Goethe Quotes ——
I have come to the frightening conclusion
that I am the decisive element.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides
whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated
and a person humanized or dehumanized.
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be,
we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
I agree with Goethe except for the last 3 lines. I hate to re-write Goethe, but to me the last 3 lines should read:
If we treat people as we see them, we can make them better or worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be treated
we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
Richard, I’m glad you’ve taken the liberty to re-write Goethe; I sense that you’ve improved upon his words—