​The things I learned as a boy are of remarkable value to me, because they have touched my thinking for all of these years.

​Two of the poems I memorized as a boy are as follows:

To every man there openeth a highway and a low. And every man decideth which way his soul shall go. The high man climbs the highway, and the low man gropes the low. And in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to-and-fro. But, to every man there openeth a highway and a low. Every man decideth which way his soul shall go.

Isn’t it strange that princes and kings, and clowns that caper in sawdust rings, And just plain folks like you and me are builders for eternity. To each is given a bag of tools, a shapeless mass, and a book of rules, And each must build ere life has flown, a stumbling block or a stepping stone.

God gave us memories that we might have June roses in the December of our lives.

The Scottish poet James M Barrie ​

​I asked God for strength that I might achieve
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey
I asked for health that I might do greater things
I was given infirmity that I might do better things
I asked for riches that I might be happy 
I was given poverty that I might be wise
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life 
I was given life that I might enjoy all things
I got nothing that I asked for but everything I needed
Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered
I am most richly blessed