All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. If a man speak or act with an evil thought, suffering follows him as the wheel follows the hoof of the beast that draws the wagon…. If a man speak or act with a good thought, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him.
A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.
True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one’s companion.
Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That’s what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.
Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after. Such moments are tests of courage, of strength.
We are flawed creatures, all of us. Some of us think that means we should fix our flaws. But get rid of my flaws and there would be no one left.
Shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you’ll land among the stars
Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.
Sometimes God allows what he hates to accomplish what he loves.
No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for.
Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.
Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
Hearts are breakable,” Isabelle said. “And I think even when you heal, you’re never what you were before”.
We never know the quality of someone else’s life, though we seldom resist the temptation to assume and pass judgement.
I’ve known people that the world has thrown everything at to discourage them…to break their spirit. And yet something about them retains a dignity. They face life and don’t ask quarters.
My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.
. . . when it comes down to it, that’s what life is all about: showing up for the people you love, again and again, until you can’t show up anymore.
Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.
When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love …
I sought to hear the voice of God and climbed the topmost steeple, but God declared: “Go down again – I dwell among the people.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.
The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.
If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
If we listened to our intellect we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: “It’s gonna go wrong.” Or “She’s going to hurt me.” Or,”I’ve had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore . . .” Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.
When things break, it’s not the actual breaking that prevents them from getting back together again. It’s because a little piece gets lost – the two remaining ends couldn’t fit together even if they wanted to. The whole shape has changed.
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.
Because,’ she said, ‘when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.
Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.
A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window.
However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?
Jane, be still; don’t struggle so like a wild, frantic bird, that is rending its own plumage in its desperation.”
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.
It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.
I wonder how many people don’t get the one they want, but end up with the one they’re supposed to be with.
In the end
these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you live?
How deeply did you let go?
Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.
Life is too short to waste any amount of time on wondering what other people think about you. In the first place, if they had better things going on in their lives, they wouldn’t have the time to sit around and talk about you. What’s important to me is not others’ opinions of me, but what’s important to me is my opinion of myself.
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.
It is not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, but the fight in the dog that wins.
The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.
When I was about eight, I decided that the most wonderful thing, next to a human being, was a book.
Remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.
The important thing to you is not how many years in your life, but how much life in your years!
I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.
Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.
My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it.