Nobility & Honor

Soul Café

Nobility & Honor

There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man or woman. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self. - Hindu Teaching

“I am ignorant of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance and therein lies my honor and my reward.”-Gibran

It is possible so to adjust oneself to the practice of nobility that its atmosphere surrounds and colors every act. When actions are habitually and conscientiously adjusted to noble standards, with no thought of the words that might herald them, then nobility becomes the accent of life. At such a degree of evolution one scarcely needs try any longer to be good — all acts become the distinctive expression of nobility. – Baha’I Writings

I have many hopes for the world, but I try not to have any expectations. Whether I can actually fulfill my aspirations or not, I wish to let them shape me and guide my actions in the world. Focusing on achieving results can make us too attached to our goals. Our dreams do not necessarily have to be fulfilled in order for us to be happy. Nurturing hopes is meaningful in and of itself. It is worth working toward them, regardless of the outcome. When we make this shift away from results, we will find greater courage to act on our aspirations for the world. We will find our nobility of heart. – Buddhist

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. Where there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. - Confucius

I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.
-Baha’I Writings

Wisdom is not in words

Wisdom is meaning within words.

Greatness is not in exalted position,

Greatness is for he who refuses position.

A man is not noble through ancestry,

How man noblemen are descendants of murders? - Gibran

“Love is a hero's journey, and the hero's journey is a noble but difficult path.” - Marianne Williamson

"the traveler abideth in every land and dwelleth in every region. In every face, he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every country he looketh for the beloved. He joineth every company, and seeketh fellowship with every soul, that haply in some mind he may uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some face he may behold the beauty of the Loved One."- Baha’I Writings

I cannot imagine anything nobler or more national than that for, say, one hour in the day we should all do the labor the poor must do, and thus identify ourselves with them and through them, with all mankind.- Gandhi

The point is, not how long you live, but how nobly you live.-Seneca (4 BC - 65 AD)

Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.
 – Baha’I Writings

'Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.' – Gibran

Something very beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart; a humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor.  -Marianne Williamson

“Anyone can live contentedly in circumstances of ease and comfort, health and well-being gratification and felicity; but to remain happy and contented in the face of difficulty, hardship and the onslaught of disease and sickness-this is an indication of nobility.”

– Baha’I Writings

How noble is the sad heart who would sing a joyous song with joyous hearts.- Gibran

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. - Jesus

Not a day passes over this earth but men and women of note do great deeds, speak great words and suffer noble sorrows. -Charles Reed

And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil." And he answered:

Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.

For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one with yourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

You are good when you strive to give of yourself.

Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.

For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance."

For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,

Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.

And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.

Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good, You are only loitering and sluggard.

Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you.

But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore are you slow and halting?" For the truly good ask not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless, "What has befallen your house?" – Gibran

An humble man without learning, but filled with the Holy Spirit,

is more powerful than the most nobly-born profound scholar

without that inspiration. He who is educated by the Divine Spirit

can, in his time, lead others to receive the same Spirit.

– Baha’I Writings

Virtue alone is true nobility. - William Gifford (1756 - 1826)

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

- Von Goethe

"Nobility of character consists of ten qualities: generosity, modesty, sincerity, fulfillment of trust, humility, self-esteem, courage, forbearance, patience & gratitude. -Hazrat Ali

Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and  you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny. – source unknown

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; / when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. –German proverb

A good character is the best tombstone.  Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when flowers have withered.  Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.  ~Charles H. Spurgeon

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value. ~Albert Einstein