I Have A Dream...

Inspirational words of wisdom by Martin Luther King, Jr. - born 81 years ago today:


I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

We must use time creatively.

The time is always right to do what is right.


Photo: Signing of Civil Rights Amendment - Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

Green Holiday Card - 2009

For several years now, I've been crafting three-dimensional "Peace Love Joy" cards for the holiday season. Assembled and hand-delivered, these little yearly pearls always seem to promote a warm feeling of, well - peace, love, and joy.

As a personal note, I love designing, fabricating, and assembling each year's card because it's a genuine outlet of pure creative expression without the parameters of a client's wish list, limitations of the contractor, budget, or the chance of a phone call with someone screaming on the other end about a roof leak. (The latter of which has, knock on cedar shake shingles, so far never transpired). This particular card is composed of a photograph I took of the rock wall at Camp Mitchell Chapel atop Mt. Petit Jean in Arkansas this past Thanksgiving. The graphics are mine - hand drawn.

Most of the cards that go out, however, are not already assembled and hand delivered; I create a master sheet with assembly instructions and email them all across the country and all over the world without using a drop of fossil-fuel. It's a simple concept with the added payoff of a little holiday craft project. Some people conscript young ones around the house (as well as the young at heart) to assemble the card, but most, I've found, love to put it together themselves. Can't help but bring you back to your childhood, if even for a moment.

Here's how it works: Print the card out on your personal printer - cardstock is best - or email the file to your local print shop and have them print out a color copy. Cut, tape, and assemble as instructed, and - voila! - a 3-D holiday card straight out of your computer.

If you haven't received a card and this particular card resonates with you, email me with a 'how-do-you-do' and I'll send you a printable file as long as you promise to accept it as a gift from me and not send it as your card or sell it to others - we're on the honor system here folks and I trust you implicitly. And if you'd like for me to personalize this card as your "whatever-occasion" card, or create a custom designed 3-D card, tell me what you're thinking about, and I'll send you a fee proposal. (I don't just design buildings and neighborhoods!) Email: jamespolk22@gmail.com.

Peace, Joy, and Love to us all!

James Polk, Architect

Happy Birthday, John Lennon

Self Portrait: John Lennon

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one.

All you need is love.

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.

I don't believe in killing whatever the reason!

Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.

Love is the flower you've got to let grow.

Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.

All we are saying is give peace a chance.

You're just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You've got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It's all down to you, mate.

Happy Birthday, Gandhi

One hundred and forty years ago today, a man was born who would go on to liberate his country from British occupation through non-violent civil disobedience and a philosophy that valued truth and love over cynicism and force.

The philosophy Gandhi articulated (and lived) inspired Martin Luther King a half century later in the struggle for African-American civil rights in the US.

Gandhi's wisdom about the long-standing power of peace and love and the contrasting short shelf life of hate and violence is particularly important in planning and living in a sustainable world.

A few inspirational quotes:



And eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not included the freedom to make mistakes.

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

Where there is love, there is life.

A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.

To conceal ignorance is to increase it. An honest confession of it, however, gives ground for the hope that it will diminish some day or the other.

There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.