Vor nichts soll man sich so hüten, als vor dem Aufwachsen jenes Unkrautes, welches Anmaßung heißt und uns jede gute Ernte verdirbt.

colorfulexpressions posted a photo:

My Dearest Flickr Friends:

I was brought up in another era ~ one of respect and gratitude. Thank you notes are still one of my favorite forms of appreciation. Some of my Flickr postings fly around the world with a calligraphed envelope and pretty stamp.

My hope is that this art doesn't die. I wish I could send each and every one of you a personalized piece of snail mail!

One of my closest "local" friends is amazed by my flickr community! He's always telling me to "do more" with my art. I think about that and am not sure how I could reach as many beautiful souls as I do with this method of communication.

I just want to thank all of you for being here for me. These quotations spoke deeply.

“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.” ~ Jacques Maritain ~

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~

“Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone.” ~ Gertrude Stein ~

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy ~

and finally, this next quotation may seem negative, but it also balances the scale on how I feel about true giving.

“Some people have a knack of putting upon you gifts of no real value, to engage you to substantial gratitude. We thank them for nothing.” ~ Charles Lamb ~