Joy is a return to the deep harmony of body, mind and spirit
that was yours at birth and can be yours again.
That openness to love,
that capacity for wholeness with the world around you,
is still within you.

~ Deepak Chopra

The other day I was talking about Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, as I do from time to time, because, for starters, he inspired me when I was a child much shorter than I am now, via his television programmes ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World’ and ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s World of Strange Powers’. I grew to also appreciate his scientific contributions, his writing contributions, his love of space, and for being a pioneer and explorer and inventor and futurist. A friend just now told me that he died yesterday, so I’m talking about him now to say, thank you for being. You touched my life, as well as the lives of millions.

Dear Reader, you know me and my “Curiouser and Curiouser …”, well this is something I like about Sir Arthur, who said, “Somewhere in me is a curiosity sensor. I want to know what’s over the next hill.”
I relate! Sense the same sensor! I am curious, I want information, I want to experience, I want to know, and then I want to know more! To explore the mystery! Present with this hill, and, with an (mind’s) eye on the next!

His work is characterised by an optimistic view of science empowering humanity’s exploration of the solar system and this is the positive view I too share.

He was Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible. Clear-eyed and far-sighted. He never lost his sense of Wonder.

A man who makes us dream.

This original thinker ached for better things and I understand this.

Interesting that I wrote here on the 19th with bananas in mind! As this is one of my favorite Clarke quotes (outside of quotes from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’):

“Life is just one big banana. Science fiction allows us all to peel open the reality and discover the yellow truth inside.”

Clarke’s 3 laws:

1. “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”

2. “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”

3. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

And this quote, forgive me, makes me giggle!:

Of UFOs: “They tell us absolutely nothing about intelligence elsewhere in the universe, but they do prove how rare it is on Earth.”

In December 2007, on his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video message to his friends and fans bidding them good-bye. I remember watching it and saying, good-bye for now and thank you. Fascinating how you can feel connected to someone you’ve never had contact with.

Sir Arthur C Clarke: 90th Birthday Reflections

About This Video
The world’s best known writer of science fiction, Sir Arthur C Clarke was the first to propose satellite communications in 1945. One of his short stories inspired the World Wide Web, while another was later expanded to make the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with director Stanley Kubrick. He has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956.
Read full transcript of the video at http://www.tveap.org/news/0712art_transcript_01.html

“I’ve often quoted it: ‘He never grew up; but he never stopped growing.’” (when asked about his epitaph)

and that is how I intend to live my life now

A Beautiful Mind, a Visionary, a seer of the modern age who brought big ideas to life and created Legacy Dreams .. Farewell, bon voyage

Acknowledging and appreciating Martin Luther King Day.

What does this day represent?

What does the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. represent?

45 years ago, words that changed the course of history. What do they represent?

Think about it.
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Zain sent me a YouTube video of Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, in November. I just now saw it again on Joe Vitale’s blog. Feel that’s a sign to include it here and now.

‘Napoleon Hill talks about the wisdom the billionaire Andrew Carnegie shared with him some hundred years ago.’

Have you read ‘Think and Grow Rich’?

Arthur Ashe, tennis player, legend, was dying of AIDS due to infected blood he received during heart surgery, when one of his fans asked:

Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?

Arthur Ashe replied:

The world over - 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semi-finals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding a cup I never asked God “Why me?” And today in pain I should not be asking God, “Why me?”

Delighted to see that the English newspaper ‘The Guardian’ is writing about the great speeches of the 20th century. These speeches are being offered daily from 21st April – 4th May:

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