“ Alack, alack the day!”

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  Lear .  If thou wilt weep my fortunes, take my eyes.  I know thee well enough; thy name is Gloucester.  Thou must be patient; we came crying hither. Thou know’st, the first time that we smell the air,  We wawl and cry.  I will preach to thee; mark.  Glou .    Alack, alack the day!  Lear .  When we are born, we cry that we are come  To this great stage of fools . . .  ____________ Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Lear. Act 4, Scene 6 (Shakespeare died April 23, 1616.)

Trapped in the tyranny of "things."

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Are you trapped in the tyranny of things? A wealthy man was moving into a new house, and his next-door neighbor happened to be a Quaker. The Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life. The Quaker neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great deal of clothing, and many decorative pieces. Then he walked over to his wealthy new neighbor and said in his quaint Quaker way, "Neighbor, if thee hath need of anything, please come to me and I will tell thee how to get along without it." Jesus would have agreed with that advice, for He said one day, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses."

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