Featured Image: “2012-04-08_13-39-21,” © Joanna Poe (own work), April 2012. CC BY-SA 2.0. (license)
Fellow Kindness Challenge participant Ioana, who writes the poignant and thought-provoking blog Music Teacher Lifestyle, recently nominated me for the Three Day Quote Challenge. I love quotes, and I am grateful for any excuse to share some of my favorites (read here for round one). For this iteration of the quote challenge, the rules are pretty simple:
- Three days
- Three quotes
- Three nominees each day
Whenever I read a quote that captures something timeless, true, or transcendent in just a few simple words, I feel a stretching and tugging in my chest, as if my heart is reaching out for more. I can alternately find a quote comforting, or consoling, or perhaps it pierces my thoughts to unify disparate strands of ideas for the first time. One relatively constant reaction that I experience when I encounter lines that speak to me is a sense of longing. “If only I could remember this always,” a little voice inside me whispers. “If only I could actually live this way. Will I ever get there?”
I scribble them in margins of pages and on bits and scraps of paper. I trace them on index cards in bright marker, accentuating the borders with tiny drawings. I read and re-read these little fragments, breathing the syllables deep into my lungs, praying that they may seep into my mind, wondering if all these efforts really leave any lasting imprint on me. I hope they do. I hope that these words are changing me as often as I reflect on them.
“To be just it is not enough to refrain from injustice. One must go further and refuse to play its game, substituting love for self-interest as the driving force of society.”
~ Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
“I don’t forgive people because I’m weak. I forgive them because I’m strong enough to know people make mistakes.”
~ Marilyn Monroe
“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
~ Mark Twain
…and a bonus, because I stumbled upon this gem today and couldn’t keep it to myself.
“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”
~ G. K. Chesterton
My nominees today are…
- Jenn at HeatlhyJenn
- Miriam at Out an’ About
- Eli at Coach Daddy
The Real Adventures of Becoming (whatever this thing is that I am presuming is the authentic and genuine) Me 
Lovely. I collect quotes too. Mostly as screen shots as I am attached to my iPad.
When I was writing my meditations for my book I tried to use all my collected quotes. So many are about stillness and peace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anne! I hope you are well (as well as can be under the circumstances). I’d love to know some of your favorite quotes, especially on stillness and peace. I’m forever trying to cultivate more of it in my life!
P.S. I’ve been making a conscious effort to attend more than one yoga class a week, and I’m loving it! I think of you sometimes when I’m rolling out my mat. Sending you a big hug! Xoxoxo
LikeLike
Email me at ainsobriety@gmail.com. I’ll send you some!
LikeLike
I have always loved that Mark Twain quote, thanks for reminding me of this one. Hope all is well with you ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Maria. I’m doing pretty well, hope you are too!
I love Mark Twain, but I just stumbled upon that quote on my last vacation. It was inscribed on the wall outside one of the local libraries back home.
LikeLike
Of course I’m in! Yours are all quite lofty, and I love that about them. I already know what I’ll write about – I’ll definitely do this, but I’m not sure right now when. Count me in!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know why I’m drawn to “lofty” quotes. I think part of it is the simple fact that I am such a stickler for grammar and punctuation. Lol. It might also be because I look up to the individual behind the quote more than just the words. I can’t wait to read what you have in store. The wait will just make it that much better!
LikeLiked by 1 person