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Life-Saving Quotations
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And silence, like a poultice,
comes to heal the blows of sound.
-----Oliver Wendell Holmes
Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true
security to be found.
Ann Morrow Lindbergh
A proper adjustment to reality can only be achieved when reality is
correctly perceived. - A.J.
Twerski
The order of nature is that individual happiness
shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue.
- Thomas Jefferson
HAPPINESS awakens GRATITUDE, GRATITUDE awakens
AWARENESS, AWARENESS awakens CHANGE, CHANGE awakens WISDOM, WISDOM
awakens the INNER SELF, Where LOVE, PEACE and HAPPINESS are always
constant.
- Mary Jane Dubner
I am more and more convinced that our happiness or
unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life,
than on the nature of those events themselves.
- Humboldt
Happiness can grow in any
soil, live in any condition. It defies environment. It comes from
within; it's the revelation of the depths of the inner life as light
and heat proclaim the sun from which they radiate. Happiness consists
not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is
the warm glow of a heart at peace with it's self... Happiness is the
soul's joy in the possession of the intangible... Happiness is
paradoxical because it may coexist with trial, sorrow and poverty. It
is the gladness of the heart, rising superior to all conditions...
- William George Jordan
"Only that day dawns to which we are awake."
Henry David Thoreau.
A human being is a part of the whole,
called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated
from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This
delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal
desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must
be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of
compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in
its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving
for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a
foundation for inner security.
- Albert Einstein
You must always remember that you are
not your emotions. You are a person having an experience. If you are
currently experiencing hopelessness, it is not the same as you -- you
are not hopelessness; you are a person experiencing hopelessness
because of the thoughts you are thinking.
If it is your intent to feel good, then
you will want to make it a point to routinely be aware of your thoughts
so that you can change them if they are creating a negative feeling.
It is important to note that you will be most miserable when your
thoughts are in the past or the future. You will always feel best when
you are focused in the present. ~ Dr. Paula Sunray
The ego does not allow itself to be totally immersed in anything
because it wants to maintain its control over the situation. Buddist
site: goddirect org
I think it's a mistake to ever look for hope outside of one's self.
Arthur Miller
All honor's wounds are self-inflicted.
Andrew Carnegi
In the darkness of the soul, there is only self.
Rabbi James Stone Goodman
Beware the fury of a patient man. -- John Dryden
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely
rearranging their prejudices.- William James
Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers.
-Grossman's Misquote
Growth is the only evidence of life.-John Henry
Now, in Gestalt therapy, it's Laura
Perls, Perls's wife, who is also a Gestalt therapist, who has made the
paradox, the existential paradox, central to her thought and work. And
she's given us a very good phrasing of it, which I'd like to read. She
says, "Speaking strictly for myself, I am deeply convinced that the
basic problem, not only of therapy, but of life, is how to make life
livable for a being whose dominant characteristic is his awareness of
himself as a unique individual, on the one hand, and of his mortality
on the other hand. The first feeling, that is, feeling that we are
individuals that are unique, gives us a feeling of overwhelming
importance. The other feeling, that we will die, gives us a feeling of
fear and frustration. Suspended between these two poles, man vibrates
in a state of inevitable tension and anxiety." --E. Becker
After all, this planet is a terrifying
place. As Thomas Carlyle pointed out, it is a mystic temple and a hall
of doom. If you don't see it that way, I think you're fortunate; but I
think you're fortunate because you've built defenses against seeing it
as it is. After all, you cannot allow yourself to walk around terrified
that death lurks at every corner, that your life could be over in a
minute if you drink from the wrong glass, if you step off the curb in a
thoughtless moment, everything you've worked for and achieved is
nothing. –E. Becker
"We cure the neurotic of his symptoms only to introduce him to the
common misery of life." –E. Becker quoting Freud.
Feelings can, like every other aspect of
our humanity, be corrupted from their original purposes, As hunger
drove the primitive man to the nurture required for life, gluttony can
drive modern man to the obesity that destroys. So, too, with feelings.
