2011 ponder able calendar landscape

8/3/2019 2011 Ponder Able Calendar Landscape

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January 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris

Copyright 2008 by Alan Harris. All rights reserved. Web site: www.alharris.com/ponderables

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1The New Year is like aperfectly clean new houseinto which we all stagger withgood intentions and muddyboots.

2"Opposites attract" makesfor stable atoms andamazing marriages.

3Unity is the safety netforever beneath twonity.

4What makes a writer write is

what makes a breatherbreathe -- alternatives areseverely limited.

5Drinking from deep springswon't make you deep, butdigging may.

6 We all have free will. Infact, our will is so free thatwe often have little controlover it.

7 No separateness, nocrowds.

8When a new door opens,its hinges may belubricated by your tears.

9Beauty is nearer than youreye, more distant than thefaintest star.

10Buy now, and forevercomes free.

11Well-timed silence is thepurest speech.

12If it isn't cycles, it's waves.

13Competition feeds theouter person, whilecooperation feeds theinner.

14I cry out into the silence tolet me hear it. No reply butsilence.

15Poets and prisms makerainless rainbows.

16 If you would hear the songof the infinite, listen quietlythrough the ends of yourtoes.

17 Fate remains wonderfullypoised when gamblerstempt it.

18To demand good but not togive is a recipe forpersonal stink.

19Your real name can't bespelled or pronounced --only lived.

20Human motives are socomplex that a judge canonly be a poet of justice.

21Who can talk the flower out

of blooming?

22"With our amazing productyou will grow healthierevery year until you die inperfect health."

23Many who will sit inertbefore a TV all day willalso honk in slow traffic.

24When an error is made,the stupid blame, theconventional cluck, andthe awake learn.

25Work, and the world workswith you. Shirk, and theworld ignores you.

26 Everyone contributes tosociety -- some by servingas horrible examples.

27 Opportunity breedsopportunism breedsmisfortune breedsopportunity.

28Anything you hide isperfectly safe until found.

29Reversals for the body arerehearsals for the spirit.

30Flattery and fishing givehooked gifts.

31Infatuation: love so intense,beautiful, and brief as to beunachievable by the secure.

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2/12

February 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1Carry your enthusiasm andit carries you.

2Leaving a few stonesunturned in a marriage or aminefield can be downrighthealthy.

3A society lady's best snubis no match for that of asummoned house cat.

4A house has square feet; ahome has footsteps.

5You get the most freefinancial advice frompeople who are in yourpocket.

6 Nobody scolds like acoward.

7 Whoever first said "Hey,man!" was to become themost widely quoted dudein modern times.

8 Over time, pleasure andpain go together like tickand tock.

9 Stronger than most armorare motives clean andseen.

10When a man's thinking isairtight, his mouth usuallyleaks.

11A stitch in time saves thetheory of relativity.

12Chaos you shall alwayshave with you, and alsoovercontrol -- try love.

13Opposites attract,

opposites butt heads, andopposites make up.

14Philosophies are a

paradigm a dozen, but ifthey don't acknowledgelove, they fall away likeleaves."

15The ability to fly high on

life's trapeze doesn't meanone is any good on life'stightrope.

16 Music is evidence that

beauty, mathematics, andtime all live in the sameneighborhood.

17 Ask not whether they'll hire

you; ask what good they'redoing for folks.

18When wealth speaks,

greed listens.

19When you're down in the

dumps, incoming advicebecomes excruciatinglyabundant.

20If not by love, then by law.

21Moment: an infinitelyexpandable unit of time,used often in situations oflove or airline delays.

22Even with its hassles, lifeseems to be the best thingthey've come up with yet.

23Occasionally necessitytakes its jackhammer toour expectations to makeway for what the chiefarchitect really wants.

24People you have tointerrupt so they can seeyour side, won't.

25The wealthy feel wise, andthe wise feel wealthy.

26 Getting your hair clippedtends to make your secretsfall out of your mouth.

27 To marry for happinessmay end up stretching bothwords a little.

28If every discardedcorporate goal in Americacould be changed into amuffin, world hunger mightbe ended.

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3/12

March 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1A thought between twobites of a sandwich canchange your destiny.

2The road to hell is litteredwith the manuscripts ofchurch sermons writtenlate on Saturday.

3Killed time gets even.

4The cause of anything isno less than everything.

5Every new human being isan impossibility becomeinevitable.

6 In truest love, giving andtaking become moot.

7 The meek shall inherit theearth -- as long as this isreally okay and likeeverybody's done with itand everything.

8 At the end of a day, isthere one less day in yourlife or one more day inyour life?

9 Brilliance without altruismis a cut flower.

10Growing old meansthrowing all abandon to thewinds.

11Intolerance leads tosuffering leads toinvestigation leads tocompassion.

12Free choice is everywhere;freedom fromconsequences is nowhere.

13Friendships with othersbring us heaven beforeheaven.

14Brilliance uses fine words;

character, pauses.

15Anything you can get awaywith, you can't.

16 Morning Prayer: Now I wakeme up from bed; I thank theLord I'm still not dead. TheLord declined my soul totake, for reasons whichremain opaque.

17 The freshest ideas are alsothe oldest.

18This is the first minute ofthe rest of your hour.

19Good giving brings goodgifts, and well-thinking fillsthe air with well-being.

20If roses are art, then thornsare critics. The soft chooseheart; the hard, analytics.

21Nothing deepens charactelike a firmly balanceddilemma.

22Rumors are disagreeableto many; but then, so is thetruth.

23Silence is golden, likewedding rings only muchscarcer.

24You can't kid hate.

25Desperation gives Cupidquick wings.

26 Lecture: a verbal dancebetween voice andattention, sometimesaccompanied by meaning.

27 Love isn't fussy, but itworks best where there isa universe, attraction,infinity, and time.

28We are moststrengthened, over time,by our weaknesses.

29An opportunity withoutopportunists is as rare as acowflop without flies.

30Consensus usually belongsto the first one who daresto ahem and summarize.

31Businessman's Prayer: Godgrant me the ingenuity toescape the things I cannotchange, money to change thethings I can, and lawyers toknow the difference.

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Silence is golden, like wedding rings only much scarcer.


4/12

April 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1It's folly to destroy truth,whatever its costume oryours.

2Need we be terribly surprisedat the shortcomings of aworld that is substantially runby the personalities whodominate meetings?

3 The Kindest Safe: Thieveswill fail, try as they may, tosteal any money you'vegiven away.

4 A suture in time saves thefuture.

5 Precious stones iridesce;precious people irritate.

6 To find big mistakes, lookfor big egos.

7 Perhaps the only infallibleway to detect a lie is to bethe liar.

8 It takes a long time tohurry, but now comesquick as a thought.

9 The kindly man in themountain cave spoke butbriefly: "Search for a way tostop searching."

10Tears talk to heaven, andheaven answers.

11Poetry works best whenyou ignore the words.

12To find order in chaos,stop looking there.

13Find some friends you like,or be satisfied with thefriends who find you.

14If we only have enoughpresence of mind to reachout, someone may put justthe right thing into ourhand.

15If life isn't eternal, whocares what is?

16 Much knowledge is beliefwearing a top hat.

17 To nurse a few grudges isforgivable if you try not tobreast-feed them.

18Since last century,computers have beenenabling business offices toproceed much faster fromone emergency to the next.

19The last word is never thelast word.

20Living it up usually takesfar less time than living itdown.

21Can a fountain be robbed?

22For every questionconceived in the mind, ananswer resides in theheart.

23Indignation that isrighteous is usually yourown.

24Truth can be stranger thanfiction, but poetry can bestranger than either.

25Grief cooks a nourishingoatmeal for the soul.

26 People remember yourgenerosity far longer thanyour accumulation.

27 There's nothing newbeneath the sun, butluckily, what's old is fun.

28Visualization can beimportant to one'sadvancement in a largecompany, especially theability to see clothing onnaked emperors.

29Where would a poet bewithout an angst to grind?

30"All of our operators arestill busy helping others.We appreciate yourpatience. In fact, we take itto the bank."

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5/12

May 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1So much depends on lovethat you'd think morepeople would use it.

2Those on the take give upwhat those on the givetake out.

3Leave the past behind you,but if parts of it get back infront of you, ask them why.

4The tongue inside the brainspeaks awfully bravely.

5A grandmother's lovecould light a large city.

6 There is nothing in thisworld but everything, and itcan't all happen in a day.

7 The teeth of adversity growdirectly behind the smile offortune.

8 The wall that protects youalso confines you.

9 When you're reading abook about Zen, you're notreading a book about Zen.

10As surely as a bud, givenwater, will become a flower,the office sycophant, givenpower, will become anautocrat.

11A loving thought is deeperthan the night sky.

12In the dear school ofexperience, gentleness isour finest achievement.

13Each person is a jewelpolished by trouble.

14Doubt fueled bycompassion resemblesfaith without pretense.

15Consequences teach whatparents and teachers failedto.

16 But for your pastcalamities, your virtuesmight be fewer.

17 When the irresistiblemeets the immovable, atelephone ringssomewhere.

18Never let a confidentperson fold your parachute.

19"Smile" is an anagram of"slime" -- and also a paththrough it.

20You can give more thanyou have, but you can'ttake more than there is.

21A yacht is a cheapsubstitute for walking onwater.

22Anyone who likes tocompliment finds readylisteners.

23A newborn's first thought:"Now what?"

24Our commencementspeaker revealed at lengthhis firm grasp of theobvious.

25Good people die, and goodpeople let them.

26 When you work foryourself, both of you work.

27 To measure quality is theultimate fantasy of thequantitative.

28Blunders create as manyopportunities as doesbrilliance.

29Opportunity knocks, butthe inevitable just comeson in.

30Too many first-chairplayers spoil the orchestra.

31A strong person has weakmoments and isstrengthened by each one.

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6/12

June 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1Anybody who thinks youwalk on water, later won't.

2Love is the key thatunlocks the door of thevisible to reveal amagnificent invisible.

3Opinion is wisdom indiapers.

4A dewdrop on one blade ofgrass makes oceans moot.

5 When light is shiningwithin, no darkness fromwithout can penetrate it.

6 The ethically blind seethemselves everywherethey go.

7 Many would like to becomegreat, but being alive is ahindrance and being deadis distasteful.

8 Everyone, evenvegetarians, can benefit byoccasionally eating crow.

9 We spend our first fortyyears making mistakes,and our next forty yearsmaking more mistakes.

10Friends bend where fakesbreak.

11Wherever there's newointment, can a fly be faraway?

12Moderation in all things,including moderation.

13Walking barefoot in grassmakes your understandingtingle.

14Killing is a decidedlyone-sided pleasure.

15Friends have love withoutvows, faithfulness withoutreason.

16 The palate can murder thecolon.

17 The light never goes out,but sometimes we need togo in and fetch it.

18How can we be sure thatinfinity is all there?

19The larger the city, theshorter the tempers.

20Adversity can engenderachievement, whereasaimless comfort is a livingcemetery.

21Among the laziest aresome of the busiest.

22Honesty costs only oneego.

23The impossible is justaround the corner.

24In a selfish society, theword "free" is the mostsuccessful pickpocket.

25All of life is a near-deathexperience.

26 A teardrop is a liqueur tothe future.

27 Those who choose bravelylearn deeply.

28Earth is unsure footing andwealth is insecure, but howyou've loved and given willdeathlessly endure.

