All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone. Blaise Pascal

I've got myself into more trouble just wanting to sit quietly than I care to remember.

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914) American Journalist and Editorialist

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” – Ambrose Bierce

How true (and how important to remember)

But to be honest, it's very difficult. Nobody want to be honest. Everybody want to be right, and this is the problem. Being honest, it means not to give up. Being honest, it means to being a human. And if you consider yourself as a judge, you have to be honest. And if you consider yourself as a democratic country, you have to be honest. And if you consider yourself as a human, you don't have just to feel sorry about that, but to understand what the other need to live as a human and to give them those needed by understanding their pain and by representing your pain as a human to allow them to understand you.

From an interview with Robi Damelin and Ali Abu Awwad on Speaking of Faith, a radio program that starts most of my Sundays off with conversations I'm probably not awake enough to appreciate fully. Damelin and Awwad are "part of a gathering network of Israelis and Palestinians who've lost loved ones in the crisis between their peoples" and are featured in the documentary Encounter Point. It's amazing to listen to people who have suffered and lost so much and who seem they should be trapped in a conflict between peoples come to an understanding, take responsibility, and begin to take constructive action that could lead to improvements in the condition of all people. Puts the importance we place on less significant problems into focus (if they can achieve that, we should be able to...).

Already looking forward to next Sunday's program, which will feature Einstein's God, Krista Tippet's new book. The promo promises an inspiring and stimulating discussions on the interplay between scientific and religious inquiry featuring some of today's greatest thinkers, including Freeman Dyson, Paul Davies, Mehmet Oz, Sherwin Nuland, and many others. A fascinating look at the intersection of our deepest questions about science and the human spirit. 

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein