Quotes about acceptance
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“A person who has not made peace with his losses is likely to accept gambles that would be unacceptable to him otherwise.”

Daniel Kahneman (1934) Israeli-American psychologist

Peace, Loss, Personality

“I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back….”

Erica Jong (1942) Novelist, poet, memoirist, critic

Life, Fear, Change, Heart

“God, grant me strength to accept those things I cannot change.”

Dan Brown book Angels & Demons

Source: Angels & Demons

God, Change

“Mrs. Ewing was a short woman who accepted the obligation borne by so many short women to make up in vivacity what they lack in number of inches from the ground.”

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist

Source: Men, Women And Dogs

Women

“The Writer's Oath

I promise solemnly:

1. to write as often and as much as I can,

2. to respect my writing self, and

3. to nurture the writing of others.

I accept these responsibilities and shall honor them always.”

Gail Carson Levine (1947) American writer

Source: Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly

“He knows that the only way he can accept losing her is if he can continue to hold her or be held by her. If they can somehow nurse each other out of this. Not with a wall.”

Michael Ondaatje book The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

Way

“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian neurologist known as the founding father of psychoanalysis

Source: Reflections on War and Death

Pain, Pleasure, Reality

“The line between the public life and the private life has been erased, due to the rapid decline of manners and courtesy. There is a certain crudeness and crassness that has suddenly become accepted behavior, even desirable.”

Fannie Flagg (1944) American actress, comedian and author

Source: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Life, Behavior

“She was bored. She loved, had capacity to love, for love, to give and accept love. Only she tried twice and failed twice to find somebody not just strong enough to deserve it, earn it, match it, but even brave enough to accept it.”

William Faulkner book The Town

Source: The Town

Love, Strong

“Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.”

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist

“I accept Time absolutely.
It alone is without flaw,
It alone rounds and completes all,
That mystic baffling wonder.”

Walt Whitman book Fulles d'herba

Source: Leaves of Grass

Time

“I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands.”

Dorothy Dunnett (1923–2001) British writer

Source: The Game of Kings

Men, Fate, Time

“Very few people ever bother to find out what other people really think. They are willing to accept whatever they are told about anyone sufficiently distant.”

Kim Stanley Robinson Mars trilogy

Source: Red Mars

People, Thinking, Distant

“The dark does not weep for itself because there is no light. Rather, it accepts that it is the dark.”

Libba Bray Going Bovine

Source: Going Bovine

Light

“I accept your deflection and raise you another question.”

Jessica Park

Flat-Out Love

Question

“No, I don't think I could fall in love with him, handsome though he is, because I don't accept any of that huff he gives me about my great beauty and all that. I'd have to trust a man's words before I could love him. I think.”

Sherwood Smith (1951) American fantasy and science fiction writer

Source: Court Duel

Love, Beauty, Thinking

“You look at yourself and you accept yourself for who you are, and once you accept yourself for who you are you become a better person.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

Personality

“They accepted the pleasures of morning, the bright sun, the whelming sea and sweet air, as a time when play was good and life so full that hope was not necessary and therefore forgotten.”

William Golding book Lord of the Flies

Source: Lord of the Flies

Life, Pleasure, Hope, Time

“because it seemed too simple to accept that life was an act of faith.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Source: Veronika Decides to Die

Life, Faith

“Maybe if I didn't say anything about what happened, we could get back to the way we were. Ignoring a problem was a perfectly acceptable way to deal with it, as long as both people agree never to bring it up again.”

Kim Harrison (1966) Pseudonym

Source: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

People, Way, Problem

“Christianity is the best way to cure gayness—just get on your knees, take a swig of wine, and accept the body of a man into your mouth.”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

Way, Wine

“I don't know why I still find it so hard to accept that words are faulty and by their very nature innacurate”

Doris Lessing book The Golden Notebook

Source: The Golden Notebook

Nature

“I think I'd probably tell you that it's easier to desire and pursue the attention of tens of millions of total strangers than it is to accept the love and loyalty of the people closest to us.”

William Gibson book Idoru

Source: Idoru

Love, People, Thinking, Loyalty

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.”

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

Evil, Help

“It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

Reality

“But as I have noticed on more than one occaision, life itself is unfair, and there is no complaint department, so we might as well accept things the way they happen, clean up the mess, and move on.”

