Children Learn What They Live (1969) Children Learn What They Live (1969) BY DOROTHY LAW NOLTE If a child lives with criticism, He learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, He learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, He learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, He learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, He learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, He learns confidence. If a child lives with praise, He learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, He learns justice. If a child lives with security, He learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, He learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, He learns to find love in the world

Thoughts on life

Every person, no matter how well or badly they turn out, was once an unformed spirit – a blank sheet on which anything, good or bad, could be written. Hitler could have been a saviour of millions, not a killer. Beethoven could have been a murderer. What positives, if any, have come out of the Iraq war? “Civilisation” is a very thin veneer – just read “Lord of the Flies” by William Goulding When we die, we live on in the minds of others who survive us. They are our afterlife. The problem with intelligent design is – who designed the designer? If it has always existed, why can’t the laws of nature, which determine evolution, always have existed? Religion is a means of explaining the unknown – but we now we know. Abolish religion and you abolish war. WHY is the most important job in the world – raising children – given to the people who are the least qualified? You have to have a licence to own a dog. Why praise god? The world in which a "supreme being" God/Allah does not exist would be hard to distinguish from a world in which he/she/it does exist. Your chances of winning the lottery if you DON'T buy a ticket are not much less than your chances of winning if you DO buy one. What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but lose his sense of self-worth? “I need you because I love you”, not “I love you because I need you” (Erich Fromm - "The art of loving") Even if violent videos and PC games DON’T cause children to act violently, why have them anyway? Who do they benefit, except the multi-billion dollar companies that produce them? Perhaps “adults” should be allowed to view or read whatever they want, but there are a lot of people in the world who are physically adults, but who are mentally children. No child should be given a gun as a toy, even a “pretend” one. To play with toys is natural for children, but what is “natural” about a gun? Aims of life: To be happy, but not at the expense of the happiness of others   To help others to be happy.   To not judge people by appearances or intentions but by actions  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aim of my working life: To help people to communicate. ---------------------------------------------------- One shouldn't have to rely for one's happiness on what the world thinks of you - although the opinions of people who you respect are important.