Twenty Quotes
It seems
that on a daily basis we are hit by bad news, be it global, national, or
local. As we struggle to deal with issues, both as a culture and on an
individual basis, a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. seems to come back to me, as
if of its own volition, time after time:
“Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out
hate; only love can do that.”
These 20
words seem as succinct a statement for living as I have ever read.
A few
months ago I was wondering if any of my friends and family have any similar,
life-affirming quotes that they would be willing to share. Quotes that
bring you back from believing the worst in humanity; quotes that help you see a
better future for our children; quotes that seem to insist on being heard and
remembered.
I solicited
quotes from those who I thought might like to join in my Quotation Project and suggested
that they could invite like-minded friends.
Though I received fewer responses than I expected, I sincerely
appreciate those who contributed their favorite quotes.
I decided
against listing who sent me each quote, but wanted to provide as accurate an
attribution as I possibly could to the original author. (I discovered that the internet was great for WHO gave a quote, but not terrific for the actual source--speech, article, book, ...) For the most part, the quotes are in no
specific order. Finally,
I hope
that you will find below something to hold on to.
If anyone has quotes to add, I would be happy to consider a Part 2!
The
Quotation Project
1*. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only
light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ―Martin Luther King, Jr.,
from Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community
2.* “The longer I love, the more I realize
the impact of attitude on life…. The
remarkable thing is we have a choice
every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day…. The only thing
we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” ― Charles R. Swindoll
3. "Fire can warm or consume,
water can quench or drown,
wind can caress or cut.
And so it is with human relationships;
we can both create and destroy,
nurture and terrorize,
traumatize and heal each other."
―The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog, Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz
water can quench or drown,
wind can caress or cut.
And so it is with human relationships;
we can both create and destroy,
nurture and terrorize,
traumatize and heal each other."
―The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog, Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz
3. “People don’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care.” ―anonymous
4. “The time is always right to do the
right thing.” ―Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. “Things work out best for those who
make the best of the way things work out.” ―John Wooden
6. “It isn't about what you do, but about
how you do it.” ―John Wooden
7. "Pain is temporary. It may last
for a minute, or an hour, or a day, or even a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take
its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever." --unknown
8. "Whether you think you can or you
can't, you are right." ―Henry Ford (or Zig Ziglar?)
9*. "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." ― Marianne Williamson as quoted in the movie Coach Carter
10. "Faith precedes the miracle.
Proof follows the miracle." ―Clayton King
11. "Love your neighbor as yourself."
―The Bible
12. "Never
underestimate the power of a few dedicated to change the world. It's the
only thing that ever has."
―Margaret Meade
13. “Happiness can be found even in the
darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” ―JK Rowling (Albus Dumbledore), Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
14. “If you have good thoughts they will
shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely” ―Roald Dahl, The Twits
15*. “The
question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life
exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.”
―from Walt
Whitman’s “O Me! Or Life!” in Leaves
of Grass (1892)
(w/ special thanks to Robin Williams’
portrayal of Mr. Keating in Dead Poet’s
Society)
16. 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
17. I am driven by two main philosophies,
know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised
how far that gets you. ―Neil DeGrasse Tyson
18. Whenever you feel like criticizing
anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. ―F. Scott Fitzgerald in
The Great Gatsby
19. The world is a dangerous place to live;
not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about
it. ―Albert Einstein
20. Anger is an acid that can do more harm to
the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. ―Mark Twain
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Here
are the longer pieces from which some of the works above have been excerpted:
1. “The ultimate weakness of
violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to
destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
From Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community
2. “The longer I love, the more I realize
the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more
important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than
successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or
skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding
the attitude we will embrace for that
day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change
the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I
am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge
of our attitudes.” --Charles R. Swindoll
9. "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, and fabulous?
Actually, who are yon 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 will not 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 is not
just in some of us; it is in everyone
and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ―
Marianne Williamson as quoted in the movie Coach Carter
15. Oh me! Oh
life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the
faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching
myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the
light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of
the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years
of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad,
recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life
exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.
―Walt Whitman, “Oh Me, Oh
Life!” in Leaves of Grass (1892)
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