Home: Consider This

We Sail the Ocean Blue

We sail the ocean blue,
And our saucy ship's a beauty;
We're sober men and true,
And attentive to our duty.
When the balls whistle free
O'er the bright blue sea,
We stand to our guns all day;
When at anchor we ride
On the Portsmouth tide,
We have plenty of time to play.

Ahoy! Ahoy! The balls whistle free.
Ahoy! Ahoy! O'er the bright blue sea,
We stand to our guns, to our guns all day.

We sail the ocean blue,
And our saucy ship's a beauty;
We're sober men and true,
And attentive to our duty;
Our saucy ship's a beauty,
We're attentive to our duty;
We're sober men and true,
We sail the ocean blue!
—Arther Seymour Sullivan (Of Gilbert & Sullivan) from their opera H.M.S. Pinafore

Source: Lyricsandsongs.com's We Sail the Ocean Blue Lyrics
See also:
> It's the birthday of one half of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera writing team, Arthur Seymour Sullivan, born in London in 1842. He died in England on November 22, 1900.
> See: Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac for Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Stupid is as Stupid Does

It is so pleasant to come across people more stupid than ourselves. We love them at once for being so.
— Jerome K. Jerome

Source: Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac for Friday, May 2, 2008

Do You Keep the Channel Open?

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.
—Martha Graham

Source: Garr Reynold's blog: Presentation Zen, April 12, 2008 entry Ichi-nichi issho: Each day is a lifetime
See also:
> The incredibly inspiring The Last Lecture | Randy Pausch and the lecture itself :
(about 76 minutes you can't miss!)

Happy Birthday William Shakespeare

The quality of mercy is not strain'd;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
—Portia in Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice Act 4, scene 1, 180–187

Source: Shakespeare Quotes at enotes.com The quality of mercy is not strained.
> Also: The Merchant Of Venice Act 4, scene 1, 180–187
> It is the believed to be birthday of William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-on-Avon, England in 1564. He died on April 23, 1616.
> See: Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac for Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Quick Reference: Metric Conversions

centimeters x 0.3937 = inches
inches x 2.54 = centimeters

meters x 3.281 = feet
feet x 0.3048 = meters

miles x 1.609 = kilometers
kilometers x 0.6214 = miles

kilograms x 2.2046 = pounds
pounds x 0.45359 = kilograms

A Friendship Blessing

May you be blessed with good friends.
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself.
May you be able to journey to that place in your soul
   where there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging.
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them and may you be there for them;
   may they bring you all the blessings, challenges, truth,
   and light that you need for your journey.
May you never be isolated.
May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam cara.
—John O'Donohue

Source: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue Harper Perennial 1998 & 2004 ISBN-13: 978-0-06-092943-5

Light Within You

The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.
—Shakti Gawain

Source: Spirit window card series, by Compendium, Inc.
See also: Shakti Gawain's Web site