Applied Knowlege

"Knowledge isn't power until it is applied."
~ Dale Carnegie, from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

"...be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves."
~ James 1:22

"‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock."
~ Jesus, Matthew 7:24


If it is true that the fundamental teachings of all major world religions are some form of love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness and peace, and that most people in the world are familiar with these teachings and say they "believe" in them, then why is there so much hatred, selfishness, cruelty, condemnation, and violence in the world?

Dale Carnegie, quoted above, also says, "...if you would never read anything more basic or more profound than such hackneyed proverbs as ‘Don’t cross your bridges until you come to them’ and ‘Don’t cry over spilt milk.’...—instead of snorting at them—...we would lead almost perfect lives."

Truth be told, most people already know what we need to know to lead peaceful, meaningful lives if we would only put that knowledge into practice.  As author Robert Fulghum says, "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten."

We know "loving our neighbor as we love ourselves" and "loving ourselves as God loves us" makes life better, but how many of us actually do it?

How many of us "religious types" are actually practicing the compassion, kindness, forgiveness and peace taught by our respective religious traditions?

Just like the old song says, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin in me." Sounds to me like a pretty good place to start.  Actually it's the only place to start.

More quotes by Dale Carnegie