Jeff Lindsay book Dexter in the Dark

Source: Dexter in the Dark

Life, Way

“Compromise is said to be the way of the world and yet I find myself feeling sick trying to accept what it has done to me.”

Douglas Coupland book Life After God

Source: Life After God (1994)

World, Way, Feeling

“The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt.”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

“Being an adult means accepting those situations where no action is possible.”

John D. MacDonald book The Green Ripper

Source: The Green Ripper

“A compassion swirled form nowhere in the high I was lost in. She needed me. She needed me to accept her for what she was. And when I realized that I had it within myself to give her at least this small part of me, the last of my fear melted away.”

Kim Harrison (1966) Pseudonym

Fear, Parting

“You have a dark heart in you, Valentine’s daughter,” he said. “You just won’t admit it. And if you want Jace, you had better accept it. Because he belongs to me now.”

Cassandra Clare The City of Lost Souls

Source: City of Lost Souls

Heart, Daughters

“I am too much a moralist at heart, and really want to preach at people in some acceptable form, rather than entertain them.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American novelist and screenwriter

People, Heart

“With a cheery delicacy she divided my obsessions into three categories: acceptable, unacceptable, and hilarious.”

Steve Martin book The Pleasure of My Company

Source: The Pleasure of My Company

“The power of the white world is threatened whenever a black man refuses to accept the white world's definitions.”

James Baldwin (1924–1987) (1924-1987) writer from the United States

World

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

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

Hope, Disappointment, Happy, Hope

“What the mind cannot accept, the heart can finally never adore.”

John Shelby Spong (1931) American bishop

Source: Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism (1991), p. 24

Heart

“Neither refuse to give help when it is needed," Medwyn continued, "nor refuse to accept it when it is offered.”

Lloyd Alexander book The Book of Three

Source: The Chronicles of Prydain (1964–1968), Book I: The Book of Three (1964), Chapter 13

Help

“Why do I and everyone I love pick people who treat us like we're nothing"; - "We accept the love we think we deserve”

Stephen Chbosky book The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Love, People, Thinking

“Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.”

Denis Waitley (1933) American writer

Change, For Team

“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Love, Peace, Understanding, Joy

“Until the will and the affections are brought under the authority of Christ, we have not begun to understand, let alone accept, His Lordship. The Cross, as it enters the love life, will reveal the heart’s truth.”

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) American missionary

Source: Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control

Love, Life, Truth, Understanding

“Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness”

Jean Vanier (1928–2019) Canadian humanitarian

“I was not offended, my love. An insult is like a drink; it affects one only if accepted. And pride is too heavy baggage for my journey…”

Robert A. Heinlein book Glory Road

Source: Glory Road

Love, Drink

“Inertia iseasy—don't fix what's not broken. Leave well enough alone. So we end up accepting whatbroken, mistaking complaining for action, procrastinating for deliberation.”

Justina Chen (1968) American writer

Source: North of Beautiful

“That's gotta be one of the principles behind reality. Accepting things that are hard to comprehend, and leaving them that way.”

Haruki Murakami book Sputnik Sweetheart

Source: Sputnik Sweetheart

Way, Reality

“To bow to the fact of our life's sorrows and betrayals is to accept them; and from this deep gesture we discover that all life is workable. As we learn to bow, we discover that the heart holds more freedom and compassion than we could imagine.”

Jack Kornfield (1945) American writer

Life, Imagination, Freedom, Learning

“We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.”

Barbara Taylor Bradford A Woman of Substance

Source: A Woman of Substance

Way

“It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.”

Conan O'Brien (1963) American television show host and comedian

Failure, Attitude

“Bookish people, who are often maladroit people, persist in thinking they can master any subtlety so long as it's been shaped into acceptable expository prose.”

Carol Shields Unless

Source: Unless

People, Thinking

“That's what you get for telling the truth. Someone calls you a liar. Most people will accept a likely lie to an unlikely truth. In fact, they prefer it.”

Laurell K. Hamilton (1963) Novelist

People, Truth, Lie

“Behold me, here I am; thy little handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy and all that is in my heart is thine.”

Hannah Hurnard book Hinds' Feet on High Places

Source: Hinds' Feet on High Places

Heart, Joy

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”

Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor

Oprah.com http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Life-Lessons-We-All-Need-to-Learn-Brene-Brown#ixzz28s3kPWdP <br class="br">Source: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead <br class="br">Context: Belonging is not fitting in... Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect. When we don't have that, we shape-shift and turn into chameleons; we hustle for the worthiness we already possess.