Jealousy, which serves the struggle for survival, can deteriorate into
the envy which draws defeat even from victory. We can be overwhelmed by
inappropriate guilt, anxiety, shame, and the like. Mental illness is
usually a mere disarray of the ingredients of survival. All that is
necessary is rearrangement. Feelings are internal directives essential
for human life. In addition, and not just in passing, they are their
own rewards. They are the means and the ends. All goodness and pleasure
must be ultimately perceived in the realm of feelings. It is in the
balance of small passions of daily existence that we measure and value
our lives. Willard Gaylin, Feelings—Our Vital Signs
"Man is not troubled by events, but what man tells himself about those
events." Aristotle
The formula for success is the unconditional acceptance of life and
what it brings. -Arthur Rubenstein
What is happiness? It is unconditional
acceptance of life, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once we can
understand unconditional happiness we can love, and be loved. Part of
what I am talking about is accepting yourself for all your parts, the
good, the bad, and the ugly. Once you do that you realize you are good
enough. In fact you're perfect! When you feel good about yourself it is
then that you can improve yourself. In fact Being Happy is the best
self-improvement exercise that I know of. –Lionel Ketchian
Dennis Prager said, "One day... the
thought occurred to me that being unhappy was easy -- in fact, the easy
way out -- and that it took no courage, effort,, or greatness to be
unhappy. Anyone could be unhappy. True achievement, I realized at an
early age, lay in struggling to be happy. To this day, when I am
unhappy I tell myself that I am taking the easy way out, that happiness
is a battle to be waged and not a feeling to be awaited."
To no man is permitted to know the
future of his life, the finality. God commits to man ever only new
beginnings, new wisdom, and new days to use the best of his knowledge.
--William George Jordan
"When unfortunate things happen in our lives there
are two possible results. One possibility is mental unrest, anxiety,
fear, doubt, frustration and eventually depression, and in the worst
case, even suicide. That's one way. The other possibility is that
because of that tragic experience you become more realistic, you become
closer to reality. With the power of investigation, the tragic
experience may make you stronger and increase your self-confidence and
self-reliance. The unfortunate event can be a source of inner strength."
The Dalai Lama
"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become
actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits;
they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
- Frank Outlaw
Calmness comes ever from within. It is the peace
and restfulness of the depths of our nature. The fury of storm and of
wind agitate only the surface of the sea; they can penetrate only two
or three hundred feet,--below that is the
calm, unruffled deep. To be ready for the great crises of life we must
learn serenity in our daily living. Calmness is the crown of
self-control. -- William George Jordan
A definition of love: "Taking pleasure in another's virtues... To
"love" means to excuse the faults, and focus on virtues -- Noah
Wienberg
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life
stands explained. -Mark Twain
Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be
content with what you have. -Doris Mortman
Serenity is a gift from you to you. -Dorothy Briggs
Mistakes are a fact of life. It’s the response to the error
that counts.
-Nikki Giovanni
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It
will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. -Anne Lamott
Life can hurt us, but it does not hurt nearly so
much if we have learned to listen to ourselves and to recognize how
fully and richly we are trying to tell ourselves the truth.
-Eugene Kennedy
I’ve dreamt in my life dreams that have
stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they’ve gone
through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color
of my mind. -Emily Bronte
Always know in your heart that you are far bigger than anything that
can happen to you. -Dan Zadra
We are convinced that happiness is never to be found, and each believes
it is possessed by others, to keep alive the hope of obtaining it for
himself.
--Samuel Johnson The Book of Positive Quotations
The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but
in liking what one does.
--James M. Barrie
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what
happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the
meaning of life.
--Albert Camus (1913-1960)
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something
to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
--Joseph Addison Light from Many Lamps bby Lillian Eichler Watson
No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it
for happiness.
--Mary Wollstonecraft
Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.
--Don Herold
Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what
you have; it depends solely on what you think.
- Dale Carnegie
Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness
without action.
- William James
It has been my observation that people are just about as
happy as they make up their minds to be.
- Abraham Lincoln
Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be
felt only if you don't set any conditions.
- Arthur Rubinstein
Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness
destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!
- Jane Austen
I believe all suffering is caused by
ignorance. People
inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness
or satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of
peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the
cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion,
and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed.
