There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life, music and cats. Albert Schweitzer

"Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery, Today is a Gift, Thats why it's called the Present"

"There's more to me than you can see" (Nathan wears this on his t-shirt)

Ah, I have loved that Saint-Exupery quote since I read Le Petit Prince in high school French class. I have the book in both French and English.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Ghandi

I too, les. I like your Gandhi quote too.

I also like the lines, "Luck is preparation meeting opportunity"... and "Character is what you do when you think no one's looking." I find myself dropping those around my daughter from time to time...not sure if she's really gotten them yet...A simple "I love you" is always effective, though :)

Every single person has posted such lovely gems. So rich.

All great reminders & guidance!

Luckygal, we must read and admire many of the same sages. I love Thomas Moore, have read all his books and they connect with me deeply...beautiful quote you selected of his. And... I was quite delighted to see a bit of wabi sabi wisdom in the mix. I love that whole sensibility, and TJ, & Al, well what great guys! The words from Michael Fox are so wise. Thanks!

Another one I like: "Religion is the finger pointing to the moon, not the moon itself." Sorry, I can't remember the source...

I find it really interesting that so many who posted are on the same path. My quote is on a metal sign in the kitchen. And have the Helen Keller one in the bath.

If you are into "off the wall", I receive an email every day with a saying from Brian Andreas. Some hit home, others you wonder what they were thinking. You can send them as e- cards free. Have all of his books. The sayings are from his family which he kept writing down for years and continues as his life evolves and children grow. I still haven't figured out who does the drawings, at first I thought it was his childrens. Bought a framed print years ago and is still my favorite:

"Few realize there are angels whose only job is to watch over us and make sure we don't get too comfortable, fall asleep and miss our life."

Here is a link that might be useful: Brian Andreas

"People don't remember the words you use, they remember how you made them feel". unknown

"The problem w/socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money" M. Thatcher

what a wonderful thread! such great contributions...

Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you are right. Henry Ford

I am enjoying this thread a lot too!

I receive a design quote of the day every morning. Here is the quote today:

Design shapes the way we live. So it ought to serve everyone.
- Eva Maddox, Interior Architect and Designer, Co-founder, Archeworks

I posted this link a while back, but for those who are interested, here it is again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Interior Design Quote of the Day

"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" ...Sir Walter Scott...this has always been my favorite...it never pays to alter something with even a little white lie!...so true..

aaah, I just remembered a favorite I use when my children are pouting about something...Abe Lincoln said: "It's been my observation that people are just about as happy as they chose to be"

massagerocks, that's by the great Bill Vincent! (just kidding -- although he does have it on his website, and as his sigline at a tile site run by someone named John...)

lefleur, that reminds me, I like this one by Abe Lincoln:

"Whatever you are, be a good one."

"What the world needs is more love and less paperwork."
Pearl Bailey

"Creative minds have always been able to survive any kind of bad training."
Anna Freud

"Well behaved women rarely make history."
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

"ItâÂÂs an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their reward systems donâÂÂt try to make it posthumous."
Gloria Steinem

Here's another favorite of mine...
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead
By Ben Franklin

I have lots, but this one has been resonating with me for the past year or so.

"Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic."
-Herman Melville, from Moby Dick.

Jo

"Done is better than perfect."--this one helps me fight my long-standing battle with perfectionism, which isjust procrastination in a ballgown.

"The only way through it is to do it."---helps me move forward when faced with an unpleasant task/situation.

And this one is long, but I taught it to my children when they were little as the antidote to them always hearing people say how beautiful they were, and it totally worked:

A beautiful face is one that wears
the light of a pleasant spirit there.
Beautiful hands are those that do
deeds that are noble, good and true.
Beautiful feet are those that go
swiftly to lighten another's woe.

LOVING that last one, leafy : )

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

This one cracks me up because it's so true:

Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.
Jean-Paul Sartre

"I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can." "I thought I could, I thought I could." -- The Little Engine That Could

Leafy -- I like one similar to yours -- "The only way out is through."

