I love quotes. Have since I was little—in fact, in high school, I had several books filled with memorable quotes.
The right quote can stir my spirit and give me mojo to face the day or a hard situation.
That’s probably why every year, I purchase the same flip-a-page calendar that features colorful illustrations of all sorts of positive quotes. My mama and I both have this calendar.
Over the last couple years, as I made my way through some hard days, I’ve pulled particularly impactful calendar pages off the stack and put them in a pile.
So today, my blog is going to be a little different—I’m going to share the full roster of quotes I’ve saved:
- “It will be scary. It will be fine.”
- “Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”—Gordon B. Hinckley
- “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”
- “Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”—Hafiz
- “Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.”
- “The main thing is to be moved to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”
- “To feel the love of the people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.”—Pablo Neruda
- “If you’re looking for your spot in this world, where you’re standing right now is a good place to start.”
- “When you love what you have, you have everything you need.”
- “What you allow is what will continue.”
- “You know what they say about worrying? Don’t.”
- “Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.”—Susan Cain
- “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”—Michael Jordan
- “We must travel in the direction of our fear.”—John Berryman
- “Strive for progress, not perfection.”
- “Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not invite us to have them.”—John Updike
- “Eat well. Travel often.”
- “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”—Vincent Van Gogh
- “You are amazing—remember that.”
- “Don’t forget to be awesome.”
- “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”—Danny Kaye
- “Be brave. Say yes. (Your dreams can hear you.)”
- “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.”—Coco Chanel
- “Believe in your own wonderfulness.”
- “A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.”—Henry Kissinger
- “Trust life a little bit.”
- “Stronger than yesterday.”
- “One day at a time.”
- “Because when you stop & look around, this life is pretty amazing.”
- “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.”—Brene Brown
- “Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.”—George Bernard Shaw
- “There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.”
- “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”—Thomas Edison
- “Do it with passion or not at all.”
- “Scatter joy.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”—Howard Thurman
- “What you do makes a difference & you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”—Jane Goodall
- “I can & I will.”
Do you have a quote that brings you inspiration? Or just a favorite? I’d love to hear them!
Best bite
Each week, I’ll drop in a pic and description of my favorite sip or bite—and a recommendation, too!
This is a bit of a weird one, but I’ve just discovered the perfect mid-afternoon snack, an apple cinnamon rice cake topped with a little bit of cinnamon peanut butter.
Tastes like something that’s really bad for me, when in fact it’s just about the perfect, healthy bite!
Favorite Reads
Last week, I finished up Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier. It was so good! I love finding books like that on the bargain book shelves at McKay.
From there, I read Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, a gift from a dear friend. I’d never heard of it, but it was excellent! An easy read, but insanely intense.
Yesterday, I started Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand. It’s another McKay find—I thought I’d read all her stuff, but apparently I must have skipped over this one. Good stuff so far, and it’s another quick read.
I’ve listened to a little more of Lysa Terkeurst’s It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, but it’s pretty sobering and bogs me down during my workouts. So instead, I’ve veered a little to listen to an Audible original, The Man on the Mountaintop. It’s narrated by Stanley Tucci, and is fascinating!
Auntie’s baby
Now surely, you didn’t think I’d create a blog without my baby love in it, right?!
Questions I’m pondering…
These things are on my mind—if you know the answer, please share! Sometimes these will be light-hearted, other times they will not.
- Why can’t more people live by the thought that if you don’t like something, don’t do it, instead of disparaging those who do like it?
- Why are officials the only piece of the puzzle in sports that is never forced to publicly answer for game-changing errors?
- How long is the grace period for a coach who gets paid a half million a year for being an abject failure as a head coach?
Quote of the week
Wrapping things up
On this day that we commemorate the life and mission of Martin Luther King Jr., I’d like to share another quote:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
See you next week.
Grace Always Wins 