Words to Live By

[Radtech1]

I was noticing that we have a "What's your Favorite Joke", "What's this Movie Line", "Show us Your Business Card", "Show your Best Sunset, Car, Bird, Toaster, etc, etc, etc". and so on.

So I thought I might try a "Words to Live By" thread and see if it catches. There might be some overlap here with Sigs, but in a thread it can be more than a line or two. What I am thinking here would be quotes that are uplifting, reflective, perceptive, or in some way encourage the best in us.

By the nature of this, I imagine that a lot of the post will be somewhat spiritual - but keep in mind the prohibition on religious discussion!!!

An example might be my old sig:

A ship is safe in a harbor, but that's not what ships are for. - Grace Hopper.

Rad

[Radtech1]

And I will be the first to post:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins this battle?"

The old man simply replied, "The one you feed."

[cdifoto]

"A fool and his money are soon parted. Makes me wish I was B&H."

[sevillafox]

reality is just a seven letter word

Something I pulled out of my butt in my teenage years. ;)

[Becca]

My mother always used to tell me "This too shall pass." And she was right!

[cdifoto]

My mother always used to tell me "This too shall pass." And she was right!

My father told me that once, but he was referring to some bad spaghetti.

[Becca]

My father told me that once, but he was referring to some bad spaghetti.

See, it works in a variety of situations! :p

[deadpass]

"only dead fish swim with the stream" -Malcolm Muggeridge

[OriginalKevan]

Goodness, I don't know where to begin. I have about forty-five or so text files with quotes that I've collected from here and there. Some from Gandhi, Lincoln, Helen Keller, JFK, Neitzhe, Graucho Marx, Mark Twain, just to name a few. Last official count of quotes is nearly 2900. This doesn't include the two books of quotes that I have, nor the large number of e-mails that I need to sift through sometime to extract even more quotes.

One of my (numerous) favorites is from Fredrich Neitzhe:

And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.

[condyk]

'Erm ...'

[20droger]

All of life's problems are like a toddler swallowing a fistful of coins...

There'll be change in the end.

[Bushplane Ken]

I have a fortune cookie slip taped to my computer monitor at work with the following on it:

"Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished."

To me this seemed fairly profound.

[sevillafox]

I have a fortune cookie slip taped to my computer monitor at work with the following on it:

"Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished."

To me this seemed fairly profound.

Hmm..have you ever heard the fortune cookie game where you put "in bed" at the end of your fortune. Yours is pretty funny.

Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished in bed.

LMAO

[Mike McCusker]

Always refuse to take no for an answer from someone who does not have the authority to say yes. Works wonders with retail sales people.

[Bushplane Ken]

Hmm..have you ever heard the fortune cookie game where you put "in bed" at the end of your fortune. Yours is pretty funny.

Begin nothing until you have considered how it is to be finished in bed.

LMAO

I have never heard of that 'game' before. In this case it is rather funny. I will now be considering this ever time I get a fortune.

[Mark_Cohran]

I've always liked: A mind is like a parachute. It only works when it's open.

[ggt1_02]

This is a bit of guidance I received from an old Sergeant Major when I was a young Corporal, and I try to use it any leadership position I find myself in. It has served me well

"Inspect, never expect. They may not like you now, but they will understand later."

[Katbird]

If it aint broken... don't fix it!

[DStanic]

People like hard workers... because they do all the work! :cool:

[Skip Souza]

A person can only be insulted if they choose to be.
I refuse to give someone else that type of power over me.

[Becca]

A person can only be insulted if they choose to be.
I refuse to give someone else that type of power over me.

Very true! Good words to live by!

[Aquaman]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

[Grace]

From my grandmother:

Sometimes you lose the battles just to win.

[CyberDyneSystems]

"To fear is not to be a coward.
I am told that the samurai who lives forever is apt to run and hide in decisive moments"

on a similar note;
"Without Fear there can be no courage."

This is a quote, which I have found to be words to live by;
“Thermodynamic miracles… events with odds against so astronomical they’re effectively impossible, like oxygen spontaneously becoming gold. I long to observe such a thing.

And yet, in each human coupling, a thousand million sperm vie for a single egg. Multiply those odds by countless generations, against the odds of your ancestors being alive; meeting; siring this precise son; that exact daughter… Until your mother loves a man she has every reason to hate, and of that union, of the thousand million children competing for fertilization, it was you, only you, that emerged. To distill so specific a form from that chaos of improbability, like turning air to gold… that is the crowning unlikelihood. The thermodynamic miracle.

