Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you can wait.
Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.
In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours.
In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.
My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.
Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
A Woman in harmony with her spirit
is like a river flowing.
She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination
prepared to be herself
and only herself
A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.
I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.
I don’t trust people who don’t love themselves and tell me, ‘I love you.’ … There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.
I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.
Eating is so intimate. It’s very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you’re inviting a person into your life.
If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.
That’s what you want to do? Then nothing beats a trial but a failure. Give it everything you’ve got. I’ve told you many times, ‘Cant do is like Dont Care.’ Neither of them have a home.
It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill,
of things unknown, but longed for still,
and his tune is heard on the distant hill,
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
I had given up some youth for knowledge, but my gain was more valuable than the loss
I am convinced that most people do not grow up…We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. I think what we do is mostly grow old. We carry accumulation of years in our bodies, and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are innocent and shy as magnolias.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence—neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish—it is an imponderably valuable gift.
My life has been one great big joke,
A dance that’s walked,
A song that’s spoke,
I laugh so hard I almost choke,
When I think about myself.
I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.
I answer the heroic question, ‘Death, where is thy sting?’ with ‘It is in my heart and mind and memories.
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
I find relief from the questions only when I concede that I am not obliged to know everything. I remind myself it is sufficient to know what I know, and that what I know, may not always be true.
In the flush of love’s light, we dare be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free.
I find it very difficult to let a friend or beloved go into that country of no return. I answer the heroic question, Death, where is thy sting? with It is here in my heart, and my mind, and my memories.
What is a fear of living? It’s being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself – for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don’t know what you’re here to do, then just do some good.
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.