World, Sense

“Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change.”

André Gide (1869–1951) French novelist and essayist

Evil, Change

“I loved and adored you, but I drained you like a thirsty man at a spring. I loved what you could give me - your admiration, your acceptance, your love, your forgiveness. I forgot to love you for yourself.”

Jennifer Ashley (1974) American author

Source: Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage

Love, Spring, Forgiveness

“.

The natural state. Our moods change. Our lives change. Our feelings for each other change. Our bearings change. The song changes. The air changes. The temperature of the shower changes.
Accept this. We must accept this.”

David Levithan The Lover's Dictionary

Source: The Lover's Dictionary

Feeling, Mood, Nature, Change

“Men do, I've found, accept the most errant nonsense from a well dressed woman”

Laurie R. King book Justice Hall

Source: Justice Hall

Men

“The whole idea of god is absurd. If anything, '2001' shows that what some people call 'god' is simply an acceptable term for their ignorance. What they don't understand, they call 'god' -Stanley Kubrick, interview, 1963”

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor

God, People, Idea, Understanding

“Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor within; the former raged against him.”

Brennan Manning (1934–2013) writer, American Roman Catholic priest and United States Marine

Source: Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging

Reality, Rage

“And who ever said the world was fair, little lady? Maybe death is fair, but certainly not life. We must accept the unfairness as proof of the sublime flux of existence, the capricious music of the universe- and go on about our tasks”

Tom Robbins Skinny Legs and All

Source: Skinny Legs and All

Life, Death, World, Music

“If everyone were not so indolent they would realise that beauty is beauty even when it is irritating and stimulating not only when it is accepted and classic.”

Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American art collector and experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays

Beauty

“He tried to tell me week after week to accept things as they were and move on with my life. But if there was one man who had put his life on hold to wait for something or someone, it was him.”

Cecelia Ahern book A Place Called Here

Source: A Place Called Here

Life, Waiting

“That an error made on your own is safer than ten truths accepted on faith, because the first leaves you the means to correct it but the second destroys your capacity to distinguish truth from error.”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

Truth, Faith, Error

“It is always so simple, and so complicating, to accept an apology.”

Michael Chabon (1963) Novelist, short story writer, essayist

“Being afraid something is true is accepting the possibility. Accepting the possibility is the first step to believing.”

Terry Goodkind book Wizard's First Rule

Source: Wizard's First Rule

“I will accept the rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

Robert A. Heinlein book The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

“There is no indisputable proof for the big bang," said Hollus. "And there is none for evolution. And yet you accept those. Why hold the question of whether there is a creator to a higher standard?”

Robert J. Sawyer book Calculating God

Source: Calculating God

Question

“I do not accept that life has an ordinary shape, or that there is anything ordinary about life at all. We make it ordinary, but it is not.”

Jeanette Winterson book Lighthousekeeping

Source: Lighthousekeeping

Life

“They spent days, nights, weeks, and years talking, never accepting the fact that, good or bad, an idea only exists when someone tries to put it into practice.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Source: Veronika Decides to Die

Idea, Night

“You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we dont know everything. And since we dont know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.”

Mitch Albom (1958) American author

Source: Have a Little Faith: a True Story

Personality

“I’ve never been certain whether the moral of the Icarus story should only be, as is generally accepted, ‘don’t try to fly too high,’ or whether it might also be thought of as ‘forget the wax and feathers, and do a better job on the wings.”

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor

Flying, Forgetting

“The future is up for grabs. It belongs to any and all who will take the risk and accept the responsibility of consciously creating the future they want.”

Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007) American author and polymath

Future

“Love accepts. Forgiveness comes in time.”

Lisa Unger book Die for You

Source: Die for You

Love, Forgiveness, Time

“The contemporary thing in art and literature is the thing which doesn't make enough difference to the people of that generation so that they can accept it or reject it.”

Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American art collector and experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays

"How Writing is Written," Choate Literary Magazine (February 1935)
How Writing Is Written: Previously Uncollected Writings, vol.II (1974)

People, Art, Literature

“From every place below the skies
The grateful song, the fervent prayer,—
The incense of the heart, —may rise
To heaven, and find acceptance there.”

John Pierpont (1785–1866) American writer

Every Place a Temple, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "This is that incense of the heart / Whose fragrance smells to heaven" Nathaniel Cotton, The Fireside, stanza 11.

Heart