Thought for today:
"Let your earliest of learning as a child be that of kindness, and if you are fortunate to grow up, you will grow up a kind adult.
The lives of the deprived and underprivileged do not get better by chance, but by change. There is no greater impetus for one to change than to feel the love of others rooting for you. What you are prepared to allow is what you are prepared to be and what you shall become. Mankind rises in the estimation of others by showing a stranger a wonderful day he has not seen before.
It is a sad reflection of our times that nations speak in different tongues during moments of international crisis, particularly when the greatest exodus in our history is on the march. While Europe squabbles about the solution, not one word of support for the 'genuine refugees' fleeing war-torn countries is to be heard from some of the wealthiest of nations in the world such as America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc. These nations remain as distant as they possibly can from helping to solve this global problem, but be not deceived, we hear the clamour of their silence.
We can never know how much difference our caring can make to another. Small things make up the greater part of one's life and therefore mankind's best contribution to others will remain his nameless oft forgotten acts of kindness and love. Mahatma Gandhi advised us, 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' There is no act of kindness that is too small to matter or too great not to be tried; there is no occasion of need we should allow to pass us by as though it didn't exist.
In all the darkness which surrounds us today can be found a chink of light and rays of hope. Men and women like my step son Matthew, whose birthday it is today, epitomises the essence of this message. When I first met Matthew, he was no older than this innocent child who was recently washed up at sea. Although a man of simple means with very little money to spare, Matthew is generous to the core and would give a stranger his last penny without ever being asked for it. He was brought up by me and his mother to be kind and he has stayed kind ever since. The constancy in his kindness is the greatest gift with which any child can repay their parents and the world in which they live. Happy birthday, Matthew. I love you son." William Forde: September 7th, 2015.
"Let your earliest of learning as a child be that of kindness, and if you are fortunate to grow up, you will grow up a kind adult.
The lives of the deprived and underprivileged do not get better by chance, but by change. There is no greater impetus for one to change than to feel the love of others rooting for you. What you are prepared to allow is what you are prepared to be and what you shall become. Mankind rises in the estimation of others by showing a stranger a wonderful day he has not seen before.
It is a sad reflection of our times that nations speak in different tongues during moments of international crisis, particularly when the greatest exodus in our history is on the march. While Europe squabbles about the solution, not one word of support for the 'genuine refugees' fleeing war-torn countries is to be heard from some of the wealthiest of nations in the world such as America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc. These nations remain as distant as they possibly can from helping to solve this global problem, but be not deceived, we hear the clamour of their silence.
We can never know how much difference our caring can make to another. Small things make up the greater part of one's life and therefore mankind's best contribution to others will remain his nameless oft forgotten acts of kindness and love. Mahatma Gandhi advised us, 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' There is no act of kindness that is too small to matter or too great not to be tried; there is no occasion of need we should allow to pass us by as though it didn't exist.
In all the darkness which surrounds us today can be found a chink of light and rays of hope. Men and women like my step son Matthew, whose birthday it is today, epitomises the essence of this message. When I first met Matthew, he was no older than this innocent child who was recently washed up at sea. Although a man of simple means with very little money to spare, Matthew is generous to the core and would give a stranger his last penny without ever being asked for it. He was brought up by me and his mother to be kind and he has stayed kind ever since. The constancy in his kindness is the greatest gift with which any child can repay their parents and the world in which they live. Happy birthday, Matthew. I love you son." William Forde: September 7th, 2015.