VERY good stuff here!!

My old fave is very useful 'cuz of its many connotations....

"Uffda!"

Faron

A new favorite, from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movie - "Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not the end."

perfectionism, which is just procrastination in a ballgown

I love this!

"Every subject's duty is the king's, but every subject's soul is his own."

I also love the sound of "existential abyss", but the thought is quite depressing.

"I'd rather be in Maui" A saying that DH and I often use when our life is hectic or unappreciated.

The history of it is, several years ago we saw an add for 2 cemetery plots. We met at the site and saw those words on the headstone that we will be next to. When we went in the office to do the paperwork, we met the wife who was selling them. She said her husband (age 50) had gone in for what was supposed to be a fairly routine surgery and when he was being wheeled away she asked how he was doing and his last words to her were "I'd rather be in Maui"

My favorite saying the past few weeks are personal/selfish/mental preservation related and not literary or motivational greats:

"I'm not going to worry about it today because I can't do anything about it today".

or....

"Let's take a break from worrying this weekend and worry about it next week".

DH was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and our days have been consumed with visits to urologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons and lots of research to determine treatment plan. When we get on mental/stress overload, these sayings help me help DH! Believe me, I have been saying these quite frequently.

Tuesday

Sounds like a lot is going on in your life, Tuesday. I send you and your husband positive energy for health and healing.

I don't know if you're open to feedback, but if you are...I'd suggest using positive affirmations...they can be helpful.

It is important to say the affirmations In The Present Tense. Don't say, "I will have renewed health." say "I have vibrant health and experience healing and wholeness." Saying "I will" leaves things hanging out there in the future.

Others:
I am surrounded by all the professional helpers and treatments that I need for health and healing.

I am filled with energy and enthusiasm. Health and vitality fill my body, mind and soul.

I release all health related fears.

I have the power, strength, knowledge and tools I need for healing.

I release stress when I take a deep breath.

I appreciate the wonder of my body.

For you, when you feel worried:

I release all worry and anxiety. I release all fear. I release all anger. I am at peace.

Life loves and supports me. I am safe.

All is well. All is well. All is well.

(Sending you a hug too!)

Tuesday, keep us posted when you can!

Tuesday, my DH had prostate cancer 12 years ago when he was 53. No fun to go through(especially for him with all the biopsies, etc.), but he is fine. Sending you and your DH all our good energy!

The one I was raised on that still reverberates in my mind all the time:

"If the field is hard to hoe, think only of the present row."

That one always gets me through the tough days. It's reputedly an old Bretheren (a "Plain" sect somewhat similar to the Amish) saying that came down from my Mother's PA Dutch family.

I have enjoyed and will adopt some of the sayings others have posted here - thanks!

L.

Late twenties - horrific breakup with what I thought was the love of my life. Called my mother to say the pain was too great and I planned to hurt myself. She was too far away to get to me but all she did was say "Lynn, the sun always shines tomorrow". As we talked long into the night, she kept on saying "the sun always shines tomorrow" and we were on the phone way past sunrise. So here I sit 30 years later, sadly she is gone for too long of a time, but "the sun always shines tomorrow" has gotten me through some really tough times.

Oh ya, one I use with my teen/young adult kids when appropriate... Your Grandfather always said..."Liars have to have good memories". Funny to see them squirm.

Tuesday,
We went through cancer treatments for my husband almost 3 years ago. He's healthy and cancer free now. Even though each person travels a slightly different path, we've been on that journey and I'd be happy to offer you advice or support if you're looking for it. Feel free to email me.

Oddly, the expression I used frequently during that period was We are so lucky . They found the cancer early, the treatment worked, we had health insurance, he didn't have to worry about his job, we received unbelievable support from family and friends, and there were so many people without those things so we were so lucky. I hope that your outcome is the same as ours.

Just saw on google that it's Ralph Waldo Emerson's birthday, so here's a quote from him (and I think it goes along with, in a way, your lovely post above, hhireno): "When it is darkest, men see the stars".

stinky, amazing as always...tuesday, I hope all the support voiced here surrounds you and your DH with immediate positivity and optimism for the future.

