I wrote the following passage after a great deal of reflection and soul searching to pull myself out of a rather depressing period of my life. Although it was many years ago, these words still mean the world to me and I am proud of each and every one of them…

I think that hatred and injustice is so common in our world today because we accept them as a part of our lives. We protect the status quo because our societies, economies, wealth and reputations depend on it. So much that we often choose to believe in the truths we want to hear instead of the truths we want to believe in. That the world is a cruel and dangerous place. That people are born to be selfish and the majority is always right. That if it could be done it would have already been done. We didn’t create the system after all and our job is simply to oil the gears. It’s never been easier with modern science, technology and manufactured comforts, but these are not the truths I want to believe in.

I fear that those who are evil, corrupt and powerful can succeed in deceiving, manipulating and hurting the ones we love because we are too busy to care. Worse still if we no longer care enough to stop them. We cannot allow ourselves to believe that “there’s nothing I can do” or “it’s someone else’s problem” because the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. Sooner rather than later we will all share our problems, mistakes and consequences with each other because our world is becoming a smaller place day by day. Let’s not forget that our opinions, ideas and dreams can make a difference, now more than ever, if we only dare to share them too.

I believe that love is the best defense against hatred and injustice because it is not the world that changes, but people’s hearts and minds. I know that we shy from chasing the dreams we desire the most because they are the ones that can hurt and scar us the deepest. If there is a change you wish to see in the world, learn to trust yourself and listen to your heart. Find the courage to search and fall for true love. Remember that all the money in the world cannot buy love, but love can open doors and hearts for you no matter where you go and who you meet. Always believe in your dreams no matter how impossible they may be or how much you have to lose.

I believe we can’t make the world a better place by winning wars but we can make it a better place by winning hearts.

I first discovered this passage many years ago and made it my homepage so that I would never lose it. However, I never knew who wrote it or where it came from. Now I am happy to finally be able to attribute it to its rightful author:

Some people do not have to search, they find their niche early in life and rest there, seemingly contented and resigned. They do not seem to ask much of life, sometimes they do not seem to take it seriously. At times I envy them, but usually I do not understand them. Seldom do they understand me.

I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers and lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know–unless it be to share laughter.

We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we want to love and be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or to compete for love.

This is a book for wanderers, dreamers and lovers, for lonely men and women who dare to ask of life everything good and beautiful. It is for these who are too gentle to live among wolves.

— James Kavanaugh, San Diego, 1970

James Kavanaugh was ordained and actively ministered for ten years as a Catholic Priest before attending Catholic University in Washington D.C. Working on his second doctoral degree, he wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post, entitled, “I am a Priest, and I want to marry.” The article questioned the practice of celibacy among priests. The year was 1967, the height of the sexual revolution. Although it was written under a pseudonym and even his closest friends and family were not aware of the author, it was received with such commotion and outrage, the secret would not be kept for long. Jim then exploded onto the American scene with A Modern Priest Looks At His Outdated Church. The New York Times called it “a personal cry of anguish that goes to the heart of the troubles plaguing the Catholic Church.” Soon Simon and Schuster came calling with a book deal.

Though a gifted scholar, with degrees in psychology and religious philosophy, James took a leave of absence from the priesthood, packed his VW bug and headed for California to write books. Jim surrendered his priestly collar and doctoral robes to become a gentle revolutionary.

Forty years ago in a decrepit New York residence hotel, Kavanaugh rejected lucrative offers to write what publishers wanted. “Feasting”, he laughs, “on bagels, peanut butter, and cheese whiz”, he wrote his first poetry book, There Are Men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves. The book was turned down by a dozen publishers, only to sell over a million copies.

More quotes by James Kavanaugh