Wise words to ponder...

Today's crumb introduces us to Henry Van Dyke, 1852-1928. After graduating from Princeton University (with classmate and future President Woodrow Wilson) Henry became a professor of literature at Princeton.

One of his friends was Helen Keller, who said of him, "Dr. van Dyke is the kind of a friend to have when one is up against a difficult problem. He will take trouble, days and nights of trouble, if it is for somebody else or for some cause he is interested in."

Among his many inspiring writings, Van Dyke asks a question, which we might ask ourselves today.

"Are you willing to consider the needs and the desires of children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, but rather to ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people bear in their hearts; to trim your lamp so it will give more light and less smoke; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate wide open -- even for one day?"

In one of his many poems, Van Dyke explains why one day may be long enough. His words were read at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. He wrote,  "Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is not.