"People living deeply have no fear of death." - Anais Nin

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." ~William Blake

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin.....But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."~ Alfred Souza ~

"Now, now my good man, this is no time for making enemies."- Voltaire (1694-1778) on his deathbed in response to a priest asking that he renounce Satan.

Our lives have eternal significance. And no one—absolutely no one—is expendable.--Martin Bell, The Way of the Wolf

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.-Martin Luther King, Jr

"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.~ Theodore Roosevelt

“It’s silly,” Eilonwy added, “to worry because you can’t do something you simply can’t do. It’s like trying to make yourself taller by standing on your head.”
--Lloyd Alexander, The Book of Three

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day."
--Irv Kupcinet

"The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others."

William Lyon Phelps

"We live in an unhappy society. It's regrettably human. It moulds it's members into what they are and then judges them by what they've become." - Sheila MacKay Russell in "A Lamp Is Heavy",

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., writer (1922- )

"dear god, i have no idea where i am going. i do not see the road ahead of me. i cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do i really know myself...and the fact that i think that i am following your will does not mean that i am actually doing so. but i believe this: i believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. i hope i have that desire in everything i do. i hope i never persist in anything apart from that desire. and i know that if i do this, you will lead me by the right road, though i may know nothing about it at the time. therefore i will trust you always, for though i may be lost, i will not be afraid, because i know you will never leave me to face my troubles all alone." - thomas merton

Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor's
son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a
thief.
But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.

Lao-tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE)

"The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity. We have a tendency it seems to over complicate our lives and forget what's important and what's not. We tend to mistake movement for achievement. We tend to focus on activities instead of results. And as the pace of life continues to race along in the outside world, we forget that we have the power to control our lives regardless of what's going on outside."

- Robert Stuberg

We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same.

Carlos Castenada, mystic and author (1925-1998)

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy.
I expostulated, but he replied: 'The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair.'
In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.

Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and author (1872-1970)

When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes.

-John A. Shedd

Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don't swallow it.

Hank Ketcham, comic artist

“The tighter you squeeze, the less you have.” -- Zen Saying

"It is only when you are in true darkness that you can see the stars"

"Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few."

"The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night."

"Life is too deep for words, so don't try to describe it, just live it." -C.S. Lewis

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."
-e.e. cummings

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

-- Albert Einstein

If you don't do what you love you'll never get where you want to be.

-- Dr Robert Ballard

"Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do."
-Voltaire

"Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age. "
-Jeanne Moreau

"There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves, we feel that no one else has a right to blame us. It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution."
-Oscar Wilde

"The point of living and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come." - Peter Ustinov

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is."

Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were."
--Anonymous

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can- there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. ~ Sarah Caldwell

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination."
Don Williams, Jr.

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money."
-Cree Proverb

If you look like your passport photo, you probably need a holiday
- Anonymous

We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams.
--Gypsy Proverb

Don't ever let life pass you by. - Incubus

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you've never been hurt, sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth."

"You cannot put a cheap band-aid on a sacred wound, there is no way through pain but to walk through it." Dr. Robin Smith - On mourning

"Anybody who's great at anything does it for their own approval, not someone else's." – Grissom, CSI Season 1

"Ask a question and you're a moron for ten minutes, don't ask and you're a moron forever."

"You get what anyone gets - you get a lifetime"
-Death

In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
Theodore Roosevelt

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
-Will Rogers

There is a classic monment in The Sun Also Rises when someone asks Mike Campbell how he went bankrupt, and all he can say in response is, "Gradually and then suddenly." When someone asks me how I lost my mind, that is all I can say too.

"I want out of the labels. I don't want my whole life crammed into a single word. A story. I want to find something else, unknowable, some place to be that's not on the map. A real adventure. A sphinx. A mystery. A blank. Unknown. Undefined."

Till it has loved, no man or woman can become itself. -Emily Dickinson

At some point, you have to make a
decision. Boundaries don't keep people
out - they fence you in. Life is messy.
That's how we're made. So, you can
waste your life drawing lines or you
can live your life crossing them. But,
there are some lines that are way too
dangerous to cross. Here's what I know.
If you are willing to take the chance,
the view from the other side is
spectacular. -Grey's Anatomy

The journey begins right here. In the middle of the road. Right beneath your feet. This is the place. There is no other place. There is no other time.
--David Whyte

"There is a prayer intended to give strength to people faced with circumstances they don’t want to accept. The power of the prayer comes from it's insight into human nature. Because so many of us rage against the hand that life has dealt us. Because so many of us are cowardly. And afraid to stand up for what is right. Because so many of us give into despair when faced with an impossible choice. The good news for those who utter these words is that God will hear you and answer your prayer. The bad news is that sometimes the answer is no." -desperate housewives

"The world is filled with unlikely friendships. How do they begin? With one person desperately in need and another willing to lend a helping hand. When such kindness is offered, we're finally able to see the worth of those we had previously written off. And before we know it, a bond has formed, regardless of whether others can understand it. Yes, unlikely friendships start up every day. No one understands this more than the lonely. In fact, it's what they count on." -desperate housewives

"Everyone enjoys a game of make-believe now and then. Of course, the ways in which we play can vary greatly. Sometimes we tell ourselves work won't interfere with our family life. Sometimes, we imagine certain relationships to be more meaningful than they really are. Occasionally, we put on a show, as if to convince ourselves our secrets aren't really all that terrible. Yes, the game of make-believe is a simple one. You start by lying to yourself, and if you can get others to believe those lies, you win." -desperate housewives

communication.
it's the first thing we really learn in life.
funny thing is, once we grow up, learn our words and really start talking
the harder it becomes to know what to say, or how to ask for what we really need.
- Grey's Anatomy

"It's not always that easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. Sinners can surprise you. And the same is true for saints.Why do we try to define people as simply good or simply evil? Because no one wants to admit that compassion and cruelty can live side by side in one heart. And that anyone is capable of anything." -desperate housewives

"We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing."
George Bernard

If you kick a stone in anger, you'll hurt your own foot. ~Korean Proverb

"I am disillusioned enough to know that no man's opinion on any subject is worth a damn unless backed up with enough genuine information to make him really know what he's talking about." H.P. Lovecraft

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”
~Bill Cosby

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”
~Henry David Thoreau

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
--Henry David Thoreau

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
- Dorothy Nevill

Dont look for a way to make money. Find a way to make a living doing what you like to do anyway. Otherwise youre just raising ransom to buy your life back. -Tony Hillerman

"Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig, and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun."

Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where dreams may grow.

-Louise Driscoll

"[President Bush,] you were in Baghdad for six hours. You weren't even in the real Baghdad. You were in the Green Zone. That's like going to the Olive Garden and saying you've been to Italy."
---Jon Stewart

When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.~ Malcom S. Forbes

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo panted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare composed poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” ~ Martin L. King Jr.

"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."
--Leo Buscaglia

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." Dalai Lama

--->"An old man was sitting on a bench when a teenager with a rainbow mohawk walked by. The old man stared at him. Seeing him stare, the teenager said, 'What's the matter old-timer, never done anything crazy in your life?' The old man replied, 'Many years ago, I got drunk at a wild party and had sex with a parrot. I was just wondering whether you were my son.'" -Anonymous

"When I have a kid, I want to put him in one of those strollers for twins, then run around the mall looking frantic."

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.

William Allen White

Socrates
"True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. And in knowing that you know nothing, that makes you the smartest of all."

"When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun, then you grow up and learn to be cautious; you could break a bone, or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there is no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?"-Carrie Bradshaw From Sex and the City

"Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were, to become who you will be. "

"Love isn't finding the perfect person, it's about seeing an imperfect person perfect."

- Unknown

"Just be yourself-- everyone else is taken."

Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.

Maybe some people just arn’t meant to stay in our lives forever. Maybe some people are just passing through. It’s like some people just come into our lives to bring us something, a lesson we need to learn and that’s why they’re there. ~ Unknown

Life is all about risks and it requires you to jump. Don’t be a person who has to look back and wonder what they would have, or could have had. No one waits forever. ~ Unknown

I believe that we are who we choose to be. Nobody is going to come and save you, you’ve got to save yourself. Nobody is going to give you anything . . . you’ve got to go out and fight for it. ~ Barry Manilow

The most powerful force in the world? Compound interest. -Albert Einstein

“This is absurd. It’s just a dog.”
“Just a dog? Porthos dreams of being a bear, and you want to shatter those dreams by saying he’s just a dog? What a horrible candle-snuffing word. That’s just like saying, ‘He can’t climb that mountain, he’s just a man‘, or ‘That’s not a diamond, it’s just a rock.’ Just.” ~ Finding Neverland

We wear these clothes and this make-up for other woman more than for men. Men don’t care. They just want us naked. ~ Unknown

The best presents don’t come in boxes. ~ Calvin and Hobbes

After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean learning and company doesn't mean security. And you begin to learn the kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises. And you begin to accept your defeats with your head and your eyes open with the grace of an adult and not the grief of a child. And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow 's ground is too uncertain for plans. After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you will learn that you really can endure that you really are strong... and you really have worth. ~From a Psychology Book

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. ~ The Shawshank Redemption

"I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married,I know the Catholic Church has problems with gay people and I thought this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay." - Ian McKellen

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."
- Emma Goldman

All people are discontented when they know just the facts, or just the books, or just the things. Happiness can come only from knowing yourself. ~ Unknown

You’re going to look back on this and realize it was all amazing . . . the good, bad and ugly. In the end, the bads don’t really matter, ‘cause you know you had so much fun. ~ Unknown

"If you don't think conflict is relevant to technological advances, take a look at the Swiss. They've been neutral for virtually their entire history and their major contribution to the world is the cuckoo clock. Look at the Swiss "Army" knife. It's got nail clippers. It's even got a corkscrew in it!" T.C. Luoma

Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo de Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance. ~ Unknown

He who is quietest, often has the most to say. ~ Unknown

No one hates history...They hate their own history.

-The DaVinci Code, the movie

Life and love are life and love, a bunch of violets is a bunch of violets, and to drag in the idea of a point is to ruin everything. Live and let live, love and let love, flower and fade, and follow the natural curve, which flows on, pointless. - D.H Lawrence