29Weak warriors kill bodies;strong warriors win hearts.

30Freedom, to the aimless,may seem a jail.

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7/12

July 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1Exits from the freeway oftruth begin at a smallangle.

2The kindest way to makechicken soup is to leaveout the chicken.

3Clocks accurately tick

while time slips away like ablack cat in the night.

4We can't really break the

universal laws, but if weignore them, they'll breakus.

5Nothing matters, and so

does everything.

6 A friendship can go no

deeper than the confiding.

7 If there were a drug to

reduce ego, would it sell?

8The intelligent are wary of

the smart.

9Two invisible antagonists

animate nearly every boardmeeting. They are qualityand quantity.

10The brain is a museum ofthe past, the heart agarden of the future.

11Without roses, thornswould be out of business.

12He traveled the world,carrying vast unexploredterritories within.

13If life gives us a load, a greathonor's bestowed. Lifeknows, if we don't, that wecan when we won't.

14Dogs offer you humility.Cats invite it.

15Do: a verb sprinkled liberallyinto airline announcementsto create the illusion ofintense caring.

16 After 50, the best thingabout a birthday is havingit.

17 Pain doesn't enjoy you,either, but it's got a job todo.

18"You have mastered it, mydisciple. Next week we willexplore the sound of onehand NOT clapping."

19If a cat could speak, itprobably wouldn't.

20After a motivationalseminar you feel like newfrosting on an old cake.

21Walk where your feet are.

22The hell you feel is the onethat's real.

23Why can't we not worry bynot wanting to worry?

24Every person we meet isboth a wonderland and acurriculum.

25Hell provides a room forpeople who assume, whichgets some ventilation, butmy, what a population!

26 Kind acts never die, andwhat is kind in yourselfwas waiting for you.

27 Beginnings whoop;endings weep.

28It's easy to be critical, but it'seven easier to bebureaucratic, which is whybureaucracy is always aheadof its critics.

29To know who you are,observe what you do.

30Wisdom from words fadesaway, but wisdom fromanguish remains andremains.

31A sure way to learn is byignoring good advice.

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8/12

August 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1Reality is what's left to usafter all of our failures tofind it.

2One inevitable canoverturn thousands ofimpossibles.

3Godspeed can leavedevilish messes.

4Cute twice, clich forever.

5It is efficient to be patientabout several things atonce.

6 Even when things are all inplace, they're very close tobeing out of place.

7 Said love is maybe;realized love is yes.

8Sometimes we get an urgeto do some great thing,and we'd really do it ifsomeone could just tell uswhat it is.

9An ounce of good will isworth a pound ofprevention.

10The goose that lays thegolden eggs gets taken outto lunch a lot.

11The bad news is that youare the slave of your past.The good news is that youare the master of yourfuture.

12You know you're gettingold when you notice thatyour first name is beinggiven to babies again.

13Gossip is a time-fillingvoodoo that uses words forpins.

14History is kept exciting byhumanity's continuousinflux of fresh ignorance.

15Computers won't everbecome minds until theycan cry -- and mean it.

16 Taste makes waist.

17 Infinity is the quickestshortcut to the unknown.

18If such great people havelabored so diligently for solong, why is there still somuch more to do?

19Creativity leads to crisis,which leads to creativity.

20American work ethic: busyis good, frantic is excellent,and burnt-out is sublime.

21Our deepest wound mayheal to become ourgreatest strength.

22We are poor in what wethink we own.

23Imposing virtue uponothers is like trying to paintraindrops.

24The best wars never start,and all the others last fartoo long.

25We are often blinded bywhat we can see, orparalyzed by what we cando.

26 If the future is infinite,mortality may be a passingfad.

27 Competition is the ego's

journey; contemplation, thesoul's.

28We develop a fondness forpeople we help.

29An opinion withoutself-interest is as rare asself-interest without anopinion.

