Quotes

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships. Happiness is not for wild animals who can only oscillate between hunger and repletion. To be happy we must exercise our reasoning faculty and be conscious of our will and powers. In other words, we must have learned the secret of self-discipline. To be happy we must do those things which produce happiness. Happiness is one of the slowest ripening fruits in the Garden of Life, and, like all fruits, it must be grown. Some of us have not one plant in our lives on which to grow the fruit of happiness. We have not planted one sound seed in our hearts, and when we do plant a seed, it gets so little sunshine that it can never come to maturity. the simplest way to be happy is to do good. This is instant and infallible happiness. The surest proof that this is the law of cause and effect is, we may try every other conceivable way of being happy, and they will all fail. We cannot gather figs from thorns or grapes from thistles. The tree bears fruit after its kind both in the soil and in the soul. If we spend the time we waste in sighing for the perfect golden fruit in fulfilling the conditions of its growth, happiness will come, must come. It is guaranteed in the very laws of the universe. If it involves some chastening and renunciation, well, the fruit will be all the sweeter for this touch of holiness.
A happy spirit is worth a library of learning.
A letter always seems more to belong to me if I can read it than it does when someone reads it to me.
All my life I have tried to avoid ruts, such as doing things my ancestors did before me, or leaning on the crutches of other people's opinion, or losing my childhood sense of wonderment. I am glad to say I still have a vivid curiosity about the world I live in....t is as natural for me to believe that the richest harvest of happiness comes with age as to believe that true sight and hearing are within, not without....
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.
Blind or seeing, one is not happy unless one's heart is filled with the sun which never dissolves into gloom. God is that sun, and if one's faith in Him is only strong, He will somehow or other reveal one's powers and brighten the darkest days with His divine beams.
Books are a haven of peace sweet to rest in after we have been tossed on the waves of discouragement.
By faith I mean a vision of good one cherishes and the enthusiasm that pushes one to seek its fulfillment regardless of obstacles. Faith is a dynamic power that breaks the chain of routine and gives a new, fine turn to old commonplaces. Faith reinvigorates the will, enriches the affections and awakens a sense of creativeness. Active faith knows no fear, and it is a safeguard to me against cynicism and despair. After all, faith is not one thing or two or three things, it is an indivisible totality of beliefs that inspire me - Belief in God as infinite good will and all seeing Wisdom whose everlasting Arms sustain me walking on the sea of life. Trust in my fellow men, wonder at their fundamental goodness and confidence that after this night of sorrow and oppression they will rise up strong and beautiful in the glory of morning. Reverence for the beauty and preciousness of earth, and a sense of responsibility to do what I can to make it a habitation of health and plenty for all men. Faith in immortality because it renders less bitter the separation from those I have loved and lost, and because it will free me from unnatural limitations and unfold still more faculties I have in joyous activity. Even if my vital spark should be blown out, I believe that I should behave with courageous dignity in the presence of fate and strive to be a worthy companion of the Beautiful, the Good and the True. But fate has its master in the faith of those who surmount it, and limitation has its limits for those who, though disillusioned, live greatly. True faith is not a fruit of security, it is the ability to blend mortal fragility with the inner strength of the Spirit. It does not shift with the changing shades of one's thought. It was a terrible blow to my faith when I learned that millions of my fellow-creatures must labor all their days for food and shelter, bear the most crushing burdens and die without having known the joy of living. My security vanished forever, and I have never regained the radiant belief of my younger years that earth is a happy home and hearth for the majority of mankind. But faith is a state of mind. The believer is not soon disheartened.
Certainly,there is something divine in the art which some human beings possess to shape life for themselves, no matter what the outward circumstances may be. That is the power of the Celestial Artist, the Will, to find life worth living, despite the handicap imposed.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Doing too much may be as spendthrift of it as doing too little. Feverish activity, without due regard to quality or relevance, may be as great a waste of time as idleness.
Doubt and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.
Education broadens to include all men, and deepens to teach all truths.
Education is not to fit us to get ahead of our fellows and to dominate them. It is rather to develop our talents and personalities and stimulate us to use our faculties effectively. If our sympathies and understanding are not educated, the fact that we have a college degree, or that we have discovered a new fact in science does not make us educated men and women. The only way to judge the value of education is by what it does.
Few people who see realize how many and how great are the marvels of touch. Blinded by their eyes, they never stop to think how vital the sense of touch is in all the processes of their physical development, what a potent ally it is in all the activities of life.
From what the people tell me I must needs (sic) conclude that physical limitations somehow strengthen and clarify intellectual processes. I confess, it appears paradoxical that weakness should develop strength.
Happiness has very little to do with the senses. If we make up our minds that this is a drab and purposeless universe, it will be that, and nothing else. On the other hand, if we believe that the earth is ours, and that the sun and moon hang in the sky for our delight, there will be joy upon the hills and gladness in the fields because the Artist in our souls glorifies creation. Surely, it gives dignity to life to believe that we are born into this world for noble ends, and that we have a higher destiny than can be accomplished within the narrow limits of this physical life.
Happiness is the final and perfect fruit of obedience to the laws of life. One who lies in accordance with these laws has a talisman of happiness always at hand.
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
I believe in God, I believe in man, I believe in the power of the spirit. I believe it is a sacred duty to encourage ourselves and others; to hold the tongue from any unhappy word against God's world, because no man has any right to complain of a universe which God made good, and which thousands of men have striven to keep good. I believe we should so act that we may draw nearer and more near the age when no man shall live at his ease while another suffers."
I can dream of that happy country of the future where no man will live at his ease while another suffers; then, indeed shall the blind see and the deaf hear.
I cannot remember how I felt when the light went out of my eyes. I suppose I felt it was always night and perhaps I wondered why the day did not come.
I discovered that darkness and silence might be rich in possibilities, which in my turn I might discover to the world. In other words, I found the treasures of my own island.
I do not believe that anyone ever attains perfection because that attribute belongs to the Infinite alone. But the longing for perfection, which is one way of loving God, causes one to grow nobler and to taste innumerable delights through eternity.
I live in a thought-filled world. Those who have all their faculties have no idea what wonderful gardens lie hidden behind the dark silent walls. The very silence vibrates to my every mood and to every consciousness I have of other's existence!
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among the flowers. The wind passes, and the flowers are content. But into the sweet night of my individual blindness has come the call -- the urge of others' need. It is as persistent as the love-note which the mother-bird hears when her nestlings are in trouble, and I know that it will never cease until I have done the utmost of which I am capable to help others break down the walls of darkness and pour the sweet waters of joy into the deserts of silence.
If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, - if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing
In every useful work the best gift is not in admiration or endowment, but in the life and character which pours out of its spiritual wealth and power blessing and comfort to others.
It gives me a deep, comforting sense that things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal.
It is not possible for civilization to flow backwards while there is youth in the world. Youth may be headstrong, but it will advance it allotted length.
Joy in adventure, travel and love of service to my fellow men were stronger than physical handicaps.
Love lifts the rim of vision, and gives mind a glory of meaning that it never had before.
My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. I try to increase the power God has given me to see the best in everything and every one, and make that Best a part of my life. The world is sown with good; but unless I turn my glad thoughts into practical living and till my own field, I cannot reap a kernel of the good.
Only through perseverance and overcoming obstacles can you accomplish anything worth while. We think little of what we win easily. It is struggle that gives victory its preciousness.
Our worst foes are ignorance, poverty and the unconscious cruelty of our commercial society.
Real discipline is the kind that is developed from within. It is the only lasting kind, and the only discipline that builds character.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Speech is the fruit of our lips, and that only by speaking the word engrafted within can we grow finer personalities
The best work is that which we do when we experience the joy of creation. Things we do with our hands develop us. Things we do ourselves make us happy
The demand of the world is not so much for scholarship as for effective service
The highest result of education is tolerance.
The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.
The sense of touch resides in every part of the body
There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.
Time is one of the things we possess. Our success depends on the right use of it.
To do anything well, we must first get a right concept of what we are aiming at. We must think right before we can act right.
To understand is essential to progress
Truly there is more in us than we dream; for we are parts or shadows of something more intense and greater. We know ourselves only imperfectly. We never fully realize our possibilities,
We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

I abandon all that I think I am, all that I hope to be, all that I believe I possess. I let go of the past, I withdraw my grasping hand from the future, and in the great silence of this moment, I alertly rest my soul."

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JOHN WOODEN

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

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QUOTES WITH SCRIPTURES

We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough. ~ Helen Keller (1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author, Lecturer, Amorist)	Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. James 5:10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Revelation 14:12This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. ~ Helen Keller	1 Samuel 30:6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. Colossians 1: 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Galatians 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is a touch of yearning at times, but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers. ~ Helen Keller	Job 11:7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than the heavens-what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. 13 "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, 14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, 15 then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. 16 You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. 17 Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. 18 You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. 19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. Psalm 119 96 To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless John 3 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse. ~ Helen Keller	John 16:33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world 1 John 5:5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Jeremiah 1:19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD . 2 Corinthians 1:5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. ~ Helen Keller	Matthew 7 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you 1 Chronicles 16:11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." Psalm 147 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. 6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. 8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. 10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; 11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Some people believe that holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go - and then do it. ~ Ann Landers	Job 15 :7 "Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? 8 Do you listen in on God's council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? 9 What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have? 10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father. 11 Are God's consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you? Proverbs 27 12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. Psalm 119:153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

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