Diversity: The one thing we have in common.

I really liked this tweet from OU's Community Office:

Diversity is the one true thing

we all have in common.

Celebrate it every day.

Small acts of kindness and love

Here is a fuller version of Gandalf's words (from J. R. R. Tolkien): “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.”

The Dalai Lama on Tolerance and Compassion

Here is what the Dalai Lama said in his Ocean of Wisdom (via Wikiquote):

It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.

The Dalai Lama's words have been rephrased and memed as in the graphics below, and I made one here with the quote itself:

Buddha image by Angela Marie Henriette

Here are the graphics which inspired me to make my own; they come from 20 Quotes That Can Change Your Thinking And Perception.

In the practice of tolerance,

one's enemy is the best teacher.

Compassion and Tolerance

Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world. — Frank Warren, creator of Post Secret.

Our dreams are interconnected.

This is a lovely cartoon by one of my favorite cartoonists, Grant Snider. See more at his website, Incidental Comics.

Our dreams are interconnected.

We live in a small place

alone, apart

but interconnected.

Chasing ambitions,

confronting fears,

making minor revisions.

Seeking escape,

creating pointless conflict,

staying open to beauty.

Other people remain a mystery;

their lives are stranger than we can imagine,

their dreams as vibrant as our own.

We can't shut out the world;
we live in a small place;
our dreams are interconnected.

Be kind.

This is one of the lovely graphics from BuddhaDoodle.com.

Be kind;

everyone you meet

is fighting a hard battle.

Do It Anyway

This beautiful graphic comes from Contessa.Rocks.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends, and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spent years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Given the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the end, it's between you and mirror. It was never between you and them anyway.

Real Heroes

I really like this graphic from StoryPeople:

Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me,

but try waking up every morning

and loving the world all over again.

- Brian Andreas

Everybody, Not Just Us

This lovely graphic comes from QuoteMirror.com.

Untold Story

More wisdom from Lori Dechesne at TinyBuddha.com:

Everyone has a story left untold, so never judge someone as if you know their entire story because the truth is, you probably don't.

Helping one person

Here's a lovely graphic from Chibird: Helping one person might not change the whole world... but it could change the world for one person.

The World as 100 People

It seems very appropriate that you can find this infographic available in different languages here: JackHagley.com. It shows what the world is like if you imagine that the world consists of 100 people. How are you like those 100 people? How are you different?

Click here for a full-sized view.

Three Kinds of Empathy

I thought this was a very useful graphic for exploring empathy; you can find out more about Daniel Goleman at Wikipedia, and here is some background about Michele Borba at Edutopia.

Empathy: Getting Used to One Another

I found this TeamWorkArts.com graphic at Twitter. Kwame Anthony Appiah, born in London, grew up in Ghana, and is now a professor of philosophy at NYU. You can read more at Wikipedia.

I am urging that we should learn about people in other places, take an interest in their civilizations, their arguments, their errors, their achievements, not because that will bring us to agreement, but because it will help us get used to one another. 
— Kwame Anthony Appiah

Points of View

I am such a fan of Jack Kornfield (you can find out more at his website), and I really like the visual image that goes with the quote. :-)

Whatever point of view you have, there's another.

A Longer Table

I thought this was a beautiful graphic about gratitude and happiness, along with empathy:

When you have more than what you need,

build a longer table,

not a higher fence.

I've seen the quote attributed to "David Wolfe," but I don't know if that is correct or not.

Empathy: Make no judgments where you have no compassion.

I found this quote in Jon Winokur's Twitter stream of quotes for writers... but this applies not just to writing but also to life itself.

You can read more about Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011) at Wikipedia; she is the author of the Dragonriders of Pern fantasy books, and she was the first woman to win a Hugo Award and also the first to win a Nebula.

Make no judgments where you have no compassion.

(portrait by Linda Eicher)

Bill Nye the Science Guy

I really like the way this quote from Bill Nye combines the themes of empathy and learning: Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. 

You can read more about this commencement speech by Bill Nye here: Bill Nye Tells Rutgers Grads: We Are ‘Much More Alike Than Different.’

(Bill Nye photo at Wikimedia)

Shakespeare at OU

I really like this graphic promoting the First Folio's visit to OU: Shakespeare's First Folio is coming to OU!

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. 

— William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well