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ABSENCE
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
~ Traditional ~
No, you won't find that in any of our anthologies. However, we hope it is true in
this case, as we have not issued a newsletter in a while. We said it would be
sporadic and we want to live up to our word. We feel it's important to be true to
our word, otherwise we devalue language and rob it of power and meaning. As Kongfuzi
(Confucius) advises:
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more …
If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.
If language be not in accordance with the truth of things,
affairs cannot be carried on to success.
This is the import of the section Logos in our book. If you haven't
read it and you are involved in thinking, speaking and writing -- who isn't? -- then
you should do yourself a favor and study this section.
APPRECIATION
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are
conscious of our treasures.
~ Thornton Wilder, 1897-1975 ~
The treasure of wisdom with which we are privileged to be associated, continues to
spread its blessings. We notched up record sales over the holiday season and though
sales declined subsequently, as to be expected, demand continues. An average of 10
copies per month is sold on Amazon.com, and local bookstore, Busboys and Poets,
moves an average 5 copies per month. In the absence of promotional megabucks, and
for a book of this type and price, we think that is phenomenal. Much thanks go to
you for having purchased copies and introduced it to others. Keep up the good work.
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
~ William James, 1842-1910 ~
INFLUENCE / EFFECT
Any ordinary favor we do for someone or any compassionate reaching out
may seem to be going nowhere at first, but may be planting a seed we can’t see right
now. Sometimes we need to just do the best we can and trust in an unfolding we can’t
design or ordain.
~ Sharon Salzberg ~
In a review she wrote on Amazon.com, reader Cindy Johnson compared the quotations to
"seeds of wisdom, which take root and create positive 'fruits of the spirit.'" In
the same way, you can share the blessings you have received working with the wisdom,
by writing reviews in blogs and on websites like Amazon and B&N. Tell your friends.
Forward this newsletter and invite them to join our list.
CREATIVITY / DISCOVERY / INNOVATION
Where there is creating, there is progress.
Where there is no creating, there is no progress.
Know the nature of creating.
Where there is joy, there is creating.
Know the nature of joy.
~ Chandogya Upanishad ~
Anthologist Larry Chang is busy at work compiling our next publication Wisdom
for the Soul of Black Folk which should be released in a few months. He is
very excited about it and has shared this tidbit he's using as an epigraph to
tantalize us:
Why should I pester you with quotations? – to shew you the depth of
my erudition, and strut like the fabled bird in his borrowed plumage.
~ Ignatius Sancho, 1729-1780 ~
Sancho was born as a slave on a ship bound for the Caribbean from North Africa. He ended up as a grocer, composer and socialite, the first Black person to vote in 18th Century London where his letters were published.
On the heels of Black History Month and now Women's History Month, Larry is also enthused by quotations from Mary Seacole, a self-created and determined nurse from Jamaica who volunteered to serve in the Crimean War tending to the wounded. She was rejected and dissed by Florence Nightingale who accused her of running a bawdy house. Seacole was successful in treating cholera and other conditions through the use of herbs and natural remedies she had learnt from her doctoress mother back in Jamaica. Miss Nightingale may have felt threatened by her alternative efficacy. Mother Seacole, as she was fondly known by her "boys", was recently selected first among 100 Great Black Britons. To stay off the streets, she penned an account of her life, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, to gain some income. We suspect Larry is attempting to follow this noble, if precarious, precedent.
To hear Larry tell it, we think he is having entirely too much of a good time discovering all this rich history in his research. We will attempt to rein him in enough that we can get the manuscript done and to the printers. He acknowledges Seneca's directive, He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone, so he has asked us to issue a Call for Submissions of quotations by Black authors. You may suggest the category and include the source if you can. Please do us a big favor and send those in so he'll have lots to choose from and, hopefully, get this baby to bed that much sooner. Send your quotations to submissions@wisdomforthesoul.org or complete this form .
INFLUENCE / EFFECT of GIVING / SERVING
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the
life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
shared.
~ Buddha, c. 563-483 BCE ~
We are joining a growing number of producers who are adhering to copyleft
standards as opposed to copyright which hampers creativity, collaboration
and synthesis (each of these a chapter in our book). We have subscribed to
Creative Commons licences which will apply to all our works going forward.
Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil, who happens to be also Brazil's Minister
of Culture, is at the forefront of the movement to liberalize intellectual
property rights. For more information see
Creative Commons. Even before
this, we had intended to post the entire content of WFTS online, a project
which continues (when we can get to it).
Sections A to D
have already been posted .
ATTENTION / AWARENESS
Like the glow-worm; dowdy, minute, passive, yet full of mystery
to the poet, and passionate significance to its fellows; so everything and
everybody eternally radiate their dim light for those who care to seek. The
strawberry hidden under the last leaf cries, “Pick me”; the forgotten book,
in the forgotten book shop, screams to be discovered.
~ Cyril Connolly, 1903-1974 ~
One of the best-kept secrets of the capital is a little bookshop called The
Potter's House. They specialize in spiritual literature and have an excellent selection, many titles not readily found elsewhere. They stock WFTS and offer it at a generous discount. Drop in for food for your soul along with pastry and a cup of java . You can find them at 1658 Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC 2009, 202 232 5483.
OPPORTUNITY
How singular, in the vastness of creation, is the richness of our opportunity.
~ John Cheever, 1912-1982 ~
So far, this is our calendar:
Send your comments, news, listings, quotations, musings. We'd love to learn of and from you.
Quotations from Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing
Winner - Non-Fiction Anthologies, Best Books 2006 National Book Awards
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