Let's admit it: we all love quotes. It's part of why we love Tranquil Space so much -the inspirational quotes on the walls, on the Web site, read aloud at the end of each practice. For those of us yearning for a meaningful life, quotes are like signposts, providing clarity, at least for a moment.
The other day, I was reorganizing the furniture in my office, and I came across a book my parents gave me for my birthday back in 1998 (as the inscription reminded me), called Right to Write, by Bonni Goldberg. I started flipping through it, and remembered that this is a book full of writing prompts, most of which are accompanied by - you guessed it - inspirational quotes. Flipping through the pages was like visiting with an old friend, or paging through a photo album - it made me nostalgic. I remembered 22-year-old me, imagined myself in the overalls I used to love wearing, reading the quotes, savoring them, chewing on them, clutching them to me as temporary guides to life, which perplexed me so much.
Life still perplexes me - the questions of how to live meaningfully, how to be authentic, how to be of service. The other night, I ran a bath, and as I soaked in the aromatic water, I let these quotes wash over me once again, and I felt connected to the younger me who'd first encountered them...to the author who compiled them... to the readers everywhere who need them just as much as I do.
The other day, I was reorganizing the furniture in my office, and I came across a book my parents gave me for my birthday back in 1998 (as the inscription reminded me), called Right to Write, by Bonni Goldberg. I started flipping through it, and remembered that this is a book full of writing prompts, most of which are accompanied by - you guessed it - inspirational quotes. Flipping through the pages was like visiting with an old friend, or paging through a photo album - it made me nostalgic. I remembered 22-year-old me, imagined myself in the overalls I used to love wearing, reading the quotes, savoring them, chewing on them, clutching them to me as temporary guides to life, which perplexed me so much.
Life still perplexes me - the questions of how to live meaningfully, how to be authentic, how to be of service. The other night, I ran a bath, and as I soaked in the aromatic water, I let these quotes wash over me once again, and I felt connected to the younger me who'd first encountered them...to the author who compiled them... to the readers everywhere who need them just as much as I do.
That's one of my favorite quotes. What are yours?"To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive."- Robert Louis Stevenson
-Amanda (creativedc.org)
2 comments:
Oohh quotes,my fave! Here's one:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone.
Marianne Williamson
Here's a favorite of mine:
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe."
Anatole France
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