Welcome! I'm Cookie's Mom. You can learn all about Cookie and why I blog here: About Cookie's Chronicles. If you're new here, you may want to SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED. Thanks for stopping by! Pull up a beach chair and be my guest, won't you?

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Ten Things Quotable

Today I'll share ten of my favourite quotes. These quotes all have something in common: they lift me up. Some of them make me laugh. Others help me to appreciate what I have. Most of them inspire me to rise above life's challenges and to live a fuller life.

Have a list of ten things quotable that you'd like to share? Link it up!

Fall down seven times, get up eight. ~ Japanese Proverb

A very simple idea, with great power. It's true that each time we fall we rise again. Whenever I face a challenge in life, I remind myself that inevitably I will land on my feet. With this awareness there is no need to be afraid, no need for doubt.

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx

Why do I love this quote? Maybe it's because I love to read. Maybe it's because Groucho Marx was such a wit. This quote always makes me laugh, and to me laughter is life's elixir.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. ~ Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch knew he was dying of pancreatic cancer, incidentally the same cancer that took my dad's life, when he delivered his now famous last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. Even when facing death, Randy was optimistic as he spoke to his students of the lessons he had learned and how anyone can achieve their dreams. This statement helps me to remember that though there are many things over which I have no control, I can control my reaction to these things. I am never a victim. I have the power to create the life that I choose.

Note: I think this idea was originally coined by Josh Billings as, "Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well."

"I love deadlines. I love the wooshing sound they make as they fly by." ~ Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams is another funny, funny man. The reason this quote is always in my back pocket is to remind me that highly successful people have trouble meeting deadlines too. It's not just me. And in the end, being on time is not really the sexiest thing to be remembered for. Woosh!

"If you're not having problems, you are missing an opportunity for growth." ~ Unknown 

It's another simple but profound idea. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves and our predicaments (we mommy bloggers have this one figured out)! Once again, it's about recognizing when we have no control over the situation, but much control over the outcome. Without challenges, life would be dull. It would be predictable, true, but very, very dull. Embrace the challenges. Rise above them and have a story to tell!

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger" ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Nitezsche was a bit of a tortured nut job, but he sometimes made good sense. As a child, I used this phrase very frequently, and it has certainly held true. The more we challenge ourselves, or face head-on the challenges that come our way, and succeed, the more our confidence grows. When we believe in ourselves, there's nothing we can't handle.

"I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved." ~ Will Rogers

In keeping with the previous quote is this one. When I read it I think of an old woman with many stories to tell, some of them easily legible in the lines on her face. Better a long and bumpy road than the same old familiar stretch of smoothly paved highway. At the end of my life I want to be able to say that I saw things, that I was adventurous. Perhaps you will be able to tell by the lines on my face.

One day an old Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, "There are two wolves fighting inside all of us - the wolf of fear and hate, and the wolf of love and peace." The grandson listened, then looked up at his grandfather and asked, "Which one will win?" The grandfather replied, "The one we feed."

A great story that reminds me how my every thought and action affects my inner state, as well as the universe in general. Whatever I put out there, will come back to me. A simple change in attitude can immediately change the course of events.

"Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative." ~ Oscar Wilde

This quote makes me feel better about an aspect of myself that might otherwise be seen as a negative. I'm not good with routine. I'm not interested in doing things the same way time and again. I am interested in innovation, problem solving, thinking outside the box. I'm definitely a dreamer, and you can bet I'll be encouraging my son to exercise his imagination.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” ~ Maria Robinson

Again I am reminded that no matter what has come to pass, be it yesterday, years before or just moments ago, anything else can still happen. It only takes a small action to invoke a change. A simple change in attitude might even do it. No matter what IS, there is no telling what might BE. Nothing in the past determines the future.

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And here's a bonus eleventh quote from a book I will be reviewing on Cookie's Book Club this month:

In Bull Canyon by Lin Pardey, Lin wonders how a person builds something as big as a boat and calls it “a really daunting task”. Her partner Larry, the boat builder, offers this insight:  

“You don’t build a boat, Lin....You build a keel timber. When that’s finished, you build a stem. Think of each piece as a separate goal in itself and watch the pieces fit together until you have a complete boat. That way you can enjoy each step and celebrate each triumph without getting overwhelmed.”

I love this! I may just have it printed on a wall plaque. This is a great analogy for all of us in the building of our own “boat”, even if we don't yet have one to build or recognize what our "boat" is. It remind us to celebrate our small successes, as they are part of the bigger whole.