- Dalai Lama, 1989 Nobel Peace-Prize Speech
Most true happiness comes from one's inner life,
from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life
is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It
takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.
- William L Shirer
Happiness is a way station between too little and too much.
- Channing Pollock
When these men were shaken, inside themselves they found a
rock. They discovered that there was something they valued more than
life and comfort, and therefore death and pain held no ultimate threat
for them. Frankl calls it "the last of the human freedoms--to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own
way.----Margaret Sholaas
''What have I in common with Jews? I have hardly anything in common
with myself and should stand very quietly in a corner, content that I
can breathe.'' Kafka
Life's splendor forever lies in wait about
each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled
from view, deep down, invisible, far off.
It is there, though, not hostile, not
reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it
by the right word, by its right name,
it will come. -- F. Kafka
Compassion is the basis of all morality.
Arthur Shopenhauer
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of
the world.
-Arthur Schopenhauer
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by
means of language.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
The world of the happy is quite different from that of the unhappy.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Come down from the barren heights of cleverness into the green valley
of silliness. Ludwig Wittgenstein
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be
beaten , but they may start a winning game. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Let us not dream that reason can ever be popular.
Passions, emotions, may be made popular, but reason remains the
property of the few. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.~
Friedrich Nietzsche
Why do I not seek some real good; one which I could feel,
not one which I could display?~ Seneca
A not admitting of the wound
Until it grew so wide
That all my life had entered it ---E. Dickinson
Now my denial was in full retreat. The grief and
hurt had captured my full attention. At last. I finally admitted the
wound, and recognized that it was growing so wide that all my life had
entered into it. Now I could address it. Now I could begin working
through it. Now I had a chance at what had been impossible while I was
in denial: healing.
Attentiveness and mindfulness
do more than break down denial. They also keep us focused on the
present. And if you are focused on this moment, you won't be dwelling
in the past. You won't be in the land of guilt, regret and revenge. Nor
will you be dwelling in the future--the land of worry, anxiety,
fear. The
present moment, with all of its possible beauty and possibility, is a
much better place to be than guilt and regret about the past, or worry,
anxiety and fear about the future. Even if the present moment is
terrifying, it won't likely be nearly as destructive or feel nearly as
bad as guilt, regret, worry, anxiety or fear.
Who or what calls on us to do all this letting go?
Life does. Because change and impermanence are parts of life, letting
go is--or should be--a constant companion in our human lives.
Buddhism also reminds us that the opposite of letting go--craving,
grasping, clinging--leads inevitably to disappointment and
unhappiness-- Rev. Roger Bertschausen
"Many things we affirm and deny, because the nature of words
allows us to do so, though the nature of things does not. While we
remain unaware of this fact, we may easily mistake falsehood for
truth." Spinoza
Anybody can become angry--that is easy, but to be
angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right
time and for the right purpose, and in the right way -- that is not
within everybody's power and is not easy. – Aristotle
"I will love the light for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars." - Og Mandino
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is
the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be
successful." - Albert Schweitzer
Happiness is mental
health, and peace of mind, a great attitude, a positive vision, a
contributor to good physical health, and a friendship magnet. Happiness
is the foundation for love and compassion. Happiness has different
meanings for different people, but it always possesses the same basic
component, which is having gratitude for what you already have. Elie
Wiesel has said: "When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is
missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his
or her attitude toward gratitude."
Happiness is not
getting up in the morning and hoping you have a nice day. It is getting
up and knowing you are going to make it a great day. It is not waiting
to hear someone pay you a compliment so you can feel happy. It is
treating people with respect no matter what they say. Happiness is
being able to not take it personally so that you do not let yourself
become disturbed and negatively affected by what other people think.
---Lionel Ketchian
"If you are distressed by anything external, the
pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and
this you have the power to revoke at any moment." - Marcus Aurelius
It is not from space that I must seek my dignity,
but from the government of my thought. I shall have no more if I
possess worlds. By space the universe encompasses and swallows me up
like an atom; by thought I comprehend the world. -- Blaise Pascal
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