What Keeps You Going?

IMG_0666Here are the words that we have printed out, hung by our desks, posted on sticky notes on our fridges.

Thanks to everyone who sent me quotes, poems and sayings that keep them going and provide inspiration in their lives.

If you have another one, please add it to the comment area!

Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice. — Meister Eckhart

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. — Eleanor Roosevelt

The secret to life is to die before you die and find there’s nothing to be afraid of. — Eckhart Tolle

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. — William Penn

Why be saddled with this thing called life expectancy? Of what relevance to an individual is such a statistic? Am I to concern myself with an allotment of days I never had and was never promised? Must I check off each day of my life as if I am subtracting from this imaginary hoard? No, on the contrary, I will add each day of my life to my treasure of days lived. And with each day, my treasure will grow, not diminish. — Robert Brault

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. — Mark Twain

I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell. – Walt Whitman

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. — Albert Einstein

If you judge people, you have no time to love. — Mother Teresa

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present. — Babatunde Olatunji

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. — Anna Quindlen

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. —Louis Hector Berlioz

Do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God’s creative principle works in you. —Yogananda

Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy. — Abraham Heschel

There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. — Buddha

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. — Hugh Downs

How could youths better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living? — Henry David Thoreau

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4 responses to “What Keeps You Going?”

  1. Leslie says:

    I LOVE the Einstein quote! It reminds me of a song by Peter Mayer, “Everything is Holy Now.” Thanks for sharing this great collection!

  2. Barbara says:

    While we’re on the topic of illuminating thoughts, I’d like to put in a plug for my colleague Josh Baran’s wonderful book of great sayings, “The Tao of Now: Daily Wisdom from Mystics, Sages, Poets and Saints.

  3. laura says:

    since our chat yesterday when the name of your blog sank in.. I began to think about who I would tell first. I am not sure. And that realization bespoke so much in terms of how do I live? so, what would be year bring to me .. a year to so to speak put things in order, or more to become fully aware and finish all that is undone so I can leave it for others.

    I did not know that you also know Josh Baran. our connectiveness continues..

    • Barbara says:

      Such profound questions, and fertile ground for exploration: What does “become fully aware” mean? What is “undone” and what would it mean to finish it?

      Yes – a small world. I volunteered to help Josh with press logistics when the Dalai Lama came to NYC. It was such a great experience, and I truly admired his grace under pressure.

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