Quotes about acceptance

A collection of quotes on the topic of acceptance, people, doing, other.

Quotes about acceptance

José Baroja photo
Harry Styles photo
Charles Bukowski photo
Charles Bukowski photo
Shams-i Tabrizi photo
Aristotle photo

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

Attributed to Aristotle in Lowell L. Bennion, Religion and the Pursuit of Truth http://books.google.gr/books?id=2HPUAAAAMAAJ&q=, Deseret Book Company, 1959, p. 52, and in American Opinion, Volume 24 http://books.google.gr/books?id=irofAQAAMAAJ&q=, Robert Welch, Inc., 1981, p. 23. Possibly a discombobulation http://publicnoises.blogspot.fi/2009/02/aristotle-and-accuracy.html of the Nicomachean Ethics Book I, 1094b.24 quote above.
Disputed
Source: Metaphysics

Stephen Chbosky photo
Lionel Messi photo
Audre Lorde photo

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) writer and activist

Source: Our Dead Behind Us: Poems

Bob Marley photo
Thich Nhat Hanh photo
Carl R. Rogers photo

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”

Carl R. Rogers (1902–1987) American psychologist

Source: On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy

Meryl Streep photo

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

Meryl Streep (1949) American actress

Misattributed to Meryl Streep (and widely disseminated on the Internet as of August/September 2014), this quote is allegedly a translation of a text by the author José Micard Teixeira, the original of which begins (in Portuguese): "Já não tenho paciência para algumas coisas, não porque me tenha tornado arrogante..."
Misattributed

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Marcus Aurelius photo
Michael Jordan photo

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

Variant: I can appect failure, but I cannot accept not trying.

Jane Goodall photo
Jacque Fresco photo
Jacque Fresco photo
George Orwell photo
Audre Lorde photo

“Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.”

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) writer and activist

Source: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Bertrand Russell photo

“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

"A Liberal Decalogue" http://www.panarchy.org/russell/decalogue.1951.html, from "The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism", New York Times Magazine (16/December/1951); later printed in The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell (1969), vol. 3: 1944-1967, pp. 71-2
1950s
Context: The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:
1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

Thomas à Kempis photo
Noam Chomsky photo
C.G. Jung photo

“We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.”

Variant: We cannot change anything unless we accept it.
Source: Modern Man in Search of a Soul

Kanye West photo

“I refuse to accept other people's ideas of happiness for me. As if there's a "one size fits all" standard for happiness”

Kanye West (1977) American rapper, singer and songwriter

Source: Thank You and You're Welcome (2009), p.22

Haruki Murakami photo
Cesare Pavese photo

“From someone who doesn't want to share your destiny, you should neither accept a cigarette”

Cesare Pavese (1908–1950) Italian poet, novelist, literary critic, and translator

Source: The Burning Brand: Diaries, 1935-1950

George Orwell photo
Julia Quinn photo
Alexander Pope photo
Marilyn Manson photo
Robert Penn Warren photo
Elvis Presley photo
Ahmad Shah Massoud photo
Rosa Parks photo

“I'd see the bus pass every day… But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.”

Rosa Parks (1913–2005) African-American civil rights activist

Quoted in 2008-07-01, The Story Behind the Bus, Rosa Parks Bus, The Henry Ford http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp, (2002)

Matka Tereza photo
Bill Skarsgård photo
Albert Schweitzer photo

“I have given my life to try to alleviate the sufferings of Africa. There is something that all white men who have lived here like I must learn and know: that these individuals are a sub-race. They have neither the intellectual, mental, or emotional abilities to equate or to share equally with white men in any function of our civilization. I have given my life to try to bring them the advantages which our civilization must offer, but I have become well aware that we must retain this status: the superior and they the inferior. For whenever a white man seeks to live among them as their equals they will either destroy him or devour him. And they will destroy all of his work. Let white men from anywhere in the world, who would come to Africa, remember that you must continually retain this status; you the master and they the inferior like children that you would help or teach. Never fraternize with them as equals. Never accept them as your social equals or they will devour you. They will destroy you.”

Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher

This has usually been presented as something "said shortly before his death" without any definite source, but appears to be entirely spurious. The "FAQ about the life and thoughts of Albert Schweitzer" http://www.schweitzer.org/faq?lang=en#rasist asserts "This quote is utterly false and is an outrageously inaccurate picture of Dr. Schweitzer’s view of Africans. Dr. Schweitzer never said or wrote anything remotely like this. It does NOT appear in the book African Notebook." This refers to some citations of it being from Afrikanische Geschichten (1938), which was translated as From My African Notebook (1939) by Mrs. C. E. B Russell
Misattributed

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman photo

“Sir, you will see that they want to place the word ‘East Pakistan’ instead of ‘East Bengal’. We have demanded so many times that you should use Bengal instead of Pakistan. The world Bengal has a history, has a tradition of its own. You can change it only after the people have been consulted. If you want to change it, then we have to go back to Bengal and see whether Bengalis will accept it.”

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920–1975) Bengali revolutionary, founder ("father") of Bangladesh

Speaking to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in Karachi in 1955 during a debate on whether to adopt the One Unit scheme in Pakistan and divide the country into two provinces- East and West Pakistan. http://www.albd.org/autoalbd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=44
Quote, Other

Protagoras photo
Viktor E. Frankl photo

“The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life.”

Man's Search for Meaning (1946; 1959; 1984)
Context: The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.

Jiddu Krishnamurti photo

“The fact is there is nothing that you can trust; and that is a terrible fact, whether you like it or not. Psychologically, there is nothing in the world that you can put your faith, your trust, or your belief in. Neither your gods, nor your science can save you, can bring you psychological certainty; and you have to accept that you can trust in absolutely nothing.”

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian spiritual philosopher

Bombay, Second Public Talk (25 February 1962)
1960s
Context: The fact is there is nothing that you can trust; and that is a terrible fact, whether you like it or not. Psychologically, there is nothing in the world that you can put your faith, your trust, or your belief in. Neither your gods, nor your science can save you, can bring you psychological certainty; and you have to accept that you can trust in absolutely nothing. That is a scientific fact, as well as a psychological fact. Because, your leaders — religious and political — and your books — sacred and profane — have all failed, and you are still confused, in misery, in conflict. So, that is an absolute, undeniable fact.

“Spiritual awakening is not a special feeling, state, or experience. It is not a goal or destination, somewhere to reach in the future. As the Buddha was trying to tell us (though few actually listened), it is not a superhuman achievement or attainment. You don’t have to travel to India to find it. It is not a special state of perfection reserved for the lucky or the privileged few. It is not an exclusive club. It is not an out-of-body experience, and it does not involve living in a cave, shutting off all your beautiful senses, detaching yourself from the realities of this modern world. It cannot be transmitted to you by a fancy bearded (or non-bearded) guru, nor can it be taken away or lost. You do not have to become anyone’s disciple or follower, or give away all your possessions. You do not have to join a cult. You do not have to follow anyone.

Rather, is a constant and ancient invitation – throughout every moment of your life – to trust and embrace yourself exactly as you are, in all your glorious imperfection. It is about being fully present and awake to each precious moment, coming out of the epic movie of past and future (“The Story of Me”) and showing up for life, knowing that even your feelings of non-acceptance are accepted here. It is about radically opening up to this extraordinary gift of existence, embracing both the pain and the joy of it, the bliss and the sorrow, the ecstasy and the overwhelm, the certainty and the doubt. Knowing that you are never separate from the Whole, never broken, never truly lost.”

Jeff Foster (1980) Spiritual teacher

Source: https://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/writings/shockingly-simple-principles-of-spiritual-awakening/

Arthur Rubinstein photo
Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.”

Richard Carlson (1961–2006) Author, psychotherapist and motivational speaker
Robert Frost photo
Neville Goddard photo
Frédéric Chopin photo
Stephen King photo
Carl R. Rogers photo
Fernando Pessoa photo

“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it.”

Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher

Não há nenhuma ideia inteligente que possa ganhar aceitação geral sem ser misturada antes com um pouco de estupidez.
The Book of Disquietude, trans. Richard Zenith, text 104

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo

“First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one's enemies without prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1950s, Loving Your Enemies (Christmas 1957)
Context: First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one's enemies without prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression. The wrongdoer may request forgiveness. He may come to himself, and, like the prodigal son, move up with some dusty road, his heart palpitating with the desire for forgiveness. But only the injured neighbor, the loving father back home can really pour out the warm waters of forgiveness.

Ellen DeGeneres photo

“Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It's about knowing and accepting who you are.”

Ellen DeGeneres (1958) American stand-up comedian, television host, and actress

Source: Seriously... I'm Kidding

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada photo
Stephen King photo
Dolly Parton photo
Malcolm X photo
Hannah Arendt photo
Zhuangzi photo

“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”

Zhuangzi (-369–-286 BC) classic Chinese philosopher

Source: Nan-Hua-Ch'en-Ching, or, the Treatise of the transcendent master from Nan-Hua

Marcus Aurelius photo
Joel Osteen photo

“Don’t just accept whatever comes your way in life. You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life.”

Joel Osteen (1963) American televangelist and author

Source: Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential

Spike Jonze photo

“Falling in love is kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity.”

Spike Jonze (1969) American director and actor

Source: her

Agatha Christie photo
Sylvia Plath photo

“I am gone quite mad with the knowledge of accepting the overwhelming number of things I can never know, places I can never go, and people I can never be.”

Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer

Source: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Peter Singer photo
Paul Tillich photo
George Orwell photo
Georgia O'Keeffe photo
Marilyn Manson photo
Bob Dylan photo

“I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me.”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist
Karen Blixen photo
Viggo Mortensen photo
Georges Bataille photo
Libba Bray photo
Isaac Bashevis Singer photo
Chinmayananda Saraswati photo

“Silently hear everyone. Accept what is good. Reject and forget what is not. This is intelligent living.”

Chinmayananda Saraswati (1916–1993) Indian spiritual teacher

Quotations from Gurudev’s teachings, Chinmya Mission Chicago

George Orwell photo

“In any form of art designed to appeal to large numbers of people,…[t]he rich man is usually 'bad', and his machinations are invariably frustrated. 'Good poor man defeats bad rich man' is an accepted formula.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

"As I Please," Tribune (28 July 1944)<sup> http://alexpeak.com/twr/orwell/quotes/</sup>
As I Please (1943–1947)

George Orwell photo

“Secondly there is the fact that the intellectuals are more totalitarian in outlook than the common people. On the whole the English intelligentsia have opposed Hitler, but only at the price of accepting Stalin. Most of them are perfectly ready for dictatorial methods, secret police, systematic falsification of history etc. so long as they feel that it is on ‘our’ side.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

Letter to H. J. Willmett (18 May 1944), published in The Collected Essays, Journalism, & Letters, George Orwell: As I Please, 1943-1945 (2000), edited by Sonia Orwell and Ian Angus https://books.google.com/books?id=fCRLPIbLP8IC&lpg=PA149&dq=%22intellectuals%20are%20more%20totalitarian%20in%20outlook%22&pg=PA149#v=onepage&q=%22intellectuals%20are%20more%20totalitarian%20in%20outlook%22&f=false

Ibn Khaldun photo
Wilhelm II, German Emperor photo
René Guénon photo
Garry Kasparov photo

“In chess, bigamy is acceptable but monarchy is absolute.”

Garry Kasparov (1963) former chess world champion

Part II, Chapter 8, Exchanges And Imbalances, p. 102
2000s, How Life Imitates Chess (2007)

Martin Luther photo
George Orwell photo
Alice Munro photo
Jerry Coyne photo
Shigeru Miyamoto photo