“ You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth. ”
“ Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. ”
Martin Luther King Jr. , A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
“ Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. ”
“ There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ”
“ We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. ”
“ Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. ”
“ Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present. ”
“ The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. ”
“ I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. ”
“ This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soulmate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about. ”
“ There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. ”
“ To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. ”
“ Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be. ”
“ When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. ”
“ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ”
“ So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be. ”
“ You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one. ”
“ And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. ”
“ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ”
Marianne Williamson , A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
“ What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain. ”
“ He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you. ”
“ When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. ”
Henri J.M. Nouwen , Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life
“ You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love. ”
“ Well-behaved women seldom make history. ”
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich , Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History
“ When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always. ”
“ So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. ”
“ I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time. ”
“ [...]the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awww! ”
Jack Kerouac Atop an Underwood Early Stories and Other Writings , Great Expectations
“ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ”
“ Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live. ”
“ Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present. ”
“ What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ”
“ Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you. ”
“ Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival. ”
“ I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. ”