But the world is so full of people, so crowded with these miracles that they become commonplace and we forget. We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away.

Come, dry your eyes, for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the forces that shape all things leave their fingerprints most clearly.”
– Dr. Manhattan/ aka Alan Moore

[GPR1]

Forgiveness is giving up the hope for a better yesterday.

[Skip Souza]

Forgiveness is giving up the hope for a better yesterday.
Oh, I like that one.

[cdifoto]

"Poop in, Poop out."
"You can't polish a turd, but you can polish with a turd. You really ought not to though."

[ieatstars]

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.

[OriginalKevan]

This is a quote, which I have found to be words to live by;
“Thermodynamic miracles… events with odds against so astronomical they’re effectively impossible, like oxygen spontaneously becoming gold. I long to observe such a thing.

And yet, in each human coupling, a thousand million sperm vie for a single egg. Multiply those odds by countless generations, against the odds of your ancestors being alive; meeting; siring this precise son; that exact daughter… Until your mother loves a man she has every reason to hate, and of that union, of the thousand million children competing for fertilization, it was you, only you, that emerged. To distill so specific a form from that chaos of improbability, like turning air to gold… that is the crowning unlikelihood. The thermodynamic miracle.

But the world is so full of people, so crowded with these miracles that they become commonplace and we forget. We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away.

Come, dry your eyes, for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the forces that shape all things leave their fingerprints most clearly.”
– Dr. Manhattan/ aka Alan Moore


Oooo. Watchmen. I hope they don't botch the movie.

[the_incubus]

There are so many from many great minds but here are a few.

Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
~Theodore Roosevelt

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.
~John Lennon

[greg20d]

be happy where you are in life or you will never be happy with anything

[cdifoto]

"Don't worry - there's a pill or cream for that."

[the_incubus]

"Don't worry - there's a pill or cream for that."

deep man, deep.

[queenbee288]

One of my favorite that I have seen around from time to time.

Sing like no one is listening.
Dance like no one is watching.
Love like you have never been hurt.

[disneydork06]

enjoy each day as if it were your last

and on my facebook profile :-P
"life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that takes our breath away" - George Carlin
"never give up. never surrender" - Commander Peter Quincy Taggart

[neil85]

CARPE DIEM

cant beleive no one said it yet :D simple and to the point i think. i remember first hearing the phrase WAAAAAAAAAAY back while watching dead poets society.


oh and then my favorite funny:

You know, the condom is the glass slipper of our generation. You slip it on when you meet a stranger. You dance all night, then you throw it away. The condom, I mean. Not the stranger

... oh and name that movie or book actually as the book came first ... ill give you a hint ... Fc CP

[cdifoto]

CARPE DIEM

cant beleive no one said it yet :D simple and to the point i think. i remember first hearing the phrase WAAAAAAAAAAY back while watching dead poets society.


oh and then my favorite funny:

You know, the condom is the glass slipper of our generation. You slip it on when you meet a stranger. You dance all night, then you throw it away. The condom, I mean. Not the stranger

... oh and name that movie or book actually as the book came first ... ill give you a hint ... Fc CP

Fight Club. Didn't need the hint.

[sugarzebra]

You are only as big as the things that make you mad.

[NZDoug]

My mother always used to tell me "This too shall pass." And she was right!
My father told me that once, but he was referring to some bad spaghetti.
My mother used to say:
All things must pass, if not, your eyes will turn brown" ;)
"

[cdifoto]

My mother used to say:
All things must pass, if not, your eyes will turn brown" ;)
"

And mine used to say:

"Get used to it. There are leftovers."

[dave kadolph]

On my first job promotion--

If you need a hand don't be afraid to ask.

If you need me to hold your hand--Then I don't really need you at all.

[samnz]

"Don't walk in front of me - I may not follow...
Don't walk behind me - I may not lead...
Don't walk beside me either...

Just PISS-OFF and leave me alone!"

[Belmondo]

There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. You can climb it, or you can sit on an acorn and wait.

[condyk]

There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. You can climb it, or you can sit on an acorn and wait.

I wondered whay you were doing in that thar avatar of yours.

[amironsi]

I would think of a couple of things
but 2 of the things i love is
- Fear someone that has nothing to loose
- we only live once.

