abundance around
me and in me.' What do you picture when you say these
words? Imagine it as if it is true. I am grateful
for all the abundance around me and in me."
-- Cheryl
Melody
"In
the midst of living life; in the midst of chaos; in
the midst of endless lists of to-do's and people to
take care of and little pieces of you going outward,
I challenge you to shift your subconscious, to shift
your attitude, and find three things to feel grateful
for. Look around you with your senses. What three
small things can you feel grateful for? Think about
it and breathe it in and say: 'I am grateful. I am
grateful. I am grateful for all the abundance around
me and in me.' What do you picture when you say these
words? Imagine it as if it is true. I am grateful
for all the abundance around me and in me." -- Cheryl
Melody
"The
beautiful in life...
Some talk of it in poetry,
Some grow it from the soil,
Some build it in a steeple,
Some show it through their toil.
Some breathe it into music,
Some mold it into art,
Some shape it into bread loaves...
Some hold it in their hearts."
-- Bernard Meltzer
"Fear
less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say
more;
Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours."
--Jean Baptiste Moliere
*
“It’s
very important that we expand our use of clean energy
and make a long-term commitment to it.
-- Julia
Roberts
“It’s
very important that we expand our use of clean energy
and make a long-term commitment to it. Biodiesel
and ethanol are better for the environment and for
the air we breathe.The use of biodiesel is a positive
step toward minimizing pollutive emissions and greenhouse
gases. By focusing on school buses, we can affect
the health and wellbeing of the people most susceptible
to that pollution – our children – today.”
-- Julia
Roberts
All
things are connected.All things share the same breath
- the beast, the tree, the man... the air shares its
spirit with all the life it supports.
~ Chief
Seattle
*
Just as with other great words, the word environment
means different things. You might say that a cave
woman twenty thousand years ago sweeping out the cave
was improving the environment. Many people improving
the environment think only in terms of the air they
breathe in their hometown and the water in the aquifer
under their hometown. My guess is very few are thinking
centuries ahead or thousand of years ahead, but that’s
what we have to do.
~ Pete
Seeger
Breathe.
Be calm. Reflect. Refocus. Be determined. Act...
Repeat as necessary.
--
Robert
Alan Silverstein
When
a moment is carrying your thoughts and emotions somewhere
you don't want to go, stop, take a deep breath and
slowly whisper "May Peace Prevail On Earth" a few
times. This simple phrase will center you, and remind
you that you are never alone in your wish for a better
world. At any moment many others are sharing this
universal wish all across the globe.
--
Robert
Alan Silverstein
Whenever
we feel overwhelmed by the amount that needs to be
done, or caught up in a moment of anger, we need to
take time out for peace of mind.
For some, prayer or meditation will be the way to
refocus and remember our higher purpose. Simply stopping
for a moment and taking a deep breath and counting
to ten, is sometimes all that we need to pull us out
of a situation so that we can pause, and refocus and
restore the balance of purpose and direction.
--
Robert
Alan Silverstein
The
best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils,
light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your
hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp
at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes,
certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest
things in life.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
*
"Our
expanding ethnic diversity of this century, a time
when we will all be minorities, offers us an invitation
to create a larger memory of who we are as Americans
and to re-affirm our founding principle of equality.
Let's put aside fears of the "disuniting of America"
and warnings of the "clash of civilizations." As Langston
Hughes sang, "Let America be America, where equality
is in the air we breathe."
-- Ronald
Takaki
“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink
the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to
the influences of each.”
-- Henry
David Thoreau
Wilbur burst into tears. "I dont want to die," he
moaned. "I want to stay alive, right here in my comfortable
manure pile with all my friends. I want to breathe
the beautiful air and lie in the beautiful sun."
~ E.
B. White (Charlotte's Web)
Breathe.
Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment
is the only one you know you have for sure.
-- Oprah
Winfrey
Read The Better World
Shopping Guide Every Dollar Makes
a Difference Purchase
at Amazon.com
Read The BETTER
WORLD BOOK ... join
the betterworld
movement... FREE
online