Sunday, November 9, 2008

No Man is Wise Enough by Himself

I love learning...and this statement by Plautus encapsulates why. I love picking up a book and seeing the world from someone else's point of view, experiencing someone else's strengths and weaknesses, and gaining wisdom from another's experience that is far removed from my own.

Maybe that is why I have always collected quotes...I am awestruck by the ability of certain individuals to capture so much truth in such a small amount of space. These kinds of thought inspire change for the better. Here are some of my favorites:

"Everything turns out alright in the end, so if it's not alright, it's not the end." (Unknown)

"We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do little things with great love." (Mother Teresa)

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." (Aldous Huxley)

"We should not complain about our own life's not being a rose garden when we remember who wore the crown of thorns." (Neal A. Maxwell)

"A life is a single letter in the alphabet. It can be meaningless, or it can be part of a great meaning." (Jewish Theological Seminary)

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." (Marcel Proust)

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." (Carl Jung)

"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse." (Don Juan)

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." (David Lloyd George)

"May the outward and inward man be at one." (Socrates)

"Sacrifice means going without or giving up something which is good for something which is better." (N. Eldon Tanner)

"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." (Richard L. Evans)

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." (Henry Ford)

"Always remember there are two types of people in this world: those who come into a room and say, 'well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are!'" (Frederick L. Collins)

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." (Unknown)

"One's life cannot be both faith-filled and stress free." (Neal A. Maxwell)

"The best way out is always through." (Robert Frost)

"What I am is good enough if I would only be it openly." (Carl Rogers)

"If you think you can do a thing, or you think you can't do a thing; you're right." (Henry Ford)

"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received." (Thomas Aquinas)

And, a great one to end on...

"Writing, the art of communicating thoughts to the mind through the eye us the great invention of the world...enabling us to converse with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all distances of time and space." (Abraham Lincoln)

6 comments:

Ann said...

That's always been my favorite thing about books too... I don't have to do or see everything myself in this life... I can read about other people's life experiences and learn from them.
Fantastic quiver of quotes too!

Carol said...

Isn't language amazing! Thanks for such a great collection of quotes. Inspiring!

Paul and Susan said...

What a great collection of quotes. I will have to remember to come back you to your site and read them when I need some inspiration.

Jeff said...

I like good quotes too. There is alot of wisdom in the various quotes in this post.

Ashley said...

Great quotes, Megan! I hope everything is going well. I loved seeing the "edible flowers" you got. I'm planning on bringing Chase to show you guys one day after school soon. Probably in a couple of weeks...

Robyn said...

You have always been the go to girl for quotes for me and you still haven't let me down. You will have to put up more every so often for those of us (meaning me) who have a hard time looking for great quotes.