Life

True joy

George Bernard Shaw, Ireland

(Submitted by The Art of Living Team)

This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live.

Every moment

Klio Panourgias, Greece

The important thing is to live every moment for its uniqueness. Nature, life, death, love, farewells, everything that occurs around us is unexpected. We all realize how important people, things or situations are only after we have lost them from our lives. Let's not let the moment pass unexploited. Let's tell the people we love how we feel, let's do today what we put off for tomorrow and, most importantly, let's re-evaluate the things we consider important: the environment, freedom, love, and all those small things which make our absurd existence bearable.

All That We Share

Jay Walljasper, USA

Welcome to the Commons.

The term may be unfamiliar, but the idea has been around for centuries. The commons is a new use of an old word, meaning “what we share” – and it offers fresh hope for a saner, safer, more enjoyable future.

Brahms

Alan Bennett, England

I thought life was going to be like Brahms, you know? Instead, well, it’s been Eric Coates. And very nice too. But not Brahms.

Here and Now

John Lennon, England

Some people are ready to do anything, except to live here and now.

We Are Each Other's Business

Gwendolyn Brooks, USA

We are each other’s business; we are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.

Shimei

Hiroshi Tasaka, Japan

Human beings face very serious problems. Global warming, the hole in the ozone layer and disappearing rainforests, to name but a few.

Human beings are facing grave problems, which we’re unable to solve.

Governments and international organisations are accelerating technological developments, applying a variety of policies and implementing systems.

However, if we want to solve the problem of global ecology, it’s impossible to do so only by developing technologies, implementing policies or introducing new systems.

So, what do we need?

We need to change our ‘way of life’.

William Blake Says: Every Thing that Lives is Holy

Adrian Mitchell, England

Long live the Child
Long live the Mother and Father
Long live the People

Long live this wounded Planet
Long live the good milk of the Air
Long live the spawning Rivers and the mothering Oceans
Long live the juice of the Grass
and all the determined greenery of the Globe

Long live the Elephants and the Sea Horses,
the Humming-Birds and the Gorillas,
the Dogs and Cats and Field-Mice –
all the surviving animals
our innocent Sisters and Brothers

Long live the Earth, deeper than all our thinking

we have done enough killing

Long live the Man
Long live the Woman

The aim

Henry Miller, USA

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.