30To count marbles: one,two, three, four. To counthumans: one, one, one,one.

31Sooner or later one'spurpose in life comespushing up through one'smistakes like a delicateflower blooming in a trashheap.

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11/12

November 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1A deed of love pulls ahidden string that makes abell in heaven ring.

2The unforgiving are themost likely to do theunforgivable.

3When one sits to meditate,the mind may at first soundlike a jukebox in acathedral.

4The small angers thesmall.

5Each ballot is a bulletunshot.

6 I, the thinnest word in thedictionary, easily slips intomost of our thoughts.

7 After formal education hasdazzled and dismayed,root errors bring on rootlearning.

8A sharp tongue cuts itself.

9Every day is moreevidence of forever.

10There is no freedom fromfreedom -- it endlesslycompels us to do as wechoose.

11A good friendship, like agood river, comes backtogether after hitting arock.

12Ulterior motives may beinvisible, but oh, the smell.

13Charity and software piracybegin at home.

14Pain kindly wakes upstupidity lest it slumberthrough eternity.

15See with your heart -- itnever needs glasses.

16 Thank God if your carbreaks down oftener thanyour body. Some bodiesare lemons.

17 Knock, then realize you'vealways been inside.

18You may wish on a star,but you get what you are.

19Plants reach out for thelight, while humans reachin.

20Higher education trainsyour mind to feel goodlater by making it feelterrible now.

21The heart is the bestadvisor, and also thenearest.

22We age in years, but wemature in moments.

23A dangerous place to standis in the way of someoneelse's highest calling.

24You are not what you do,but what you do anyway.

25We depend upon eachother for ourindependence.

26 Undone tasks quickly havechildren and grandchildren.

27 If contentment isenlightenment, then a cowis Buddha.

28Where love is the root,gratitude is the flower.

29Months come disguised asdays, and swindle ussweetly of years.

30With every beat the heart is

jumping for joy, though themind may be doubting andpouting in heedless gloom.

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12/12

December 2011 Daily Ponderables by Alan Harris



1Business office survivorslearn to distinguish blusterfrom need, and anxietyfrom importance.

2Truest gifts cannot bewrapped.

3Scrooge no longer hatesChristmas, now that he'sacquired it.

4Seeing believes, wisdomknows, and love is.

5What God has putasunder, let no man pastetogether.

6 Time is all we have, andmost of what we don'thave.

7 Words can be bombs,balloons, or communioncups, depending on whatwe put in them.

8As Santa comes down thespine from the head to theheart, everything seems agift.

9The heart loves unity. Themind loves diversity. Thebody settles for flattery.

10Christmas and a minimumuniverse both ask for onlyone star and somegenerosity.

11If your guru charges,retreat.

12With leaders we build; withrulers we cope.

13Affectation is wealth'spoverty.

14As you take a step, thestep takes you.

15Authority without love is auniversal poison.

16 Happy are the wantless,whatever they have orlack.

17 Each person is a statue ofhis or her soul.

18Like milestones on a

journey, our mistakesshow us right where weare.

19The main trouble withliving as if there's notomorrow is that therealmost always is one.

20Crying makes an innerrainbow.

21To find eternity, lift up theminute.

22Aging has acquired a badreputation, but it's awonderful way to stayalive.

23Guilt is a little prison thatkeeps you out of big ones.

24Our gift isn't that we have,but that we see.

25Does the Star ofBethlehem not shine fromevery eye?

26 We learn so much fromsome of our mistakes thatwe keep on repeatingthem.

27 Gifts given give gifts.

28Good forever gathers whatevil blindly scatters.

29In a nutshell, be a nut.

30New Year's resolutionsdivide the resolver intomaster and oppressed,and history usually favorsthe oppressed.

31Infused and confused withinthe unfolding Cosmic Aim,we seal our past in glass andwelcome, as all there is andwill be, our future.

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2011 ponder able calendar landscape

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