Quotes about life page 92
“Life happened because I turned the pages.”
Alberto Manguel (1948) writer
Source: A History of Reading
“An adult friend of Lincoln's: "Life was to him a school.”
Doris Kearns Goodwin book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Source: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) American marine biologist and conservationist
The Sense of Wonder (1965)
Context: Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
“[Bobby Tom] finally understood Gracie's function in his life. She was God's joke on him.”
Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1948) American writer
Source: Heaven, Texas
“The strenuous life tastes better”
William James (1842–1910) American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist
Peace Is Every Step : The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (1992) Bantam reissue
Source: Being Peace
Context: If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.
“Reading is not just an escape. It is access to a better way of life.”
Karin Slaughter (1971) US-american crime writer
Leo Rosten (1908–1997) American writer
"The Myths by Which We Live", in The Rotarian, Vol. 107, No. 3 (September 1965), p. 55
Variant: The purpose of life is not to be happy at all. It is to be useful, to be honorable. It is to be compassionate. It is to matter, to have it make some difference that you lived.
“The promise of eternal life makes people forsake the life they're given.”
James Frey book The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
Source: The Final Testament of the Holy Bible
“I thought yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life but it turns out today is.”
Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer
“A government cannot be truly just without affirming the intrinsic value of human life.”
Charles W. Colson (1931–2012) Lawyer, public servant, Christian advocate
Source: God and Government: An Insider's View on the Boundaries between Faith and Politics
Rachel Gibson (1961) American writer
Source: Tangled Up In You
Marc Bekoff (1945) American biologist
Source: Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect
“There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.”
Kazuo Ishiguro (1954) Japanese-born British author
On growing up in England, having left Japan at age 5. Conversation with , The Writer http://www.writermag.com/, volume 114, number 5, May 2001, collected in Conversations with Kazuo Ishiguro, p. 189 https://books.google.com/books?id=lvuteIrz7JUC&pg=PA189&dq=%22there+was+another+life+that+i+might+have+had,+but+I%E2%80%99m+having+this+one%22 <br class="br">Interviews <br class="br">Context: I have a sense of having just left without saying goodbye, and of this whole other world just kind of fading away. … I have the feeling of this completely alternative person I should have become. There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.
“Life can't be cured, but it can be managed.”
Ned Vizzini book It's Kind of a Funny Story
Source: It's Kind of a Funny Story
Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist
Frankfurt Book Fair speech (2003)
Context: We are told we must choose — the old or the new. In fact, we must choose both. What is a life if not a series of negotiations between the old and the new? It seems to me that one should always be seeking to talk oneself out of these stark oppositions.
“… no matter where you go or what you do, I'll love every day for the rest of my life.”
Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer
Source: Smooth Talking Stranger
“Some of us rush through life and some of us saunter through life. Mrs. Vesey sat through life.”
Wilkie Collins book The Woman in White
Source: The Woman in White
“Someone dying asks if there is life after death. Yes, comes the answer, only not yours.”
E.L. Doctorow (1931–2015) novelist, editor, professor
“True love is rare, and it's the only thing that gives life real meaning.”
Nicholas Sparks book Message in a Bottle
Source: Message in a Bottle
“Everything in life is just for a while.”
Philip K. Dick book A Scanner Darkly
Source: A Scanner Darkly
Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist
Song lyrics, John Wesley Harding (1967), All Along the Watchtower
Context: "No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"
“The sidelines may be safer but life is played on the field”
Wendy Mass (1967) American children's writer
Source: 13 Gifts
“There’s no such thing as ruining your life. Life’s a pretty resilient thing, it turns out.”
Sophie Kinsella book The Undomestic Goddess
Source: The Undomestic Goddess
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
Source: Reinvention: How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life
“What we cannot bear removes us from life; what remains can be borne.”
Marcus Aurelius book Meditations
Source: Meditations
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor
“I have no brakes on… analysis is for those who are paralyzed by life.”
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica
Source: The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934
James Joyce book A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Source: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
Source: Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
“Life is a gamble, at terrible odds. If it were a bet you wouldn’t take it.”
Tom Stoppard (1937) British playwright
Source: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Kay Redfield Jamison (1946) American bipolar disorder researcher
Source: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) writer
As quoted in Lifetime Speaker's Encyclopedia (1962) edited by Jacob Morton Braude, p. 829
As quoted in Traveling for Her: An Inspirational Guide (2008) by Amber Israelsen, p. 2
Variant: I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this — we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.
“You get to define the terms of your life.”
Cheryl Strayed book Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
Source: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
“Life is hell, but at least there are prizes. Or so one thought.”
Janet Frame (1924–2004) New Zealand author
Source: The Reservoir: Stories and Sketches
“Life is Quicker Than a Blink of an Eye”
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) American musician, singer and songwriter
Jane Smiley (1949) American novelist
Source: A Year at the Races: Reflections on Horses, Humans, Love, Money, and Luck
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
1961, Inaugural Address
Context: If a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
