Inspiring Thoughts - from Allison Alt

A while back we posted a quote from Zahava Rothschild that she found religiously inspirational. Here is a collection of quotes that Allison found at a Chabad website that speak to her. I think this is a valuable exercise for a few reasons. First, it allows all of us to see something that we might enjoy and that could effect us positively. Also, it gives us teachers insight into the different types of material that can reach different students. From the soaring rhetoric of the Rav to sharp Chasidic Mussar points, we each get closer to Hashem in our own way; that's important for us all to keep in mind. Enjoy.

• "Sometimes, when I consider what tremendous consequences result from little things, I am tempted to think that there are no little things."
• "When I start to find fault with all that I see, it's time to start looking for what's wrong with me."—Adapted from Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov
• "When you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing at yourself."
  The man whispered, "G-d, speak to me," and a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.
  So the man yelled, "G-d, speak to me!" And the thunder rolled across the sky. The man still did not listen.
  He looked around and said, "G-d, let me see You." And a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice.
  He shouted, "G-d, show me a miracle!" And a life was born. But the man did not know.
  The man cried out in despair, "Touch me, G-d, and let me know You are here!" whereupon G-d reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
• Don't reject a blessing because it isn't packaged as you expect
• "A true friend is someone who knows us – and still likes us.""The best thing to do behind a person's back – is pat it!"
• A French astronomer announced, "I have swept the universe with my telescope, and I find no G-d."
  A famous violinist responded to him, "That is as unreasonable as if I were to say, 'I have taken my violin apart, examined each piece with my microscope and find no music.'"
• "Living in this world, we view the back of a master embroidery piece. Mismatched colored strings, knotted and twisted, overlap to form a warped pattern. But G-d views the other side. Colors blended in unity, each detail perfectly patterned forms a design of the highest quality." —Chana Burston