For most of my life, I’ve been a lover of quotes. In no particular order of importance, here are ten quotes I find inspiring:
“If you only read the books
that everyone else is reading,
you can only think
what everyone else is thinking.”
~ Haruki Murakami
“We may ignore,
but we can nowhere evade
the presence of God.
The world is crowded
with Him.
He walks everywhere incognito.”
~ C.S. Lewis
“Seek respect, not attention.
It lasts longer.”
~ Zaid Abdelnour
“If you are afraid to fail,
you will never do the things
you are capable of doing.”
~ John Wooden
“Life is what happens when
you’re making other plans.”
~ John Lennon
“Not in doing what you like,
but in liking what you do
is the secret of happiness.”
~ J.M. Barrie
“In the beginning, there is light
and two wide-eyed figures
standing near the foot of your bed
and the sound of their voices is love.”
~ Matt De La Peña
“All we have to decide is
what to do with the
time that is given to us.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
“Life isn’t about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
“It always seems impossible
until it’s done.”
~ Nelson Mandela
These are just a few of the thousands of quotes I’ve come across in my lifetime — words which have helped me to understand and navigate this journey of life. The words of famous people, intelligent people, wise people, and people we’ve never heard of can provide us with tremendous inspiration. I use quotes regularly in my writing, yet I rarely consider anything I write to be a “quotable quote” — until recently.
Last week, in a text message to a friend, I wrote the following line. It was not meant to be a memorable quote. It was just a simple statement from my heart. It was only after receiving a response from my friend that I realized what beautiful words I’d written. A quotable quote? That’s for the reader to decide.
“The closest I’ve ever felt
to being with God
is time spent
with my mother.”
~ Kevin Carroll
