Words for My Soul

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

-Anais Nin (1903-1977); author, diarist

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

-Epicurus (341BC-270BC); ancient Greek philosopher

“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”

-Barbara Kingsolver (b. 1955); author, writer

“I do believe that when we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power, it’s an opportunity to build on our faith, inner strength, and courage. I’ve learned that how we face challenges plays a big role in the outcome of them.”

-Sasha Azevedo (b. 1978); actress, athlete, model

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”

-Joshua J. Marine

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.”

-Ben Okri (b. 1959); poet, novelist

“If we study the lives of great men and women carefully and unemotionally we find that, invariably, greatness was developed, tested and revealed through the darker periods of their lives. One of the largest tributaries of the River of Greatness is always the Stream of Adversity. ”

-Cavett Robert (1907-1997); founder of the National Speakers Association

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”

-W. Clement Stone (1902-2002); author, businessman

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

-E. E. Cummings (1894-1962); poet, essayist, painter, playwright

“You have many choices. You can choose forgiveness over revenge, joy over despair. You can choose action over apathy….”

-Stephanie Marston; family therapist, author