Food for Thought

International Day of Persons with Disabilities – December 3

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.”
– Nido Qubein

“Only 50 years ago persons with disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community,”
– Nelson Mandela

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day – December 7

“We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Human Rights Day – December 10

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.” 
– Elie Wiesel

“Activism works. So what I’m telling you to do now is to act. Because no one is too small to make a difference.”
– Greta Thunberg

First Crossword Puzzle in a Newspaper – December 21, 1913

“Egotism: Doing the New York Times crossword puzzle with a pen.”
– Ambrose Bierce

Christmas – December 25

“If there is love in your heart and your mind, you will feel Christmas all the time.”
– Faith Hill

“Adults can take a simple holiday for children and screw it up. What began as a presentation of simple gifts to delight and surprise children around the Christmas tree has culminated in a woman unwrapping six shrimp forks from her dog, who drew her name.” 
– Erma Bombeck

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding more time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.”
– Thomas S. Monson

Kwanzaa Begins – December 26

“I don’t think there will ever be a time when the principles of Kwanzaa will not be important or timely. It’s a great time for reflection and now more than ever our country needs to be reminded of unity.”
– Kellie Carter Jackson

“The holiday reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people’s culture.”
– Dr. Maulana Karenga

National Chocolate Day – December 28

“I could give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter.”
– Unknown

“If you can’t remember my name, just say ‘chocolate’ and I’ll turn around.”
– Pinterest

Write to a Friend Month

“How wonderful it is to be able to write someone a letter! To feel like conveying your thoughts to a person, to sit at your desk and pick up a pen, to put your thoughts into words like this is truly marvelous.”
– Haruki Murakami

“To write is human, to receive a letter: Divine!” 
– Susan Lendroth

Trivia Day – January 4

“The enthusiasm and confidence you bring to our table on Trivia Nights is rivaled only by the impressive consistency with which you are always wrong.”
– yourecards

Random Fact: Human contact through hugs lowers blood pressure, releases stress and reduces the risk of heart disease.

National Bird Day – January 5

“The homing instinct in birds and animals is one of their most remarkable traits: their strong local attachments and their skill in finding their way back when removed to a distance. It seems at times as if they possessed some extra sense – the home sense – which operates unerringly.”
– John Burroughs

“Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They can girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds in all their beauty and variety – if we want to… And surely, we should.”
– Richard Attenborough

Author A.A. Milne is born January 18, 1882

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
– Winnie the Pooh

“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
– Eeyore

Popcorn Day – January 19

“Some people say popcorn is hard to chew. There’s a kernel of truth to that.”
– pinterest

“True self-control is waiting until the movie starts to eat your popcorn.”
– eBaum’s World

National Thank You Month – January

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”
– Ralph Marston