“To choose what is difficult all ones days, as if it were easy, that is faith.”
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W. H. Auden 122
Anglo-American poet 1907–1973Related quotes
Source: Does My Head Look Big In This?

2016, Howard University commencement address (May 2016)
Context: Racism persists. Inequality persists. Don’t worry — I’m going to get to that. But I wanted to start, Class of 2016, by opening your eyes to the moment that you are in. If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, and you didn’t know ahead of time who you were going to be — what nationality, what gender, what race, whether you’d be rich or poor, gay or straight, what faith you'd be born into — you wouldn’t choose 100 years ago. You wouldn’t choose the fifties, or the sixties, or the seventies. You’d choose right now. If you had to choose a time to be, in the words of Lorraine Hansberry, “young, gifted, and black” in America, you would choose right now.
I tell you all this because it's important to note progress. Because to deny how far we’ve come would do a disservice to the cause of justice, to the legions of foot soldiers; to not only the incredibly accomplished individuals who have already been mentioned, but your mothers and your dads, and grandparents and great grandparents, who marched and toiled and suffered and overcame to make this day possible. I tell you this not to lull you into complacency, but to spur you into action — because there’s still so much more work to do, so many more miles to travel. And America needs you to gladly, happily take up that work.


2016, Los Angeles 2024 Summer Olympics bid
Context: Please don’t doubt us. America’s diversity is our greatest strength. Diversity is not easy. Diversity is a leap of faith that embraces all faiths. And that’s why I believe L. A. is a perfect choice for the 2024 Games, because the face of our city reflects the face of the Olympic Movement itself.

“Every day, choose what makes you happy.”
Original: Ogni giorno, scegli ciò che ti rende felice.
Source: prevale.net
Source: An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land (1973), pp. 47-48

Interview, 2004 http://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/apr/04/sport.features