ON TODAY'S SITE:

Frank Lloyd Wright anecdote, John Andrew Holmes, Portuguese proverb,
Boris Pastenak, Morihei Ueshiba, Wayne Teasdale, Bruce Larson
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The Duomo, Florence, Italy  Photo by Chuck Bowman        All rights reserved

         

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that
seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence
on the rest of his life. The winter he was nine, he went walking
across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense
uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his
uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow,
straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank's
tracks meandering all over the field. "Notice how your tracks
wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods
and back again," his uncle said. "And see how my tracks
aim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that."

Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how this
experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life.
"I determined right then," he'd say with a twinkle in his
eye, "not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had."



Cited from Focus on the Family Letter
September, 1992



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Never tell a young person that anything
cannot be done. God may have been waiting
centuries for someone ignorant enough of
the impossible to do that very thing.


John Andrew Holmes


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Stumbling is not falling.


Portuguese proverb



Photo by Lisa Bowman   All rights reserved



I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled.
Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value.
Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them.

Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)
Poet and novelist


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Failure is the key to success;
each mistake teaches us something.


Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969)
Famous martial artist


...Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of the martial art aikido
and author of "The Art of Peace," shows here, failure
is not an end but a beginning, because it reveals some-
thing that will assist us in moving forward...Of course,
we don't typically view failure as a key to success be-
cause it is painful. But we all experience failure in our
lives. It's part of growth and maturity. What we learn
from each instance of failure becomes the basis of our
ultimate success if we approach each mistake with
awareness and learn to make the necessary changes.
Do not flee the moments of failure.



Excerpted from "The Mystic Hours,"
by Wayne Teasdale
New World Library, 2004