This is a thread to save for *all* the nuggets of wisdom.

and lynn, as a mother your post made me cry...I can just imagine your mom hearing what you said and knowing immediately she *had* to get you through that night one way or another...oy...

Thank you Flyleft! So nice to see you around!

Hhireno, I'm so moved by your deep, sincere practice of gratitude. "We are so lucky" is a wonderful "affirmation!"

Saw this today:
"Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain."
~ Vivian Greene

My favorite sayings are always changing but one that I use very, very often with my daughter and with the kids I tutor is:
"Quality is never an accident; it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. "
Willa Foster

For dealing with my mom and sister (sigh, family issues) I tend to feel Dorothy Parkerish. "What fresh h*ll is this?"

So many good ones in this thread!
And +1 on emagineer's suggestion of Brian Andreas' story people!

Ah, Dorothy Parker -- one of my mother's favorite quotes was "you can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think" :)

Oh, that Dorothy!

"Our difficulties are not obstacles to the path; they are the path itself." ~ Ezra Bayda

A different way of conveying the same truth as the "dancing in the rain" quote. Acceptance of what is. Being truly present to what is. Embracing what is. Then out of that acceptance, life can take us in new directions. Resistance to what is only blocks life from flowing. As Freud said, "What we resist, persists." It's a counterintuitive paradox!

These are all so great. Thank you for sharing. The Martin Luther Jr. staircase quote is especially meaningful to me right now (the "in great shape" 1920's house we bought last year is turning out to have some serious things to resolve).

I am the editor of the employee newsletter where I work (a non-profit where we all wear many hats), and I often put inspiring quotes in our newsletter. This month it was the quote below, and so many people told me how much this resonated with them:

INTERRUPTIONS

"When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very frequency may indicate the value of your life. Only people who are full of help and strength are burdened by other persons' needs. The interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our indispensability. The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur - and it is a danger to guard against - is to be so independent, so unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us, and we are left comfortably alone."

-Anonymous
from The Anglican Digest

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.

deedee, I think we should send that link to the powers that be at GW. The same quotes have been on the top banner since 2006! Maybe get them to read this whole thread.

I just came across this quote the other day and had to call my mom and share. We are always wishing we were more organized, but secretly knowing we wouldn't be happy any other way.

"One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries."
â A.A. Milne

I'm on it daisychain01!

While I'm at it I'll ask that they change the cheesy clip art pic of the vase.

Speaking of cheese...this one made me laugh yesterday.

The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
~G.K. Chesterton

Just read this in a magazine ..You are never too old thave the best day of your life.

I asked about changing the quote on the decorating site. Here is the email and answer:

We are having a fun discussion about quotes on the home decorating forum. There was a suggestion that gw offer us a new design quote on occasion - the FLW has been up for years!

While your at it, how about changing the pic once in a while too? We at home decorating notice that stuff!

Here is a link to a site that sends decorating quotes every day:
http://www.interiordesignquotes.com/index.html

Enjoy the site so much. Thanks!

and the response....

Deedee,

If you have a picture in mind that belongs to one of the forum members, we can certainly use that picture. You could ask others on the forums for their input.

Sincerely,

GardenWeb Staff

So....anybody want to submit one?

Another design quote:

Interiors speak. Rooms emphasize whether one simply exists or lives, and there is a great difference between the two.
- Van Day Truex

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. The Eagles

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. The Eagles

I tried to teach my sons this and have had it posted at my computer for several years now.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character give him power."--Abraham Lincoln

Not much on the tube tonight so i'm scrolling the forums and came across this post.

I love this song and it has always brought tears to my eyes~~such truth. ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: song......

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

Summertime and the livin' is easy...George and Ira Gershwin

Aaahh, school is out. :)

I sent this one to dh (such a gentleman he is!) on a day last week before he was heading out to play some music.

A gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't.
~Unknown