#117 Eternity in Each Moment

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this. ~ Henry David Thoreau

See more select quotes by Thoreau in my beginning great author series.

#116 Carry a Big Bat

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me! ~Dr. Seuss

Great Quotes: Henry David Thoreau

This is the first post in the 'Great Author Series' in which perceptive quotes are selected from pivotal authors through the ages. Hopefully the select quotes are engaging and inspirational, and offer enriching insights.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) wrote over 20 volumes of books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry. He is most noted for his reflections upon simple living in natural surroundings. Many of his quotes still resonate for their passionate desire to understand the essential elements of a vital life without being overwhelmed by the complexities of modernity and tradition.

- Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.

- What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.

- Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.

- As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.

- Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

- You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.

- I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

- The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

(Pivotal quotes selected by quoteflections.)

- I am a happy camper so I guess I’m doing something right. Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

- Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary.

- If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.

- I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.

- In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.

- We are constantly invited to be who we are.

- What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?


Labels: quotes, quotations, greatest, best, reflections, instructional, inspirational, life lessons, insights, self help

Recommendations are appreciated.

#115 The Price of Success

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

#114 Beyond Self

In real love you want the other person's good. ~ Margaret Anderson

#113 Life is in the Midst

For a long time it seemed to me that real life was about to begin, but there was always some obstacle in the way. Something had to be got 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. ~ Bette Howland

#112 The Truth about Self

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people. ~ Virginia Woolf

#111 What Do You Take For Granted?

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. ~ Aldous Huxley

#110 Inspiration through Work

The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn't waste time waiting for inspiration. ~ Ernest Newman

#109 What Makes a Life?

Incident piled on incident no more makes life than brick piled on brick makes a house. ~ Edith Mirrielees

#108 The Key to a Balanced Life

Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life. ~ Ellen Sue Stern

#107 What's your Gift?

The weakest among us has a gift, however seemingly trivial, which is peculiar to him and which worthily used will be a gift also to his race. ~ John Ruskin

#106 The Essence of Life

One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life. ~ Anatole France

#105 One Day at a Time

That person is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of life. ~ Euripides

#104 No Need for Certainty

I said here's the river I want to flow on, here's the direction I want to go, and put my boat in. I was ready for the river to take unexpected turns and present obstacles. ~ Nancy Woodhull

#103 Making It Through the Day

Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall.
Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day.
Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down.
And this is all life really means. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

#102 Confronting Fear

Fear is the fire that melts Icarian wings. ~ Florence Earle Coates

Want to review the myth of Icarus through the ages?

#101 Hopes over Fears

We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. ~ John F. Kennedy

#100 Release

Do things for others and you'll find your self-consciousness evaporating like morning dew. ~ Dale Carnegie

(A fitting quote as I reach 100 out of 1,000 quotes. Thanks for reading and sharing.)

#99 Courage as Nurture

The best protection any woman (or man) can have... is courage. ~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton