Today's Inspiration (0712)

THINK & ACT From Henri-Louis Bergson

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. About Henri-Louis Bergson French philosopher Henri-Louis Bergson, author of such books as Time and Free Will and Creative Evolution, was so popular that when he lectured in New York, it caused the first Broadway-related traffic jam. He was born in Paris in 1859. His wide-ranging philosophical writing covered issues of time and emotion, pragmatism and perception. He served on French diplomatic missions and was instrumental in forming the League of Nations. He died in 1941.

Today's Inspiration (0711)

THINK From George Jean Nathan

No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched. About George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan, the acerbic American drama critic, was renowned for what he called destructive theater criticism, which helped shape a more serious theatrical community and paved the way for modern critics. He was born in 1882 in Indiana. He and H.L. Mencken coedited the magazines Smart Set and The American Mercury. Although he found little to like in the theater, he became a fierce champion of the playwrights he did appreciate, including Eugene O'Neill and Sean O'Casey. He died in 1958.

Today's Inspiration (0709)

ATTEMPT From Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed. About Baltasar Gracián y Morales Baltasar Gracián y Morales, the Jesuit scholar and moralist author, was the leading Spanish proponent of conceptism (conceptismo), a method of expressing ideas through puns, epigrams, and other verbal devices. He was born in 1601 in Aragon. The Jesuit leadership frowned on his oratorical style, which included reading a letter from Hell to his congregation. His best known books include The Art of Worldly Wisdom and The Hero, which repudiated Machiavelli. He died in 1658.

Today's Inspiration (0708)

COME AND GO from Sara Teasdale

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. About Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale was an American poet in the lyrical tradition, publishing several books of poetry including the award-winning Love Song. Her book of collected poems was first published in 1937 and remains in print. She was born in 1884 in St. Louis and moved to New York in 1915 with her new husband, Ernst Filsinger, whom she later divorced. The poet Vachel Lindsay courted her with passionate letters; they later settled into a close lifelong friendship. She died in 1933.

Today's Inspiration (0707)

LIFE from Raymond Charles Barker

Your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be. About Raymond Charles Barker Raymond Charles Barker was an influential American minister and author in the mid-twentieth century. He wrote such books as The Power of Decision and Treat Yourself to Life, on ways to change subconscious patterns. He became president of the International New Thought Alliance in 1943, a group practicing the religious philosophy developed in the late 1800's by Phineas Quimby, with early proponents including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Unity Church and Divine Science are among its later offshoots.