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A special thank-you to my friend RDS, a constant source of inspiration.


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27 comments:

  1. Great quotes, Sue! I LOVE the story of the wolf...what a great lesson :)

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  2. Thanks Jen. I love that story too.

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  3. Great quotes! My favourite was the one about the wolf you feed being the one who wins. Definitely reminds you to focus on the positive!

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  4. I love those quotes! There were a couple there I've never heard before. =)

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  5. Love all of these Sue! Seemed like they were all meant for me. =)

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  6. Wow. I love these and the reasons you gave for loving them. I can relate to the one by Randy Pausch as my brother died of pancreatic cancer too. Randy's book, The Last Lecture was inspiring but so sad as well.

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  7. These are great remeinders of what life should be. Love the wolf story too! And Douglas Adams is my favorite author.
    excited to read your book review.

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  8. Love the quotes and the lessons behind them! Love!

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  9. I love each and every one of these quotes and appreciate your reasoning behind each choice. Greta job!

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  10. I am so glad I read these quotes tonight. With so many different big and small events going on in each person's life, we can all relate and find hope and inspiration in these quotes. So thank you :)

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  11. Love them all, but the first is my absolute favourite. Perfect for a martial artist!

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  12. Oh, Sue, gotta say, as someone who collects quotes, this is one of my favorite posts of yours. That second to the last quote about making a new ending...I needed that one this very moment!

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  13. I really love "I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved." ~ Will Rogers, I posted a quote I use for my son that is kind of like this! Beautiful! The Groucho Marx one made me laugh too!

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  14. "I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved." ~ Will Rogers

    I really like this one!

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  15. You picked great ones! Some of my favorite- and some I didn't know. Thanks!

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  16. My mom would get a permanent marker and write her favorite quotes on the wall! Outside my bedroom was the quote, 'He who grumbles has too much.' Do you think she was trying to tell me something?

    Thanks for sharing some inspiration today!

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  17. Awesome quotes! That Groucho Marx one has always been one of my favorites. I also love anything from Randy Pausch. He was such an amazing man.

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  18. @BitsofBee thanks for the inspiration. Loved your idea for this week's listicle!

    @Camilleta, thanks! It was hard to choose - there are so many that I draw inspiration from.

    @Janie, it seems we are quite similar, you and I! :-)

    @kiddothings, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. It was hard to see my dad go that way - he was such a strong and proud man.

    @Stasha, how can you not love Douglas Adams! Thanks again for hosting such a great blog hop!

    @Galit - thanks lady!

    @Tonya - thanks so much!

    @Kimberly, I'm so glad they helped!

    @Amanda, I'm glad you are here to remind me of a very important item on my bucket list! :-)

    @Christine, thank-you for that compliment. I'm so glad it spoke to you. That new ending quote is an important one to me: helps me to put the past where it belongs and put my best face forward.

    @Motherhood Truth and @JDaniel4's Mom, that Will Rogers quote reminds me that it's okay to look and feel a little 'worn'. It helps me to embrace the lines appearing on my face! :-)

    @iza, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

    @Becky Jane, your mom sounds awesome! Subtle? I think not! lol

    @Elena, thanks. I'm not sure what it is I love so much about Groucho Marx - I like 'silly', and he definitely was. Randy Pausch was and is an inspiration.

    @finallyMom, thanks!

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  19. love these! My favorite is "Live life on a limb. That is where the fruit is." Excellent collection of inspiration and I really like the idea of following up with the story. Visiting from VB

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  20. I have often refered to the quote about what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...I am sure I am among some of the strongest women on earth...Moms! My back up quote to the kids is "this too shall pass". Love the site, love the quotes!

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  21. GREAT quotes! My fave though has to be Groucho Marx on the inside of a dog being too dark to read. PS: I saw that Randy Pausch last lecture - so moving.
    Great quotes!!!

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  22. Love all these quotes! I love that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" one. It's one of my life mottos :)

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  23. @Val, that's a great quote! Thanks for sharing it and thanks for popping by! I love my VB friends!

    @Bestfoodies, I've used that one a lot too ("This too shall pass").

    @Ado, thanks! :) That Groucho Marx quote always makes me laugh.

    @Mrs. Weber, it's one of my mottos too! :)

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  24. I love the one about deadlines. Wish I knew that earlier so I could have had a smart comeback everytime I missed a deadline to turn something in!

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  25. Excellent list of quotes. The Last Lecture is incredibly inspiring.

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  26. Great quotes!
    Love the persistence one!

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