#170 Laughter as liberation

Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat and worry with laughter at your predicaments, thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution that is certain to come. ~Og Mandino

Additional Quote

The best definition of humour I know is: humour may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic expression thereof. I think this is the best I know because I wrote it myself. ~ Stephen Leacock

Theme Series: The Fruit of our Labours

Work: is it a blessing or curse? For some it can be liberating, for others tedious. How does one fill the void without it? For those in retirement, the absence without a career presents its challenges. For those seeking employment, however, what a dream come true to find a productive vocation.

Here are some select quotes about our labours:

- We can redeem anyone who strives unceasingly. ~ Goethe

- Work banishes those three great evils, boredom, vice, and poverty. ~ Voltaire

- Work is the inevitable condition of human life, the true source of human welfare. ~ Leo Tolstoy

- How do I work? I grope. ~ Albert Einstein

- No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt. ~ Max Beerbohm

- By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be a boss and work 12 hours a day. ~ Robert Frost

Selected by quoteflections.

- All work is seed sown. It grows and spreads, and sows itself anew. ~ Thomas Carlyle

- We work to become, not to acquire. ~ Elbert Hubbard

- It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure why take the chance? ~ Ronald Reagan

- When I can no longer create anything, I'll be done for. ~ Coco Chanel

- To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. ~ John Dewey

(Tags: select top quotes, quotations, theme series, self help, life, inspiring, enriching, uplifting, motivational, educational, philosophical, ethics.)

#169 Rising above circumstances

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." -- George Bernard Shaw, "Mrs. Warren's Profession," 1893

Maxim of the Day

They are able who think they are able. ~ Virgil

#168 The Final Wisdom

The final wisdom of life requires not the annulment of incongruity but the achievement of serenity within and above it. ~Reinhold Niebuhr

Definition of incongruous: out of place, inappropriate, unbecoming, not harmonious in character, inconsistent

Maxim of the Day

Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity. ~ William Hazlitt

#167 The Big Picture

I do not believe in a simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil. I believe this is a big world full of men, women, and children who struggle to eat, to love, to work, to protect their families, their beliefs, and their dreams. ~ Sean Penn

Additional Quote

Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life. ~ Jimmy Carter

Maya Angelou: Present in All Things

Maya Angelou (1928-) is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer." She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. This critically acclaimed author has been awarded over 30 honorary degrees.

Here is a select list of quotations which offer an introduction to her perspectives:

-Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

-I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

-There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

-If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

-The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.

-I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

-Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

-Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.

-My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Selected by quoteflections.

-You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.

-Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.

-Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.

-We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

-When you learn, teach; when you get, give.

-We need much less than we think we need.

-The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.

-Be present in all things and thankful for all things.

Selected by quoteflections.

-I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'.

One of her most famous poems is entitled "On the Pulse of Morning" which was read at President Bill Clinton's inauguration.

...The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out and upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country....

Labels: best top quotes, quotations, reflections, instructional, inspirational, life lessons, insights, self help, great author series

Care to share/recommend this post?

#166 Nature heals

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. ~ John Muir

Maxim of the Day

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison

#165 Global Human Rights

We, the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal right of men and women and of nations large and small....And for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors...have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. ~Preamble, Charter of the United Nations, 1945

Additional Quote

From this vision of the role of the United Nations in the next century flow three key priorities for the future: eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy. ~ Kofi Annan

Theme Series: Kindness and Compassion

I am excited to launch a theme series of pivotal quotes revolving around perennial human issues. Consider the following select quotations which celebrate the virtue of showing kindness, compassion, and generosity in our daily lives:

-The golden rule is of no use whatsoever unless you realize that it is your move. ~ Dr. Frank Crane

-Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others. ~Plato

-One love, one heart, one destiny. ~ Bob Marley

-No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. ~Aesop

-A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. ~ Nelson Mandela

-What comes from the heart, goes to the heart. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

- The more you care, the stronger you can be. ~ Jim Rohn

-If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. ~Mother Teresa

- Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. ~ Seneca

-Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. ~Albert Schweitzer

Selected by quoteflections.

-Compassion is the basis of morality. ~Arthur Schopenhauer

-Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves. ~Horace Mann

-Compassion is a verb. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

-Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. ~Seneca

-Always be a little kinder than necessary. ~James M. Barrie

-There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life - reciprocity. ~Confucius

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~ Dalai Lama

-Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia

-A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. ~Washington Irving

-The greatest pleasure I have known is to do a good action by stealth and to have it found out by accident. ~Charles Lamb

Selected by quoteflections.

(Tags: select top quotes, quotations, theme, self help, life, inspiring, enriching, uplifting, motivational, educational, philosophical, ethics.)

Do you appreciate this post? Please forward/recommend by using the share buttons below.

#164 Pack up your Troubles

What's the use of worrying?
It never was worth while,
So, pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile. ~ George Asaf

Additional maxim:

In trouble to be troubled
Is to have your trouble doubled. ~ Daniel Defoe