If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. ~Robert Fulghum

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. — Richard Bach

Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.-- Jules de Gaultier

"...and if you walk to the end of the block, there sits a Starbucks. And directly across the street -- in the exact same building as that Starbucks -- there is... another Starbucks. There is a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks! And ladies and gentlemen, THAT is the end of the universe." - Lewis Black

The future has a way of arriving unannounced. -George Will

"Better to get up late and be wide awake than to get up early and be asleep all day"~anonymous~

There is no privacy that cannot be penetrated. No secret can be kept in the civilized world. Society is a masked ball, where everyone hides his real character, and reveals it by hiding. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness. -albert schweitzer

Life doesn't turn out as we expect it to. When we come out into the world, our future seems as smooth and unmarred as virgin snow. It is an illusion, of course, and soon we weave a web of mistakes and failures as much as achievements and triumphs, and become used to walking on broken pavements rather than on paths of gold. It is what makes life so interesting, one quickly learns that one never knows what is going to happen next. -elizabeth aston

"When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'" - Don Marquis

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. ~ Harper Lee

To want nothing is to get everything. (Martin Kojc)

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."--Jesse Jackson

People are gonna hurt you, people will betray you - some asshole is gonna break your heart one day & someday you will be that asshole; some days you are gonna want to scream at the top of your lungs and kill everyone around you & the next day you might feel like you're on top of the world - friends will come and go but each one will have an impact on your life and teach something every day you're gonna learn something new, some things you might not want to know every mistake is the greatest lesson to learn * you will laugh until your stomach hurts; some people are gonna hate you, others will love you - either way it shouldn't matter but when the day is done all you need to do is sit back and laugh at this thing called Life.

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you' re just as pretty without make-up on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have YOU.The one who turns to his friends and says, "thats her"."

You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note. ~Doug Floyd

They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds. ~Wilt Chamberlain

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love."~Mother Teresa

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." -Victor Borge

"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."