Teaching, Learning, and Technology Quotations

The Rose Within

A man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

This is one of the characteristic of love... To look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life... All the while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

(Author Unknown)

RAINBOW

Sky in blue, earth in green, dyes of all shades.
Rainbows in all directions across the horizon,
Touched by all these dazzling colors, humankind.

Angels look on them with praise.
Their faces to the ground, their hearts God’s abode,
A heavenly invitation is their belief.

Humankind is an exalted ore made of dust and mud,
An incomparable mirror deep and brilliant,
Reflecting the infinite, facing the beyond.

Strive, and you can attain your essence!
Be one with your soul, boil with your spirit!
Wail a bit more, shedding tears.

Sprout slowly like a bud,
Follow the light until you are there,
Roots in the soil, eyes fixed on the light.

This mysterious struggle broke out in the heavens
And will go on until Doomsday.
Never stop! Stretch and run, for victory is on the horizon!..
(Unknown)

CRITICAL THINKING

What is the critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

Critical thinking consists of mental processes of discernment, analysis and evaluation. It includes all possible processes of reflecting upon a tangible or intangible item in order to form a solid judgment that reconciles scientific evidence with common sense. In contemporary usage "critical" has a certain negative connotation that does not apply in the present case; the term "analytical thinking" may more accurately convey the idea.

Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual criteria that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance and fairness.

What are the uses of critical thinking?
Critical thinking is useful only in those situations where human beings need to solve problems, make decisions, or decide in a reasonable and reflective way what to believe or what to do. That is, just about everywhere and all the time.

Critical thinking is important wherever the quality of human thinking significantly impacts the quality of life.

www.criticalthinking.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking