One of the things that I do in my job is produce a weekly bulletin for the Highland Park/Highwood Rotary Club. I am an honorary member and proud of the Rotarian efforts to effect change for the better in people lives. Their motto is Service Above Self and all around the world they accomplish this – one small village at a time or in our own backyards.

When I started doing this, I wanted to put my mark on it, making it informative and poignant. I added the “Pearls of the Club” feature. I asked members to send me their favorite quotes and only a few did, but I have to say that I’ve enjoyed searching for those iridescent pearls of wisdom. As we close out the year, I’d like to share a few of my favorite with you.

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. – Chinese proverb

Fiction is life with the dull bits left out. – Clive James

Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. – Margaret Thatcher

We must never forget that the highest form of appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy

Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. – Mae Jemison

The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world. – Physicist Max Born

Sometimes we spend so much time and energy thinking about where we want to go that we don’t notice where we happen to be. – Dan Gutman

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. -Edith Wharton

I could go on, but I think you get the gist.

In 2018, may you always your pocket full of books, may you always be a candle or a mirror and show your appreciation by keeping your mouth still and your hands busy.

–Mary Beth