[the_incubus]

CARPE DIEM

cant beleive no one said it yet :D simple and to the point i think. i remember first hearing the phrase WAAAAAAAAAAY back while watching dead poets society.

Let me hear your loudest YAWP!!!!

I love that movie. :D

[JimAskew]

It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools!


Perhaps this should be a sticky in the Lens Forum? ;)

[Fabrian]

Turn your face towards the sun and the shadows will fall behind you - Unknown

My favorite has already been mentioned, "you can't polish a turd"..lol.

Someone mentioned earlier in this thread - fortune cookies....the "in bed" at the end is indeed a fun game ;) and although it's off topic, the best fortune cookie I've ever gotten was actually a question: "what's hidden in an empty box?" Sounds simple until you think a bit longer on it.

[20droger]

An optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds.
A pessimist believes this to be true.

[Naturalist]

The words I live by

"Living forever! So far, so good!"

[JimAskew]

A few more favorites :)


My physiatrist says I am paranoid but he only says that because he hates me!

Hit me, hit me cries the masochist, no, no says the sadist!

If he was half as good as he thinks he is then he would be twice as good as he actually is!

[neil85]

Let me hear your loudest YAWP!!!!

I love that movie. :D


i need to pick it up. saw it at target the other day for $10 but didnt grab it. would be a nice addition to my already 250 dvd's haha

[Mark_48]

Hung on the door of my fridge....



A Guide To A Happy Life

· No one will ever get out of this world alive. Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable sense of values.

· Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone's major source of wealth. With out it, happiness is almost impossible.

· Resolve to be cheerful & helpful. People will repay you in kind.

· Avoid angry, abrasive persons. They are generally vengeful.

· Avoid zealots. They are generally humorless.

· Resolve to listen more and talk less. No one ever learns anything by talking.

· Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don't need it & fools won't heed it.

· Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving & tolerant of the weak & the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all these.

· Do not equate money with success. There are many successful moneymakers who are miserable failures as human beings. What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.

By Lloyd Shearer Copyright 1989

***********************

[JWright]

Here's mine:

"Never let the fact that they are doing it wrong stop you from doing it right."

[cdifoto]

"I swear, I thought it was just flaxseed oil."

[Skip Souza]

Never, ever, take a knife to a gunfight.

[Belmondo]

Never, ever, take a knife to a gunfight.Seems reasonable.

[Darsk47]

Two from Winston Churchill:

"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened."

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."


One from Voltaire:

"No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking."

[NickSimcheck]

"Life sucks, and then you die."

- My father


He uses that one when people complain about something, you should see the reaction!

[Radtech1]

Nick, my childhood pals' father was a gas station owner, but several orders of magnitude wiser than most of the PhDs I work with. Two of his gems were:

"Never make fun of someone's accent. It just means they know one more language than you."

and when we would complain about the vagaries of life he would say:

"If you want fair, move to Pomona*. They have one every year!"

Rad

*Pomona being the host city of the annual Los Angeles County Fair (http://www.lacountyfair.com/2007/homepage.asp) - a well known local event.

[greg20d]

Seems reasonable.

would a canon work ...

I was going to put on my cards
"I shoot motocross riders with a Canon":evil:

[20droger]

Eat properly, drink moderately, excersize regularly, die anyway.

[Belmondo]

Eat properly, drink moderately, excersize regularly, die anyway.That's very funny. Think I'll send it to my Doctor.

[sjackson]

And I will be the first to post:

Awesome.

[forno]

Everything in moderation, even excess

[20droger]

That's very funny. Think I'll send it to my Doctor.
I, for one, miss your smiling visage.

[Belmondo]

I, for one, miss your smiling visage.It shall return right after Christmas.

[Cybnew]

"The first time someone calls you a horse you punch him on the nose, the second time someone calls you a horse you call him a jerk but the third time someone calls you a horse, well then perhaps it's time to go shopping for a saddle"

[Charles Richards]

"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."
-Aristotle

"I've got friends and family that i respect
When i think i'm too good they put me in check
So believe me when i say i'm no better than you"
-The Beastie Boys

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
-Plato

[20droger]

It has been said, "With age comes wisdom." This is not necessarily true. With age MAY come wisdom. The world has a few wise old (wo)men, but many, many, foolish ones.

However, without age, there is definitely no wisdom. Intelligence, perhaps, but no wisdom.

[SlowBlink]

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a night.
Light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.