"This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to
the earth. All things are connected like the blood that connects us all. Man
did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to
the web, he does to himself. "
"Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us
all."
When I seek words of wisdom, I turn to the woman stricken by a
disease at 18 months of age, leaving her blind and deaf for the next 86 years
of her life:
"It is said that success is happiness. I think good-will and
service to all men are the true kind of happiness. They are things that
endure," wrote Helen Keller at 50.
Helen Keller by Arabani
And, at 56: "Some people are foolish enough to imagine that wealth and power and fame satisfy our hearts: but they never do, unless they are used to create and distribute happiness in the world."
And, as a touchstone to her remarkably activist life: "There are
no such things as divine, immutable or inalienable rights. Rights are things we
get when we are strong enough to make good our claim to them."
Gary
Corseri has published his work at hundreds of periodicals and websites
worldwide, including OpEdNews, The New York Times, Village Voice, Redbook
Magazine and Georgia Review. He has published 2 novels and 2 collections of
poetry, edited a literary anthology, presented his original work at the Carter
Presidential Library, taught in universities, public schools and prisons, and
his dramas have been produced on Atlanta-PBS and elsewhere. Contact: Email address removed .
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